North Korea’s trade with foreign countries grew by 122% in 2023 compared to the previous year, reaching $2.06bn, according to data released by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) on January 25. However, the total remains just 38.2% of its 2019 level, reflecting continued economic isolation and strict border controls.

The increase marks a partial recovery from pandemic-era lows, driven largely by imports from China. North Korean imports reached $1.97bn in 2023, up 124% from the previous year, while exports rose 72% to $140mn. China accounted for 96.7% of North Korea’s total trade, with Russia, Vietnam and India comprising most of the remainder.

North Korea is suspected of earning hundreds of millions of dollars from military exports to Russia, although precise figures remain unconfirmed due to the clandestine nature of the transfers. The United States and its allies have accused Pyongyang of supplying Russia with artillery shells, rockets and ballistic missiles for use in its war against Ukraine, in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.

In a statement on January 25, the White House said North Korea had delivered dozens of ballistic missiles to Russia since late 2023, while South Korean intelligence officials estimate the total volume of ammunition shipments to be in the millions of rounds. Analysts cited by Reuters and The New York Times suggest the arms transfers could be worth as much as several hundred million dollars, potentially providing North Korea with a vital source of foreign currency amid continued international sanctions. Pyongyang has denied the allegations, calling them “absurd fabrications” aimed at discrediting its ties with Moscow.

More recently North Korea has reportedly significantly reduced its shipments of artillery shells to Russia in 2025, as domestic stockpiles show signs of exhaustion, and the quality of munitions deteriorates. According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, Pyongyang has sent more than 6.5mn shells since 2023, but the volume has fallen by more than half last year, Ukrainska Pravda reported on November 15.

Nevertheless, relations between Pyongyang and Moscow have warmed considerably thanks to the conflict with Nato over Ukraine. Pyongyang has joined the loose China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea (CRINK) military-industrial confederation that have united to challenge the West in the Indo-Pacific region especially. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in North Korea last summer to reaffirm a new security pact signed that unusually includes a collective military commitment to come to each other’s aid should either one be attacked.

In the meantime Russia provides North Korea with food, energy, arms and technology. North Korea sells mineral products, including coal, which are the country’s top export item, while imported goods were dominated by food, consumer products and machinery. Despite the recovery, trade remains severely restricted due to sanctions and limited cross-border movement.

North Korea sealed its borders in early 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, severely curtailing formal trade. Cross-border freight train service with China resumed in January 2022, but volumes remain constrained. Air and sea routes are still tightly controlled.

The KOTRA report noted that trade has “not yet returned to pre-Covid levels” and remains far below the $5.42bn recorded in 2019. In 2021, total trade had fallen to just $710mn.

The report also pointed to increased activity through unofficial or indirect channels, although no specific estimates were provided.

“While official trade has increased, the structure remains extremely dependent on a single country,” a KOTRA official said, according to Yonhap News Agency on January 25.