Unexpected? Russia-North Korea Trade Nearly Doubles in January-February 2017

Russia and North Korea increased their bilateral trade during January and February of this year by 73 percent when compared to the same period in 2016, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development told Sputnik on Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian exports to North Korea have increased by 149.1 percent and amounts to $19.5 million, while the North Korean exports to Russia totals to a mere $300,000, which is 91.9 percent lower than the January-February 2016 figures.

The Russian Federal Customs Service’s press service told Sputnik that the boost of Russian exports could be explained by significant increase in coal deliveries to North Korea.

In 2016, almost 85 percent of goods exported from Russia to North Korea were raw materials, whereas the latter primarily exported equipment and vehicles as well as food products (33.3 and 32 percent, respectively) to Russia.

The countries, however, are not each other’s principle trade partners. Around 90 percent of North Korean trade comes from China.