N Korean Economy Shows Record-High Growth Amid Sanctions, Int'l Pressure

Despite international sanctions North Korean economy increased by 3.9 percent in 2016, showing a record-high growth in 17 years, South Korea's Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a report Friday. Pyongyang has never disclosed any information on its economy, all the statistics is gathered by South Korean intelligence services.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Bank of Korea noted that the share of mining and manufacturing industries in the country's GDP increased by 0.5 percent in 2016, reaching 33.2 percent.

"North Korean real annual GDP increased by 3.9% in 2016… [It is] the highest growth rate since 1999 (6.1%)," the report said.

"North Korean gross national income (nominal GNI) was valued at 36.4 trillion KRW [$31.6 billion] for 2016, 2.2% of that of the South Korean economy. GNI per capita stood at 1.461 million KRW ($1,250), approximately 4.6% of that of South Korea," the report read.

According to the report, the volume of North Korea's external trade amounted to $6.55 billion in 2016, showing a 4.7-percent growth, compared to the previous year. The exports increased by 4.6 percent in 2016, totaling $2.82 billion.

The report noted that trade turnover between Seoul and Pyongyang dropped by 87.7 percent in 2016 due to South Korea's decision to shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a jointly run industrial park, in response to the North Korea's nuclear and missile tests.

Since the beginning of 2016, North Korea has carried out a number of missile launches and nuclear tests in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, prompting worldwide criticism and the escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula. The international community has criticized the military activities of the isolated Asian nation and tightened the sanctions regime against Pyongyang in response to its unsanctioned actions.