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Full trade & compliance profile

North Korea — Trade & Compliance

North Korea's trade profile consolidates its merchandise flow from CEPII BACI, the preferential agreements it has entered from the World Bank, the international cargo conventions it has ratified from the UN Treaty Collection, and its applied tariff, VAT and currency of record from the World Bank, the EU and ISO 4217.

Every figure is shown as its named source records it and dated where the source dates it; trade partners and product codes link to their own pages where logibook profiles them.

1
trade agreements
2
cargo treaties

Memberships & standing

Income groupLow income
Member ofAPACUN
DatabookThe Record of Consolidated Knowledge
North Korea beyond logistics?
Browse databook

Trade Flow

Top export markets
  1. 1China85.0%
  2. 2Poland2.4%
  3. 3Austria1.7%
  4. 4Zimbabwe1.1%
  5. 5India1.0%
CEPII BACI · 2024
Top import sources
  1. 1China99.4%
  2. 2Netherlands0.1%
  3. 3India0.1%
  4. 4Nigeria0.1%
  5. 5Uganda0.1%
CEPII BACI · 2024
Leading export goods (HS2)
  1. 1Prepared feathers, artificial flowers47.8%
  2. 2Ores, slag, ash11.7%
  3. 3Iron & steel6.8%
  4. 4Mineral fuels & oils5.6%
  5. 5Clocks & watches4.2%
CEPII BACI · 2024
Leading import goods (HS2)
  1. 1Plastics12.7%
  2. 2Prepared feathers, artificial flowers9.5%
  3. 3Man-made filaments6.1%
  4. 4Animal/vegetable fats & oils5.5%
  5. 5Furniture, bedding, lighting4.8%
CEPII BACI · 2024
Fastest-rising export markets
  1. 1China+28.24pp
  2. 2Zimbabwe+1.06pp
  3. 3India+0.39pp
CEPII BACI · 2024
Declining export markets
  1. 1Senegal−12.52pp
  2. 2Nigeria−6.16pp
  3. 3Netherlands−3.38pp
CEPII BACI · 2024
Fastest-rising export goods
  1. 1Prepared feathers, artificial flowers+42.80pp
  2. 2Clocks & watches+3.39pp
  3. 3Toys, games, sports+1.42pp
CEPII BACI · 2024
Declining export goods
  1. 1Mineral fuels & oils−15.87pp
  2. 2Ores, slag, ash−7.20pp
  3. 3Iron & steel−6.12pp
CEPII BACI · 2024

Showing the leading partners and product groups by trade share; the full bilateral flow matrix is inCEPII BACI · 2024

Preferential Trade Agreements

Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries (GSTP)1989
PSAGoods
World Bank DTA · 1 trade agreements in force

International Cargo Treaties

  • Convention on the International Maritime Organization. Geneva, 6 March 1948
    Party · 1986176 ratifications
  • United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Vienna, 11 April 1980
    Party · 201999 ratifications
UN Treaty Collection · 2 ratified

Sanctions & restrictive measures

On the UN list
75
UN Security Council Consolidated List
On the EU list
119
EU Consolidated Sanctions List
Listed entities includeKOREA MINING DEVELOPMENT TRADING CORPORATIONKOREA RYONBONG GENERAL CORPORATIONHong-sop RiHo-jin Yun

194 entities on UN/EU restrictive-measures listsfull lists: UN Security Council Consolidated List · 2026-04 · EU Consolidated Sanctions List

Key commodities

Top mineral output
coal
17.1M tonnes (metric)
BGS · 2023
Energy production
Primary energy production
0.1 quadrillion Btu
U.S. EIA

Top item per category of 25 commodities trackedfull lists: FAOSTAT · 2026-05 · British Geological Survey · U.S. EIA

All Sources

TradeCountry Trade Facts (CEPII BACI)
etalab-2.0
TradeWorld Bank Deep Trade Agreements (DTA)
cc-by-4.0
Sanctions & complianceUN Treaty Collection — Multilateral Treaties Deposited (MTDSG)
open
commoditythe British Geological Surveythe British Geological Survey
OGL
Referencelogibook trade-bloc referencelogibook trade-bloc reference
Compiled (public facts)
commoditythe U.S. Energy Information Administrationthe U.S. Energy Information Administration
Public domain (US gov)
Referenceinternational organisation membership recordsinternational organisation membership records
Public (official lists)
Sanctions & compliancethe UN Security Council Consolidated Listthe UN Security Council Consolidated List
UN — open
Sanctions & compliancethe EU Consolidated Sanctions Listthe EU Consolidated Sanctions List
© EU — free reuse
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