North Korean Economy Watch

According to the Joong Ang Ilbo:

Despite the fact that personal exchanges between North and South Koreans are rare, products made by North Korean laborers can easily be found here in the capital area.

Kaesong Joint Industrial Complex Cooperatives, which sells men’s clothing and textiles produced at industrial facilities in the North, opened a branch June 17 in Jongno District, central Seoul, with donations from 12 companies, at the inter-Korean venture park.

The joint industrial complex was established in 2004 in Kaesong, the most southern city in North Korea. Currently, 124 companies from South Korea run operations there, with 60 percent related to textiles.

The entrance to the new store is designed to appear like a rail road stop, with a sign to its right reading: “To the world, along the rail road.”

“It shows our dream to reach Europe by train with our products after unification,” said Lee Jong-deok, the store’s deputy chief director.

Products from the joint industrial complex can already be found in other stores in South Korea; however, the 12 companies reportedly decided to run their own shop in an attempt to dispel negative public opinions surrounding the industrial complex, the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

“We designed the inside of the store with light white colors to do away with this unfavorable image around Kaesong,” said Je Jeong-oh, the operations director.

According to Je, the industrial complex is the only place where both Koreas can truly cooperate with each other, and despite the wage issue, the employees from the South and North employees are hospitable toward one another.

The store sells products without retail margin, with prices much cheaper than market value. A coat made of 100 percent cashmere, for instance, can be purchased for 299,000 won ($267) in the store.

When the JoongAng Ilbo inquired about a similar product at a department store, an employee there answered that the asking price would be at least 700,000 won.

“The quality of the fabrics is good, and most of all, the needlework on the products is perfect,” said one shopper, Sin Mi-yeong, 61. “I’m surprised by how low the prices are here.”

Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo visited the store on opening day and reportedly purchased some clothing.

“I see it as a place where visitors can physically experience a sense of unification,” he said at the time.

And even with its fledgling status, the store already has regulars. Choe Beom-jin, who runs a supermarket next to the shop, remarked that he would only buy his clothes there from now on.

Meanwhile, the store’s management board has ambitious plans for its line: Products labeled with the store’s name will be on display during Hong Kong Fashion Week, which will run from Monday to Thursday.

Seven more branches are also set to open nationwide by year’s end.

“It takes 90 minutes by car to reach Kaesong from Seoul,” Je said. “It’s just sad we can’t make the trip, even if we wanted to. I hope the store serves as a starting point to unification.”

Read the full story here:
Kaesong items prove a hit in Seoul
Joong Ang Ilbo
Chun Su-jin
2015-7-4

You can see the list here (PDF). I have added this to my DPRK economic statistics page.

There is no similar list (as best I can tell) published by the US government (Please correct me if I am wrong). But links to tools created by the different offices in the US government can be found on my DPRK economic statistics page. I suspect a little research on with tools could be used to produce such a list. The closest I have seen to a complete list is here (PDF).

UPDATE: Josh Stanton offers this link.

NK News reports that the European Commission also tightened sanctions on the DPRK.

See Josh Stanton’s summary here.

Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)
2015-7-3

North Korea has attracted attention after it recently featured a number of corporate advertisements in a preliminary match of the 2018 Russian World Cup.

In the past, North Korea rejected everything related to capitalism. But since Kim Jong Un’s rise to power it appears to be actively using sports and commercial capital in order to attract foreign capital as its market economy rapidly expands.

On June 16, 2015 Korean Central Television (KCTV) broadcast the second match of the Russian World Cup Asian qualifying rounds. The match, in which North Korea and Uzbekistan played, was held at Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Stadium, where advertisements by North Korean companies such as Kaesong Koryo Ginseng and the Pyongyang Building Materials Factory appeared in force. Kaesong Koryo Ginseng and Choson Kumgang Group in particular appeared to have spent a lot of money sponsoring the event, as every most ads belonged to one of these companies. Conspicuous among the advertisements were those from companies that have not been well-known in the outside world, such as Malgun Achim (literally ‘clear morning’), a manufacturing company known in North Korea for producing IT products such as computers. Exhibiting numerous ads for North Korean companies at an international sports event and broadcasting the event on TV to the world is rather unprecedented behavior for North Korea.

When the 27th Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon was held in Pyongyang in 2014, not only were there no ads for North Korean companies, but there were no ads for foreign companies either. As a result British contestant Will Phillips, who qualified to participate in the marathon as a foreign amateur athlete, remarked at the time, “It feels like time just stopped in the ‘60s.” However, an article appeared in the January 2015 edition of the Kim Il Sung University Bulletin that emphasized the importance of advertisements in attracting investment and gave specific instructions to heed the publication times of major foreign newspapers and even pay attention to broadcast ratings. Since then North Korea has paid attention to foreign advertisements and has really upped its efforts to attract foreign currency.

As the market economy spreads rapidly in the Kim Jong Un era, this event is viewed as a sign of change in North Korea’s foreign economic policy. The promotion of North Korean companies in a preliminary round of the World Cup, which relatively many foreigners can view, is interpreted as an attempt to ultimately attract foreign capital. At the same time, it appears there is a dimension of inducing competition between North Korean companies to boost domestic demand. This event can also be connected to one of the characteristics of the Kim Jong Un regime, which emphasizes and encourages physical education throughout the state. Such a scene, which seamlessly joins sports with commercial capitalism, is unprecedented for North Korea.

Back in 2011, an experimental project saw the shipment of coal from Hunchun (China) to Shanghia via the North Korean port of Rason. Since then, no such effort is known to have been repeated.

Until now, apparently…

According to UPI:

A maritime route that includes the North Korean port of Rajin has enabled Chinese shippers to significantly reduce costs over a more time-consuming land route, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

Chinese cargo from the northeastern city of Hunchun has made the journey to bustling Shanghai twice in June, according to Chinese authorities.

Hunchun officials said 38 containers that left the city on June 24 arrived in Shanghai on June 27, and on June 11, 42 containers were delivered to China’s eastern coast – all using Rajin as a key point where cargo could be loaded onto ships.

I have not been able to locate any additional information.

Read the full story here:
China, North Korea cooperate on Rajin shipping route
UPI
Elizabeth Shim
2015-7-2

According to Yonhap:

The growth of humanitarian aid sent to North Korea stayed almost flat in the first half from a year earlier, a U.N. agency said Wednesday, raising concerns about food shortages in the North.

The global community’s humanitarian assistance to the North amounted to a combined US$21.3 million in the January-June period, compared to $20.6 million in the same period last year, according to data compiled by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

But the figure in the first half marked a 40 percent decline when compared to $35.6 million in the first half of 2013, it showed.

The U.N. and six countries — South Korea, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, France and Germany — supplied humanitarian aid to Pyongyang this year.

Switzerland was the top donor with $9.17 million, or 43 percent of the total aid, followed by South Korea with $4 million and Sweden with $3.23 million, the data showed.

By type, food and nutrition aid topped the list with $9.64 million worth contributed, followed by healthcare work at $6.2 million, and the supply of drinking water at $2.4 million, it said.

A separate U.N. report showed that about 70 percent of North Korea’s 24.6 million people are suffering due to food shortages and 1.8 million, including children and pregnant women, are in need of nutritional food supplies aimed at fighting malnutrition.

Aid from China and Russia would not appear in this study.

Read the full story here:
Humanitarian aid to N. Korea almost flat on-year in H1
Yonhap
2015-7-1

According to the Jerusalem Post:

Shurat Hadin – Israel Law Center on Tuesday requested that Mexico permit it to seize an impounded North Korean ship to satisfy a $330 million it won against Pyongyang in April in a US civil damages trial for wrongful killing of a Christian priest.

Mexico impounded the 6,700-ton Mu Du Bong for illegal weapons smuggling on its way from Cuba to North Korea following notification by UN sanctions monitors that the ship belonged to a blacklisted firm. The ship ended up accidentally landing on the Mexican coast and North Korea has protested Mexico’s continuing to hold on to the ship.

The Tel Aviv-based NGO hired Mexican lawyer Alberto Mansur to request that Mexico honor and enforce the US court ruling as part of its obligations to honor foreign judgments under the Hague Convention.The April judgment, which also included findings by a US federal court in Washington that North Korea had kidnapped, tortured and killed South Korean-American Rev. Kim Dong Shik, included $15m. each to Shik’s son and brother as well as $300m. in punitive damages.

Dong Shik, a South Korean who was a permanent resident of the US and had spent seven years providing aid and proselytizing to North Korean defectors who tried to escape via China, was abducted in China in 2000. In 2005, a South Korean court convicted an ethnic Korean of his abduction in concert with North Korean intelligence.

Shurat Hadin said that it hoped that the context of the requested seizure, the North Korean outlaw regime ignoring weapons smuggling laws and flouting UN resolutions, would help its case since it tied into Pyongyang’s massive human rights violations in abducting and murdering innocent persons, which was at the heart of the Dong Shik judgment.

The judgment was a default judgment in which the defendant, North Korea, did not even appear at trial, leading most to predict that it would go unenforced since default judgments are notoriously hard to collect on, especially with a regime such as North Korea, which has few connections to the West.

After the April judgment, Shurat Hadin said the family was investigating all the possible avenues to collect the judgment against North Korean assets including seizing bank accounts, property and shares in foreign companies in the United States and abroad.

But even Shurat Hadin admitted that Mexico’s seizure of the ship was a shocking gift and unexpected opportunity to collect on the judgment. The NGO’s President Nitsana Darshan- Leitner said that “North Korea should know that we are actively tracking its assets and looking to seize them everywhere in the world. This outlaw regime must be taught that it cannot abduct and murder foreign citizens and that eventually there will be a price to pay.”

“There is no reason why this boat which clearly belongs to North Korea cannot be used to satisfy our judgment,” she said.

In the April judgment against North Korea, the court said that the two $15m.

and the $300m. damages awards were consistent with comparable cases against North Korea and Iran for other similar wrongful actions and recognized the tremendous suffering by Dong Shik’s family members.

In December 2014, Shurat Hadin convinced a US federal appeals court to grant default judgment against North Korea on liability, paving the way for April’s massive damages award by the lower district court.

The ruling by the US Appeals Court for the District of Columbia, written by Judge David S. Tatel, reversed an earlier district court ruling that had dismissed the case, despite North Korea failing to defend itself, on the grounds that the plaintiffs had failed to present any direct evidence of what happened to Dong Shik.

The appeals court based its ruling on proof that Pyongyang kidnapped Dong Shik, a wealth of information about it torturing and killing prisoners, its systematic attempts to block direct evidence from emerging and its failure to counter the plaintiffs’ claims.

The ruling was also significant because it allowed a case to go forward based on the “terrorism exception” to the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which somewhat broadens the paths and precedents open to suing foreign nations for terrorist acts.

Read the full story here:
NGO seeks to seize N. Korean ship to pay off $330 m. US judgment for killing of priest
Jerusalem Post
Yonah Jeremy Bob
2015-6-30

According to Xinhua:

An oft-suspended tourist route between China and North Korea has been reopened after its latest closure.

A charter flight carrying 73 tourists left from Yanji, in the Korean autonomous prefecture of Yanbian in northeast China’s Jilin province, for Pyongyang in North Korea on Thursday.

The route will be open until early October, with a planned 32 charter flights on Thursdays and Sundays. All seats on the flights in June have been booked, according to Yanbian Tianyu Travel Agency, which runs the route with North Korea’s Air Koryo.

A four-day trip costs 3,980 yuan (US$650) per person while a five-day trip costs 4,480 yuan (US$720) per person, according to the agency.

The route between Yanji and Pyongyang was first opened in July 2012, but it was closed for the whole of 2013 due to tensions in North Korea. It resumed on June 29 last year and was suspended again in October. A total of 90 flights had been completed on the route by October.

Read the full story here:
Yanbian-Pyongyang tourist route reopens
Xinhua
2015-6-21

Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)
2015-6-17

Last year North Korea’s foreign trade volume (excluding economic exchanges with South Korea) totaled 7.6 billion USD, a 3.7 percent increase over the previous year. According to a report recently put out by KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) entitled “North Korea’s International Trade Patterns in 2014,” last year North Korean exports totaled 3.16 billion USD, while imports totaled 4.45 billion USD. This represents a 1.7 percent decrease in exports and 7.8 percent growth in imports over the previous year. As a result North Korea’s trade deficit in 2014 leaped to 1.29 billion USD, a 41 percent increase over 2013. This expansion of trade appears to be a product of growth in the import of goods such as plastics, machinery and electricity, as well as growth in the export of clothing.

Among North Korea’s main exports, mineral fuels such as coal, at 1.18 billion USD, represented 37.2 percent of total exports and was the country’s main export product. Meanwhile, exports of clothing and components saw the biggest growth rate, at 23.7 percent, and amounted to 640 million USD. In regards to other exports, iron ore totaled 330 million USD (18.3 percent decrease over 2013), fish and crustaceans totaled 140 million USD (21.9 percent increase), and steel amounted to 130 million USD (22 percent increase).

North Korea’s main imports were as follows: mineral fuels (750 million USD – 4.7 percent decrease), electric equipment (430 million USD – 54.8 percent increase), furnaces and machinery (330 million USD – 3.3 percent increase), motor vehicles and parts (230 million USD – 9.6 percent decrease), and plastic (200 million USD – 31.8 percent increase).

It appears North Korea’s main trading partner is still China. Last year its trade volume with China reached 6.86 billion USD (exports – 2.84 billion USD, imports – 4.02 billion USD), a 4.9 percent increase over 2013. This contributed to a slight increase in North Korea’s reliance on trade with China. Its proportion of trade with China went from 89.1 percent in 2013 to 90.1 percent in 2014. After China, the countries that North Korea traded most with were Russia, India, Thailand, and Bangladesh, in that order. Hong Kong and Ukraine dropped off the list of North Korea’s top ten trading partners, and Pakistan and Germany newly appeared on the list at 8th and 10th place, respectively. Trade with Japan has been nonexistent since 2009. Due to its economic sanctions against North Korea, the United States also had no economic exchanges with North Korea in 2014 outside of relief aid, mostly in the form of medical supplies and equipment.

As North Korea’s over-reliance on trade with China continued, its trade deficit widened due to the decrease in exports and surge in imports. Considering factors such as the complementary trade structure (including contract processing and natural resource trade), the protraction of North Korea’s political and economic isolation, and their highly interdependent relationship, it seems likely that North Korea’s strong reliance on trade with China will continue in the future.

[NOTE: KOTRA data excludes inter-Korean trade. If South Korean trade were included, it would be North Korea’s second largest trading partner, and the composition of trade allotted to China would fall.]

Here is coverage in Yonhap:

North Korea’s global trade expanded in 2014 from a year earlier, but its trade deficit also widened due to a drop in exports, a report showed Friday.

According to the report by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, North Korea’s trade came to US$7.61 billion last year, up 3.7 percent from a year earlier. The figures did not count its trade with South Korea.

North Korea’s exports shrank 1.7 percent on-year to $3.16 billion last year, while imports grew 7.8 percent to $4.45 billion over the same period, the report showed.

Based on the figures, North Korea posted a trade deficit of $1.29 billion last year, with its shortfall jumping 41 percent from the year before.

Minerals and fossil fuels, including coal, were among the country’s major export items as its overseas sales stood at $1.18 billion, which accounted for 37.2 percent of its total annual exports.

The report showed that North Korea continues to depend heavily on China for its trade.

Last year, bilateral trade between the two countries reached $6.86 billion, up 4.9 percent from a year earlier. North Korea’s dependence on China in trade increased slightly from 89.1 percent in 2013 to 90.1 percent last year, according to the report.

Read the full story here:
N. Korea’s global trade expands but trade gap widens: report
Yonhap
2015-6-5

Here is coverage in UPI:

South Korea’s trade promotion agency KOTRA stated North Korea’s trade with the outside world rose to $7.61 billion in 2014, a marginal increase from the previous fiscal year.

In its annual report on North Korea trade trends released Friday, KOTRA noted North Korean exports scaled down while demand for outside materials was up between 2013 and 2014, Yonhap reported.

Numbers indicated North Korea’s exports decreased by 1.7 percent to $3.16 billion in 2014, while imports rose by 7.8 percent to $4.45 billion.

North Korea’s trade deficit jumped to $1.29 billion, up 41 percent from 2013.

In 2014 North Korea imported more electrical equipment, machinery and plastics than it did a year earlier, while exporting more clothing and accessories, according to KOTRA.

The country’s primary export is coal, a trade valued at $1.18 billion and comprises 37.2 percent of North Korea exports.

Clothing and accessories inched up in its share of total exports, rising to $640 million – up 23.7 percent from 2013.

The country’s primary import was fossil fuels at $750 million, followed by electrical equipment at $430 million and boilers, machinery at $330 million.

China remained North Korea’s No. 1 trading partner, reported South Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Sinmun.

In 2014 China-North Korea trade inched up 4.9 percent to $6.87 billion. North Korea imported more than it exported from China. Exports were estimated at $2.84 billion while imports totaled $4.03 billion.

A KOTRA official told Yonhap North Korea’s protracted political and economic isolation has led to a high dependence on trade with China, facilitated by a complementary trade structure between the two countries.

South Korea’s report stated North Korea’s trade dependence on China was as high as 90.1 percent, dwarfing Pyongyang’s next major trading partner, Russia, as well as India, Thailand and Bangladesh.

Read the full story here:
North Korea’s trade deficit continued to grow, says SKorea
UPI
Elizabeth Shim
2015-6-4

Here is coverage in the Joong Ang Ilbo:

North Korea’s international trade volume reached $7.6 billion in 2014, rising by 3.7 percent year-on-year, according to a report on Friday by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra).

The growth was backed by Pyongyang’s increased import of electronic devices and machinery and its rising export of clothing, according to the agency.

Kotra said North Korea’s export volume was worth $3.2 billion last year, a 1.7 percent decline from the previous year.

On the other hand, the reclusive state imported $4.5 billion worth of goods, up 7.8 percent. The widening disparity between imports and exports extended the North’s trade deficit by 41 percent to $1.3 billion.

China remained Pyongyang’s biggest trading partner in 2014, the report said, followed by Russia, India, Thailand and Bangladesh. Its trading volume with China increased to $6.9 billion, with imports from that nation accounting for $4 billion and exports $2.9 billion. The overall figure is a 4.9 percent increase from 2013, nudging up the North’s overall degree of dependence on foreign trade with China to 90.1 percent from 89.1 percent.

Hong Kong and Ukraine were no longer in the North’s top 10 trading partners, but Pakistan and Germany made their way onto the list. By contrast, Japan has not traded with the North since 2009, while the United States only provided it with aid and medical equipment.

Kotra noted that the North’s key export products include mineral resources such as coal and brown coal, which account for 37.2 percent of all its exports. Clothing and fisheries products were also among its major exports, with garment shipments recently seeing rapid growth.

The country’s other major export products consist of crude oil, refined oil, machinery, electronic devices, cars and auto parts. The value of resource imports decreased by 4.7 percent last year, while those of electronic machines surged by 54.8 percent.

Kotra expects that the North will continue to rely on its neighboring key ally going forward.

“2014 saw increasing dependence on China, while North Korea extended trade deficits due to the increase in imports and the decline in exports,” Kotra said in a statement. “When considering geopolitical factors and mutually beneficial trade structure, the North is expected to show further reliance on China.”

The Korea Development Institute, a state-run think tank, released its own report that paints dim prospects for the North’s exports.

The institute said the North’s exports of anthracite coal to China are expected to fall in the years to come due to China’s dwindling steel industry and stronger environmental regulations. Its exports of the coal to its ally have been considered the backbone of its economy, accounting for about 40 percent of its overall exports.

The report called on the North to reorganize its trade structure in order to avoid being seriously affected.

“The time has come for North Korea to reshape its external trade structure,” it noted.

Read the full story here:
North’s trade volume rises
Joong Ang Ilbo
2015-6-6

According to Port News:

In 2014, foreign-trade cargo transportation through the border crossing Khasan (Russian border)–Tumangan (North Korean border) increased 3.2 times over 2013. At the same time, the transportation of coal increased 24 times. In the first quarter of this year, this trend continued. The volume of transported goods increased several times—up to 432 000 t.

Such data were presented by President of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin at the OSJD Railway Summit in Seoul.

In 2014, 280 000 t was transported, of which 238 200 t was coal. In the first quarter of 2015, 408 000 t of coal was sent to the port of Rajin.

In total, according to Mr. Yakunin, it is planned to transport 1.5 million t of coal to the port of Rajin in 2015.

Recall that Russian Railways has implemented the reconstruction of the Khasan (Russia)–Rajin (North Korea) railway section and the construction of a cargo terminal in the port of Rajin. The cost of the project amounts to 10.6 billion rubles.

“In fact, the restoration of the site is a pilot project in the reconstruction of the Trans-Korean Railway, which in the future will provide communication between North and South Korea,” said Mr. Yakunin.

Since November 2014, four experimental coal transportation runs have been carried out through the port of Rajin to South Korea.

“The main task today is to ensure the involvement of enough traffic to complete the work of the railway and the terminal and provide a return on investments,” emphasized the head of Russian Railways.

The capacity of the Khassan–Rajin site and the terminal is 5 million t of cargo a year. In the future, when a favorable situation is created, the terminal may be employed for the transport of containers.

“In cooperation with South Korean companies POSCO, Korail, and Hyundai Merchant Marine, a due diligence investigation was conducted and we are discussing the possibility of creating a joint venture for the operation and development of infrastructure. This project is the first practical step in the development of trilateral cooperation on the development of Trans-Korean Railway. In this venture, we count on the support of South Korean businesses, the government, and the President of the Republic of Korea,” said Vladimir Yakunin.

Read the full story here:
Russian Railways transports 420,000 t of cargo to the Port of Rajin in QI’15
Port News
2015-6-1

According to the Daily NK:

One of the two North Koreans arrested on site for engaging in illegal trade of rhinoceros horns in Mozambique has been confirmed a Pyongyang diplomat, according to the Voice of America.

“Of the two arrested North Koreans, one was confirmed to be Park Chol Jun, a diplomat working at Pyongyang’s embassy in South Africa,” VOA reported, citing an official working at Seoul’s mission in the same country.

The two perpetrators, arrested on the 3rd this month, posted bail the following day and left the country for South Africa, the official said.

The North Korean mission there paid roughly 30,000 USD for their bail, the South Korean official said.

North Korean diplomats are said to often engage in illegal activities in other countries.

In March, a Pyongyang diplomat was deported from Bangladesh after attempting to smuggle in 27kg of gold, while in April, a couple from the North’s mission in Pakistan was caught selling alcohol on the streets of Karachi without a license.

“These kind of illegal activities have been around for a long time, because they stem from structural problems in operation,” Hong Sun Kyeong from the Committee for the Democratization of North Korea, who was also a former Pyongyang diplomat in Thailand, said. “Since the late 1970s, the North has not been giving its overseas missions money to operate. So not only do they have to make their own money, the state also makes it a rule that they have to wire back ‘loyalty foreign currency.’”

He added, “Back in the North, they do not recognize such illicit activities as being illegal, so even if officials are deported, they can just as easily be sent to missions in other countries.”

Here is coverage in the Joong Ang Ilbo.

Read the full story here:
Pyongyang diplomat caught in illegal trading of rhino horns
Daily NK
Kim Seong Hwan
2015-5-28