North Korea's Foreign Trade Amount in the First Half of 2000

(Unit: US$1000, %)

2. Recent Trends in N.K.'s Foreign Trade by country

(Japan)

The total trade amount between North Korea and Japan in the first half of 2000 was recorded at US$225.12 million (JPY27016.723 million). Exports to Japan reached a sum of US$120.68 million, up 37.7% from the same period of the previous year, while imports from Japan showed no less than a 61.4% increase at US$144.3 million. This rapid increase of trade between the two countries was affected by recent favorable conditions in political and diplomatic relations, such as December's resumption of diplomatic conferences following a North Korean announcement three months earlier that promised a temporary suspension of local missile testing. This encouraged a resumption of humanitarian food assistance from Japan to North Korea. In addition, North Korea is in the process of recovering from its economic crisis and the operation ratio of its domestic industry is experiencing a rising trend.

North Korea's export to Japan was recorded at US$120.68 million, up 37.7% from the same period of the previous year. Aquatic products were recorded as the largest export item (as in the previous year), at an amount of US$44.7 million, up 35.3% from the previous year. This comprised 37.1% of the total trade amount. These figures show that cooperation within the fishing industry between the two countries, which started from last year, is continuously expanding.

Of the traded aquatic products, the export of baby clams occupies 60% of the total export amount at US$26.99 million, followed by crabs (US$6.38 million), clams (US$2.06 million), and sea-urchins (US$2.04 million). Articles of apparel and clothing, one of the main processed items for export to Japan, increased by 30.3% compared to the previous year, and occupied 26.6% of the total export amount. This sector was led by the manufacture of men's and boy's suits, jackets, and pants. Electrical instruments were dominated by the processing of transformers (US$6.25 million -> US$8.95 million) and insulated wire (US$2.27 million -> US$2.34 million), which is estimated to have resulted from an increase in the operating rate of processing factories in North Korea. Especially noteworthy is the fact that rice straw export, typically one of the North Korea's main export items, reduced sharply while iron and steel products rapidly increased. In particular, non-alloyed pig iron (US$5.92 million), which did not show any export results last year, began export to Japan. In the meantime, rice straw exports were drastically lowered after the onset of foot and mouth disease in the beginning of the year, and were also affected by Japan's import relationship with Chinese rice straw (US$7.11 million -> US$4.36 million). As for mineral product exports, anthracite was exported to Japan along with magnesium to a total amount of US$2.42 million.

North Korea's imports from Japan reached US$144 million, up 61.4% from the same period of the previous year, and the largest import items registered as vehicles, parts and accessories thereof for the second consecutive year. The import of vehicles increased by 81.7%, led by used cars (US$10.58 million), trucks (US$ 8.38million), and buses (US$2.41 million). Rice import (39,893 tons), classified as an "other" item, clocked in after vehicle imports, reaching US$18.38 million. It is estimated that North Korea was partly supplied with food from Japan, following their promise at the North Korea-Japan Red Cross Conference in last March to assist; this falls under the aegis of the World Food Program (WFP). Electrical product imports increased by 40% compared to the previous year, led by permanent magnets to manufacture transformers (US$3.71 million), generating sets and rotary converters (US$3.36 million), insulated wire (US$1.84 million) and others. In addition, fabric piece import for textiles manufacture (such as wool fabrics) reached US$11.57 million, and US$9.39 million in heavy fuel oil (45,665 kl) was imported from Japan in order to supply the KEDO.

North Korea and Japan made efforts to normalize their relationship during the 9th and 10th friendship conferences held in March and August respectively this year. The 11th conference will commence in Peking as of October 30. It is expected that Japan will actively launch negotiations with North Korea despite the negative factors which still prevail in the nation. In terms of economic cooperation, trade between North Korea and Japan is expected to briskly rise this year as Japan has agreed to donate 500 thousand tons of rice (from the end of this year to early next year) in addition to its guaranteed 100 thousand ton food assistance gift of last March. Furthermore, it seems that the increase in the trade of processed goods will exert an influence on the general trade market.  

North Korea's Main Export Items to Japan (more than US$1 million)

(unit: US$1,000, %)