CHINA-DPRK: POLITICAL-ECONOMIC RELATIONS
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Statistics show that North Korea’s decision to begin nuclear testing in 2006 has exerted only a limited impact on bilateral trade relationships. Trade, with a few exceptions, has steadily surged since the DPRK exploded its first small nuclear device on October 9, 2006. Changes in China-DPRK trade volumes between 2006-2014:
2006 2009 2010 2011 2013 2014
Trade volumes($) 1.7 billion 2.681 billion 3.466 billion 5.629 billion 6.545 billion 6.3 billion
Source: Sarene Chan/Initium (Note 2006-2009, 2011-2013 gaps)
China strongly denounced this first nuclear test in 2006, but trade between the two nations still topped $1.7 billion that year. This was 7% higher than the previous year. The upsurge continued until 2009.The North’s second nuke test in 2009 had the gravest impact on bilateral trade. The trade volume decreased by 8.9%. In October that year, then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited North Korea and these efforts led to the best 2 years for the China-DPRK relationships since the end of the Cold War, with then DPRK leader Kim Jong-il visiting China twice. Trade also surged. After Kim Jong-il’s death in December 2011, bilateral trade lost some steam, but the overall volume remained stable. The trade volume between the two countries in 2013 reached $6.545 billion, which was 77% of the DPRK’s total foreign trade. After North Korea carried out its third nuke test in 2013 and bilateral relations got strained and since then the DPRK has been trying to decrease its dependence on China. The volume of the China-DPRK trade remained large in 2014. Despite its increasing isolation, North Korea’s economy is growing.
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