North Korea economy has increased with the highest pace of the last eight years. What is the explanation
Kim Jong o supervised testing a cruise missile. Photo source: Kcna via kns / ap / profimedia
North Korea economy has increased by 3.7% in 2024, the fastest annual growth rate in the last eight years, supported by the expansion of economic relations with Russia, according to estimates of the Central Bank of South Korea on Friday, reports Reuters.
The economic advance in North Korea last year came after an increase from 3.1% of the gross domestic product in 2023 and a decrease of 0.2% in 2022, estimated the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The figure of 2024 is the highest after 2016, when the economy increased by 3.9%.
“It is mainly due to significant increases in the processing, construction and mining industry, which have been influenced by the consolidation of national policy projects and the extension of economic cooperation between North Korea and Russia,” a BOK official said in a press conference.
In particular, the heavy chemical sector increased by 10.7%, the highest rate from the beginning of the records, assisted by the extension of the production of metal products for weapons exported to Russia, the official said.
Bok estimates are considered among the most reliable indicators of North Korea economic activity, which does not publish official data.
North Korea and Russia approached military and economic point of view, and the Phenian sent an unprecedented number of armament and troops to support Russia in his war against Ukraine.
The leader Kim Jong will visit China, a major ally and an essential economic supporter for North Korea, in order to participate in a military parade, the largest multilateral diplomatic event for the leader of this isolated state. Russian President Vladimir Putin will also be present at the parade.
The data showed that the mining sector has also increased by 8.8%, the largest increase after 1999.
The volume of North Korean trade decreased by 2.6%, to $ 2.7 billion in 2024, below the level before the Covid pandemic, but exports increased by 10.8%, to $ 360 million, due to wigs and watches.
The nominal national income of North Korea in 2024 was estimated at 1.72 million won ($ 1,239) per capita, the equivalent of only 3.4% of the 50.1 million Won in South Korea.
Bok publishes its estimates on the North Korean economy of 1991, based on information from various sources, including from information and foreign trade agencies, as well as data from the Ministry of Unification of South Korea.
The South Korean central bank published the estimation a month later than in previous years, due to a delay in collecting gross data.
