North Korea’s economy grew for the first time in four years in 2023, according to South Korea’s central bank, reversing a downward trend caused by Pyongyang’s border restrictions during the pandemic.

The country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) surged by 3.1% to some $23.34 billion in 2023 compared to $22.7 billion the previous year, when the North Korean economy shrank by 0.2%, a new report by the Seoul-based Bank of Korea (BOK) states.

The DPRK’s GDP had been on a steady decline since 2020, when it plummeted 4.5% in the steepest economic contraction since the 90s due to strict border