Cigarettes over medicine? Tobacco imports to North Korea lead trade with China



Analysis Cigarettes over medicine? Tobacco imports to North Korea lead trade with China Imports of tobacco products far outstrip medicine, even as DPRK's population remains unvaccinated Ethan Jewell October 20, 2021 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON NK News \| North Korean men smoking while fishing in Wonsan, Sept. 10, 2012 Tobacco products led North Korea’s imports from China last month, newly-released customs data shows, far outstripping inflows of critical goods such as food and medicine. According to China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), China officially exported $9.3 million worth of tobacco products to the DPRK in September, making up 16.8% of the North’s total imports. The next largest imports were edible oils and fats ($7.8 million), plastics ($7.5 million) and pharmaceuticals ($6.3 million). While still far below pre-pandemic levels, Chinese exports to North Korea increased for the fourth consecutive month to $55.6 million. North Korean imports from Read More © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01North Korea’s procurement of cars, diamonds highlights extensive trade network 02North Korea deepens Belarus relations but keeps focus on Moscow and Washington 03North Korea starts new project at large-scale military training base 04How North Korea could leverage China’s DeepSeek AI model for military, cyber ops 05North Korea lets slip where special forces trained before Russia deployment 06Trump’s first-week overtures on North Korea are unlikely to entice Kim Jong Un 07In changing world, North Korea has little to gain from pro-regime sympathizers 08Why North Korea’s top military official may have been quietly demoted once again

Analysis

Cigarettes over medicine? Tobacco imports to North Korea lead trade with China

Imports of tobacco products far outstrip medicine, even as DPRK's population remains unvaccinated

Ethan Jewell October 20, 2021

Cigarettes over medicine? Tobacco imports to North Korea lead trade with China

NK News | North Korean men smoking while fishing in Wonsan, Sept. 10, 2012

Tobacco products led North Korea’s imports from China last month, newly-released customs data shows, far outstripping inflows of critical goods such as food and medicine.

According to China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), China officially exported $9.3 million worth of tobacco products to the DPRK in September, making up 16.8% of the North’s total imports.

The next largest imports were edible oils and fats ($7.8 million), plastics ($7.5 million) and pharmaceuticals ($6.3 million). While still far below pre-pandemic levels, Chinese exports to North Korea increased for the fourth consecutive month to $55.6 million.

North Korean imports from

01North Korea’s procurement of cars, diamonds highlights extensive trade network
02North Korea deepens Belarus relations but keeps focus on Moscow and Washington
03North Korea starts new project at large-scale military training base
04How North Korea could leverage China’s DeepSeek AI model for military, cyber ops
05North Korea lets slip where special forces trained before Russia deployment
06Trump’s first-week overtures on North Korea are unlikely to entice Kim Jong Un
07In changing world, North Korea has little to gain from pro-regime sympathizers
08Why North Korea’s top military official may have been quietly demoted once again

Cigarettes over medicine? Tobacco imports to North Korea lead trade with China

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Ethan Jewell