North Korea’s trade is overwhelmingly dominated by China, but one unlikely partner continues to punch far above its weight: Tanzania, a Cold War-era ally whose ties with Pyongyang survived sanctions, diplomatic shifts and repeated scrutiny over military and maritime cooperation.

A report published last month by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), South Korea's government trade promotion agency, found that North Korea's foreign trade rose 16% in 2025 to $3.13 billion, with dependence on China reaching 98.2%. 

While that reliance on Beijing is nothing new, what stood out was the $9 million in bilateral trade with Tanzania, which imported