Located in East Asia and historically nicknamed “The Hermit Kingdom” due its isolationist policies, nevertheless the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shipped US$354.2 million worth of exported products to its trade partners in 2023.

That calculated dollar amount reflects a -27.3% reduction compared to $487.2 million five years earlier in 2019.

Year over year, the total value of North Korean exported goods grew by 13.4% from $312.3 million during 2022.

The 5 biggest exported products from North Korea in 2023 include wigs, false eyelashes and the like made from hair, iron ferroalloys, tungsten ores and concentrates, electrical energy then molybdenum ores and concentrates. Combined, that quintet of major North Korean exports represents almost three-quarters (72%) of the country’s overall value of globally exported goods during 2023.

North Korea’s Major Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 96.4% of products exported from North Korea was bought by importers in: mainland China (82.4% of the North Korean total), Poland (2.9%), Luxembourg (1.92%), South Africa (1.9%), Nigeria (1.8%), Togo (1.3%), Spain (0.94%), Mozambique (0.89%), India (0.78%), Suriname (0.66%), Tanzania (0.58%) and Seychelles (0.4%).

From a continental perspective, 83.8% of North Korea’s exports by value was delivered to fellow Asian countries while 7.9% was sold to importers in Africa. North Korea shipped another 6.8% worth of goods to Europe.

A smaller percentage (1.6%) went to Latin America including Mexico.

Given North Korea’s population of 26.3 million people, its total $354.2 million in 2023 exports translates to about $13 for every resident in that country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $10 per capita one year earlier in 2022.

North Korea’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in North Korean global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from North Korea.

1. Feathers, artificial flowers, hair: US$167 million (47.2% of total exports)
2. Iron, steel: $38.1 million (10.8%)
3. Ores, slag, ash: $33.1 million (9.3%)
4. Mineral fuels including oil: $22.9 million (6.5%)
5. Electrical machinery, equipment: $18.8 million (5.3%)
6. Vehicles: $6.9 million (1.9%)
7. Silk: $6.7 million (1.9%)
8. Inorganic chemicals: $6.6 million (1.9%)
9. Glass: $6.1 million (1.7%)
10. Plastics, plastic articles: $5 million (1.4%)

North Korea’s top 10 exports accounted for 87.9% of the overall value of its global shipments in 2023.

Feathers, artificial flowers and hair represent North Korea’s fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 1,327% from 2022 to 2023.

In second place for improving export sales was electrical machinery and equipment via a 31.3% advance.

North Korean shipments of inorganic chemicals posted the remaining gain in value, up by 16.5%.

The leading decliners among North Korea’s top 10 export categories were plastics both as materials and items made from plastic (down -72.8% from 2022), vehicles (down -71.9%), mineral fuels including oil (down -56.9%) and silk (down -44.8%).

The above listed product groups are at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.

Drilling down to 4-digit HTS codes, the top 10 most valuable exports from North Korea are wigs, false eyelashes and the like made from hair (47% of the North Korean total), iron ferroalloys (9.4%), tungsten ores and concentrates (7.3%), electrical energy (6.3%), then molybdenum ores and concentrates (2%), electric generating sets and converters (1.8%), cars (also 1.8%), floating, ground or polished glass sheets (1.7%), carbides (1.5%) then raw silk (1.2%).

Products Generating Highest Trade Surpluses for North Korea

The following types of North Korean product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Iron, steel: US$37.8 million (Up by 0.4% since 2022)
2. Electrical machinery, equipment: $18 million (Up by 26.4%)
3. Ores, slag, ash: $14.3 million (Up by 0.1%)
4. Vehicles: $6.8 million (Down by -72.1%)
5. Silk: $6.6 million (Down by -46%)
6. Machinery including computers: $3.5 million (Down by -70.4%)
7. Articles of iron or steel: $918,000 (Down by -43.1%)
8. Plaiting products, basketware, wickerwork: $866,000 (Reversing a -$330,000 deficit)
9. Railways, streetcars: $651,000 (Down by -73.2%)
10. Gems, precious metals: $416,000 (Down by -257%)

North Korea has highly positive net exports in the international trade of the metals iron and steel. In turn, these cashflows indicate North Korea’s strong competitive advantages under the iron and steel materials category.

Products Causing Worst Trade Deficits for North Korea

North Korea recorded an overall -US$1.7 billion trade deficit for 2023, up by 171.5% from the -$629.1 million deficit one year earlier in 2022.

Below are exports from North Korea that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country North Korea’s goods trail North Korean importer spending on foreign products.

1. Plastics, plastic articles: -US$206.7 million (Up by 108.4% since 2022)
2. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$124.2 million (Up by 97.5%)
3. Manmade filaments: -$88.8 million (Up by 157.6%)
4. Knit or crochet fabric: -$81.5 million (Up by 112.9%)
5. Cereals: -$80.5 million (Up by 142.5%)
6. Fertilizers: -$80.3 million (Up by 2,126%)
7. Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: -$77.5 million (Up by 97.3%)
8. Sugar, sugar confectionery: -$73.4 million (Up by 140.7%)
9. Rubber, rubber articles: -$64.5 million (Up by 4.4%)
10. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$63.9 million (Up by 416.5%)

North Korea has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for plastics both as materials and items made from plastic.

North Korean Export Companies

Not one North Korean corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.

According to global trading e-commerce platform Alibaba, the following are examples of exports-related companies from North Korea.

• Elpis Corporation (engine oil)
• Groon Co. Ltd (metal scrap including electronics scrap)
• Hai Dan (cosmetics)
• Kim’s Enterprise & Supplying Co. Ltd (construction machinery)
• Korea Ryonghung Trading Corporation (anthracite coal, lead)
• KQ Earphone (earphones, headphones)
• Pishon Technology (LCD panels)

 
Based on data from Trading Economics, North Korea’s exported goods represent 1.7% of total North Korean economic output–formally called its Gross Domestic Product (US$20.6 billion) on a purchasing power parity basis.

Another key economic indicator is a country’s unemployment rate. North Korea’s average unemployment rate was 3.07% in 2022, down from the average North Korean jobless rate of 3.23% for 2021.

North Korea’s capital city is Pyongyang, nicknamed the “Capital of Willows”.

See also South Korea’s Top 10 Exports and China’s Top 10 Imports

Research Sources:
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 3, 2024

Heritage.org, 2023 Index of Economic Freedom: North Korea (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on July 3, 2024

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on July 3, 2024

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 3, 2024

The World Factbook, Country Profiles, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on July 3, 2024

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on July 3, 2024

Wikipedia, List of Companies of North Korea. Accessed on July 3, 2024

Wikipedia, North Korea. Accessed on July 3, 2024