That calculated dollar amount results from a 211.7% acceleration compared to $164.7 million five years earlier in 2021.
Year over year, the total value of North Korean exported goods slowed via a -10.7% decline from $575.3 million during 2024.
The 5 biggest exported products from North Korea in 2025 include wigs, false eyelashes and the like made from human or animal hair, frozen whole fish, tungsten ores and concentrates, iron ferroalloys then electrical energy. Combined, that quintet of major North Korean exports represents almost two-thirds (64.5%) of the country’s overall value of globally exported goods during 2025.
North Korea’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 98.3% of products exported from North Korea was bought by importers in: mainland China (85.9% of the North Korean total), Burkina Faso (8%), Fiji (0.9%), Suriname (0.6%), Trinidad and Tobago (0.48%), Indonesia (0.47%), Spain (0.41%), Malawi (0.38%), Luxembourg (0.37%), Barbados (0.31%), Zimbabwe (0.27%) and the Netherlands (0.25%).
From a continental perspective, 86.7% of North Korea’s exports by value was delivered to fellow Asian countries while 9.3% was sold to importers located in Africa.
North Korea shipped another 1.8% worth of goods to buyers in Latin America including Mexico.
Smaller percentages went to customers in Europe (1.1%), Oceania’s Fiji and Samoa (1%) and North America’s United States and Mexico (0.03%).
Given North Korea’s population of 26.6 million people, its total US$513.5 million in 2025 exports translates to about $20 for every resident in that country. That metric exceeds the average $15 per capita one year earlier in 2024.
North Korea’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in North Korean global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from North Korea.
- Feathers, artificial flowers, hair: US$205.8 million (40.1% of total exports)
- Ores, slag, ash: $48.8 million (9.5%)
- Fish: $40 million (7.8%)
- Iron, steel: $34.5 million (6.7%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $25.5 million (5%)
- Clocks, watches including parts: $22.5 million (4.4%)
- Other chemical goods: $22.3 million (4.4%)
- Toys, games: $17.4 million (3.4%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $8.3 million (1.6%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $8.1 million (1.6%)
North Korea’s top 10 export product categories generated 84.4% of the overall value of its global shipments in 2025.
Fish represents North Korea’s fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, spiking by 7,641% from 2024 to 2025.
In second place for improving export sales was the miscellaneous chemical goods grouping via a 214.4% advance.
North Korean shipments of toys and games (up 179.8%) and optical, technical or medical apparatus (up 45%) also posted robust increases.
Decliners among North Korea’s top 10 export categories were reduced international sales of North Korean mineral fuels including oil (down -81.3% from 2024) and inorganic chemicals (down -61.2%).
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 human or animal hair (39.9% of the North Korean total), frozen whole fish (7.8%), tungsten ores and concentrates (6.1%), iron ferroalloys (5.9%), electrical energy (4.7%), assembled watch components (4.3%), chemical industry products or residuals (4.2%), molybdenum ores and concentrates (3.4%), models, puzzles or other miscellaneous toys (1.5%) then carbides (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.
- Ores, slag, ash: US$48.1 million (Reversing a -$325.2 million deficit)
- Iron, steel: $33.2 million (Up by 24.3% since 2024)
- Fish: $16.2 million (Reversing a -$69 million deficit)
- Other chemical goods: $8.2 million (Reversing a -$2.7 million deficit)
- Silk: $5.1 million (Down by -26.6%)
- Plaiting products, basketware, wickerwork: $4 million (Up by 135.5%)
- Ships, boats: $3.5 million (Up by 121.8%)
- Machinery including computers: $3.3 million (Down by -61.3%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $3.2 million (Up by 114.5%)
- Vehicles: $2.3 million (Down by -88.3%)
North Korea has earned highly positive net exports in the international trade of tungsten and molybdenum ores or concentrates and the metals iron and steel. In turn, these cashflows indicate North Korea’s strong competitive advantages under related product categories.
Products Causing Worst Trade Deficits for North Korea
North Korea recorded an overall -US$1.8 billion trade deficit for 2025, down by -9.9% from the -$2 billion deficit one year earlier in 2024.
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.
- Plastics, plastic articles: -US$241.4 million (Up by 9.4% since 2024)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$139.2 million (Up by 38.9%)
- Manmade filaments: -$132.1 million (Up by 19.8%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: -$102.7 million (Up by 43.5%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefab buildings: -$98 million (Up by 12%)
- Knit or crochet fabric: -$80.8 million (Up by 38.1%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: -$78.2 million (Up by 41.4%)
- Organic chemicals: -$75.2 million (Down by -40.9%)
- Ceramic products: -$54.2 million (Down by -2.7%)
- Footwear: -$52.2 million (Up by 42.8%)
North Korea has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for plastics, including 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 2.8% of total North Korean economic output–formally called its Gross Domestic Product (US$18.5 billion) on a purchasing power parity basis. That percentage exceeds the 2.1% for 2024, suggesting North Korea’s small yet growing depending on international trade for its economic health.
Another key economic indicator is a country’s unemployment rate. North Korea’s average unemployment rate was 3.5% in 2025, mirroring the average North Korean jobless rate of 3.5% for 2024.
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 May 22, 2026
Heritage.org, 2025 Index of Economic Freedom: North Korea (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 22, 2026
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 22, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 22, 2026
The World Factbook, Country Profiles, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on May 22, 2026
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on May 22, 2026
Wikipedia, List of Companies of North Korea. Accessed on May 22, 2026
Wikipedia, North Korea. Accessed on May 22, 2026