The Republic of Korea’s (RoK) Unification Ministry says trade with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the first five months of the year surged by 30 percent compared with 2007 thanks to brisk industrial exchanges that offset a sharp drop in humanitarian aid.
Inter-Korean trade volume increased to 734.25 million USD in the January-May period, up from 562.92 million USD during the same period last year, RoK’s Yonhap news agency reported on June 24, citing the ministry’s data.
The increase was notable in the commercial sector, which posted 685 million USD worth of trade over the months, up 52 percent year-on-year.
However, exchanges in non-commercial areas significantly descreased due to strained inter-Korean political ties. Non-commercial trade dropped by 56 percent to 49.2 million USD, Yonhap said.-Enditem