North Korea’s Economy Grew in 2019, Despite International Sanctions

SEOUL—North Korea’s economic system grew by .4% in 2019, the very first time Pyongyang posted beneficial expansion in three years, South Korea’s central lender mentioned, helped by enhanced building activity and expanded agricultural output.

But North Korea watchers cautioned versus reading this as a sign of a restoration for Pyongyang’s sanctions-strike economic system. The period of time calculated was just before the worldwide distribute of the new coronavirus, while the country’s mining sector, after a key hard cash generator, recorded minus expansion for the third consecutive yr.

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