North Korea's isolated economy will not be insulated from global economic headwinds caused by the Ukraine war and the COVID-19 lockdowns in China, analysts said, with recently resumed border trade taking a hit and inflation exacerbating food shortages, APA reports citing Reuters.
Strict international sanctions ban or restrict wide categories of North Korean imports and exports, and the country locked down its border for years to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks. Natural disasters such as flooding have also taken a toll on harvests and damaged infrastructure.
The trickle of trade and aid that resumed over the land border with China in January probably did not alleviate reported food shortages - and trade was suspended again last week as COVID-19 cases rose in China, analysts said. Satellite imagery shows goods sitting for weeks or months in quarantine at land and sea port facilities.
“As food prices in North Korea do often move in tandem with global prices, we're likely to see current food price hikes mirrored in North Korea as well over time,” said Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein, an economic expert with the U.S.-based Stimson Center.
North Korea's isolated economy will not be insulated from global economic headwinds caused by the Ukraine war and the COVID-19 lockdowns in China, analysts said, with recently resumed border trade taking a hit and inflation exacerbating food shortages.
Strict international sanctions ban or restrict wide categories of North Korean imports and exports, and the country locked down its border for years to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks. Natural disasters such as flooding have also taken a toll on harvests and damaged infrastructure.
The trickle of trade and aid that resumed over the land border with China in January probably did not alleviate reported food shortages - and trade was suspended again last week as COVID-19 cases rose in China, analysts said. Satellite imagery shows goods sitting for weeks or months in quarantine at land and sea port facilities.
“As food prices in North Korea do often move in tandem with global prices, we're likely to see current food price hikes mirrored in North Korea as well over time,” said Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein, an economic expert with the U.S.-based Stimson Center.
International aid organizations have pulled most of their staff from the country amid the prolonged border shutdowns, and say it is difficult to know exactly how bad the situation is.
Last year the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea said the country's most vulnerable people risk starvation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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