With a new set of unprecedented sanctions against North Korea by the U.N. Security Council looming, North Korea is expected to suffer a major setback in its trade, the majority of which depends on China.

According to the Korea International Trade Association, the amount of exports from North Korea to China reached $2.48 billion last year, marking a 12.6 percent decline from the year before. The volume of imports also showed a decrease of 16.4 percent to $2.95 billion.

The officials said those are the first two-digit declines seen between the two countries since 2000.

The trade volume between Pyongyang and Beijing had increased by an average of over 22 percent, except for in 2004 and 2009, both of which had recorded decreases between 2 to 4 percent.

Various factors could have played in the significant drop, including reduced exports of North Korea’s underground resources, worsened bilateral ties and China’s economic slowdown, observers said.
(Graphic: Nam Kyung-don)