North Korea‘s economy is estimated to have contracted for the second straight year in 2021 on global sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic, according to South Korea’s central bank.

The North’s economy, which has been hit by tightened UN sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs, shrank 0.1 percent last year from the previous year, the Bank of Korea said in a report.

Still, last year’s contraction slowed from a negative growth rate of 4.5 percent recorded a year earlier.

On top of the UN sanctions, the reclusive country also took a hit from the closure of its border with China, Pyongyang‘s biggest economically, according to the central bank. (Yonhap)