what do they export, though? that is relatively easy to calculate
Foreign trade of the DPRK.
China is the DPRK's largest trading partner, accounting for about 90% or more of the DPRK's total foreign trade. (This refers to open and legal trade; secret underground transactions are not included in the statistics.)
Their main export trade:
1, Mineral resources: coal, iron ore, etc.
2, Textiles (clothing processing).
3, Agricultural products, seafood.
Special Notes:
1, North Korean expatriate laborers are an important foreign exchange earner for them. This group is also a very important avenue of intelligence/technology sources for them. North Korean expatriate laborers are very common in China's Northeast and Russia's Far East. 75% of their income goes to the North Korean government.
2. China's attitude towards China-North Korea trade.
Trade within the scope of UN Security Council sanctions. If the program does not have much benefit to China, China strictly follows the Security Council resolution. If the project benefits China, China will openly ban the project. However, the Chinese government will acquiesce to the North Korean government's private smuggling activities related to Chinese private companies. That is, the Chinese government will not crack down on the behavior on a large scale. We call it “gray trade”.
3, North Korea has very large cryptocurrency reserves. Most of their foreign underground transactions use cryptocurrencies. ------ Due to China's strict ban on cryptocurrencies, North Korea is unable to use it in China-North Korea trade.
