US$20 Billion Milestone

Model Industrial Complex factories in Kaesong (Gaesong) Industrial Area. (photo courtesy of Mimura/Wikimedia Commons)
Model Industrial Complex factories in Kaesong (Gaesong) Industrial Area. (photo courtesy of Mimura/Wikimedia Commons)

 

According to the Korea International Trade Association, the trade between South and North Korea increased 104 percent to US$2.34312 billion last year, breaking the US$2 billion mark for the first time.

With the Kaesong Industrial Complex regaining vitality, the shipments from the South to the North and vice versa went up by 114 percent and 96 percent to US$1.13638 billion and US$1.20674 billion, respectively.

The cumulative amount since the tracking of the statistics began in 1989 reached US$21.78934 billion. The annual trade amount has remained over US$1 billion since 2005, when the industrial complex went into full-scale operation. It added up to US$1.97621 billion in 2012, but dropped to US$1.14891 billion in the following year because of diplomatic tension.

At present, the Kaesong Industrial Complex accounts for 99 percent of the bilateral trade, with inter-Korean exchange by any other route halted since the sinking of the Cheonan and the May 24 Sanctions on the North.

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