Inter-Korean trade hits record high in 2015

Trade between the two Koreas hit an all-time high in 2015 despite tension over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons, a local trade association said Thursday.

North Korean workers are seen on duty at the Gaeseong industrial complex. (Yonhap)

The volume reached $2.71 billion last year, up 15.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Association. The figure was the largest ever on record.

South Korea’s shipments to the North grew 11 percent on-year to $1.26 billion, while imports increased by 20.3 percent to $1.45 billion, the data showed.

Inter-Korean trade surpassed the $1 billion mark in 2005 on thriving business in an industrial park built in the border city of Gaeseong for housing South Korean firms employing North Korean workers.

The two Koreas are currently still technically at war after the 1950-53 war ended in a truce. Inter-Korean relations recently suffered a blow after the North claimed it has successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)