North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)
In 2025, US goods exports to North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) were $543,000 and goods imports from North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) were $139,000; exports exceeded imports by $404,000.
Goods: the latest figures
2025, full year
- Exports
- $543,000
- Imports
- $139,000
- Balance
- exports exceeded imports by $404,000 (a goods trade surplus, in Census's term)
- Total goods trade
- $682,000
- Share of US goods trade
- less than 0.001%
- Rank among partners
- No. 225 of 231
Latest 12 months, August 2025 to July 2026
- Exports
- $25,000
- Imports
- $0
- Balance
- exports exceeded imports by $25,000 (a goods trade surplus, in Census's term)
- Total goods trade
- $25,000
- Share of US goods trade
- less than 0.001%
- Rank among partners
- No. 228 of 233
2025 rank among 231 partners with trade that year; 12-month rank among 233.
- Census basis goods, not seasonally adjusted. Exports are free alongside ship value; imports are general imports (customs value), everything that arrives, including goods entering bonded warehouses and Foreign Trade Zones. Shares and ranks compare total goods trade (exports plus imports) with the same period's world total.
- US exports include re-exports: foreign goods shipped on in substantially the same condition as when they were imported. Exports are credited to the destination as known to the shipper and imports to the country of origin. The workbook used here does not separate re-exports.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Trade in Goods by Country. Monthly data through July 2026; 2025 is the latest full year. Census revises the prior year's country totals each June. Retrieved Sept. 26, 2026.
Goods since 1992
US goods exports to and imports from North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), 1992 to 2025
Full years only, in current dollars (not adjusted for inflation).
Left and Right arrows read the values point by point; Page Up and Page Down jump a tenth of the way later or earlier; Home and End go to the ends; Escape clears.
Left and Right arrows read the values point by point; Page Up and Page Down jump a tenth of the way later or earlier; Home and End go to the ends; Escape clears.
Left and Right arrows read the values point by point; Page Up and Page Down jump a tenth of the way later or earlier; Home and End go to the ends; Escape clears.
Data table
| Year | Exports | Imports | Balance | Total | Share of US goods trade | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (7 months) | $9K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $9K | $9K | less than 0.001% | 229 |
| 2025 | $543K | $139K | Exports exceeded imports by $404K | $682K | less than 0.001% | 225 |
| 2024 | $1.5M | $57K | Exports exceeded imports by $1.5M | $1.6M | less than 0.001% | 223 |
| 2023 | $132K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $132K | $132K | less than 0.001% | 231 |
| 2022 | $0 | $29K | Imports exceeded exports by $29K | $29K | less than 0.001% | 233 |
| 2016 | $118K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $118K | $118K | less than 0.001% | 233 |
| 2015 | $4.8M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $4.8M | $4.8M | less than 0.001% | 215 |
| 2014 | $24M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $24M | $24M | 0.001% | 193 |
| 2013 | $6.6M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $6.6M | $6.6M | less than 0.001% | 213 |
| 2012 | $12M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $12M | $12M | less than 0.001% | 204 |
| 2011 | $9.4M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $9.4M | $9.4M | less than 0.001% | 205 |
| 2010 | $2.9M | $8K | Exports exceeded imports by $2.9M | $2.9M | less than 0.001% | 218 |
| 2009 | $857K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $857K | $857K | less than 0.001% | 228 |
| 2008 | $52.2M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $52.2M | $52.2M | 0.002% | 178 |
| 2007 | $1.7M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $1.7M | $1.7M | less than 0.001% | 223 |
| 2006 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal | $0 | 0% | n/a |
| 2005 | $5.8M | $3K | Exports exceeded imports by $5.8M | $5.8M | less than 0.001% | 206 |
| 2004 | $23.8M | $1.5M | Exports exceeded imports by $22.3M | $25.2M | 0.001% | 184 |
| 2003 | $8M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $8M | $8M | less than 0.001% | 198 |
| 2002 | $25.1M | $100K | Exports exceeded imports by $25M | $25.2M | 0.001% | 177 |
| 2001 | $500K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $500K | $500K | less than 0.001% | 223 |
| 2000 | $2.7M | $100K | Exports exceeded imports by $2.6M | $2.8M | less than 0.001% | 213 |
| 1999 | $11.3M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $11.3M | $11.3M | 0.001% | 188 |
| 1998 | $4.4M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $4.4M | $4.4M | less than 0.001% | 201 |
| 1997 | $2.5M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $2.5M | $2.5M | less than 0.001% | 210 (tied) |
| 1996 | $500K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $500K | $500K | less than 0.001% | 216 (tied) |
| 1995 | $11.6M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $11.6M | $11.6M | 0.001% | 185 |
| 1994 | $200K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $200K | $200K | less than 0.001% | 219 (tied) |
| 1993 | $2M | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $2M | $2M | less than 0.001% | 206 (tied) |
| 1992 | $100K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $100K | $100K | less than 0.001% | 221 (tied) |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Trade in Goods by Country. Census Trade in Goods by Country, country.xlsx (columns IYR, EYR) · retrieved Sept. 26, 2026 · 9,217 rows · as of July 2026 · monthly. Download CSV
2026 so far (7 months): exports $9,000, imports $0; exports exceeded imports by $9,000. Not in the chart, because a part year is not comparable with a full one.
Ranks start in 1992; before then the Census workbook covers only 76 partners. Shares start in 1987, the first year with a world total.
Goods by month
US goods exports to and imports from North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), by month
The latest 24 months. Not seasonally adjusted, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier.
Left and Right arrows read the values point by point; Page Up and Page Down jump a tenth of the way later or earlier; Home and End go to the ends; Escape clears.
Data table
| Month | Exports | Imports | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 2024 | $3K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $3K |
| Sept. 2024 | $3K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $3K |
| Oct. 2024 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| Nov. 2024 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| Dec. 2024 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| Jan. 2025 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| Feb. 2025 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| March 2025 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| April 2025 | $0 | $139K | Imports exceeded exports by $139K |
| May 2025 | $527K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $527K |
| June 2025 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| July 2025 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| Aug. 2025 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| Sept. 2025 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| Oct. 2025 | $14K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $14K |
| Nov. 2025 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| Dec. 2025 | $3K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $3K |
| Jan. 2026 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| Feb. 2026 | $9K | $0 | Exports exceeded imports by $9K |
| March 2026 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| April 2026 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| May 2026 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| June 2026 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
| July 2026 | $0 | $0 | Exports and imports were equal |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Trade in Goods by Country. Census Trade in Goods by Country, country.xlsx (columns IJAN..IDEC, EJAN..EDEC) · retrieved Sept. 26, 2026 · 5,923 rows · as of July 2026 · monthly. Download CSV
| Month | Exports | A year earlier | Change | Imports | A year earlier | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | $0 | $0 | not shown | $0 | $0 | not shown |
| June 2026 | $0 | $0 | not shown | $0 | $0 | not shown |
| May 2026 | $0 | $527K | not shown | $0 | $0 | not shown |
| April 2026 | $0 | $0 | not shown | $0 | $139K | not shown |
| March 2026 | $0 | $0 | not shown | $0 | $0 | not shown |
| Feb. 2026 | $9K | $0 | not shown | $0 | $0 | not shown |
| Jan. 2026 | $0 | $0 | not shown | $0 | $0 | not shown |
| Dec. 2025 | $3K | $0 | not shown | $0 | $0 | not shown |
| Nov. 2025 | $0 | $0 | not shown | $0 | $0 | not shown |
| Oct. 2025 | $14K | $0 | not shown | $0 | $0 | not shown |
| Sept. 2025 | $0 | $3K | not shown | $0 | $0 | not shown |
| Aug. 2025 | $0 | $3K | not shown | $0 | $0 | not shown |
Small values: total goods trade over these 12 months was under $10 million, so percent changes, which swing widely at this size, are not shown.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Trade in Goods by Country. Monthly, August 2024 to July 2026; not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved Sept. 26, 2026.
Services
Services are counted separately from goods, by a different agency, on an annual timetable. They are not added to the goods figures above.
| Year | Exports | Imports | Balance (exports minus imports) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $10M | $2M | Exports exceeded imports by $8M |
| 2024 | $21M | $4M | Exports exceeded imports by $17M |
| 2023 | $33M | $3M | Exports exceeded imports by $30M |
| 2022 | $38M | $5M | Exports exceeded imports by $32M |
| 2021 | $20M | $4M | Exports exceeded imports by $17M |
| 2020 | $18M | $2M | Exports exceeded imports by $16M |
| 2019 | $51M | $3M | Exports exceeded imports by $48M |
| 2018 | $32M | $3M | Exports exceeded imports by $29M |
The balance column is BEA's published balance, which BEA rounds on its own, so it can differ by a million dollars from the exports and imports shown beside it. The 2025 balance is a services trade surplus, in BEA's term.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, International Services, Table 2.4. Annual, 2018 to 2025, released July 7, 2026; cells exactly as BEA publishes them, marks included. Retrieved Sept. 26, 2026. Download CSV
Direct investment
The value of direct investment at year end, both ways: US companies' stake in businesses in North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), and investors in North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) with a stake in US businesses. Historical cost (book value), not market value.
| Year end | US direct investment in North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) | Direct investment from North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) in the US |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $0 | $0 |
| 2024 | $0 | $0 |
| 2023 | $0 | $0 |
| 2022 | $0 | $0 |
| 2021 | $0 | $0 |
| 2020 | $0 | $0 |
BEA assigns each position to the immediate counterpart country, which may not be where the money ends up or where the ultimate owner is. That is why financial centers such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Caribbean islands rank high.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Direct Investment by Country and Industry. Positions at year end, 2020 to 2025; inward by country of foreign parent; cells exactly as BEA publishes them. Retrieved Sept. 26, 2026. Download CSV
Trade agreements
USTR lists no trade agreement with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea).
From USTR's list of free trade agreements in force and its page of agreements on reciprocal trade, in USTR's own wording. USTR's reciprocal trade page does not say whether each agreement is in force, so none is described that way here.
Source: Office of the United States Trade Representative, Free Trade Agreements and Agreements on Reciprocal Trade. Checked Sept. 26, 2026. Retrieved Sept. 26, 2026.
Context
- Population, 2025
- 26.6 million
The World Bank's name for this economy: Korea, Dem. People's Rep..
Source: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL), UN Population Division and national statistical offices. The World Bank: World Development Indicators: GDP (current US$) (NY.GDP.MKTP.CD), country official statistics, OECD national accounts data files and World Bank staff estimates. License: CC BY 4.0. Most recent value per economy. Retrieved Sept. 26, 2026.
Top products and tariffs
Not shown yet: requires Census data not yet retrieved.