ID :
68117
Sun, 06/28/2009 - 20:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/68117
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N. Korean economy grows 3.7 pct in 2008: BOK
By Park Bo-ram
SEOUL, June 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded
3.7 percent in 2008 from a year earlier, due mainly to one-off factors, posting
the first yearly growth in three years, South Korea's central bank estimated
Sunday.
The communist country's GDP, the broadest measure of economic performance,
rebounded into positive territory after posting two years of negative growth, the
Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a report. Its economy shrunk 2.3 percent in 2007,
after declining 1.1 percent the previous year.
In 2008, the South Korean economy grew 2.2 percent. It was the first time in a
decade that the North's economy grew faster than South Korea's GDP.
"North Korea's growth last year came as a favorable climate conditions increased
crop production and foreign countries granted energy aid to Pyongyang. It does
not seem that the North's economic momentum has improved," the central bank said
in the report.
The BOK published the economic growth estimate of the North based on data
provided by the National Intelligence Agency, South Korea's spy agency, and other
institutes specializing in North Korean studies.
The North's agricultural sector expanded 8.2 percent annually in 2008, following
a contraction of 9.4 percent for 2007, according to the BOK.
Due to increasing exports by the North, the gap between the two Korea's economies
narrowed last year.
North Korea's nominal gross national income (GNI) stood at 27.3 trillion won
(US$21.31 billion) in 2008, 2.7 percent of South Korea's GNI of 1,030.6 trillion
won. In 2007, the GNI of the North stood at 2.5 percent of the South, which is
Asia's fourth-largest economy.
Exports by the North climbed 22.8 percent on-year to US$1.13 billion in 2008
while its imports jumped 33.2 percent to $2.69 billion, according to the BOK.
Inter-Korean trade gained 1.2 percent on-year to $1.8 billion, although South
Korean shipments to the North slumped 14 percent to $888.1 million due to a cuts
in government aid and private assistance to Pyongyang.
The value of North Korean products shipped to the South reached $932.3 million,
up 21.8 percent from the previous year, thanks mainly to goods made at the
Kaesong Industrial Complex.
The factory park, located just north of the demilitarized zone that separates the
two Koreas, is home to about 100 South Korean companies. It has recently been
thrown into turmoil by unilateral wage and rent demands from North Korea.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, June 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded
3.7 percent in 2008 from a year earlier, due mainly to one-off factors, posting
the first yearly growth in three years, South Korea's central bank estimated
Sunday.
The communist country's GDP, the broadest measure of economic performance,
rebounded into positive territory after posting two years of negative growth, the
Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a report. Its economy shrunk 2.3 percent in 2007,
after declining 1.1 percent the previous year.
In 2008, the South Korean economy grew 2.2 percent. It was the first time in a
decade that the North's economy grew faster than South Korea's GDP.
"North Korea's growth last year came as a favorable climate conditions increased
crop production and foreign countries granted energy aid to Pyongyang. It does
not seem that the North's economic momentum has improved," the central bank said
in the report.
The BOK published the economic growth estimate of the North based on data
provided by the National Intelligence Agency, South Korea's spy agency, and other
institutes specializing in North Korean studies.
The North's agricultural sector expanded 8.2 percent annually in 2008, following
a contraction of 9.4 percent for 2007, according to the BOK.
Due to increasing exports by the North, the gap between the two Korea's economies
narrowed last year.
North Korea's nominal gross national income (GNI) stood at 27.3 trillion won
(US$21.31 billion) in 2008, 2.7 percent of South Korea's GNI of 1,030.6 trillion
won. In 2007, the GNI of the North stood at 2.5 percent of the South, which is
Asia's fourth-largest economy.
Exports by the North climbed 22.8 percent on-year to US$1.13 billion in 2008
while its imports jumped 33.2 percent to $2.69 billion, according to the BOK.
Inter-Korean trade gained 1.2 percent on-year to $1.8 billion, although South
Korean shipments to the North slumped 14 percent to $888.1 million due to a cuts
in government aid and private assistance to Pyongyang.
The value of North Korean products shipped to the South reached $932.3 million,
up 21.8 percent from the previous year, thanks mainly to goods made at the
Kaesong Industrial Complex.
The factory park, located just north of the demilitarized zone that separates the
two Koreas, is home to about 100 South Korean companies. It has recently been
thrown into turmoil by unilateral wage and rent demands from North Korea.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)
