(MENAFN) Driven by a weakening mutual relationship between the two neighboring countries, North Korea's trade with China slumped almost 15 percent throughout the previous year.
The joint trade volume touched USD4.9 billion over the 11 months to November, down 14.8 percent from USD5.76 billion posted in 2014, marking the first double-digit on-year fall since 2000.
The once strong allies' political relations have become stressed since 2013, partly because of the North's defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons and a series of purges of pro-Chinese officials in North Korea.
"The chilly relationship between Pyongyang and Beijing and a slowdown in the Chinese economy seemed to affect North Korea's sluggish trade with China," stated a top Chinese economist.
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