Inter-Korean trade falls for 11th month in July

SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Yonhap) -- Inter-Korean trade declined for an 11th month in July amid heightened tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang in the wake of the communist country's nuclear test, data showed Wednesday.

According to the data by the Korea Customs Service, trade between South and North
Korea amounted to around US$140 million in July, down 22 percent from the same
month a year earlier. This marked an 11th straight month of annual contraction
since September last year.
Exports to the North totaled $64.72 million, while imports from the country came
to $75.26 million, the data showed. In particular, imports from the North were
mostly textiles and fishery products.
The trade decline is attributed mostly to strained inter-Korean relations and
heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula after the North pushed ahead with its
second nuclear test in May in defiance of warnings by the international
community.
The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) adopted resolutions imposing sanctions after
North Korea conducted long-range missile tests in April and its second nuclear
test in May. The resolutions call for financial sanctions and an overall arms
embargo and allow member countries to inspect North Korean ships suspected of
carrying weapons of mass destruction.
Experts, however, hope that trade could rebound in months to come as the mood is
expected to improve after a recent agreement between Hyundai Group chairwoman
Hyun Jeong-eun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to resume joint ventures
between the two Koreas.