Inter-Korean trade contracts for 12th month in August

SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- Inter-Korean trade declined for the 12th straight
month in August, affected mainly by strained relations between Seoul and
Pyongyang in the wake of the communist country's nuclear test, customs data
showed Thursday.
According to the Korea Customs Service, trade between South and North Korea
amounted to around US$136.62 million in August, down 16 percent from the same
month a year earlier. This marked a 12th month of contraction since September
last year.
Shipments to the North totaled $53.81 million, while those from the country came
to $82.80 million, the data showed.
The trade decline was attributed mostly to strained inter-Korean relations after
the North pushed ahead with its second nuclear test in May in defiance of
warnings by the international community.
Experts, however, speculated that trade volume could rebound in the months to
come amid improving cross-border relations, after the North recently promised to
ease up on inter-Korean business restrictions imposed unilaterally late last year
and hold a reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
The two Koreas remain technically at war after the war ended in a truce.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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