Trade volume between South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the first half of this year jumped 51.3 percent compared to the same period a year earlier, showed the data released by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) Wednesday.
The trade volume rose to 980 million U.S. dollars, as South Korea's exports to the DPRK soared 63 percent to 430 million dollars during the first half of the year while the DPRK's exports to South Korea climbed 43 percent to 550 million dollars, according to the state-run KITA.
Despite icy inter-Korean relations following Pyongyang's alleged torpedo attack on a South Korean warship in March, robust exchanges at their joint industrial park played a key role in an unlikely surge in trade, KITA said. Exchanges at the industrial complex, located in the border town of Kaesong, jumped a whopping 96 percent year-on-year.
Seoul suspended nearly all exchanges with its northern neighbor in late May in response to the sinking of its warship, which killed 46 sailors, but trade in the January-June period was not dealt a significant blow by Seoul's punitive measures, according to the KITA.
The trade volume rose to 980 million U.S. dollars, as South Korea's exports to the DPRK soared 63 percent to 430 million dollars during the first half of the year while the DPRK's exports to South Korea climbed 43 percent to 550 million dollars, according to the state-run KITA.
Despite icy inter-Korean relations following Pyongyang's alleged torpedo attack on a South Korean warship in March, robust exchanges at their joint industrial park played a key role in an unlikely surge in trade, KITA said. Exchanges at the industrial complex, located in the border town of Kaesong, jumped a whopping 96 percent year-on-year.
Seoul suspended nearly all exchanges with its northern neighbor in late May in response to the sinking of its warship, which killed 46 sailors, but trade in the January-June period was not dealt a significant blow by Seoul's punitive measures, according to the KITA.
