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Economics

North Korea's Economy Shrinks by Most Since 1990s Famine

  • Sanctions drive plunge in exports, the heart of economy
  • Gross domestic product shrinks 4.1%, Bank of Korea says
Commuters ride a bus past the portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, on Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang.

Commuters ride a bus past the portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, on Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang.

Photographer: Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images

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North Korea’s economy shrank last year by the most since the peak of its 1990s famine, as international sanctions make it harder for Kim Jong Un to feed his people while developing nuclear weapons.

Gross domestic product contracted 4.1% in 2018, according to estimates from South Korea’s central bank. This marks the worst performance since 1997 when a series of droughts, floods and botched economic policies caused a deadly famine. GDP shrank 3.5% in 2017.