North Korean Economy Suffered Sharpest Drop In 2 Decades, South Says
Not since 1997 has the country's gross domestic product shrunk at such a large rate in a single year, according to a report by the Bank of Korea. And the bank says sanctions are responsible.
Not since a deadly famine was ravaging North Korea in 1997 has the country seen its economy contract at such a large rate as it did last year. After a couple of years of growth, the country's estimated gross domestic product went reeling in the other direction in 2017, shrinking 3.5 percent, according to South Korea's central bank.
The Bank of Korea detailed the stark figures in a. In the absence of reliable public information from Pyongyang, the Seoul-based bank is widely considered the region's most knowledgeable source on the economic status of its northern neighbor — and bank leaders say the North's nuclear ambitions and the international penalties that have resulted have done a number on that economic well-being.
