N. Korea-China trade volume increases 4.7 percent: report

China's trade volume with North Korea amounted to US$774 million in the first half of this year, a 4.7 percent increase from the corresponding period a year ago, a Chinese government report said Monday.

China exported goods worth $508 million to North Korea, an increase of 13.5 percent from last year, while its import volume decreased 14.6 percent to $200 million, said a report from China's customs authorities.

The report said China's export volume included 123,000 tons of food worth $25 million, 28 percent of which was part of Beijing's free aid to the impoverished country.

China is the last major ally of North Korea, which has resorted to outside handouts to feed its 23 million people, after its state-controlled economy collapsed in the mid-1990s due to natural disasters and economic mismanagement.

Beijing, July 31 (Yonhap News)