Dollar value trade between North Korea and China was higher throughout the first ten months of 2016 compared to the previous year, figures from Chinese customs agencies compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) show.

Despite UN sanctions in March designed to limit the flow of the coal – North Korea’s most valuable export – comparison of yearly trade figures indicates that both ingoing and outgoing trade has been mostly business as usual.

“It is mainly due to the ‘livelihood exception’, which covered a wide range of trade items, leaving many holes that the DPRK could