China’s officially reported exports of refined petroleum products to North Korea plummeted in the first three months of the year, according to new data published this week by the UN and analyzed by NK Pro.

The numbers — the lowest recorded since the UN began limiting Pyongyang’s oil imports in late 2017 — are the latest sign that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted normal trade patterns in the DPRK and may be affecting at least parts of the country’s economy.

In January — the same month that North Korea began shutting down its borders while the