North Korean shipping operations have returned to pre-pandemic lows as of early April after months of cargo vessels idling at sea last year, according to NK Pro analysis of ship tracking data.

Both North Korean-flagged and foreign-flagged ships appeared to have engaged in trade, with 20 ships in total detected making active voyages between March 29 and April 13 on the Automatic Identification System — a tool used to help ships avoid collisions.

North Korean shipping activity started to pick up in February of this year after a slowdown that coincided with waves of COVID-19-related travel restrictions in