Tobacco-related goods took up the lion’s share of North Korean imports in June, Chinese customs data shows, outstripping goods like rubber and chemicals as Pyongyang continues to restrict trade due to the pandemic. 

According to China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), the total value of tobacco, cigarette paper and filter tips exported to the DPRK in June amounted to some $3.8 million, more than 30% of the $12.3 million worth of goods that China officially exported to the country.

The fact that a commodity like tobacco led all exports speaks to the small total volume of