North Korea’s imports of medicine and rice from China jumped in October to their highest levels since the COVID-19 pandemic began, customs data shows.

According to China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), North Korea’s pharmaceutical imports from China were worth nearly $10 million in October, more than double the previous month’s figure. Unspecified “mixed or unmixed” medicines and amoxicillin, an antibiotic commonly used to treat pneumonia, made up more than half of the total, records show. 

The country also imported over 18,000 tons (16.45 million kilograms) of whole or semi-milled rice worth