Chinese exports to North Korea rose to near pre-sanctions levels in August, figures from China’s customs agency show, though the exact makeup of the trade remains unclear.

Beijing stopped releasing detailed breakdowns of its trade after March this year, a likely consequence of the ongoing trade dispute with Washington, but China’s General Administration of Customs still publishes monthly, overall trade figures divided by country.

The most recently available figures for August show that Chinese exports to North Korea topped USD$200 million, similar to levels seen prior to the implementation of the UN’s