North Korean imports of Chinese-made flours hit an all-time high in January, according to figures from Beijing’s General Administration of Customs.

The DPRK spent over USD$13 million on the agricultural products over the 30-day period, the figures show, nearly double the previous month’s total and the highest figure since the Chinese data became available in the late nineties.

The single monthly figure also represented approximately 40 percent of the North’s total spending on the same food category for the whole of 2017.

The imports come on the heels of higher spending last