North Korean imports of Chinese tobacco products in 2018 rose to the highest levels seen since 2001 — prior to which no data is available — with imports also remaining elevated throughout the first five months of 2019.

Data from China’s customs agency collated by the ITC Trade Map shows the surging Chinese exports, with shipments from other countries in 2018 apparently static.

According to a more detailed breakdown of the figures, North Korea’s imports consist of “manufactured tobacco,” cigarettes, containing tobacco,” and “unmanufactured tobacco.”

Overall, the DPRK import in 2018 was more than double the previous year