South Korea - North Korea trade dwindles by 40%

Trade volume between South Korea and North Korea in the first half of the year has dwindled by almost 40% to $559.1 million against the same period last year, the South Korean Statistics Service said in a report on Friday. According to its data, the figure stood at $930 million in January-June 2012. Seoul explains this bilateral trade reduction mainly by the cessation of work of the Kaesong Industrial Complex. It was closed in early April due to a sharp deterioration of relations between the two countries after North Korea carried out a nuclear test. While in January the bilateral trade volume amounted to $180.6 million, by the end of April, when the Kaesong complex was closed, this figure fell to $22 million. Last week, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to resume the work of the industrial park, which will contribute to the improvement of inter-Korean relations, analysts believe.