North Korean Trade Data: Chemical Industry Insights

This article examines trade-data analysis as an indicator of North Korea’s industrial chemical capacity over the past decade. Specifically, the article’s case study assesses available North Korean mirrored chemical trade data from January 2015 to December 2024. This analysis indicates that, although imperfect, the data can still offer insights into the country’s chemical industry. Such insights indicate a consistent dependence on chemical imports, possible contraction of the chemical industry over the past decade, and dual-use capacity for producing CWC scheduled chemicals.