seoul july 28 reuters  north koreas economy shrank for a third consecutive year in 2022 as covid19 restrictions and un sanctions continued to weigh on economic activity in the isolated authoritarian state according to estimates by the souths central bank foreign trade posted a record rebound however after drying up during the pandemic and indicating a loosening of border controls china is by far the countrys main trading partner gross domestic product gdp contracted 02 in real terms in 2022 the bank of korea bok said on friday after a 01 fall in 2021 and the prior years 45 plunge  the worst since 1997 the boks estimates are considered among the most reliable indicators of economic activity in the north which does not publish official data foreign trade increased led by intermediate goods such as textile products and internal virus controls eased a little but the impact from economic sanctions and border closures continued while weather conditions worsened a bok official told a briefing the data showed that industrial output fell 13 while output from agriculture forestry and fisheries dropped 21 the services sector however rose 10 the biggest gain in eight years the industrial agricultural and services sectors accounted for 305 231 and 334 of the economy in 2022 respectively the norths trade volume rebounded by a record 1223 to 159 billion after plunging 174 and 735 in 2021 and 2020 respectively the figure however was still only about half of the 325 billion in 2019 before the pandemic it was due to resumption of trade with china which accounted for 967 of total trade while strict border controls eased a little also contributing to growth in the transportation and services sectors the official said north korea officially declared victory over the pandemic in august 2022 three months after its first acknowledged covid19 outbreak and after shutting off most contact with the rest of the world north koreas nominal gross national income in 2022 was estimated to be 143 million won 1116 per capita equivalent to just 34 of the souths 4249 million won the bok has been publishing its estimates of the north korean economy since 1991 based on information from various sources including intelligence and foreign trading agencies and data from the souths unification ministry 1  12818600 won