The latest United Nations sanctions are expected to cut North Korea's foreign currency revenue from exports by approximately US$250 million a year, the foreign ministry here forecast Saturday.
"North Korea is projected to suffer an export loss of about $250 million due to the newest U.N. sanctions resolution. The amount accounts for about 10 percent of its annual exports," said a ranking ministry official.
"On the import side, the North is expected to sustain a reduction of some $1.2 billion, or about 30 percent of its annual imports," said the official.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously passed toughened sanctions against North Korea on Friday (New York time), condemning its latest test of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Nov. 29.
Resolution 2397 additionally bans U.N. member states from importing North Korean food, agricultural products, machinery, electrical equipment, minerals, earth and rocks, lumber and ships.
The anticipated decline in Pyongyang's imports came as U.N. members are prohibited from exporting industrial machinery, vehicles and steel and other metals to the North.
The official, however, noted that "the North's expected trade losses are just estimated figures. Depending on statistics methods, the disparity could be wider."
Referring to the new resolution's call for a further reduction of 500,000 barrels in petroleum supply for North Korea, the official expected a reduction of 90 percent in the annual supply volume.
The official also paid attention to the planned expulsion of overseas North Korean workers from U.N. member states within 24 months.
He predicted that the expulsion, if enforced thoroughly, will slash the North's foreign currency revenues by $200 million to $500 million a year.
Thus, the anticipated export loss and suspension of overseas labor dispatch are expected to cut Pyongyang's foreign currency income by $450 million to $750 million annually, the official forecast.