Commodity Origins

What does North Korea produce and export?

North Korea ranks in the top ten producers of 3 commodities: silk (#5, 0.6% of world output in 2024), tungsten (#5, 2.4% of world output in 2025), graphite (#8, 0.4% of world output in 2025). It is a top-ten exporter of tungsten (#3, 11% of world export value in 2024), silk (#10, 1.1% of world export value in 2024).

Where north korea is produced, 2024World map shaded by share of north korea production in 2024. Darkest: North Korea 100%. 1 producing countries shown.Fiji: no reported productionTanzania: no reported productionWestern Sahara: no reported productionCanada: no reported productionUnited States: no reported productionKazakhstan: no reported productionUzbekistan: no reported productionPapua New Guinea: no reported productionIndonesia: no reported productionArgentina: no reported productionChile: no reported productionDR Congo: no reported productionSomalia: no reported productionKenya: no reported productionSudan: no reported productionChad: no reported productionHaiti: no reported productionDominican Republic: no reported productionRussia: no reported productionBahamas: no reported productionFalkland Isds (Malvinas): no reported productionNorway: no reported productionGreenland: no reported productionFr. South Antarctic Terr.: no reported productionTimor-Leste: no reported productionSouth Africa: no reported productionLesotho: no reported productionMexico: no reported productionUruguay: no reported productionBrazil: no reported productionBolivia: no reported productionPeru: no reported productionColombia: no reported productionPanama: no reported productionCosta Rica: no reported productionNicaragua: no reported productionHonduras: no reported productionEl Salvador: no reported productionGuatemala: no reported productionBelize: no reported productionVenezuela: no reported productionGuyana: no reported productionSuriname: no reported productionFrance: no reported productionEcuador: no reported productionPuerto Rico: no reported productionJamaica: no reported productionCuba: no reported productionZimbabwe: no reported productionBotswana: no reported productionNamibia: no reported productionSenegal: no reported productionMali: no reported productionMauritania: no reported productionBenin: no reported productionNiger: no reported productionNigeria: no reported productionCameroon: no reported productionTogo: no reported productionGhana: no reported productionIvory Coast: no reported productionGuinea: no reported productionGuinea-Bissau: no reported productionLiberia: no reported productionSierra Leone: no reported productionBurkina Faso: no reported productionCentral African Republic: no reported productionRepublic of the Congo: no reported productionGabon: no reported productionEquatorial Guinea: no reported productionZambia: no reported productionMalawi: no reported productionMozambique: no reported productionEswatini: no reported productionAngola: no reported productionBurundi: no reported productionIsrael: no reported productionLebanon: no reported productionMadagascar: no reported productionPalestine: no reported productionGambia: no reported productionTunisia: no reported productionAlgeria: no reported productionJordan: no reported productionUnited Arab Emirates: no reported productionQatar: no reported productionKuwait: no reported productionIraq: no reported productionOman: no reported productionVanuatu: no reported productionCambodia: no reported productionThailand: no reported productionLaos: no reported productionMyanmar: no reported productionVietnam: no reported productionNorth Korea: 100% (1)South Korea: no reported productionMongolia: no reported productionIndia: no reported productionBangladesh: no reported productionBhutan: no reported productionNepal: no reported productionPakistan: no reported productionAfghanistan: no reported productionTajikistan: no reported productionKyrgyzstan: no reported productionTurkmenistan: no reported productionIran: no reported productionSyria: no reported productionArmenia: no reported productionSweden: no reported productionBelarus: no reported productionUkraine: no reported productionPoland: no reported productionAustria: no reported productionHungary: no reported productionMoldova: no reported productionRomania: no reported productionLithuania: no reported productionLatvia: no reported productionEstonia: no reported productionGermany: no reported productionBulgaria: no reported productionGreece: no reported productionTurkey: no reported productionAlbania: no reported productionCroatia: no reported productionSwitzerland: no reported productionLuxembourg: no reported productionBelgium: no reported productionNetherlands: no reported productionPortugal: no reported productionSpain: no reported productionIreland: no reported productionNew Caledonia: no reported productionSolomon Islands: no reported productionNew Zealand: no reported productionAustralia: no reported productionSri Lanka: no reported productionChina: no reported productionTaiwan: no reported productionItaly: no reported productionDenmark: no reported productionUnited Kingdom: no reported productionIceland: no reported productionAzerbaijan: no reported productionGeorgia: no reported productionPhilippines: no reported productionMalaysia: no reported productionBrunei: no reported productionSlovenia: no reported productionFinland: no reported productionSlovakia: no reported productionCzechia: no reported productionEritrea: no reported productionJapan: no reported productionParaguay: no reported productionYemen: no reported productionSaudi Arabia: no reported productionAntarcticaN. CyprusCyprus: no reported productionMorocco: no reported productionEgypt: no reported productionLibya: no reported productionEthiopia: no reported productionDjibouti: no reported productionSomalilandUganda: no reported productionRwanda: no reported productionBosnia and Herzegovina: no reported productionNorth Macedonia: no reported productionSerbia: no reported productionMontenegro: no reported productionKosovoTrinidad and Tobago: no reported productionSouth Sudan: no reported production<0.5%0.5–1%1–2.5%2.5–5%5–10%10–20%≥20%
Share of world production, 2024. Countries with no reported production are unshaded.

What does North Korea produce?

Commodities where North Korea is a top-ten producer
CommodityWorld rankShare of worldProductionYearSource
Silk Fibres & other raw materials50.6%2,581 t2024FAOSTAT
Tungsten Metals52.4%2,000 t2025USGS MCS
Graphite Metals80.4%8,000 t2025USGS MCS

What does North Korea export?

Top 2 North Korea commodity exports, 2024Bar chart of top 2 North Korea commodity exports in 2024: Tungsten 11%, Silk 1.1%; rest of world 87%.TungstenTungsten: 11%, $31.4 million11%SilkSilk: 1.1%, $4.1 million1.1%Rest of worldRest of world: 87%, $087%
North Korea's largest commodity exports by value. Each bar's share is that commodity's share of world trade in it, not its share of North Korea's own exports — the two are unrelated and shown so a bar near 100% marks a commodity North Korea dominates globally rather than one it merely exports a lot of.
Top 2 North Korea commodity exports in 2024
RankCommodityExport value (US$)Share of world
1Tungsten$31.4 million11%
2Silk$4.1 million1.1%
Rest of world$087%
Commodities where North Korea is a top-ten exporter
CommodityWorld rankShare of world exportsExport valueYear
Tungsten311%$31.4 million2024
Silk101.1%$4.1 million2024

Sources: FAOSTAT (crops and livestock), USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries (minerals), Energy Institute Statistical Review (energy) for production; CEPII BACI for trade. Ranks count only the commodities on this site.

North Korea commodity by commodity

One page for each commodity where North Korea is a top-five producer or exporter with at least 3% of the world total.

North Korea in the pattern reports

What the cross-commodity reports under Patterns say about North Korea, computed from the same data as this page.

How long North Korea's own reserves would last

USGS national reserve figures, rounded. A short national figure usually reflects how little has been proved up, not when mining stops. See country reserve life.

Downloads and citation

This country's rankings as JSON · PDF summary. Cite as: Commodity Origins, "What does North Korea produce and export?", https://commodityorigins.com/countries/PRK/ (CC BY 4.0).

Data updated 22 October 2026.

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