In a recent interview on GB News, the United Kingdom’s Business and Trade Secretary, Peter Kyle, outlined efforts to strike trade deals to boost economic growth. In a brief slip, he included the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea before correcting himself to South Korea. That gaffe, however fleeting, exposed a deeper, more damning reality. Despite loud claims of ironclad sanctions, the United Kingdom continues to funnel low-key economic support to one of the world’s most dangerous regimes. Britain quietly bankrolls the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Official British government data released on March 26, 2026, lays the truth bare. Total trade in goods and services between the two countries reached £40 million in the four quarters ending September 2025. United Kingdom exports to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea stood at £28 million. Imports totaled £12 million.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ranks as the United Kingdom’s 184th largest trading partner, yet it still receives this steady flow of British cash and services. Goods exports, while small, persist. Rubber products and basic machinery form the bulk. Foreign direct investment stock from the United Kingdom in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea stood at £1 million at the end of 2024. Evidently, this data is not zero and they represent real economic oxygen for Pyongyang.

Humanitarian and development assistance, once dismissed as ancient........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)