Voice of America (VOA) reports the trade volume between the United States and North Korea increased sharply in February from the same month a year earlier. 
 
Citing the U.S. Department of Commerce, VOA said Washington-Pyongyang trade tallied one-point-two million U.S. dollars in February, up nearly 20-fold from 62 thousand dollars a year earlier. 

The U.S. did not import any North Korean goods or services last year, and most of the U.S. exports to the North were related to humanitarian assistance. One-point-13 million U.S. dollars, or 95 percent of the trade, was listed as the supplies by private organizations for aid or charity. The U.S. did not provide any humanitarian aid to the North in January. 
 
Aside from the aid, the U.S. in February exported 51 thousand dollars worth of poultry, such as chickens or ducks, eight thousand dollars of shoes, and six-thousand dollars of plastic industrial products. 

The U.S. government has to receive approval from the State Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security when it exports to North Korea, a procedure required by a United Nations Security Council resolution. The export of luxury goods or weapons to the North is prohibited.