North Korea's foreign trade almost halved last year, likely due to UN sanctions against the communist country.

According to a report by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency(KOTRA) on Friday, North Korea's exports plunged 86 percent on-year to 240 million dollars in 2018, while imports slipped 31 percent to two-point-six billion dollars. 

The North thus recorded a trade deficit of two-point-36 billion dollars in 2018, up 17-and-a-half percent from a year earlier. 

KOTRA said that the North's international trade came to two-point-84 billion dollars last year, down 48-point-eight percent from a year earlier. 

A KOTRA official said it's the first time the figure has dropped below three billion dollars since Kim Jong-un rose to power, suggesting UN sanctions are strongly impacting North Korean trade.