China's exports to North Korea sharply increased this year despite strong global sanctions against Pyongyang.

Citing data from China's General Administration of Customs, Japan's Sankei Shimbun daily reported on Sunday that China's shipments to North Korea came to two-point-28 billion U.S. dollars during the first eight months of the year, up 25-point-three percent year-on-year.

North Korea's exports to China shrank 13-point-five percent during the cited period to one-point-33 billion U.S. dollars, due to China's import ban on North Korean coal products in February.

However, the overall trade volume between the two allies jumped seven-and-a-half percent on-year during the January-August period.

[Photo : ]