North Korea's economy contracted sharply last year due to tighter global sanctions and a severe drought. 

According to data by the South's Bank of Korea on Friday, North Korea's gross domestic product(GDP) is estimated to have shrunk three-point-five percent in 2017 from the previous year. 

It marks the worst performance since 1997 when GDP growth posted minus six-and-a-half percent.

In comparison, South Korea's economy grew by more than three percent last year. 

The North Korean economy shifted to positive growth in 2011 but the growth rate has hovered around one percent through 2014.

Also last year, the volume of inter-Korean trade plunged about 100 percent following the shutdown of the joint Gaeseong Industrial Complex in 2016.

[Photo : KBS News]