The European Union's trade with North Korea nose-dived last year as it significantly toughened sanctions on the North's continued nuclear and missile provocations.
According to data released Friday by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, the trade volume between the EU and the North stood at 17.73 million euros last year, down 26.7 percent from 24.20 million euros the previous year.
The EU exported 12.64 million euros worth of goods to the North and imported 5.09 million euros from it, the data said. The figures represented drops of 32 percent and 9.3 percent on-year, respectively.
Germany, among the EU member nations, was the biggest exporter to the North with 3.86 million euros, trailed by Denmark with 1.96 million euros and France with 1.77 million euros.
On the other hand, the Netherlands was the largest importer with 2.56 million euros, followed by Austria with 824,000 euros and Spain with 458,000 euros, according to the data.
