North Korea ramps up Chinese medical equipment imports amid healthcare modernization push
North Korea is importing a growing volume of Chinese medical equipment as authorities push to modernize healthcare facilities nationwide, with demand for pharmaceutical packaging machinery also rising alongside a parallel drive to expand domestic drug production. A source in North Pyongan province t
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North Korea is importing a growing volume of Chinese medical equipment as authorities push to modernize healthcare facilities nationwide, with demand for pharmaceutical packaging machinery also rising alongside a parallel drive to expand domestic drug production.
A source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK that hospitals and clinics across the province have been seeking Chinese medical equipment in increasing numbers, with shipments arriving steadily through the Dandong-Sinuiju trade corridor. “Large hospitals have demand for specialized equipment such as ultrasound diagnostic machines, X-ray devices, and electrocardiograph recorders,” the source said. “Smaller clinics have steady demand for simpler devices like blood pressure monitors.”
Some of the procurement, however, appears driven less by practical need than by a desire to make facilities look well-equipped. Sources note that a number of the imported devices are of limited use given the actual operating conditions and maintenance capacity of North Korean medical facilities.
Packaging upgrade draws positive response
At the same time, North Korean authorities have been encouraging hospitals to manufacture their own traditional Korean medicines for use as on-hand remedies, in addition to pharmaceutical factories already doing so. This has generated rising demand for drug packaging equipment at the hospital level, and imports of such machinery have followed.
As a result, some hospitals have moved away from manual packaging methods using paper bags, glass bottles, and plastic wrap, and have begun using packaging machines to produce liquid extracts, pills, and powders in more standardized form. The change has drawn a positive response from North Korean people. “The medicine itself hasn’t changed much from before, but people’s reactions are different now that the packaging looks better,” the source said. “That is clearly having some effect on the growing interest in and demand for medicine packaging machines.”
The broader driver behind rising imports of medical equipment and pharmaceutical machinery is the government’s healthcare modernization policy. Under leader Kim Jong Un’s “Local Development 20×10 Policy,” a program launched in 2024 that aims to build modern industrial and service facilities in 20 counties per year over 10 years, authorities have expanded the initiative’s scope to include three categories of priority construction: grain management facilities, general service centers, and county and city hospitals. The inclusion of hospitals reflects recognition of the deteriorated state of healthcare infrastructure outside major cities.
A March 2026 report by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, a South Korean state-affiliated research body, found that North Korea’s imports from China reached $2.294 billion in 2025, up 25.2% from the previous year and recovering to 95.8% of pre-COVID levels. Among the 30 product categories showing the largest import growth, the report identified medical diagnostic equipment, oxygen respirators, and massage devices. The report attributed the rise in medical equipment imports in part to the expanded scope of the Local Development 20×10 Policy, which has driven simultaneous demand for machinery, construction materials, and medical devices.
With healthcare modernization and domestic drug production expansion both continuing as policy priorities, imports of related equipment are expected to keep growing.
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