North Korea's economy expanded modestly in 2011, after contracting in the previous two years, helped by strong agriculture production and construction activity, an official report by South Korea's central bank said Monday.

The economy grew by 0.8 percent last year, recovering from the 0.5 percent contraction in 2010, and a 0.9 percent fall seen in the preceding year, the Bank of Korea said.

The report said that production in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector grew 5.3 percent during the year, reversing 2010's 2.1 percent contraction, helped by favorable weather conditions and increased input of fertilizer.

At the same time, the construction industry posted a 3.9 percent annual growth last year, contributing to the overall improvement. The service sector expanded 0.3 percent.

North Korea's gross national income (GNP) was 32.4 trillion won in 2011, while the GNP per capita came in at 1.334 million won, the report said.

RTTNews