BEIJING - China's exports to North Korea rose again last month, after bilateral trade data for May doused hopes among traders that more than a year of border closures linked to the COVID-19 pandemic could soon ease.

Chinese shipments to North Korea rose to $12.32 million in June, higher than the six-month average and up significantly from May's reading of $2.71 million, data from China's customs agency showed on Sunday.

Early last year, the reclusive country banned almost all cross-border travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic and some countries including Britain, France and Germany withdrew their local representatives.

North Korea had been recently ramping up purchases of fertilisers and pesticides from its largest trading partner China, official data showed.

China imported $1.82 million of North Korean goods in June compared with $749,000 million in May, latest data showed.

(Reporting by Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo Editing by Shri Navaratnam) ((yifan.qiu@thomsonreuters.com; 86-10-66271289;))