A group of government officials participate in a group exercises on the first official "sports day" of the new year at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, Jan. 12, 2020. AP

North Korea's economy grew 1.8 percent year-on-year in 2019, with growth expected to continue in the next few years despite international sanctions, according to a U.N. report.

The North's estimated gross domestic product (GDP) marked its first increase in three years after backtracking 4.2 percent and 3.5 percent in 2018 and 2017, respectively, the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development's World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020 stated, Thursday

The report forecast the growth trend to continue at 2.2 percent this year and 2.8 percent next year, though it did not elaborate further on its estimates.

North Korea's average GDP growth between 1997 and 2011 stood at 0.8 percent.