North Korea’s New Boom: How Russia’s War Is Funding It

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), one of the world’s most isolated and impoverished states, has emerged as an unexpected economic winner from Russia’s war against Ukraine.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Kim regime has used the conflict to monetize what it has in abundance – weapons, ammunition and manpower – in exchange for technology, materials and foreign currency.

After shutting its borders during the Covid-19 pandemic, North Korea has since reopened to “only a select few outsiders, including Russian and Western travelers and diplomats.”

At the core of this newly founded growth lies Pyongyang’s deepening military support for Moscow. North Korea has sent more than 15,000 troops to the Russian front lines, with roughly one-third killed or wounded. It has also supplied ammunition and other arms that South Korean analysts say have earned the regime billions of dollars.

Those arms sales and deployments have helped secure energy and construction materials, allowing Kim Jong Un to launch a nationwide building boom and expand energy supplies despite UN sanctions.

According to The Wall Street Journal report, North Korea’s economy grew nearly 4% in 2024 – the fastest pace in eight years, and it has only continued to grow, with satellite imagery showing the country three times brighter during the night than it was five years ago, especially around industrial regions.

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The new economic growth has reshaped daily life, especially in Pyongyang. The capital has implemented QR-code payments, is using Chinese electric vehicles, and has opened pet stores and gaming cafes. 

It has been reported that last year, North Korea built about 10,000 new homes in its capital city, with Kim Jong Un saying, “everything has fundamentally changed.”

Russia’s war has indirectly fueled North Korea’s digital economy as well. Many of its cyber operatives are now based in China, where they can easily hack cryptocurrency exchanges, and in turn generate additional billions of dollars that complement the wartime arms trade.

This flow of funds is showing up in an expanding network of state workshops, pharmacies, and factories, which are creating more jobs and giving North Korean citizens access to a broader range of goods than they previously had.

For the US and its allies, this is a stark contrast – the sanctions meant to punish Russia have instead helped North Korea’s economic growth, making the usual Western deal of sanctions relief for nuclear concessions less valuable for Pyongyang.