North Korea leans on China and Russia to drive 3% economic growth
Pyongyang expands weapons production capacity for Russian exports despite sanctions
YOSUKE ONCHI and KOHEI FUJIMURA
November 3, 2026 03:28 JST
SEOUL/DALIAN, China -- North Korea has maintained strong economic growth despite United Nations sanctions, supported by supply chains that bring in goods and energy from China and Russia, while producing weapons for a Russian military struggling with shortages.
The New Yalu River Bridge connecting China and North Korea, which opened in October, could become a major artery for bilateral trade.
On Oct. 24, after visiting Dandong in China's Liaoning province, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stopped on the bridge to pose for a photo with Wang Huning, China's fourth-ranking leader and chairman of a top political advisory body.
Another major bridge linking North Korea with Russia opened in September. Both bridges are expected to play key roles in expanding the flow of goods among the three countries that underpins the North Korean economy.
North Korea's real gross domestic product grew 3.5% in 2025, according to estimates released by the Bank of Korea in July. The country has recorded growth in the 3% range for three consecutive years since 2023.
A new bridge linking North Korea and China was opened in mid-October. © Kyodo
That pace exceeds the level seen before the U.N. Security Council imposed sweeping economic sanctions, including trade restrictions, a decade ago.
North Korea's weapons exports to Russia began in earnest in 2023. The Institute for National Security Strategy, affiliated with South Korea's National Intelligence Service, estimates that North Korea supplied Russia with $7 billion to $13.8 billion worth of weapons, including artillery shells and missiles, by 2025.
North Korea's manufacturing sector expanded 6.6% in 2025, according to the South Korean central bank. The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported in June that Kim visited a munitions factory and praised it for fulfilling its first-half production targets ahead of schedule. He also ordered missile production capacity to be increased two and a half times.
Imports from China have steadily risen as ties between the two countries improve. Trade between the countries totaled about $2.2 billion in January-September, up 19% on the year and the highest level since sanctions began to bite in 2018, according to China's General Administration of Customs. Chinese exports to North Korea rose 12%.
The trading of weapons-related materials that can be used in ballistic missiles and other military applications is banned under the sanctions. While China says it complies with the restrictions, many loopholes remain in the form of civilian goods that can be diverted for military use.
Citing Chinese trade data, U.S. government-funded broadcaster Voice of America reported that China exported about $280,000 worth of 32 sanctioned items to North Korea between January and August.
Energy is flowing into North Korea from both China and Russia. The volume of refined petroleum products secured by North Korea from the two countries in 2025 exceeded the sanctions cap by more than sevenfold, according to a report from South Korea's National Intelligence Service.
North Korea also appears to have expanded its means of raising funds into cyberspace. The FBI said on Saturday that a North Korean hacker group was involved in the theft of about $6.3 billion worth of assets from Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
Living standards for some North Koreans appear to be on the rise. Visitors to Pyongyang say that more residents are using imported luxury vehicles, including Japanese cars, for private transportation.
Since September, a number of large grilled meat restaurants have opened in provincial cities across the country, according to Rodong Sinmun, the ruling Workers' Party newspaper. The Korea Institute for National Unification, a South Korean government-funded think tank, analyzed that a class with purchasing power is emerging in areas outside the capital.
