“People’s Paradise” – No Crisis: North Korea’s Economy Booming

It is the “sacred mission and duty of our generation” to “reliably defend our ideology and social system” and “build a paradise for the people,” Kim said in a belligerent tone on Friday, according to North Korea’s KCNA news agency.

Economically, things are likely to improve at least in the country, which is one of the world’s poorest economies. As the South Korean central bank announced in its annual forecast on Friday, North Korea’s gross domestic product rose 3.1 percent last year. North Korea’s GDP had previously shrunk for three years in a row amid the coronavirus pandemic and tough UN sanctions.

Benefits for the construction industry
The North Korean economy recorded the largest increases in manufacturing (5.9 percent) and construction (8.1 percent) in 2023. North Korea’s foreign trade grew to $2.77 billion last year, up 74.6 percent from 2022, according to estimates from South Korea’s central bank. North Korea’s largest trading partner by far is the People’s Republic of China, followed by Russia.

China and Russia are the main trading partners
Russian President Vladimir Putin last visited the North Korean capital Pyongyang in June, where he promised closer cooperation in talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Both the US and South Korea accuse the North Korean regime of supporting Russia in the war in Ukraine with arms supplies. North Korea is said to have supplied Russia with artillery ammunition and missiles, among other things.

Since the North Korean government does not publish reliable data on gross domestic product, estimates published by the South Korean central bank since 1991 are generally used as an indicator of the economic development of the hermetically sealed neighbor. The estimates are based on intelligence sources and data from the Ministry of Unification in Seoul.