SEOUL: North Korea’s economy grew more than 3 per cent for a third straight year in 2025, South Korea’s central bank estimated on Friday (Jul 31), as Pyongyang continues to deepen economic and military ties with Russia.
The Bank of Korea (BoK) has published annual estimates of the North’s economy since 1991, based on its own intelligence and trade data because Pyongyang does not release official statistics.
The isolated North’s real gross domestic product expanded 3.5 per cent to 38.26 trillion won (US$26.7 billion) last year, the Bank of Korea said in its report.
Pyongyang has deepened economic and military ties with Russia, supplying troops and munitions for Moscow’s war in Ukraine in exchange for financial support, food, energy and military technology, analysts say.
“The expansion of economic cooperation with Russia was a major driver of North Korea’s growth last year,” a BoK official told AFP.
Higher weapons exports to Russia boosted related manufacturing, while more Russian tourists and expanded transport links lifted construction and services, she added.
More than 7,000 North Korean troops were killed or wounded while fighting alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region during the 2024-2025 campaign, the Kyiv Independent quoted Ukraine’s military intelligence agency as saying.
The BoK said North Korea’s exports rose 30 per cent last year to US$470 million, driven by “prepared feathers and wigs”, as well as unspecified toys and sporting goods.
The BoK estimate came as Ukrainian rights group Truth Hounds claimed Russia and North Korea were close to completing their first road bridge, citing their own investigation.
The bridge could become “a direct artery for moving North Korean troops, construction brigades and military officials into Russia, with Russian technology and resources flowing in the opposite direction”, the group said in its report.
The BoK official said North Korea’s gross national income also “received a boost from a sharp rise in foreign currency earnings” linked to the deployment of its troops to Russia.
GNI – the total income earned by all residents – rose 9.4 per cent to 48.5 trillion won (US$33.8 billion) last year. That amounts to less than 2 per cent of South Korea’s, according to the BoK report.
