Key facts
- North Korea maintained strong economic growth despite UN sanctions, supported by supply chains from China and Russia, per the report.
- North Korea produced weapons for the Russian military while expanding its production capacity for exports to Russia, per the report.
- North Korea's economy grew about 3.1% in 2023 and 3.7% in 2024, per South Korea's Korea Development Institute.
- Arms exports to Russia were estimated at $10 billion since 2023, per the report, without naming the estimator.
- North Korea has not released official economic statistics since the 1960s, leaving outside estimates as the main source.
North Korea maintained strong economic growth despite United Nations sanctions, helped by supply chains that bring in goods and energy from China and Russia while producing weapons for the Russian military, according to a report by Nikkei Asia dated November 3, 2026. The report did not state the source of its information on the weapons production or how it was learned.
North Korea has not released official national economic statistics since the 1960s, so estimates come from outside sources such as South Korea's Korea Development Institute. That institute estimated North Korea's economy grew about 3.1% in 2023 and about 3.7% in 2024, the report said. It did not provide a figure for 2025 or a projection for 2026.
The report also said North Korea's arms exports to Russia were estimated at $10 billion since 2023, without naming who made that estimate. A rural construction program was said to be building homes in 20 counties each year, with over 113,000 homes completed so far, the report said. It did not give a precise total for the program.