North Korea spends war windfall on arms, infrastructure

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is spending the money that his troops have earned fighting in Ukraine to fund a long wish list of projects that were previously beyond his financial reach.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service estimated in May that Pyongyang received a minimum of $7.7 billion (€6.6 billion) in financial aid and economic value from Russia in the preceding three years for committing men and materiel to Moscow's war against Ukraine — and potentially as much as $14 billion.

That is a significant amount given that the North's GDP for 2024 stood at $26.6 billion.

Kim's support for Russia has been lucrative, and a slew of reports are now identifying where that money is being spent.

A portion of the funds is being put aside for the Regional Development 20x10 Policy, unveiled in January 2024 and which aims to construct modern industrial facilities in 20 regional cities per year for the next 10 years to improve living standards outside Pyongyang.

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More civil programs are being designed, observers say, although most appear to be earmarked for the "elites" who reside in Pyongyang.

"Before the alliance with Russia, the general infrastructure was poor due to a mixture of economic mismanagement and sanctions," said Martyn Williams, senior fellow for the Korea program at the Stimson Center in Washington DC.