North Korea's Kim funds Pyongyang boom with Russia war profits

For decades, North Korea's capital Pyongyang appeared almost dark in nighttime satellite images, its cityscape dimly lit due to chronic electricity shortages. But since April 2020, the illuminated area in the city centre has more than doubled and brightness has tripled, according to the monitoring platform NK News — a tangible sign of a transformation underway in the hermit state's showcase capital.

War dividends reshaping the city

Analysts attribute much of the change to substantial revenue flowing to Pyongyang from North Korea's military cooperation with Russia. Kim Jong Un has supplied Moscow with artillery shells, ballistic missiles, and reportedly soldiers to support its war in Ukraine — arrangements that appear to have generated significant hard currency for the regime. The Wall Street Journal described it as the country's "greatest economic success story," while long-term visitors have noted streets lined with Chinese-made electric cars, QR-code payment apps, taxi-hailing services, and department stores stocking Western fashion and cosmetic brands.

New skyline, new resorts

Kim had pledged in 2021 to build 50,000 new apartments in the capital, and construction has continued at pace. The new Hwasong district features 40-storey residential towers shaped to resemble the intercontinental ballistic missiles of the same name. On the east coast, Kim opened the Wonsan-Kalma beach resort in June 2025 — a five-kilometre stretch with capacity for 20,000 visitors. The capital also saw the completion of its largest hospital and a greenhouse complex the size of New York's Central Park.

The benefits remain concentrated, however. Outside the capital, poverty and food insecurity persist for most of the 26 million population, and the state's nuclear and missile programmes continue to consume a vast share of national resources.