Apples, sausages, and workers: North Korea and Russia deepen economic ties
Kyiv • UNN
North Korea and Russia are deepening economic ties, as evidenced by the appearance of North Korean goods on the Russian market. Experts believe this could have a transformative impact on the DPRK's economy.
North Korean apples have started appearing on the shelves of Russian supermarkets, and exporters from the DPRK plan to enter the Russian market. This was reported by FT, writes UNN.
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It is noted that North Korean fishing boats have entered the waters off Russia's Far Eastern coast in recent months, and North Korean producers of products, from jam and sausages to beer and accordions, have registered trademarks with Russia's Federal Service for Intellectual Property.
Such steps indicate a deepening cooperation between the two countries, which was previously limited to the military sphere.
Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Kookmin University in Seoul, said that "previously, these two countries downplayed the extent of their military cooperation, but now they want the world to know that their relationship is being built with a long-term perspective."
It is noted that North Korea's economy largely depends on the production of coal, concrete, and industrial plastic.
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The country stays afloat thanks to food, fuel, and fertilizers from neighboring China, its largest trading partner.
More recently, the DPRK regime has also received hundreds of millions of US dollars through sophisticated hacking attacks on crypto wallets.
According to Peter Ward, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute think tank in South Korea, Moscow's patronage could have a "truly transformative" impact on North Korea's economy, reviving the country's mining and agricultural sectors.
"Even modest investments in rural infrastructure can bring real benefits to broad segments of the North Korean population," he added.