How North Korea has profited from its support for Russia

For years, satellite images of North Korea at night showed only a few small patches of light. Electricity shortages meant that even cities remained dark. In the six years since April 2020, however, the illuminated area in the center of Pyongyang has tripled in size.

The information portal NK News sees the increased illumination of the urban area as evidence that the regime has prioritized the supply of electricity to new streets and houses in the center to showcase its achievements.

At the last party congress in 2021, Kim Jong Un , North Korea's leader, announced that he would build 50,000 new apartments in the capital. And he did embark on the plan: in the new neighborhood of Hwasong, for example, with the construction of two 40-story apartment blocks shaped like Hwasong intercontinental ballistic missiles.

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The new high-rise districts are not the only sign of North Korea's improved prosperity. People who have been visiting Pyongyang for a long time report that the city now appears more modern.

There are many imported cars, including electric cars from China , smartphone apps with QR codes to make payments or to call taxis, and department stores that stock Western fashion brands and cosmetics.

The regime has completed construction in Pyongyang of the biggest hospital in the country and a hothouse the size of New York's Central Park. In June 2025, Kim officially opened the five-kilometer-long (3.3 miles) beach resort of Wonsan-Kalma on the east coast, with space for 20,000 guests.

In June, the Wall Street Journal described North Korea as the "world's most unlikely growth story."