Financial Times: Trade cooperation between Russia and North Korea is expanding

North Korea and Russia are deepening their economic ties, reports the "Financial Times", quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio.

Trade cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is expanding and provides the two regimes with a new tool to counter Western pressure, the publication writes, giving the example of North Korean apples already appearing on the shelves of Russian supermarkets.

Economic cooperation between Russia and North Korea goes beyond Pyongyang's military support for Russia's war in Ukraine. In recent months, North Korean fishing boats have been en masse entering the waters off the Russian Far East, and North Korean producers of jams, sausages, beer and even musical instruments have registered trademarks with the Russian Federal Intellectual Property Service.

Russia is building a $100 million bridge along its land border with North Korea. It is also preparing to rebuild a roughly 10,000-kilometer railway between Moscow and Pyongyang.

According to analysts, a partnership with Russia could have a truly transformative effect on North Korea’s economy, particularly through the revival of mining and agriculture. According to a recent report by South Korean military intelligence, Pyongyang has supplied Russia with 12 million rounds of ammunition since October and is likely to send more troops this summer. In return, Kim Jong-un's regime has received billions of dollars in cash transfers, in-kind payments, and technology transfers.

According to the head of the Korea program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, money and technology from Russia are likely accelerating the progress of North Korea's military program.