Where this was said
Xi Jinping Visits North Korea Amid Surprising Economic Boom
At 46:47 · chapter starts 41:58
Chinese President Xi Jinping made his first trip to Pyongyang in seven years, with the summit shrouded in secrecy. But the run-up coverage is full of revelations: recent visitors to North Korea describe landing to find Chinese electric vehicles everywhere, rideshare apps, new restaurants including pizza joints, and a general buzz of economic activity. Satellite imagery from both The Times and the Wall Street Journal shows Pyongyang is three times brighter at night than five years ago, with full parking lots and active oil facilities. The Wall Street Journal and a South Korean think tank identify the driver: North Korean arms sales to Russia generating more than $10 billion from late 2023 through 2025, alongside deploying 16,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian forces — a third of whom were killed or wounded [1] — Tommy Vietor "Visitors to Pyongyang are reporting Chinese electric vehicles, rideshare apps, and pizza restaurants. Satellite imagery shows the capital i…" 41:20 . Kim has also profited from state-backed cryptocurrency theft and hacking. Tommy acknowledges that if ordinary North Koreans have more food, that's genuinely good, but notes that repression has intensified — Kim is executing people for distributing South Korean TV shows — and the economic benefits are heavily concentrated in Pyongyang.
Satellite imagery shows Pyongyang is three times brighter at night than it was five years ago, reflecting significant economic growth.
A South Korean think tank found that North Korean arms sales to Russia generated more than $10 billion from late 2023 through 2025, against a GDP of only ~$27 billion.
North Korea deployed 16,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian forces, with a third reportedly killed or wounded.
Kim Jong Un is believed to have at least 50 assembled nuclear warheads, components for nearly 100 more, and the capacity to build a dozen or more per year.
North Korea is thriving despite years of US sanctions. Ben Rhodes argues this is the inevitable result of America over-sanctioning so many countries that they've created an entirely parallel trade system — trading in crypto, bartering, and evading the dollar — effectively nullifying US financial pressure.
