N. Korea's economy entering recovery phase amid closer ties with Russia, China: Seoul

▲ Unification Minister Chung Dong-young (L) speaks during a session of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on April 15, 2026. (Yonhap)

N Korea-economy

N. Korea's economy entering recovery phase amid closer ties with Russia, China: Seoul

SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's economy has entered a recovery phase thanks to closer relations with Russia and China, overcoming a period of recession, the unification ministry in Seoul said Wednesday.

The ministry made the assessment in its five-year plan for inter-Korean relations, covering 2026 to 2030, submitted to the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.

The ministry said North Korea has "formed and is maintaining cooperative ties" similar to an alliance with Russia, including in high-tech weapons and technology transfers while seeking a practical recovery in relations with China, a trend that is putting the national economy on a recovery path.

North Korea, in particular, is seeking to boost its "strategic autonomy" and "negotiating power" by leveraging the growing Sino-U.S. rivalry while boosting diplomacy with countries in traditional friendship with the regime, the ministry said.

The blueprint for inter-Korean relations is drafted every five years, but the latest fifth edition was drawn up after the previous five-year plan, adopted under ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was shelved after three years of implementation.

The plan outlines as its core principles the institutionalization of the Lee Jae Myung administration's policy to seek "peaceful coexistence" with North Korea, the laying of a foundation for mutual growth, and the pursuit of a Korean Peninsula free of war and nuclear weapons.

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