Kim Jong Un says economy is on 'upturn' as Russian ties deepen

SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong Un said North Korea’s economy is on a “clear upturn” as his state claimed a successful test of a new tactical ballistic missile that could be sent to Russia in exchange for aid to help his regime.

During a major meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim said the country’s “political and economic potentials are rapidly growing stronger,” the official Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday. The four-day meeting wrapped up in Pyongyang a day earlier as North Korea shot off two suspected ballistic missiles, in the second such weapons test in less than a week.

“We can sense a clear upturn in the economic situation in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year,” Kim was quoted as saying in the KCNA report.

Key industrial sectors, including metal, chemical and power, have met their monthly and quarterly goals without major deviations and the country will see 20 new production bases by the end of the year, Kim said, without providing any context on the actual size of the sectors.

North Korea’s economy, estimated by South Korea’s central bank to have been about $24.5 billion in 2022, had been on a downward slide due to global sanctions to punish Pyongyang for its pursuit of nuclear weapons and Kim’s decision to close borders at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — which slammed the breaks on the little trade it had.

But after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than two years ago, the United States and several of its partners have accused Kim of sending millions of rounds of munitions and scores of ballistic missiles to President Vladimir Putin to help with his grinding war.

In return, Putin has provided Kim with commodities and food to stabilize the country’s economy, and possibly technology to increase the threat his military poses to the region, Seoul and Washington have said. The aid could be providing the biggest jolt to North Korea’s economy since Kim took power about a dozen years ago.

North Korea’s state media said Monday’s missile launches involved a new tactical ballistic missile that can carry a 4.5 ton-class super-large warhead. South Korea’s military said one of the missiles could have had trouble in flight as it disappeared from radar after flying about 120 kilometers (75 miles).

“The second missile that demonstrated an abnormal flight yesterday appears to have landed in a field with no civilian houses,” Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson, Lee Sung-jun, told a regular briefing in Seoul on Tuesday. “It’s extremely rare to conduct a test launch inland, so saying it was a success is likely a lie,” Lee added.

North Korea has at times made dubious claims about successes in weapons tests.

The warhead was fired on a Hwasong-11 family missile, a wide class of short-range ballistic missile that Kyiv, the U.S. and others have accused Kim of sending to Russia. Pyongyang and Moscow have denied charges of arms transfers despite ample evidence showing them taking place.

Kim has conducted numerous tests of the same family of short-range ballistic missile since he went to Russia in September for a summit with Putin. South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik said the tests may be a show for the Russian leader for possible weapons sales.

Last month, Putin made his first trip to North Korea in 24 years where Kim pledged unconditional support for Russia’s military actions in Ukraine. The two leaders also signed a deal where the countries would come to each other’s aid if attacked.