Bloomberg Economics: DPRK Earned Up to $22B in Foreign Revenue Since 2022, Nearly 4x Prior Period

A Bloomberg Economics analysis of trade data and intelligence estimated North Korea earned as much as $22 billion in foreign revenue between 2022 and 2025 — nearly four times the haul of the preceding four years, and Kim Jong-un's largest windfall in his 15 years in power. The report attributes the surge chiefly to arms and troop transfers to Russia: DPRK supplied up to 50% of Russia's 122mm/152mm artillery shell needs and earned an estimated $2,000/month per soldier for the 16,000–22,000 troops deployed to support Moscow, plus cryptocurrency theft (DPRK-linked hackers accounted for over 70% of global crypto theft, per the analysis) laundered through Chinese networks. The windfall coincides with a third consecutive year of DPRK GDP growth (3.5% in 2025 per Bank of Korea estimates), record China trade, a Pyongyang residential construction boom, and the rollout of mobile food-delivery and ride-hailing apps. Bloomberg assessed the funds have financed a nuclear buildup putting DPRK's arsenal on a trajectory to rival France's.