Apples imported from North Korea have begun appearing on the shelves of Russian supermarkets.
According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the Financial Times.
It is noted that North Korean fishing boats have entered the waters off the Far Eastern coast of Russia in recent months, and North Korean manufacturers of products ranging from jam and sausages to beer and accordions have registered trademarks with the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property.
Such steps indicate a deepening of cooperation between the two countries, which was previously limited to the military sector.
Andrei Lankov, Professor of Korean Studies at Kookmin University in Seoul, said, “Having previously downplayed the extent of their military co-operation, the two countries now want the world to know that their relationship is being built to last”.
It is noted that North Korea’s economy is heavily dependent on the production of coal, concrete, and industrial plastics.
The country stays afloat thanks to food, fuel, and fertilizers from neighboring China, its largest trading partner.
More recently, the DPRK regime also received hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars through sophisticated hacking attacks on crypto wallets.
According to Peter Ward, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute think tank in South Korea, Moscow’s patronage could have a truly transformative impact on North Korea’s economy by reviving the country’s mining and agricultural sectors.
“Even modest investments in rural infrastructure could bring real benefits for swaths of the North Korean population,” he added.
As reported by Ukrinform, Russia and North Korea are launching direct passenger flights between their capitals. The Russian airline Nordwind has started selling tickets for flights on the Moscow-Pyongyang-Moscow route, the first of which will depart from the Russian capital on July 27.
