Kim's "Glorious Era": How the Ukraine War and a China Reopening Rebuilt the North Korean Economy

When Kim Jong Un opened the Workers' Party Congress in early 2021, he did something almost unheard of for a North Korean leader - he apologized to the assembled delegates for the country's economic state. COVID border closures had crushed trade with China, typhoons had ruined the harvest, and the public health system was on the verge of collapse. Five years on, the tone from Pyongyang is unrecognizable....