Cafes, water parks, luxury malls, ski resorts, and pet shops. North Korea, one of the most isolated and repressive countries in the world, is undergoing an unexpected explosion of fun and consumption.
Behind the new image, however, lies a carefully controlled strategy by Kim Jong Un. The North Korean leader is trying to persuade citizens who have accumulated money to spend it in state-run shops and recreation centers.
An analysis by Reuters, based on trade data, information published by state media, and discussions with people who have recently visited the country and with North Koreans who have fled to the South, shows the extent of the change.
Over the past decade, North Korean imports of massage devices from China have increased by 40 times, and treadmill imports by over 600%. The country now receives pianos, watches, carousels, roller coasters, water slides, and even electric cars for amusement parks.
Between January 2025 and July 2026 alone, North Korea imported over three tons of electric cars from China, worth over $20,000.
Cappuccino, Rolex, and Foie Gras Burgers
The change is especially visible in Pyongyang, where affluent residents can enjoy cappuccinos and buy appliances in luxurious shopping centers.
In Ryugyong Golden Plaza, a mall opened in 2023, logos of brands like Rolex, Omega, Herbelin, and Huawei can be seen, according to images verified by Reuters. Rolex and Huawei did not comment, while Omega and Herbelin stated they do not have official distributors in North Korea.
A new district in the capital includes a game room, a car dealership, and a restaurant serving salmon belly and foie gras burgers. In April, Kim Jong Un visited a new pet shop with his daughter, Kim Ju Ae.
The offerings are not limited to Pyongyang. The coastal resort at Wonsan Kalma, opened in the summer of 2025, reportedly welcomed over 300,000 North Korean visitors in the second half of the year, according to the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang.
Five luxury hotels were opened in December in Samjiyon, near the border with China, and a new ski resort is being built in the area. Water parks, saunas, pools, game rooms, and sports centers have appeared in the northeast of the country.
Kim is also building regional complexes with libraries, cinemas, and restaurants. At least twenty-four are completed or in progress, according to state media.
A Middle Class with Money, but Few Options
The new consumption policy aims not only to offer North Koreans more ways to spend their leisure time.
Ruediger Frank, a professor specializing in East Asian economics and society at the University of Vienna, estimates that there is a middle class of about eight million people in North Korea who have saved money but have few opportunities to spend it.
Part of the population has become wealthier from trading in markets tolerated by the regime, which emerged after the famines of the 1990s when the state could no longer provide basic goods. Subsequent attempts to close these markets failed as the authorities did not have their own network capable of replacing them.
Through malls, restaurants, and recreation centers, the regime is now building a state commercial infrastructure that can compete with private markets and, over time, weaken them.
Money spent on entertainment no longer goes into the informal economy but into networks monitored by authorities. At the same time, consumption reduces the dissatisfaction of those with savings and prevents the use of money for massive purchases of essential products such as rice, which could lead to price increases.
"The strategy shifts production, distribution, and capital flows concentrated in markets into an official economic space managed by the state," explains Kang Seong-hyeon, a researcher at the Hyundai Research Institute in Seoul.
Phone Payments Tracked by the State
North Koreans can make purchases through mobile applications similar to the Chinese Alipay system. Rowan Beard, co-founder of the Young Pioneer Tours agency, who visited Pyongyang in May, says that app payments are used "everywhere" and for almost every available product.
However, the system gives the regime a new way to track the population's expenses. In 2023, Pyongyang passed a law requiring all banks and stores to accept electronic payments.
Not all North Koreans trust these tools. Many still prefer cash to prevent authorities from tracking their transactions.
Money from Cryptocurrency Thefts and Russia's War
Pyongyang's new push in entertainment is supported by revenues from cryptocurrency thefts, sending North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine, and exports of coal and other minerals, according to South Korean researchers cited by Reuters.
The United States and cybersecurity experts have repeatedly attributed cryptocurrency thefts to groups supported by Pyongyang.
The National Security Strategy Institute, a state-funded research center in South Korea, estimates that Pyongyang has earned up to $14.4 billion from its involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine from August 2023 to December 2025.
All of this is happening despite international sanctions targeting luxury goods, energy, and mineral trade. North Korea's economy grew by 3.5% in 2025, the third consecutive year of growth over 3%, according to the Bank of Korea.
A stronger economy reduces pressure on Kim Jong Un to lift sanctions and gives him fewer reasons to resume nuclear negotiations with the United States, analysts believe.
Not Everyone Can Afford the Fun
The new consumer lifestyle remains inaccessible to a large part of the population. Yang Il-cheol, who worked as a driver in Pyongyang before fleeing to South Korea last year, says people like him could not afford the new restaurants and recreation centers.
The gap between the privileged capital and the rest of the country remains huge. Malls, resorts, and cafes may present an image of a wealthier North Korea, but they do not change the repressive nature of the regime or the poverty in which many citizens live.
For now, the strategy seems to be working: it offers those with money something to do, stimulates consumption, and brings a larger part of the economy under state surveillance.
"Consumption buys time. It doesn't buy loyalty forever," says Professor Ruediger Frank.
G.P.