SEOUL: North Korea's economy grew more than 3 per cent for a third straight year in 2025, South Korea's central bank estimated on Friday (Jul 31), as Pyongyang continues to deepen economic and military ties with Russia. The Bank of Korea (BoK) has published annual estimates of the North's economy since 1991, based on its own intelligence and trade data because Pyongyang does not release official statistics. "The expansion of economic cooperation with Russia was a major driver of North Korea's growth last year," a BoK official told AFP. The BoK estimate came as Ukrainian rights group Truth Hounds claimed Russia and North Korea were close to completing their first road bridge, citing their own investigation. The BoK official said North Korea's gross national income also "received a boost from a sharp rise in foreign currency earnings" linked to the deployment of its troops to Russia.