A conflicting mix of signs is painting a muddy picture of the North Korean economy, raising questions about whether it is actually experiencing boom or bust.

On the one hand, the construction sector had been going gangbusters, with the country’s leadership confidently ordering massive construction of housing and some 20 new industrial facilities a year. The country’s hackers and coders are busy stealing record-breaking sums of cryptocurrency and getting paid large sums to work under aliases or false pretenses for U.S. firms. DPRK soldiers have also been dispatched in their thousands to aid Russia’s