North Korea may be small, poor, and terribly mismanaged, but it is an industrialized nation state. In terms of purchasing power parity, it has roughly the same

North Korea may be small, poor, and terribly mismanaged, but it is an industrialized nation state. In terms of purchasing power parity, it has roughly the same GDP (accounting for inflation) as Vichy France in 1943. While that's not something to brag about in 2023, it's certainly enough to produce munitions at scale. North Korea's extreme economic woes started only in the late 80s and early 90s as its benefactor and only significant trading partner, the Soviet Union, collapsed, and then it was hit by numerous rounds of intense international sanctions. Prior to this, North Korea built up a powerful artillery force and the industrial capacity to support it, and it has since sacrificed the well being of its populace to maintain that military capability. Indeed for producing cold war era soviet shells, North Korea might well have the most industrial capacity ready to go of any nation.