but the businessman behind this Singapore-based

restaurant has made history in North Korea.

He opened the country's first fast food restaurant

in Pyongyang back in 2008.

But who would want to do business with North Korea?

It's not as unpopular as you think.

At least 80 countries traded with North Korea last year.

North Korea continues to be hit by U.N. and

American sanctions, but that hasn't

stopped its economic growth.

In fact, its economy grew at its fastest pace

in nearly two decades last year,

with its GDP expanding 3.9 percent,

surpassing its neighbor South Korea.

North Korea's top trading partners vary

depending on which source you look at,

but no matter how you slice the data,

North Korea's most important ally is China.

The Chinese border town of Dandong is separated

from North Korea by just half a mile.

At least 80 percent of North Korea's trade is with China,

and two-thirds of that trade reportedly goes through

this single-laned bridge connecting the two countries.

Coal is North Korea's largest export

and last year, China bought $1.2 billion worth of it.

The Chinese also have a huge appetite for its seafood,

which is perceived to be cleaner and tastier.

In the first half of this year alone,

the Chinese bought almost

$100 million worth of seafood.

China has been putting more pressure on its neighbor.

It suspended coal imports and banned banks

from providing financial services to North Korea.

In September, Chinese sanctions began to bite.

Chinese imports of coal were down more than 70 percent,

while its exports of petrol fell by almost 100 percent.

Sino-Korean ties seem to be cooling.

When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

sent Lunar New Year greetings this year,

the first card didn't go to Chinese leaders,

but instead to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia and North Korea go way back.

The Soviet Union made up half of North Korean trade

for almost thirty years, until it collapsed in the 1990s.

But Russia is ramping up its involvement.

It announced in 2015 that it wants to increase trade

with North Korea ten-fold to a billion dollars by 2020.

But they aren't quite there yet.

Bilateral trade between the two countries

decreased from 2013 to 2016.

But in the first quarter of this year,

Russia's trade with North Korea more than doubled

to $31.4 million year-on-year.

President Vladimir Putin recently said Russia exports

40,000 tons of oil to North Korea a quarter.

So that's about 160,000 tons a year.

That's a fraction compared to China,

but also more than four times what

the U.N. estimated for Russia in 2015.

But it's not just limited to trade.

Siberia faces persistent labor shortages.

Enter North Korean labor.

The U.S. State Department estimates that around

20,000 North Koreans are sent to Russia

to work for Russian companies,

making an estimated $170 million for the regime.

It's estimated that more than 50,000 North Korean

workers are employed in foreign countries,

mostly in Russia and China,

but also in countries like Qatar, Malaysia and Poland.

North Korea is estimated to make

$1.2 and $2.3 billion annually from exported labor.

North Korea is big on defense,

so maybe it's no surprise that

it sells weapons to a vast global network.

Sources estimate that North Korea made $300 million

in arms sales in 2015,

and its list of clients is large and varied.

The U.N. intercepted two North Korean arms shipments

to the Syrian government this year,

as well as 30,000 grenades to Egypt.

Other North Korean customers include Iran and Yemen.

Another important piece of the

North Korean money-making machine is Africa.

Goods traded with North Korea across Africa

amount to more than $100 million annually.

The U.N. is investigating seven African countries

for possible violations of its sanctions on North Korea,

ranging from military training to weapons sales.

In the midst of a lot of this activity seems to be

North Korean-owned enterprise

Mansudae Overseas Projects,

which is behind several huge

construction projects across Africa,

building everything from ammunition factories

to apartment blocks to giant statues.

The U.N. estimates that tens of millions are

being made by Mansudae in Africa.

It's clear that North Korea

is eager to drum up new business.

It even published a new guide

on its investment and business environment.

But as geopolitical tension grows and more

countries suspend trade with the Communist state,

North Korea's business ambitions may have to stay put.

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