In the Korean War, the US Air Force dropped more bombs on the area of the DPRK than it did in the entire Pacific theatre of World War II. The loss of North Koreans in lives was close to the proportion of Soviet citizens killed in World War II. In the reconstruction followed the war, the DPRK produced incomparable economic growth reaching annual 39% between 1953 and 1960. This was the result of the sacrifice of North Koreans as well as of the generous economic and technological help provided by "friendly" socialist countries – the Soviet Union, China and the GDR.
Original article is Charles Armstrong: The Destruction and Reconstruction of North Korea, 1950 – 1960 The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus.