THE SIGHTof North Korea’s chubby leader, Kim Jong Un, shaking handswith Vladimir Putinon September 13th—having travelled by train to a spaceport in Russia’s far east to discuss selling its dictator a stash of North Korean weapons—was remarkable both on its own terms and for what it said about the business of selling arms. The world’s five biggest arms-sellers (America, Russia, France, China and Germany) account for more than three-quarters of exports. But up-and-coming weapons producers are giving the old guard a run for their money. They are making the most of opportunities created by shifting geopolitics. And they are benefiting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Young guns”
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