Take on the Putin visit to North Korea

Putin's arrival in North Korea has got the entire world on edge as the two countries forge ties while both face increased tensions from the West. What shocked me is not that these two countries would meet, Kim went on an armored train to Russia recently, but that North Korea has anything at all to offer. Everything you heard is that North Korea is a backwards country with limited infrastructure and no real economy. People starve, the country has no lights when compared to South Korea in satellite photos but somehow you can get 50,000,000 rounds of munition from them.
Something doesn't add up, you are either completely poor and dependent on whatever foreign aid is allowed to drop in, or you are a manufacturing center which is ready to pounce.