Money for missiles: Crypto heists pay for North Korea’s nukes

North Korea’s parade of 11 intercontinental ballistic missiles through the streets of Pyongyang this week put on display a force that analysts say is capable of overwhelming the systems the U.S. military has put up to defend the homeland.

But the progress made by North Korean armorers raises an economic question in addition to the strategic one: How is the world’s richest country vulnerable to an impoverished state with an isolated, backward economy that ranks 135th in the world in national wealth?

Political will is clearly one answer. Regime head...