You may not appreciate the thought, but… it seems that you have a bias against North Korea. I don’t think you’d like to be thought of as biased, but there it is.
I see this with people I work with from time to time, who consider themselves (and whom I generally consider, as well) to be pretty enlightened and open-minded, but when talking about construction practices in India explain that “They” just can’t get it (meaning tight tolerances, adherence to international best practices and quality and safety standards).
I mean, I understand that Indian construction practices, quality and safety is generally awful, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t be improved. (“They” built the Taj Mahal, after all!)
In the same way, though North Korea sounds and looks like a hellhole from all of the video and description and narrative from escapees that I’ve ever witnessed, surely it can be improved. Some people want to have a hand in that. I wish them well.