If you agree you'd probably love the season of the podcast "Blowback" on North Korea. You are right. I am just only scratching the surface.

I can't recommend that podcast enough. Really great historical materialism wrapped in a very well produced podcast.

North Korea is not an aggressive country invading another country like Japan did. So, I really don't see the comparison you're trying to make. They are a victim of Japanese Imperialism followed by that being replaced with US imperialism after WW2. Primarily used to test the USSR after WW2. Something the US attempted to portray as a threat. Even though the USSR took the vast majority of casualties to defeat the Nazis and were in a mode of recovery similar to Europe at the time.

The restrictions on trade to Korea have failed in the same way they have failed with Cuba. Cuba is a better and more successful example of resistance to US imperialism. I would not say I am a fan of what NK and it's isolation has become over time. But I would not pretend it is a result of anything less than a genocide performed on their population by US bombing campaigns. If you want to understand why NK is the way it is you need not look further than the genocide of its people followed by decades of trade restrictions and isolationist policies enforced by the west.

To pretend that any country's people would not benefit from being able to participate freely in global trade is just wrong. Your talk of drug trade or otherwise is literally pointing to desperation of black markets because of their lack of ability to participate in other trade with most nations. You're pointing to the effect and pretending it's the cause.

If anything, the trade restrictions reinforce the isolationist policies and "lack of liberal ideas of freedom" that most people criticize North Korea for are entirely caused by the reinforcement of their isolation.

I am not an appologist for the rulers of North Korea. I would love to live in a world where I could critize their leadership apart from what I have explained above. But, I cannot, in good faith, pretend that North Korea is anything but the inevitable result of a post WW2 anti USSR western policy of the west. A policy that has outlived is usefulness.

North Korea was the "boogieman" that would get nukes and destroy the world. Well, they have nukes. They are not doing that. If anything, we have learned more in the last few decades that obtaining nukes is a means to ensure the US will not attempt regime change in your nation.

North Korea can and should be given the opportunity to trade freely with other nations and not be a victim of a fear mongering from a red scare era of US imperialism.