That too. Although, I wonder what the terms of the embargos are, and what north korea has to do on their side to appease the west and allow trade.

Most of the recent-ish embargoes (last few decades) are most directly the US and friends punishing the DPRK's development of nuclear weaponry. This is plainly because the nuclear arms are one of the DPRK's strongest deterrents to US invasion, since it's not as though the DPRK wants to use those weapons or intends to except under the circumstances of being invaded by foreign powers.