I saw a NYT article today that just felt the need to link to this image of the DPRK as a means of pointing out the failings of socialist states (in a totally unrelated article, not surprising). I know that they're not providing the context both current and historical for why there is this disparity between the two Koreas, but I lack the knowledge or resources to effectively combat this blatant propaganda.
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I know this photo has been around for a while, and I figured there might already be some myth-busting written somewhere I'm not aware of.
The obvious implication from this photo is:
"Socialism is when No Electricity". 
Hm, my impression in the past is that the DPRK was darker at night due to a combination of the lack of energy in the 90s and it's consequences today and that these "light at night" images are things created by hand and not actually the result of just simply taking a screenshot of earth or whatever.
However, your still is from footage; I watched that footage and yeah in a seemingly real time video captured by a satellite the DPRK still appears largely dark, dwarfed even by fishing boats and small stuff like the Sakhalin islands. Cuba, even, is just as bright as anywhere else.
The only conclusion I can come to is that it's perhaps true and real; I think theorizing about how every frame was doctored in a video to make the DPRK darker is simply a conspiracy. However, Cuba, another socialist country under embargo, has a population of roughly 13 million; while the DPRK has a population of 26m. If Cuba is far brighter while being under similar conditions with half the population, then the darkness may be intentional?
Perhaps there's more strict regulations for light fixtures and energy use as a remnant of the 90s era, perhaps they don't light the roads in the same way, who's to say? I don't remember any billboards in Cuba so it can't just be from a lack of Billboards. It'd make sense if power just isn't being used as efficiently in Cuba; due to the difficulty of getting construction materials in a lot of things are pretty laissez faire over there in regards to standards. Perhaps the same issue doesn't exist in the DPRK and they're able to have better regulations on these things.
In addition, India itself shows how this may not be a useful heuristic; India shines incredibly brightly but living conditions for the vast majority of people are still incredibly impoverished. I'm genuinely not clear in quality of life etc in India, and I know it varies wildly from state to state, but I also know that the class divide is still brutal there no matter how much light is leaking into space.