But those numbers are meaningless. Occam's razor and all that.

I used to be a DPRK "hater".

Then I actually read about DPRK's history as well as its actual, present-day geopolitical standing. It was an eye-opener. It is amazing what they have achieved after what has been and is being done to them. Their perseverance is inspiring.

That's not to say it doesn't have its internal problems and there are plenty of areas where the state could do better. But no country is perfect. And the DPRK is definitely an overall better place than some exploited countries in Africa where after a series of coups and civil wars between war lords (some funded by the US) they ended up with some parody of liberalism and a country friendly to US interests, recipient of IMF loans, victim of "restructuring", etc.

Libs laugh at how the DPRK is distrustful of the West. "They don't even watch hypersexualised violent films that teach you how to fetishise the capitalist lifestyle." They've fucking fought off the tentacles of American "culture" that has poisoned nearly every human mind connected to the internet. Kudos to them.

But the best part about DPRK existing is how it makes people make absolute fools of themselves by believing and repeating the most ridiculous propaganda imaginable. Like the defectors who are trained and told what to say. People eat those lies up.

Some lie on their own, like Yeonmi Park. She figured out that the more ridiculous her claims the more popular she gets. Listen to this shit. There's people who believe what she's saying. It's absolutely insane.