There is the theory, that a "bad" actor has quite a bit to gain from being the "worst" actor, since the worst actor is in a natural leadership role for all bad

There is the theory, that a "bad" actor has quite a bit to gain from being the "worst" actor, since the worst actor is in a natural leadership role for all bad actors. (Were "bad" and "worst" can be read as "opposed to western interests" if you prefer less loaded terms.) In a similar fashion, the North Korean elite has quite a bit to gain from having a nightmarish dystopia, since they are at the top of that nightmare, and the thing is, they set the foreign policy. So it is by no means a given that NK has a fundamental interest in better international relations, and on the other hand western governments are not immune to internal pressure. That is, if a US or western government would try to bribe NK into a strategy change, then the opposition would claim that the government "does not stand up to a bully."