Friends of mine have been to North Korea, one of them to teach for a quarter at PUST (so not as a tourist). By their telling, even with a constant military guar

Friends of mine have been to North Korea, one of them to teach for a quarter at PUST (so not as a tourist). By their telling, even with a constant military guard, it is about as poor as we've been told. Of course, my friend did not see slave labor or criminal camps, but then flying to Moscow wouldn't let you tour gulags either. Some Americans do "tour" the North Korean prison system, just like with the Soviet one back in the day, and their experiences seem similar. Seems unlikely that they eat children, though, and I'm not sure I've heard anything about priest burnings their, though of course religion is mostly banned. This is of course a personal take and using sources you don't have access to—so use however much salt you feel necessary—but it seems that most assessments of life inside North Korea by international organizations are pretty on-the-mark.