I doubt it, honestly. I don't mean the scientists are evil, not all of them at least, but they will be forced to do work for the regime, or end up in one of tho

I doubt it, honestly. I don't mean the scientists are evil, not all of them at least, but they will be forced to do work for the regime, or end up in one of those camps in the mountains. NK is closer to a Mexican cartel in its structure, than to a typical bureaucracy you're describing here, and they operate on the principle "do the evil to those weaker than you, or you will be subjected to this evil yourself".