North Korea isn't as isolationist as people think. It has both imports and exports. I recall reading that it has a chain of eateries in china that send back r

North Korea isn't as isolationist as people think. It has both imports and exports. I recall reading that it has a chain of eateries in china that send back revenues to it. What it keeps out is culture. Totalitarianism is easier then you think. You need a powerful state security apparatus, and then you make people it's victims, and it's instruments. So neighbors inform on neighbors, children on parents. You purge any people who publicly disagree with the state in the name of security, and even if people privately disagree, they won't do anything.