North Korea became a "paranoid hermit kingdom" because of the imperialist threat and sanctions, not by choice. when the surroundings are extremely hostile, the system is forced to respond for survival. USSR also had to respond to NATO military threat by spending much of its energy on military buildup, surveillance and spycraft, not because killing and oppression is germane to communism. "facts" lose all meanings without being understood in their context. but of course, according to famous "post-structuralist" Derrida and "post-modernist" Foucault, there's no such a thing as the context, and "facts" speak for themselves. their heirs fed neoliberalism and gave birth to its identity politics. and the rest is history.
North Korea became a "paranoid hermit kingdom" because of the imperialist threat and sanctions, not by choice. when the surroundings are extremely hostile, the system is forced to respond for survival. USSR also had to respond to NATO military threat by spending much of its energy on military buildup, surveillance and spycraft, not because killing and oppression is germane to communism. "facts" lose all meanings without being understood in their context. but of course, according to famous "post-structuralist" Derrida and "post-modernist" Foucault, there's no such a thing as the context, and "facts" speak for themselves. their heirs fed neoliberalism and gave birth to its identity politics. and the rest is history.