That’s not entirely accurate, although the general sentiment is correct. The RoK was able to develop a moderate industrial capacity during the reign of Park Chung-hee, which played a fundamental role in the rise of the RoK to being a local power. And while American investment certainly did not hurt, the industrial policies of the Park era were genuinely cleverly implemented as far as capitalist development goes. That, of course, does not contradict that the DPRK enjoyed far greater development and wealth (especially since it was more equitably distributed) than its sister state, but the RoK was not quite the basket case you make it out to be.

But yeah, most of the DPRK’s modern problems stem from the economic isolation following the dissolution of the USSR and the triple whammy of floods and droughts in the late nineties paired with the Bush admin’s torpedoing of the sunshine policy. The multipolar world that the US and its goons are forcing into existence, however, seems to be opening up trade opportunities for the DPRK with the BRICS-aligned countries at least.