... you can see daily photos from space and North Korea is as black as the night. Also nice morning music in Korea, totally normal country.
After so many years after war, there's no excuse for Korea being where they are now.
North Korea's economy was larger than South Korea until the 1970s. They are under extremely heavy sanctions.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2371 bans their export of coal, iron, seafood, and lead for example. This adds to previous bans on export of gold, silver, vanadium, copper, nickel, zinc, etc. Deprived of currency it is hard for North Korea to import products in any significant way. Any natural gas or condensate imports are banned. Oil imports are severely restricted and capped at 500,000 barrels a year.
Their economy's exports and imports are mostly illegal contraband. Their economy is the most sanctioned economy in the world.
You might claim, well, they did not need to do the nuclear tests. But considering what happened to Iraq, Libya, and that the invasion of North Korea was part of the George W Bush's PNAC clique plan prior to 9/11 I think their nuclear weapons development is more than justified.
North Korea's climate is extremely cold and crop failures are extremely common.
US is too vulnerable in its exposure to TSMC. I firmly believe that as long as TSMC is not manufacturing in the US, there is a high risk of US starting a war with China if it invades Taiwan.
China should wait for Taiwan to be emptied and not pose any more threats in order to make any move towards re-annexation of Taiwan.
Once US is satisfied with TSMC producing all it can in the US soil, I doubt US will lift a finger to protect an emptied Taiwan.
Just wait, and Taiwan may actually ask to be re-annexed to mainland.
The secret is letting US empty Taiwan and then just waiting.
The world would switch production from TSMC to Samsung. There would be huge capacity shortfalls for probably 8 years or more as designs had to be switched and new factories built.