Answer:
Lack of political freedom and significant economic inequalities in the population. North Korea suffers economic and political sanctions by the international community, contrubuting to de delay of the country's socio-economic development.
Explanation:
North Korea has an extremely closed and centralized economy because its economic system fits within the old soviet model. The economy is fully controlled by the government. The industrial sector is inefficient due mainly to low investments and lack of competition. The country also faces serious problems in the agricultural sector, finding shortages of various types of food. The country's infrastructure is underdeveloped, as it also has no investments. As there is wage control in the country, much of the population has low incomes (by the standards of developed capitalist countries) and the like. Therefore, there are no significant economic inequalities in the population. The country has little commercial contact with other nations, as it is not inserted in the globalized market. The North Korean government allocates much of the funds raised in military investments (nuclear weapons).
The first ballistic missile tests took place in 2006. In response, the United Nations imposed several economic sanctions on the country in an attempt to stop its nuclear program from advancing (see sanctions here). But they were not enough: new ballistic tests were done during the Jong-Il regime in 2009.
If the history of isolationism and totalitarianism will lead North Korea into a conflict of world proportions, only the future can tell. But the actions of North Korea, which stands in defiance against the United States, put the international community on alert. There is the fear of a nuclear conflict, the consequences of which would be immeasurable. The opacity of the nuclear program and the lack of general information about the country and its government increase the picture of uncertainty.
