The US and North Korea have been enemies for many decades. Both countries fought against each other in the Korean War, and have had huge ideological differences for a long time. The regime of Kim Jong-un is among the strictest on the planet. The Asian country hasn't undergone the changes that China did under Deng Xiaoping, and none of the North Korean political leaders have tried to emulate the Chinese economic miracle that took place in the last decades -- an economic miracle based on international trade, foreign investment, free enterprise, and other key elements of the market economy.
North Korea has lost a lot, and become the "Jurassic Park" of Communism, while South Korea built a wonderful relationship with the US and has become one of the economic giants in Asia.
South Korea has surpassed North Korea
The Japanese occupied the Korean Peninsula a long time ago and they developed the industrial production mainly in the north. Even after the Korean War, the north was more developed. It wasn't until the 70s that South Korea surpassed the North Korean regime in economic and industrial development. Since then, the gap between both countries has grown exponentially, thus, South Korea has evolved and its become a democracy, while North Korea has become a Communist monarchy. The per capita income of South Korea was almost $38,000 in 2016 if we use international prices, a respected level of development.
The per capita income of North Korea was just $1,700 a few years ago, thus, the gap between both countries is more than 20 to 1. The per capita income of the Communist country is less than that of Ethiopia.
North Korea has to increase trade with the world
Today, South Korea is one of the booming economies on the planet. Companies such as Samsung, Hyundai, Daewoo, and others are respected worldwide.
They have been able to conquer global markets with innovation and competitive prices. South Korea exported more than $500 billion in goods in 2016 (close to 25% more than the United Kingdom). On the other hand, North Korea has about half of the population of its southern neighbor, and only exported a little more than $4 billion.
North Korea has to open their doors to McDonald's, Samsung, GE, and other companies in order to increase their exports. They also need to improve technology, overall services, and more. This country needs a leader like Deng Xiaoping, who faced reality and began an economic revolution in China in the 1970s.
