The North Korean government can be rather coy with the outside world when it comes to social problems. It often refuses to even admit that the country is not a perfect socialist paradise — or, at least, a wonderful place to live that is rapidly becoming even better. 

Yet, for all of the talk of wise leadership and progress, it’s quite clear from the complaints of Kim Jong Un himself that this is not a perfect society by any means. Meanwhile, any glimpse we get from major events like the purge of Chang Song Taek indicates that