Here's another myth about North Korea: The country is frequently described as "the world's last Stalinist state."
This is no longer the case. The North is now home to a large and growing private economy. Its existence is not officially recognized, but the regime has largely chosen not to enforce the Stalinist regulations banning almost all private economic activities. The resulting gray economy has clearly played a central role in the modest economic expansion of the last decade.
Though these changes have prompted a partial economic recovery — largely eliminating outright starvation — they have also had dangerous side effects. Left unchecked, they've encouraged corruption and levels of income inequality that are high even by Asian standards. In fashionable restaurants, crooked officials and Pyongyang's nouveau riche now splurge on $50 dinners — about as much as the average rural family makes in a month.