North and South Korea have shared an uneasy peace sine the adoption of a cease fire agreement in the 1950s. The tension between the two nations was kept alive during the Cold War by Super Powers with their own agendas.  For the past fifty-five years, people on both sides of the DMZ have suffered because of the separation of families and the constant threat of a resumption of hostilities.
In the north, the "Great Leader" developed the communist party and its accompanying military might through the uniquely Juche Philosophy, which has driven the nation further and further into isolation over the years.
Today, collective and personal hope are only to be found in the possibility of receiving help from the now deceased leader.

The collapse of the communist system in the former Soviet Union suddenly left North Korea standing alone.  This lack of support was made worse by years of economic inactivity and a strictly-regulated system, so that eventually, North Korea was unable to meet the most basic needs of its own people.