[Gunner]

It's not reasonable to compare East Germany with North Korea - EG was surrounded by Western Europe and the internal indoctrination was diluted at best. They were ready for life outside the wall. The people of North Korea are generations removed from contact with the outside world and have only lifetimes of internal indoctrination to serve them. They're more like Soviet Albania than East Germany - closed, extremely xenophobic, and know only that South Korea, Japan, the US etc. are mortal enemies seeking their destruction.

I think you could open the DMZ like a freeway and most North Koreans would huddle in terror. It's going to take a generation of conditioning to bring them into full partnership with the world - and that's after you figure out how to topple a government that has total control of a people that would fear anything but that control.