Completely agreed- the people there (just like the people in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.) are the same as the people everywhere (albeit exploited and starving).
The DPRK government, however, is not too far off from how our media describes it.
I will say that I'm not entirely comfortable with the volume of suggestions of mental illness as a way to discredit the DPRK leadership. I'm not suggesting that they're not in the wrong, but it really, really rubs me the wrong way, for the same way that suggesting the citizens of the DPRK are all branwashed monsters.
Mmh, perhaps we were thinking of different "mainstream media". "Mental illness" is not the term I would use to describe DPRK leadership, just like I wouldn't use it to describe the 3rd reich's, or Mugabe's. I don't even care about justifying it- the facts speak for themselves about what they do, and it's certainly criminal.
As for the people, I absolutely do not believe they are brainwashed monsters- merely that they do not have a choice, and get by as they can. For the ones in the higher levels (i.e. living in Pyongyang), it means doing whatever they can to stay in the favors of those in power and not get executed (remember what happened to the soccer coach when they got disqualified during the world cup?). For the vast majority of the rest, living in the almost-exclusively rural North Korean countryside, it means starving to death and not getting killed by the local military.
I'm speaking of the tendacy to say "Oh man those crazy North Koreans, what wacky thing are they doing today?" The portrayal is one of total irrationality, with no way to figure out what the underlying motivations are.
Can you cite somewhere the mainstream media actually suggests the citizens of the DPRK are brainwashed monsters? I've never seen anything close to that.
The DPRK government, however, is not too far off from how our media describes it.