The south was not a sovereign country, they were being ruled by a US installed dictator who was killing many of his own people (look up the Jeju Uprising for one example). I'm not talking about living in North Korea today, I'm talking about the Korean War and the history of US aggression and the influences that has. North Korea was objectively more free and prosperous than South Korea until the fall of the Soviet Union. You have to remember that after Syngman Rhee was overthrown South Korea was ruled by a military junta until the 80s.