i don't know why ppl say north Korea is the worst when theres at least 20more contenders for that spot.
north koreans arent killing each other for food and oil, society has basic order, schools, hospitals and markets are functional, etc. they are merely a poor, authoritarian country, but still a country.
on the other hand you have places like Somalia, Haiti, Nigeria, Myanmar, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, etc. where it is pretty much anarchy, the only law is the law of the jungle, gangs terrorize the civilian population, schools, hospitals, police and other civil services nonexistent, people are literally being sold as property, and the government can barely control it's own capital. market mechanisms, whether socialist or capitalist, do not function because there is no authority to enforce contracts and goods distribution.
Maybe your friend has just been to Pyongyang. Outsiders are not allowed to venture outside Pyongyang. Even if they do, it will be under state's control & state's supervision. You are only allowed to see what the state wants you to see. You are not allowed to wander on your own. Everything looks happy & bubbly in Pyongyang, 'cause only elites & those close to the regime live there.
my friend from the northeast has been to Dandong and Shinuju on the other side. it's like China in the 80s. not that bad, compared to one of my friends who was an engineer in Africa. the big difference is that society functions in north Korea.