Meanwhile, little is changing for the people of North Korea. Aid groups say malnutrition is still rampant in the countryside where citizens lack access to safe water and sanitation.

According to Human Rights Watch, hundreds of thousands of people remain enslaved in prison camps which are "notorious for horrific living conditions and abuse." The rights group also claims that on taking power Kim's new government gave shoot-on-sight orders to border guards to stop citizens fleeing to China.