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Bruh222 Yeah, the USSR kept trying until it became untenable anymore. But keep in mind it wasn't only economic models driving the USSR. It was essentially a Russocentric Empire, and the Russian's wanted very much to keep it together. Some of the nation's folded into the USSR were wealthier to begin with, and never wanted to join in the first place. It was practically a military occupation in some regions. That's why Soviet experiments with greater liberty failed. Giving more liberty to the people would have resulted in dissolving the USSR, which it eventually did, and Russia embraced a more free market style afterward.
Possibly similar with North Korea. Economy is not the only force at play, there is also the brutal military regime of the Kim family ruling with an iron fist. Additionally, much of NK has indeed remained poor because of this. The Kim's aren't increasing the nation's wealth, they are hoarding it for themselves, their cronies, and the military. The famine wracked villages in NK aren't ready for a more free market because they are still operating in a subsistence economy. They are struggling to live, they don't have time to engage in a complex marketplace when they need food and basic necessities immediately, all their effort goes toward those. NK is communist in name, but in practice it is feudal.
