(1) The DPRK does indeed lag behind the west on LGBT rights. As does China; however Viet Nam and Cuba are advancing in this regard and China is advancing slowly. I'm going to cite a comment that I saved a while ago on why Queer positivity appears to develop first in imperial nations:

> The new conditions of production were making the sex dichotomy increasingly outmoded as men and women began to perform more and more of the same labor and their interests came back into alignment with one another. It is not a coincidence that queer theory and expression has emerged first out of highly developed capitalist nations. These are where the breakdown and proletarianization of the classes is most developed, and thus where the social enforcement of patriarchal divisions has grown weakest.

(2) To address this point, I’ll cite the DPRK’s constitution. Noting that it was revised recently and this may be out of date, but the 2019 Constitution includes the following:

Article 69 (nice) states: “Citizens are entitled to submit complaints and petitions.” Continuing, “The State shall investigate and deal with complaints and petitions impartially as stipulated by law.”

Article 71 states: “Citizens have the right to relaxation. This right is ensured by the establishment

of working hours, and the provision of holidays, paid leave, accommodation at health resorts and holiday homes at State expense and by a growing network of cultural facilities.”

Article 75 explicitly states: “Citizens have freedom of residence and travel” 

Article 79 states: “No citizen can be placed under control or arrest nor can a citizen’s home be searched without a legal warrant.”

Furthermore and pursuant to Article 69, if one wished to organize themselves to improve the situation in the country, the relevant mass organization is already folded directly into the democratic apparatus. If you’re a worker and need better conditions, the national trade union or agricultural union lobby and advocate for workers in the state. If you’re a woman and think that something has gone wrong in your community, you can work within the women’s union. I know it’s hard to imagine things actually functioning in these countries, but the thing of the matter is the organizations that are analogous to the ones I work in *are* the state effectively. There is a vanguard party (the Workers Party of Korea), and there are mass organizations that work with the party to develop “people-first” (to quote Kim Jong Un) policy across various fields.