You’re no doubt well-informed on the theoretical systems of those countries but you can’t just look at the theory and say “that’s exactly how it works in real life”. It’s a fact that leadership in the DPRK has passed on from father to son for 3 generations now - any country that does that is a hereditary monarchy, not a people’s republic. Kim Jong Un was never part of the working class. He was raised in palaces and sent to an elite college in Switzerland. You don’t even need to trust any Western media on this - just watch a few minutes of North Korean TV and you’ll hear how the leaders are basically treated as gods. Many people who threatened or spoke out against their rule, including those in the “royal” family like Kim Jong Nam, have been murdered or disappeared.

A hereditary monarchy is still not an oligarchy 🤷 But anyway, you’re only talking about the head of state. They have an entire system running there

A hereditary monarchy is still not an oligarchy 🤷 Sure, not saying it is. I was arguing against the claims of North Korea being a democratic system controlled by the working class. North Korea is not a classic oligarchic system, so I’d agree with your reply to OP. But anyway, you’re only talking about the head of state. They have an entire system running there I don’t think that any kind of democratic system is possible under a head of state with that amount of worship and cult of personality around a single person. The structures for a democratic system underneath may exist, but when it’s not possible to act out of line or speak out against the great leader, they might as well not. All the evidence I’ve seen suggests that it’s not. Both from North Korean media itself, which I’ve watched quite a bit of, and from the mouth of North Koreans who managed to get out.