It is amazing what a generation of brain washing and isolation can do to the perspective of a nation. Amazing to hear a quarter of the population is mentally deficient due to malnutrition, no wonder they believe the world is in awe of their accomplishments. I chuckled when I read they believe payments form other nations (International Aid) are their spoils from war.
Topographically what a beautiful country, I hope some day the North Koreans are afforded an opportunity at freedom.
While this is what they're told, it's not necessarily what they believe. In the socialist eastern europe people have been regularly told lies on the radio / TV. Most people knew. And others knew they knew. That doesn't mean the propaganda stopped.
Lots of old movies, songs, comedy shows, etc. referenced that fact subtly, and often they managed to get it through the censorship.
Propaganda exists not to convince. Propaganda exists to define what the rules are, so they can spot people who deviate. If "dogs" was an illegal word, then anyone that says "dogs" becomes an way to spot people prone to illegal activity.
Dictatorships really don't care what you think, they care what you DO, and more importantly, they care what you can openly discuss and with whom. Making it easy to spot those likely to rebel is the goal of propaganda, who gives a hoot what anyone thinks.
That's going to the extreme the other way. Propaganda has multiple uses, trying to reduce it to "only this and not other reasons" is a mistake. There can be propaganda against and for something. There can be political and religious propaganda. There may be propaganda to keep you in place, or to force some specific idea. I think the view you described is a very simplified one.
If by that you mean "we can say anything", you might need to reconsider. [1]
For example, saying "the Holocaust is a hoax" in Canada or Germany can get you in jail. [2] Saying something that even hints that women are different than men in the UK will probably result in you losing your job. [3] I'm pretty sure the same is true in the US, at least on the East Coast.
Probably an outsider has no way to tell how many North Koreans really believe the party line and how many of them are just saying what they need to say to keep themselves and their families out of concentration camps.
Yes, they've been isolated and deceived, but don't be too quick to mock them. Your own worldview is probably not nearly as accurate and complete as you think it is. (Nor mine.)
Topographically what a beautiful country, I hope some day the North Koreans are afforded an opportunity at freedom.