I don't really believe that the North Koreans act out of fear. I think that there is a small portion that do otherwise there wouldn't be anyone trying to escape. but at the same time, they do'nt know any better. The generations of people who were alive before the totalitarian rule are almost all gone and even the oldest people can remember all the invasions into their country. They just can't compare their life to anything else. Its not like europe were they have access to the internet to researh things about the US or other places who have freedoms.