North Korea is a hollow and fragile shell built around a sick and twisted cult of personality with a population that has been stripped of anyone willing and/or able to question anything put before them by those that own them, heart, mind and broken soul.
North Korea, as it now stands, can not survive open and peaceful contact with outside cultures. In order for those that have formed the aristocracy in North Korea to not only remain in power, but to survive the backlash of by their citizenry if they lose power, they must remian in a perpetual war posture against the entire world.
If the question asks, would the people of North Korea be better off without nukes? then the only possible question is yes.
Can the gov of North Korea as it currently stands continue to exist, even if only against the building pressure from internal self destructive decay and abuse, without fostering the belief of aggression from external forces and the additional threat of nukes? nope.
War with North Korea is inevitable. It's not if, but simply when. Even if North Korea begins to collaps from internal pressures, their military will be turned loose upon Japan and South Korea. That's a given.