South Korea at the time was run by actual fascists, people often originally put in charge by the prior Japanese occupation who helped genocide their own people and kept by the “democratic” Allies because, being fascists, they really hated commies.

It’s also simply disingenuous to pretend North Korea’s economic problems aren’t mostly caused by the embargo they’ve been under for seventy years.

Does that make North Korea the victim?

Well, not really, but on the other hand, you can certainly understand the invasion.

Unlike some people, they actually were invading fascists. Ones that actually were their people’s oppressors, and even to this day most Koreans consider themselves a divided nation and support reunification, unlike Russia and Ukraine or Serbia and literally everyone else from the former Yugoslavia because the Serbs were dicks.

From that point of view it’s certainly easier to understand why they would portray themselves as victims compared to people who just want to conquer and genocide their neighbors.

But time is funny, you become what you hate, etc.

Can’t really say Marxist-> Feudal Monarchy is the typical trajectory though.