I’ve thought about learning Korean for a similar reason, to understand more about the DPRK and Juche.

I had a classmate from the DPRK when I was studying in Beijing for a time. We were both pretty advanced in Mandarin, so that’s how we spoke with each other. She actually had me tutor her in English a few times. She was a really cool person and I regret not learning more from her.

Do you know of any resources that focus on the northern dialect?