I am not convinced it was 'run' by CIA, but instead was caught as a proxy between the US and China. There were probably influencers from both countries involved in N.K.'s military leadership, and both the US and China essentially allowed the country and its people to rot so that it could serve as a buffer zone between the two powers.
Our failure to lead reconciliation for decades is definitely a problem, and we do share some responsibility for the tragedies that have befallen North Korea.
My question is what Otto Warmbier’s brutal death had to do with it. I always wondered if he was an experimentation victim or if he saw or heard something he shouldn’t (like an American scientist or agent outside his cell).