It would be in north korea interest also to have similar nation who are poor armed with a nuke, we can all step up onto the UN and say DEMAND 1 2 3 4 right fuckin now. It's that balance sxb where the one who has the gun but has nothing behind to lose, the other guy has a gun but has everything behind to lose that will make him submit.
So poverty is a tool if used properly. The world has been designed where everyone has an advantage and god just stepped away. Be it rich or poor, strong or weak. Noone has clear upper hand anywhere and it depends on who is leading on the other side only. There really is no outright winner, but depends mainly who is behind each team. We can take poor team and go straight to the top with little investment besides dumping our money into security tools.
But what makes you think North Korea would be ready to create other nuclear states? We all know in politics everyone has their own interest at heart which in some cases goes against yours in the future. Why would they want to put themselves in a sticky situation which they’ll regret. the way I see it nobody really wins. Mankind is really just digging its own grave when you look at the bigger picture.