Kim II Sung, North Korea

As I read somewhere recently, collecting North Korean stamps is a real challenge.
Not as much is known about North Korean stamps. The major overseas catalogs do not agree in their listings, and few dealers enjoy a comprehensive inventory. Although the 1946-52 stamp issues endured the Korean War, many stamps were destroyed and data is incomplete. Quantities issued are listed in the German-language Michel Middle and East Asia catalog (Mittel und Ostasien, Vol. 9 in the multivolume world catalog).

Well, due to that, I dont know how I should feel for owning this s/s, issued in 2004, commemorating the birthday of the Great Leader or the Eternal President of North Korea, where his birthday is celebrated as a national holiday. He led North Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death and was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il.
So I really cant find much detailed information about the North Korean stamps but from the listings i saw, they are FASCINATING!! I just dont get it, why they issue so many and such beautiful stamps, when the entire country is sort of closed for external communication. Not that there is NO mail coming out from North Korea, but really, where would they use all those stamps? And I wonder how are the North Korean philatelists managing their collections, whether they are able to freely communicate or no, knowing that the NK government has it ALL under control. Really, the more I get to read about NK, the more it fascinates me, coz instead of getting to learn more about the country, by reading more about it, it actually turns to be more and more mysterious!
Im often curios about the perception of the reality of the North Koreans, not about their own country, but the entire world and universe in general...
Well, Im also wondering if the NK government is following the entire internet network and if they are being alerted each time a post about NK appears somewhere in the world....and if they are gonna track mine as well :)