Yes. North Korea was much more prosperous during the Cold War than it is now, thanks to aid from the Soviet and Chinese governments, and malnutrition was almost unheard of. North Korea's current troubles date back to the 90s when the Soviet Union collapsed, bringing down pretty much the entirety of North Korean industry with it, as North Korea could no longer afford to buy the necessary fuel that was previously provided by the Soviet Union at a very cheap price. At the same time, the government food distribution system in North Korea all but collapsed, leading to a famine in which around 10% of the population died. The North Korean economy contracted by around 47% during that period.

I highly recommend the book "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea" by Barbara Demick for a layman's description of what happened in North Korea during the 90s, or "The Impossible State: North Korea past and future" for a more detailed and impersonal analysis (if somewhat biased towards the Bush administration).

Do you mean the history of the DPRK or the history of the area occupied by the DPRK?