I think you'd see some people defending it in terms of it not quite being what we make it out to be and claiming that some of the issues they face are not entirely due to their leadership, but even then I think socialists only defend it because people like to throw it out as an example of the failures of "socialism".

From the Wikipedia page on Juche, one critic argues that "The key differences are that the North Koreans place the primacy of ideology over materialism, retaining the vocabulary of family lineage and nationalism and giving it primacy over class struggle, and supporting social distinction and hierarchy over classless society and egalitarianism. He concluded that North Korea may look 'Stalinist in form', but that it was 'nationalist in content.'" I recommend you read up on Juche and compare it to socialist tendencies, if you're interested.

IMO, it's pretty far from any sort of genuinely socialist state. Even comparisons to national socialism aren't that difficult to make, with ignoring the struggle in favor of class for the strength of the nation. As you pointed out, though, none of us would support forced regime change, despite the human rights violations. The threat of imperialism makes things worse, particularly with an isolated desperate nation, not better.