I doubt Kim Jong Un wants his people to prosper because they would likely want political reform if they do. He lives a fantastic life where he gets to completely rule over the rest of a country for the rest of his life while having unlimited access to Western goods via China. Why would he want to ruin that?
So people literally starving to death are less likely to revolt compared to people living a comfortable and improving life? Yeah sure.
There is zero link between increasing prosperity and revolutionary tendencies, the exact opposite is true actually.
There is a direct causal link between increasing western MSM and CIA access and violent coups and pro-western uprisings, but that has nothing to do with prosperity, especially now that the west doesn’t hold exclusive access to wealth and technology that previously allowed them to demand increasing access to said western MSM and CIA dressed up as NGOs as conditions for market and technology access which were needed to raise living standards. I think that’s what you were getting confused about.
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Back on topic.
As for North Korea, well it is what it is because it already serves its intended purpose of being a mad dog guarding China’s northern boarder.
The value in having a mad dog compared to a whipped dog can be every clearly seen between how America and China treat each other when their respective dogs step out of line.
When NK goes off on one, China just shrugs and says, Kim’s gunna Kim, and no American President can seriously dispute that. When American dogs like Taiwan or Japan gets too uppity, China starts flexing and America immediately yanks on their chains and brings them to heel. Who has the more useful dog?
There is little benefit in China building up the NK economy because paradoxically, China doesn’t want NK to be too powerful, least they get stupid ideas about conquering the south again.
NK serves its purpose pretty well as it is, and there is zero need or benefit for China to spend money, resources and political capital to improve their economy or even military. Because it has never been the might of the NK military or even its nukes that keeps the Americans away, but rather China standing behind them.
China has tried to encourage Kim to reform his economy, but are not bothered enough to force him if he doesn’t want to. But nor is China prepared to write blank cheques to bankroll Kim’s failed economy. China will provide substance level support to make sure the NK people don’t literally starve, so as to not risk an uprising in NK, but it’s not wasting more money and resources than it absolutely must in that regards. As such Kim and NK needs to work if they want more, which is what NK has been doing with everything from arms and drugs and even hacking and economic reforms.
