I actually suspect that China was not particularly enamored of "Dear Leader's" unpredictability. They like to know what is going to happen, and they don't particularly like instability anymore than anyone else does—unless they instigate it and then can manipulate it to their advantage. I don't believe that China actually likes having an unstable nuclear nation on its border, and China actually assisted the U.S. in trying to stop NK's further nuclear development efforts—without success.Skiprr wrote:If we're very, very lucky, Jung Un will be intelligent, have an independent streak, and want to lead North Korea--albeit slowly--into the global community. But much of that motivation will likely depend upon China. You can bet that Beijing is pressing Jung Un, his family, and the non-familial military leaders in order to preserve China's interests. If there is no military coup in North Korea in the next weeks or months, and the new leadership really understands its ever-increasing dependency on China, there may be progress.
Stability and predictability is what China wants from her neighbors. If Jong Un tries to lead NK into the global community, I suspect that China would enthusiastically support him—so long as he keeps the mantle of communism and dictatorial control over the nation. If he were "dumb" enough to swing toward the democratic, China would act to quash him as quickly as possible.