China Finally Starts Reigning in North Korea

[Q Classic]

West Germany embraced East Germany because they were the same Volk.

North Korea is not of the same people as Red China. South Korea and North Korea are. North Korea would much rather join with South Korea than anybody else; and South Korea would be insanely jealous if anyone else took their counterpart from them.

[ranskaldan]

A more viable solution would be a multilateral treaty that involves the U.S., China, Russia, Japan, and both Koreas.

Under such a treaty, all participants assist N. Korea in launching itself out of Stalinist hermitism and into eventual reunification. In return, the new Korea will be neutral.

On the other hand, such a scenario seems rather unlikely .

[Q Classic]

unfortunately.

skorea's favored plan is a two-decade-long process in which there's first a commonwealth, where the borders are unified, then the currencies are slowly unified, then the economy. it would still be a sort of "one nation, two systems" idea that china likes.
after a little bit of that, would come the slow merging of social and political institutions.

it's not a far cry from rankalsdan's idea.

again, not likely to happen.

[Alinestra Covelia]

You've got it all wrong. Obviously the best way of solving this situation is to ship a TV studio over there along with Jerry Springer and a load of gibbering redneck inbreds for an audience and get Kim Jong-Il, Hu Jintao, and Roh Moo Hyun to talk it all out like real men, with the aid of folding chair props if need be.

Then get Oprah to subsidize the book for Amazon.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
again, not likely to happen.

Just wait for GWB to be ousted in the next election.

[Sandman]

bribe how? skorea, if anything, would take it as a threat and refuse to acquiece. the koreans had been occupied less than a century before, this would be no different in their eyes.

China could offer to return NK according to a fixed timetable. But I accept that the scenario I've suggested is unlikely, to say the least.

[Q Classic]

"return NK" ?

trust me, for a people that had been occupied, invaded, annexed, dominated, and yet still fiercely nationalistic to the point of absurtity, any sort of patronizing relationship with china would cause the vast majority of them to go ballistic (figuratively).

what what would china get in return from skorea? skorea's only real offer to china would be trade, which it already does in droves. skorea has no major natural resources to speak of which china doesn't have. skorea's technological edge is balanced precariously, and lies almost entirely in the private sector. skorea's military strength, although formidable, would be crushed by the sheer numerical superiority of china.

china would have nothing to gain by giving skorea back nkorea.

not only is the scenario completely unlikely, if that event were to occur, you'd have 60 million extremely angry koreans, 120 million extremely upset japanese (a split korea is in their interest; a more powerful china or a unified korea is not), and a us with dirty pants after seeing china flex its regional muscle.