I'm starting to think that China is using NK as a bargaining chip. China wants to have most the influence in NK. Maybe if China takes care of NK then we look the other way on Taiwan. Plus if NK turns more west friendly thats just more cheap labor they can use to make crap to flood our markets.
If any of this is true (nothing in their past suggests that the N-Koreans understand the west well enough to fake this without looking like fools), then this is a very feasible explanation.