To me, it is not a bad sign. This also shows that Kim still refuse to commit himself to full-fledged economic reform in Chinese style. That will piss off China again, testing its patience once again.
This will increase the chance that China will give it up eventually. At the same time, China would be unable to set up enough political infrastructure in N. Korea to set up pro-China regime.
If NK isnt as ProChina as they want, They can always roll in the tanks 1989 style, Its not like NK can actually Defend itself against Beijing.