They will have very cheap labor for a long time. But not many skills. This will be a 2 generation investment.
They will get things done in China years. What takes the west seven years to complete, takes the Chinese 1 year. No environmental impact study, OSHA, permits, bureaucratic red tape etc.
South Korea was in just as bad shape in the 1950s.
Yup.
Eastern Germany is still working its way up after 30 years.
It may take two generations for the people of North Korea to recover from living in a solitary confinement psycho ward and learn that it is OK to think on their own.
But then I could be wrong. Look how fast Eastern Europe came around after decades of Communist rule. Then again, Eastern Europe was not living under the degree of isolation that the people of North Korea have been.