When NK fails. it will become part of greater China, and the USA and SK will not be able to do a thing to stop it.Obama is too weak.
Unless China is busy dealing with other pressing matters, due to developing economic crisis of its own. The coming great uncertainty is both a curse and a blessing when it comes to the N. Korean problem.
Well, SK is not exactly free either, you can be jailed there for working with NK, but that's minor - SK is nearly in the state of war with NK, so I won't be judging them.
What is more important is that China has no choice in the reunification matter. Say, the regime falls. Is China going to invade NK and annex it as a province? No way. Is it going to set up a puppet government? No way, it won't last (they seldom do.)
Besides, why reunification would be a problem? This will neatly take care of the SK also, the SK will be too busy (and too financially committed) to do anything else, for many years. China will gladly let NK to bleed SK in the reunification mess.
With regard to the money, NK borders SK, China and Russia. These countries have more than enough resources to invest into NK. Of course there will be strings attached, like ownership of new factories, access to minerals, perhaps to ports, and so on. But money-wise, China is awash in money, in fact it *needs* to quietly dump some of the dollars it has. Rebuilding of NK will give a great pretext; depreciating dollars go in, land and factories go out. Great deal, I say.
China already has started the process. NK traditionally does not want to be a Chinese satellite. However the economic crisis does not give the ruling NK much a choice. Accept Chinese aid/szcerinty or face the NK mob. I think the generals around Kim Il Jong made their move. China is infusing cash into NK in exchange for iron ore. When Kim dies the generals will form a committee and rule the country, while one of Kim’s sons will be controlled by this committee. Once stabilized, China will use economics to control NK. The NK ruling committee members will be rewarded with lucrative economic opportunities as NK economy is rebuilt with Chinese money. Looks like the Ming Dynasty/Qin Dynasty style control has returned in the 21st Century.
I don't see anything that would benefit China from the reunification of Korea...so it seems unlikely that they would permit it.
Well, in slightly deeper consideration, one thing China gets from Korea now is a focus for the West other than China itself. The only way I see this transpiring is either that China is taken by surprise by the swiftness of it, or they no longer need the distraction, which would be a very bad condition for the West.