You make a good point. Question: Why did North Korea go the way they did and Vietnam went the way it did today? Is it because of the Chinese influence on North Korea
I don’t think it was due to the Chinese influence on N Korea verses N Vietnam. Both states have traditionally been different with China. China viewed NORK as a buffer state and the NORKS were happy with that. They have a common foe but China does not want NORK as part of its country so while they cooperate, it is limited. They did pour in a ton of troops in support of the NORKS in 1950 but that was to keep the US off its border, not to take over the North. Meanwhile, Vietnam has not been in a state of happiness with China, they are traditional enemies albeit commies. Vietnam has made overtures with the US to return, the NORKS want us out of S Korea. This is a simplistic view but shows while we cannot be black and white in how we look at all these individual countries in SE Asia. China is not the same as it was after they chased out Chiang and Vietnam is not the same as it was in 75 though NORK is still the same after ww2, a crap hole.