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Originally Posted by funkychinaman
A) How would they know? All media is controlled by the government. B) As if the people could actually do anything about it even if they did know.
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It's not the people who matter; it's factions within the regime. My understanding is that many of the KPA's generals are more nationalistic and bellicose than the Kims themselves. It really might not even be possible for China to find anyone within the regime who is more friendly to them than the Kims. If they did install a puppet leader, said leader would probably have a great deal of difficulty winning over the loyalty of the KPA (more of a challenge than Kim Jong-Un faces now), and might face rapid marginalization. In the DPRK, a lack of military support means political weakness.
Quote:
Originally Posted by funkychinaman
I wouldn't take anything way from the hatred/paranoia of Japan. Not only is there the historical animosity (Probably the only thing you can get North and South Koreans, and the PRC and the ROC to agree on,) but Japan is also home to much of the American military.
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Yes, true. But think about it this way: If you trusted China enough as an ally, wouldn't it make the most sense to build a missile base as
close to China (and within range of potential defending Chinese troops) as possible? Obviously, it's not going to make a difference in practical terms (missile ranges are far enough that the base is vulnerable to attack either way). But that doesn't mean it lacks symbolic importance, which has its own value (think about how the Russians get upset with us for installing completely useless missile defenses in Poland).