Would it be so bad if China took control over North Korea? In a nation of 1.3 billion, an additional 24 million people would not be too outrageous a number to handle. It would give the Chinese more coast, more land, and could open up further trade with South Korea. Although the Chinese are far from free, conditions would still be a large improvement for the North Korean people, and it would essentially take care of the Buffer Zone argument, as it would still put much distance between the other Chinese provinces and South Korea. It would also bring tensions down to remove the North Korean government and replace it with the more stable Chinese.
However the obvious faults with this idea such as the North Koreans not cooperating, the Chinese gaining too much influence, the US not allowing a take over to occur via war or diplomacy, and the fact that this plan would probably never work in any regard :P Still interesting to think about...
