Mike isn't wrong on Norko and supporting nations in the past and present failing to create a better system and standard of living. China reformed itself when Deng decided that "socialism is not poverty and to be wealthy is glorious". North Korea just never took a step in the right direction. Neither its leaders or supporters managed to make North Korea a better place to be. Politics or ideology aside, it is a gigantic failure.
Ageee, but even so. CHINA was indeed very very lucky to have Deng Xiaoping be reinstated by the leader of the Party at the time Hua Goefeng after Maos death and the falling of the hardcore Maoist gang of four, especially after Deng and his allies were all purged by Mao(they could have died, but luckily for China they didnt) for being too close to capitaltists policies and Mao feared that the reformist economic policies of Deng and Liu could lead to the restoration of capitalism and end the Chinese Revolution. For this and other reasons, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966 to purge the party of his enemies/rivals, during which Deng fell out of favor and was forced to retire from all his positions. Luckily he came back after Maos death. Imagine Deng had died before Mao. Lol China would have been in big trouble..since there is a high chance the hard-core maoist elements of the party would have gained power and taken over. Carrying on with Maos disastrous policies and keeping the country locked up under the same failed system. In short China wouldn't be different from North Korea today just a bigger version. REASON I always said Deng was the one who saved the country from impending economic collapse and doom.
Deng actually took a very big risk, by changing the system completely overnight and taking a totally different direction. It was a very very risky gamble, especially politically for him, vast majority of leaders wouldn't have taken such a risk, and would have preferred to remain with the status quo and protect their power. Deng didn't. In fact even with that the sudden opening up of the country and adating of capitalist policies and a completel reversal of maoist ideology still led to the CCP almost being toppled as well which cumulated in the 1990 tianamen square massacre, i think Kim regime is most scared of things like that( reason they wont ever takensuch risks..lol ). So things could have been turned out very differently for China, had events/decisions been slightly different during those tulmutous era. China was indeed lucky to be honest. Deng came and sail the boat at the right time. I fail to see who could have done it better than him, considering his political predegree and rational thinking.