Arghhh! The WSJ's 4 "end game" scenarios for North Korea

If you have not read my posts relative this this, you may want to go back.  Today, there is the WSJ perspective.  If I seem like I'm screaming in agony at the stupidity that rules this country (even at the Wall Street Journal level) please read "China's weaponized Economy" or "World War C" and you'll understand my frustration.  Scott Harold (Rand Corp)-His reasons for the current unrest in North Korea:
1) Controversy to extract economic concessions (oil/food)
2) Test the new prime minister of sk
3) increase domestic legit of new ruler
4) prelude to war-unlikely
Ok, I'll admit everyone at the Rand Corporation is smarter than I am and knows more facts. 
North Korea is more than a rouge nation.  It's a handfull of guys who get everything they want and basically hold their populations as slave labor.  This is not altogether non-existent elsewhere and it's also the model in China and was, to a large extent, the model of communist Russia and continues, particularly in locallized areas, within the US (Want to see an example in your community, go to the government where too many employees are being paid too much-check this link if you want to see the statistics on US enslavement by just the regional governments: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-11/-822-000-worker-shows-california-leads-u-s-pay-giveaway.html).  Politicians pay their croonies (school boards, municiple employees, etc) to keep them in power at the expense of everyone else, occasionally getting in a stink for throwing lavish parties or going on expensive trips at their population's expense. 
Now none of these groups is declaring war (although I think Oregon would like to declare war on California to keep them from moving north) on their southern neighbors.  You do see (and will continue to see a growing rash) of municiple bankruptcies to force financial concessions-1) reduce pensions, further enslaving their populations by enslaving their own ex-employees and 2) bond concessions (The Troika could learn a thing or two  from Stockton and Birmingham) but you would see more of the North Korean model if that was the end game.
Come on, guys (at Rand).  China using Korea as a puppet state to distract, drain and test the west may be a little extreme to you; but NKG would not last 60 days if the Chinese let their people know they could be free of tyrany.  Get with program.
While the level of slavery practiced in California is not as open or as intrusive as the slavery in North Korea, you don't endanger your slave state just to make a point. If the NKG were to suddenly get some conscience and decide to free their people it would be one thing, but they have no interest in that.  They wouldn't endanger their relationship with China and the South Koreans are not yet smart enough to realize that they could overthrow NKG's government (redundant?) merely by providing free internet service to North Korea (I'm sure some south korean's slapping his head righ now saying "duhhh!"
The end game has to be tied to maintaining power and that has to be tied to maintaining their unique relationship with the superpower to the North...of North Korea.