North Korea and Russia

[John Dibble]

Russia is probably most interested in the Korean peninsula being stable and relatively peaceful more than anything else. A neighbor at war brings all sorts of troubles with it, such as additional refugees trying to get through the border and whatnot. To that end, they like to be involved in any negotiations with the west, China, and NK, which also has the added benefit of bettering relations with those countries.

China has greater influence on NK though, and wants peace for not only the reasons above but because NK serves as a buffer against the much more democratic South Korea. They don't want their people getting "ideas" from a neighboring country. They don't have complete control of course, but their influence is significant. Since Kim has been rather rowdy lately, they are of course upset, but they are more than likely willing to wait for him to pass away (shouldn't take too much longer) and use their influence to ensure his successor is someone who's easier for them to maintain control over. Russia would probably benefit from this as well.

[John Dibble]

China has greater influence on NK though, and wants peace for not only the reasons above but because NK serves as a buffer against the much more democratic South Korea. They don't want their people getting "ideas" from a neighboring country.

Uh, what? Those people are already filled with the "ideas" you refer to. It's just that the government will not allow them to be expressed. Today's China is still a vile dictatorship, but it certainly is not an Orwellian totalitarian nightmare either.

True - the ideas have certainly gotten there, but they still like having the buffer. Having a direct democratic neighbor that is prosperous encourages dissent and escape. Not a good thing for an authoritarian state. And again, yes, that already happens to some extent, but it would probably be greater if SK shared the border with China instead of NK.