China and North Korea: good buddies

My concern over China continues to be higher than others in my circle.
This news story didn't help.

"North Korea and China, both communist countries, have traditionally had close ties" it says, in part. Well, that clears up an awful lot in my book.

So someone tell me why we didn't take our current approach with China with the Soviet Union 50 years ago. If the response is the Iron Curtain - that the USSR forcibly kept people in its country - I would point to Taiwan as an similar issue that points to a national attitude of equal magnitude: "they belong to us, whether they want to or not." As China becomes more important to us, they are expecting us to view Taiwan as an ant next to an elephant. Will we? Do the political and religious rights of a group depend on the economic clout of that group? One day the test will come for America.

So why didn't we think of the USSR in 1955: "that's a really big country. Think of all the people, the revenue, that could be brought into our world economy. Let's send them some business." Perhaps then we took moral and religious issues more seriously than economic ones. Of course, a practical answer would also include having plenty economic growth from our own GIs coming home in the 50s, whereas now we're looking for some extra fuel. And a third reason: China is more astute at the propaganda war with us. Opening up a bit makes them look malleable. While we're thinking they're going to change, I'm afraid there are some very hard lines under those smiling faces above.