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Originally Posted by SaintessHeart
What if China were to "accidentally lend" them their technologies?
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Everything I've read points in the opposite direction from this viewpoint. China has become progressively less and less supportive of the DPRK; they even
voted in favor of expanded sanctions in the Security Council this week. China has its own reasons for wanting to maintain a "buffer" state in the peninsula, but their leadership knows as well as I do that encouraging the North Koreans' adventurism would endanger China as much as anyone.
The DPRK's missile technologies came from the Soviets, not China, and their further development involved states like Iran and Pakistan. If you want to become informed on these matters, I recommend this detailed, though lengthy,
history of their program from the International Institute for Strategic Studies. As that article observes, exporting missile technologies has been one of the few means by which the DRPK earns foreign currencies:
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North Korea has become the world’s most prolific exporter of ballistic missiles and related equipment, materials and technology – especially as other potential suppliers, such as China, have gradually withdrawn from the market. Over the past two decades, North Korea has sold at least several hundred Hwasong-5/-6 or No-dong missiles, as well as materials, equipment, components and production technology, mainly to countries in the Middle East, such as Egypt, Iran, Libya, Pakistan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen. During that time, North Korea’s missile export business has probably earned several hundred million dollars – a significant portion of North Korea’s hard currency earnings.
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Most of those countries were also the recipients of Soviet military assistance during the Cold War.