Randy Parker over at ParaPundit has this interesting post in which he points out that the shortage of females in China — coupled with North Korea’s crippled economy — presents the real prospect that Chinese men will import substantial numbers of North Korean wifes in the coming decades. Read the entire post, as Mr. Parker notes that the social and economic implications of this development are potentially ominous, but also potentially positive:

The shortage of women in China may end up posing an existential threat to the Pyongyang regime more powerful than anything US policy makers are likely to do. North Korean leaders might react to this threat by engaging in market liberalization reforms aimed at raising North Korean living standards enough to reduce the level of desperation of North Korean women.
The regime in North Korea faces a more general economic threat from China because of rising wages in China. The higher the wages go the greater the incentive for Northeast China factory managers and other businesses to turn to the black market to supply cheap North Korean labor. This will pull both men and women out of North Korea. Will that destabilize the regime more or less than the selective removal of women from North Korea?

Hat tip to Marginal Revolution for the link to this post.