That seems to be the point of this piece in the NY Times concerning North Korea.  I’m no expert but I do tend to agree that any short term pain associated with a reunification would be well worth it on both economic and humanitarian grounds.

Which is why China would never go for it.  The have no desire to see “Asia’s Germany” as a competing power.  Indeed, I think it more likely that at some point in the future the entire peninsula will be little more than a vassal of the power mad Chinese.  That’s pretty much been Korea’s fate throughout history.