Purpose Driven Political Tool?

Apparently, oft-criticised megachurch pastor Rick Warren (of Purpose Driven fame) has been invited by the N Korean authorities to preach to 15,000 koreans next spring.

If - and that is a fairly large if - this happens it may be the first time the Gospel has been publicly preached in the nation since 1945.
Late Korean dictator Kim Il Sung is widely acknowledged to have presided over perhaps the most thorough cleansing of Christianity from with a nation in the 20th Centruy.

I must admit, my initial reaction was one more of confusion than excitement.
There are plenty of interesting thoughts out there to look at on the web, but for what it's worth here are my 2 cents.

Unfortunately, and I hope he is prepared for this, Warren is cooperating with N Korean authorities, and in doing so is dealing with a bunch of ruthlessly skilled manipulators who have carefully honed their craft over many, many years.
This government has bartered for decades using millions of citizens (malnouished and starving), and nuclear technology as chips in a game useful only to prop up their own grip on power.

On the face of it, using words like "manipulators" may seem harsh, but the fact is that this is a society that has not been established on traditional western Judeo-Chritian ethics.
Truth is not considered a desirable trait, rather one of weakness.
Therefore, many levels of society do not operate within the same perameters that ours does. Sometimes to the extreme.

And so my first and main question is: "What on earth does the N Korean government stand to gain from inviting Warren to do this?"
Is it any coincidence that this invitation happens to coincide with rising nuclear tensions and an increasing urgency to see recent US economic sanctions lifted?
Me thinky so.

When I was there myself, there were only 2 official churches in the country - one has since been demolished.
The church that I regularly visited consisted of about 40 OAPs, of which nobody was really sure how free their choice was to attend.
Freedom of Religion status brings with it large potential aid donations from several international sources, of that there is no doubt the government has been eager to project it's own brand of "freedom".

My other thought is this: Is the government using Warren as some sort of trick in worming out any potentially hidden Christians/Soon to be prison camp labourers?
It's no secret that the NK Government routinely tops persection watchlists with ease - whisking a new batch of potential threats to the regime off to secluded spots in the northeast would not take a great deal of organising, of that I am of no doubt.

Which, all being said, leads me to this cynical state of mind - is this actually a good thing?

When asked if Warren was worried whether he was being used, he replied: "I know they're going to use me, so I'm going to use them."

I truly hope he's not walking in his own strength.