What happens after Kim Jong-il dies?

[BrentWil]

Sooner or later Kim Jong-il will die, and with speculation on his health, it may be sooner rather than later. If Kim Jong-il dies in the next year or two what are we likely to see?

Given the cult of personality surrounding him in North Korea, what sort of effects are we likely to see with his demise? I’m not going to pretend that I’m some expert on NK but I’m not aware of a potential successor being promoted in a similar way. The whole national narrative is centered on Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il; not those two plus whoever. Would NK simply appoint a new leader and move on? Or would we see the government collapse, possibly into civil war? What about the nuclear stockpile? How about the average citizen? Any chance of an uprising, protesting or similar?

What would that mean for South Korea? Would peace and reunification become a more serious possibility? Or would we see an escalation, possibly as a distraction from internal political fallout? Is SK likely to do anything that could be viewed as provocative with massive amounts of artillery aimed at Seoul? Along that same line of thought would the North launch an attack or even a war against South Korea; that seems crazy and pointless, but then again the NK state isn’t the most rational out there. And of course they could strike Japan as well.

Any thoughts on the US? Would they take some further action to destabilize NK or would is likely the US would try to reach out to the new leader? It’s always been assumed that in the case of war (I know that the Korean war is not over technically, but you know what I mean) that the US would be directly involved in the fighting but how feasible is that now? It’s not like the US has money and troops to spare at the moment. I think there is a strong argument for the US staying out of other nation’s affairs but NK can threaten a number of close allies and, if for no other reason, the US economy is heavily tied to Japan, SK and other southeast Asian countries. It seems different in the case of North Korea vs. other countries, Iran as a prime example.

So what do you think?

[Parche]

1. Why, Is Kim Jong ill?

:rofl::rofl::hi:

[DailyGrind51]

2. Ya, beat me to it!

:rofl:

[Moochy]

7. He be Illin.

[bigwillq]

11. ha ha

:rofl: LOL

[Pisces]

3. his doppelganger will take his place

[DailyGrind51]

24. Which one, Alan Keys or Newt Gingrich?

[trof]

4. Kim-Jong-IL Jr. (or whatever his name is) will take over.

Same shit, different day.

[Parche]

6. Kim Jong iller???

:rofl: :hi:

[GreenStormCloud]

27. Kim Jung-un. Seriously. N/T

[BrentWil]

10. That isn't always how it goes. Things changed ALOT in China after Mao and in the USSR after Stalin

NT

[Posteritatis]

5. They started promoting one of his sons earlier this year. (nt)

[Empathic_1]

8. This guy steps in

[Codeine]

13. That's Kim Jong Makes-me-ill. n t

[Historic NY]

15. Living high on the hog I see....he could be Dear Leader.

[glen123098]

9. Hopefully he dies by the guillotine after the North Koreans revolt against him.

[foxfeet]

12. There will be a sudden glut of Just for Men Haircolor on the market. nt

[Codeine]

14. His family will be so ronery. nt

[and-justice-for-all]

16. His son gets the keys to the datsun...nt

[grantcart]

17. No one knows but the two power groups are bureacrats that are family tied

and the military clique.

It is assumed that there will be a power struggle that would end with a newly adjusted senior committee that would use his youngest son as a puppet.

The other son has already been dicredited.

[sufrommich]

18. He goes straight to H E double hockey sticks! nt

[LeftyMom]

19. They spend a while pretending he's alive but ill while they get things ready and prop up the new guy

via state media. "Protracted illness" means there's a power struggle behind the scenes and they're not going to announce he's dead until the dust settles.

[Xipe Totec]

20. 1,000 blow up dolls will be thrown into the funeral pyre nt

[longship]

21. SNL news will announce: "Kim Jong Il is still dead"

:rofl: :rofl:

[tekisui]

22. His less stable son will take over.

[Aristus]

23. Half of North Korea will commit suicide in an orgy of messianic grief.

I recently saw a documentary on North Korea, and they all behave as if K J-I is a freakin' god or something. They bow down and weep in front of his image and thank him for freakin' EVERYTHING!

Sad. And more than a little spooky...

[Stinky The Clown]

25. People go to his house and bring food

[GreenStormCloud]

26. His son, Kim Jung-un is believed to be the heir apparent.

He was educated in Switzerland. Very little else is known about him.