If there is a succession, I’m praying that it’s a rock-solid takeover, with the new leader (whoever it may be) having few rivals and wide public support.
Because we all know that the first “go-to” step for a teetering leader is to start a war.
Of course, the chance of a nice simple succession aren’t high either. The second step in the despot’s playbook is to make sure there isn’t a nice clean succession. That ensures that everyone with power understands that taking you out will lead to a catastrophic power struggle that kills everyone.
He could equally disown the vegetative Kim, who is now useless to him and therefore a “loser.”
But, I’m sure he’ll perk up and suck up to Kim’s dynastic successor.
A potential power struggle in a nuclear-armed dictatorship during a global pandemic is not good, no matter which way you slice it. My hope is that Kim Yo-jong, even as terrible as she may be, will keep the worst case scenarios from happening. The first worst-case scenario is that NK gets taken over by China, either in a hostile manner, through being annexed by them, or a puppet regime being installed. The second and worstest worst-case scenario is that we get our Mutually Assured Destruction on.
Kim Jong-Un’s possible death brings me no pleasure at all knowing that all it does is throw more uncertainty and fear as fuel onto the dumpster-fire that has been this year.
There is probably an aspect of that. I have no idea how much is conscious with him, and how much is just the only way he knows how to react to the world.
Could it be possible that COVID-19 hasn’t hit North Korea yet? I know that sometime in 2019 they were limiting tourists at 1000 people per day. They also seem to have closed their border on or around January 23rd. Maybe their claim of zero cases isn’t bullshit.
Given their close relationships with China, it is very likely, OTH, that they got a warning early on and decided to go for full denial. That they still don’t have cases is unlikely because of those relationships, of course.
