What’s next for North Korea if Kim Jong-un is dead?
Jazz Shaw Posted at 10:01 am on April 25, 2020
Despite repeated denials from the government and state-run media about the status of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s health, the fact remains that nobody has seen him in public in weeks. The various claims and rumors making the rounds range from Kim being in recovery from surgery at a private residence to assertions that he’s brain dead or even deceased. The hermit kingdom isn’t really big on sharing news, particularly if it’s of the bad variety, so we won’t know anything until they’re ready to either produce him or offer some other sort of proof.
But given the dodgy nature of his overall health, we still have to consider the possibility that he might have shuffled off this mortal coil (or is on his way to doing so). And if so, what happens next? James Joyner published a deep analysis of what we might expect yesterday. As he reminds us, Kim’s grandfather and father had both arranged for their own successors prior to their deaths, so the transitions took place mostly in a smooth fashion. But Kim’s children are very young and there is no such clear path forward in this case. Might his sister, Kim Yo Jong be the next in line? Possibly, but that country has a deeply patriarchal structure and it’s unclear if the other powerful factions waiting in the wings would accept a woman as their leader.
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https://hotair.com/archives/jazz-shaw/2020/04/25/whats-next-north-korea-kim-jong-un-dead/
