A succession with a difference?

The news of the death of North Korea’s great leader, Kim Jong Il, is now being carried as the central story of all the world’s media and yet the reaction in South Korea is muted. CNN, ABC, and BBC newscasters ask, will this historic passing be the catalysis for an opening of the hermit kingdom under a more reformist leader? Or will it embolden the ruling military class and encourage them to follow a more aggressive, hardliner policy? Or will it be business-as-usual for the rogue state? The answer to this, as with many of the questions that surround the secretive state, is unknown. However, in reflecting upon the aftermath of the death of Kim Jong Il’s father, Kim Il Sung, some interesting differences may provide us with a hint as to what the future holds for the DPRK.the better. So great is the fear of the consequences of a North Korean collapse in the region that even Kim’s belated turn to China was seen as a plus by other countries in the region, in the vague hope that Beijing would help steer North Korean foreign policy along a smoother course.