Rodger Baker Quotations

Kim . . . doesn't want foreign interference in succession, or for foreigners to try to cut deals with his chosen successor instead of himself.

This is as much a domestic issue as an overseas issue. At home, Kim wants to maintain complete control, particularly at this critical time of economic experimentation. He doesn't want foreign interference in succession, or for foreigners to try to cut deals with his chosen successor instead of himself.

His legitimacy is based on the lingering respect for his father. This is also, perhaps, why he keeps his next-in-line out of site - to keep himself enshrined and base his son's legitimacy on himself.

Chaos in North Korea is still seen as the most likely scenario for some 'adventurism' with conventional or nuclear weapons.