Kim Jong-un’s Death Could Spark Disaster
The Death of North Korean despot Kim Jong-un would spark a military confrontation that “will make Afghanistan and Iraq pale in comparison,” defence experts have warned.
Questions about the aftermath of Kim’s demise in the nuclear-armed Hermit Kingdom surfaced alongside reports he was fighting for his life after undergoing emergency surgery.
Experts believe his death would destabilize the region, create a massive refugee flow and force the US, South Korea and possibly other regional allies to deal with the turmoil.
Retired South Korean Lieutenant General Chun In-Bum, the former head of his nation’s special operations forces, told US Military Times there would be “chaos, human suffering, instability and bad news for everyone”.
And he warned any plans a South Korea/US alliance might have for moving into a post-Kim North Korea could have a devastating impact.
He said: “What are we going to do? March in there? Let the Chinese do it.
“North Korea is a sovereign country. Anyone going in there, including the Chinese, would be crazy.
“The South Korea/US alliance has a bad plan with bad assumptions. It will get us into a nuclear war.”
Defence chiefs warn Kim Jong-un’s death would spark an international crisis (Image: GETTY)Former US serviceman Colonel David Maxwell, now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies think tank, said a lack of clear succession would set chaos into motion in North Korea.
Kim Il Sung designated his son successor in 1973 and the Kim Il-sung designated his son success in 2009 or 2010.
Col Maxwell, a retired Special Forces commander, said: “It is unknown whether Kim Jong-un has designated a successor.
Military experts fear Kim Jong-un’s death could push the world to the brink of nuclear war.
We can speculate that perhaps his sister Kim Yo-jong has been designated as his successor based on her recent promotion and the fact she has begun making official statements in her name beginning last month.
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“But it is unknown whether a woman, despite being part of the Paektu bloodline, could become the leader of the Kim family regime.”
Col Maxwell said having no clear successor could spark a regime collapse with the Kim leadership and the Workers Party of Korea unable to govern or maintain military cohesion and support.
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