Kim Jong-Un, the hand-picked successor to longtime North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, may face an internal power struggle as he tries to take over for his father.
Hwansoo Kim Assistant Professor, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Duke University
Kim teaches a course about North Korea.
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"It will be hard for Kim Jong-Uun to do anything radical in the near future. The first thing he'll want to do is consolidate his power internally. He hasn't had time to put things together and present himself as the unquestioned leader. He will have trouble persuading people of that."
Margaret McKean Associate Professor, Political Science, Duke University
McKean researches resource management, property rights, and electoral reform in the Pacific Basin.
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"Many of us expected that when Kim Il-Sung died, North Korea would follow the rest of the communist world and liberalize, both politically and economically. One hopes, for the sake of the North Korean people, that major change can finally get under way, but past experience suggests that our expectations may be foiled again.
"It is interesting that within hours of the public announcement about Kim Jong-Il's death, the North Korean military has started saber-rattling again with a missile test today and talk of another nuclear test. Even if this is only a 'trial balloon' being sent up by the hawkish military faction in the north to lay claim to dominance over any rivals for power in the current situation, it suggests that another generational change in leadership will not lead to much softening in or out of North Korea.
"Perhaps there is one important difference between the generational shift of 1994 and the one starting now. Kim Jong-Il was a hard-liner groomed for years to succeed his father. Kim Jong-Un is much younger than Jong-Il was at this juncture. Jong-Il has been preparing Jong-Un for this role only since the former's stroke in 2008, and it is hard to imagine that Jong-Un can be much more than a figurehead for some sort of military-bureaucratic coalition. This third generation has serious cracks in it -- the oldest son is a dissident and the second son a playboy, so Jong-Un is a third choice. It really seems likely that the regime will have to take a pragmatic turn and begin to liberalize."