I think an important factor was highlighted by another post you noted from another blogger — the post about how the North Korean people are going to roll heads big time when the party is over.

This will tend to make the elite far beyond Kim Jong Il afraid of any real changes.

But it will also tend to mean that if Kim Jong Il falls, nobody else will be able to keep it together.

The cult of personality will factor into this as well. The North Korean system does not promote smooth transitions of power.

The thing to worry about is whether an implosion will lead to an explosion into South Korea and Japan?

That is a real worry.

But there is enough reason to believe when the regime begins to crumble, it will crumble quickly to make us not willing to accept the brutal status quo.

I think when the changes come, when Kim Jong Il is on the way out one way or another, you are going to see many of the elites suddenly appear in Beijing or some third world capitol where they will store what’s left of North Korea’s wealth to live out the rest of their days in luxury in exile.

PING:
TITLE: The Infidel says that Kim Jong-il is a “useful sonafabitch.” He’s half right.
BLOG NAME: Flying Yangban
In the course of a discussing an apparent easing of tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, the Infidel over at Infidel World had this to say: I disagree with the drift of some conservative bloggers’ emphasis on Kim Jong-il (Flying Yangban

PING:
TITLE: Eyes On Korea: 2003-11-11
BLOG NAME: Winds of Change.NET
NOV 11/03 TOPICS INCL: North Korea, North Korea, and MORE North Korea, fecklessness at the South Korean Ministry of Unification, the debate on sending South Korean troops to Iraq, unionists turn downtown Seoul into a “sea of fire,” moon pies (yes, moon…