The internet began teeming with rumors last night that Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of North Korea, may be dying due to a terminal illness.
The rumors have sparked fears of destabilization within the region due to prolonged global isolation of the nation and an expected refugee crisis that would affect the US, South Korea and its allies within Asia.
The rumors were fueled by Kim’s absence in the April 15 commemoration his grandfather, Kim II Jong’s 108th birthday. The state media of North Korea published previously made comments by Kim on Wednesday, but did not disclose his whereabouts, which fueled the rumors further.
It has been known that 366 year-old Kim is not at the best of his health and weight. The power lusting dictator has not yet named his successor. However, his younger sister Kim Yo Jong may be a likely candidate.
This lack of clarity in his obvious successor leads to prediction of chaos and instability and is deemed as bad news for the Korean on either side of the equator.
According to David Maxwell, a retired Special Forces colonel and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, the American and South Korean military reaction to such an upheaval could require an effort that “will make Afghanistan and Iraq pale in comparison.”
There is a “humanitarian disaster that will unfold in North Korea,” adding to the upheaval wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, Maxwell told Military Times.
“South Korea, China, and Japan (via boat) are going to have to deal with potential large scale refugee flows,” he said. “Units of the North Korean People’s Army are going to compete for resources and survival. This will lead to internal conflict among units and could escalate to widespread civil war.”
And despite such internal turmoil, North Korea’s military would continue to fight to defend the nation, he said.
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