Preparing For The Next Korean War

The body of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il lies in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang in this picture released by the North's official KCNA news agency Photo: REUTERS/KCNA

This Week at War: Preparing for the Next Korean War -- Robert Haddick, Foreign Policy

Kim Jong Un's forces could test the South soon. But don't expect it to look like 1950.

South Korea needs to brace for asymmetric warfare

The sudden death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, and the presumptive elevation of his son Kim Jong Un, has cast a pall of uncertainty over the region and in Washington. Last year, two military incidents, the torpedoing of a South Korean navy corvette and North Korea's shelling of an island village in the south, killed 50 South Koreans. The concern in the south and in Washington is that Kim Jong Un -- or perhaps one of his rivals for the throne -- may see an advantage in more such incidents as a means of creating a crisis and rallying support. For decades, South Korea and the United States have prepared for a big war on the peninsula. Does Seoul need to do more to prepare for more exotic and asymmetric attacks like those that occurred last year?

Read more ....

My Comment: To early to know where North Korea will head .... but if I was a betting man .... I would predict that Kim Jong-Un will be spending the next few years consolidating his power while keeping South Korea guessing on his motivations.