Is Kim Jong-Un alive or dead? We don’t actually know—and that’s remarkable. It’s also remarkable how little media attention the situation in North Korea is receiving—crowded out, perhaps inevitably, by the intense news coverage of the global COVID-19 pandemic. And yet the country is in the midst of a situation that could have serious ramifications for the region and for international security.
This episode features a conversation about just what is happening in North Korea right now, and we’re joined by Dr. Van Jackson. He teaches international relations at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, he is the author of a recent book called On the Brink, about the US-North Korea relationship, and he is also the host of the Un-Diplomatic Podcast. He offers some thoughts about what to make of the current situation in North Korea, and also discusses how prepared—or unprepared—the United States is for a potentially destabilizing event like the death of Kim Jong-Un.
Listen to the full conversation with Dr. Jackson below, and be sure to subscribe to the MWI Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Image credit: kremlin.ru (adapted by MWI)