Nobody's expecting North Korea to implode without Kim Jong Un, say analysts

SEOUL - Reports of a health scare for Kim Jong Un are prompting North Korea watchers to envision the country without him: And the general consensus is that not much may change in how the regime deals with the outside world.

US officials said Kim was in critical condition after undergoing cardiovascular surgery last week, while South Korea's presidential office said that Kim was conducting"normal activities" in a rural part of the country and no unusual military movements were detected."I wish him well, we've had a good relationship," Trump said at a White House briefing.

The two other prominent male members of the Kim family - Kim Jong Chol, the current leader's older brother; and Kim Han Sol, the son of the murdered half-brother - lack strong political support within the ruling party. Survival has been a running theme in North Korea's dealings with the US over the years, with the regime citing the American-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a reason it needed to acquire nuclear weapons.

"The country's nuclear and ballistic missile arsenals are its only guarantee against foreign military intervention. Kim's potential successor is unlikely to give up this trump card lightly."

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