Apparently the despot Kim Jong Il has died, this is huge news. Given the instability of the North Korean economy and incredible poverty its people subsist under this is really a frightening time. I highly doubt that the North Korean people will protest or revolt, their media is so tightly controlled that most of them know nothing of the Arab Spring or other movements across the globe. However, Kim Jong Il’s successor, Kim Jong-un and the military leaders around him will inevitably want to demonstrate to the world the strength of their new leader and his new government. This will almost certainly mean North Korea ramping up its rhetoric and quite possibly taking some small military actions against South Korea.
Given last summers shelling of Yeonpyeong island the two countries have been tense at best and stupidity by the new North Korean regime could easily start a wider conflict.
