A ROK Drop favorite Andrew Salmon has a good North-South Korea relations 101 article posted over on the CNN website for those of you just beginning to follow affairs on the Korean peninsula that you may find of interest.  Here is the bottom line to Andrew’s article:

What is the likely endgame?

Who knows? North Korea is so opaque, and so often confounds analyses, that it could remain as is for decades, or could implode tomorrow — perhaps due to power struggles following the death of Kim (born in 1941), who is reportedly in poor health and whose successor is not assured. While pundits hope for eventual reunification under Seoul’s leadership, Beijing remains a wild card: South Koreans fear some form of Chinese takeover in the event of a North Korea collapse. Worryingly — given North Korea’s threatening behavior, nuclear arsenal and reluctance to implement significant reform — few analysts predict a soft landing, whatever form the endgame takes.  [CNN]