North Korean Threat Looms Large

The aggression recently shown by North Korea against South Korea may be just the start of a dangerous period with that rogue nation. North Korea has begun a leadership transition that, if history is any judge, could be violent and destructive for its neighbors and adversaries. Adm. Robert F. Willard, USN, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, told an audience at TechNet Asia-Pacific 2010 that the transition from Kim Jong-Il to his son Kim Jong-Un will be happening much more quickly than the transition that brought the elder Kim to power. That earlier transition took 20 years, during which Kim Jong-Il strengthened his position within the North Korean military by launching a series of assassinations and terror attacks, mostly at South Korean targets and interests. Kim Jong-Il now is in failing health, and his son may follow the same path in a more compressed timetable, Adm. Willard warned. And, North Korea has a burgeoning cyberspace capability. While the United States often worries about the cyberspace threat from China, it should not drop its online guard against North Korea, the admiral stated.