Kim Jong-il is dead. Now, what's going to happen in North Korea? That's the question the world is thinking aloud, trying to peep into North Korea. But they are wrong. They should look at South Korea - what happens next will be pretty much determined by the South Korean government's strategy and its reactions. With Kim Jong-il no longer around - his death at the age of 69 was officially announced in Pyongyang on Monday morning - many experts will look at China, which has been touted as wielding more influence on the reclusive nation than any other country in the world.
But this time, it's South Korea that holds the key in managing the course of the situation in North Korea. South Korean presidential advisers might see this as an "opportunity". Depending on how they interpret that opportunity, the trajectory of the Korean Peninsula will be dramatically different.
Any thought of "regime change" on the part of President Lee Myung-bak's security advisers will hold more risks to the peninsula than opportunities to goad the country into a soft landing. Read More
