” how many believe that when unification is announced Kim will step down?”
This is an interesting question and one that makes an analyst really stop what they are doing and think.
Trump is given credit to make this historic event a reality. It would appear that the US WAS giving aid to NK even when we said we weren’t. I believe POTUS has stopped that toot-sweet. We know that China and Russia also send aid, and I *think* that Trump has won so much of that negotiation that they may be pulling that aid back.
Then the nuclear site collapsed. The country is suddenly in shambles. There is no other choice. And this is where SK has him by his tiny, minute little balls. He may be given exactly what he wants which is departmentalism or some kind of power perk in the region ... but I think that there is a CHANCE that the border may totally fall and create a single Korea. The people will leave the north so fast you’ll literally see dust devils at the DMZ. Because the DMZ HAS to come down. And without any food north of that fence, the people will completely abandon the North.
So if Kim doesn’t play nice, he’ll lose everything instead of losing most of something.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
SoKo President Moon is a socialist and gives the appearance of being a very weak personality. A little push by Kim and Moon will run for the nearest hole, stepping down in the precess and leaving a vacuum for Kim to fill.
Will the people of SoKo accept Kim, given that they are now reunited with their families and friends once trapped in the North?
SoKo has a powerful army, but if Moon steps down and all the others defer, then the SoKo army is leaderless. Of course, as part of any unification deal, the US force will have to go. So there is no help for the people of SoKo there.
Unless something unforeseen happens, I think in 10 years or less Kim will run a unified Korea, restarting his nuclear and ICBM programs. Gives the Millennials something to look forward to on the world stage ...