We've done a very bad job of designing policy for the day when Kim Jong-un dies.

And so if he kicks the bucket, we don't know what the disposition of nuclear command and control will be.

Hey, welcome back to another episode of the Modern War Institute podcast.

I'm John Amble, editorial director at MWI.

And my guest on this episode is Dr. Van Jackson.

He teaches international relations at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand,

and he is the author of a recent book called On the Brink about the U.S. North Korea relationship,

especially over the past few years and with respect to the nuclear weapons component of that

relationship.

He is also the host of the undiplomatic podcast, which is an excellent podcast to check

out for really insightful, honest, engaging, and entertaining takes on foreign policy.

And he's a really smart observer of North Korea, which, if it weren't for the coronavirus

pandemic, inevitably sort of crowding out a lot of other topics in media coverage would

be all over the news

right now.

Is Kim Jong-un alive or dead?

We don't know.

What happens in North Korea if he's out of the picture and what does it mean for the region and for international security?

That's what you'll hear in this conversation.

Before we get to it, as always, a couple notes.

First, be sure you're subscribed to

the MWI podcast so you don't miss an episode. You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify,

...