Kim Jong Il has died

[Paleobrazilian]

North Korea's situation is so messy because there's just so much to take into consideration. No one expects Kim Jong-un to turn NK into a hardcore capitalist state, but it is noteworthy that he studied at Switzerland and is known to be a NBA fan obsessed with Michael Jordan and James Bond. Maybe he'll realize he'll have to make some changes to avoid more famine and a potential collapse of his government, but that would be problematic as well. Korea DPR is not about the Kims only, there are a lot of powerful bureaucrats heading the military and the Worker's Party. If they feel little Kim is threatening their interests, they would have the resources to try to take Kim Jong-un out of the equation, but Jong-un must have many people loyal to him around him as well - and that could lead to a hellish dispute over power.

Maybe one of those bureaucrats could look for help secretly with a superpower - "help me and let me take Kim Jong-un out of power, and I'll have my silent dictatorship here in NK, while we'll stop producing nukes and will make some economic reforms that'll please you". That's the only way I could see real change coming, for the following years.