While the consolidation of power by the new North Korean dictator is an entertaining to watch political chess game, the West has already made its most important decision. (By "the West" I mean America, Europe, Japan, South Korea - all the countries that may benefit from the democratization in the North Korea, and who take pride in their commitment to defending human rights.):
The North Korean weakness that resulted from the death of Kim change of the regime presented a unique choice of seizing the moment to force a regime change - militarily, like in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, or by using political pressure, in Pakistan (forcing the departure of Pervez Musharraf), as the early Obama administration attempted to do in Honduras, and finally as it happened when the West refused to support its long-term ally in Egypt.
Please note that I am not advocating the use of force, but pointing that there was a clear choice (albeit complicated by the spectacular intelligence failures): use the weakness of the power transition in North Korea to topple the regime, or wait till the regime consolidates its power in order to negotiate with the new dictator.
The world, weary of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, immediately chose the second option. We can now only wait and see whether the future negotiations with the new Korean dictator will succeed in helping Korean people and reducing the danger that the dictatorship poses to its neighbors. But every choice implies a share of responsibility for its consequences...
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