Last month’s media frenzy surrounding the health and possible death of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has reiterated how tightly the country controls information and how difficult it is for the international press to confirm speculations. Despite Kim’s first public appearance in nearly three weeks on May 1, these events are a reminder that the world’s most secretive nation could easily face a leadership crisis.

What does this development reveal about the stability and longevity of Chairman Kim’s regime? What’s next for US-North Korea relations in the lead-up to the 2020 US elections, and how will it impact Northeast Asia’s geopolitical dynamics?

Introduction

Laura Deal Lacey, Executive Director, Asia Center, Milken Institute

Moderator

James Crabtree, Associate Professor in Practice and Senior Fellow, Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Panel

Experts and Speakers

Anna Fifield, Beijing Bureau Chief at The Washington Post and author of The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong-un

Prof. Robert Kelly, Professor in Political Science, Pusan National University Yasuhide Nakayama, Member, House of Representatives, Japan; Former State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan

Dr. John Park, Director of the Korea Project, Harvard Kennedy School