Is North Korea’s ultimate goal to conquer the South?

Track2Asia Director Glyn Ford participates in a debate with Benjamin R. Young (assistant professor of homeland security and emergency preparedness at Virginia Commonwealth University), Jean Do (assistant professor in the Institute of Humanities for Unification at Konkuk University) and Joshua Stanton (founder of the blog OneFreeKorea) on what Pyongyang really means by “final victory” and how it might go about achieving its long-term goals on the peninsula. Building on an NK News article making the case that Kim Jong Un seeks regime survival through unification and a rebuttal arguing that the DPRK is too aware of its weaknesses to risk war, the experts draw comparisons to other countries’ situations, analyze North Korea’s words and actions and consider whether Seoul would go along with what Pyongyang wants.