A little history as this event kinda ties to the history of my family.
My mom was 13 yrs old when the Korean war broke out. Through the fighting, half of her family died. From stories she told, she had ten siblings. She herself was shot in the right elbow which is basically useless today. They lived in a little village just north of the 38th parallel. It was hotly contested area which was occupied by both north and south.
Back and forth, each occupying force moving in after the other left. When the new force came in, they would accuse villagers of assisting the enemy. She says the South Korean army was the worst. They would dig a big ditch then line up young men and women. Well, you know what happened. She says she still knows where the mass graves are. The family escaped by hiding in the hills. They survived by eating mostly chestnuts.
It was a bloody war. When my mom was shot, she was running away with her sister, from what I understand. But her sister was carrying her baby (my niece or nephew) and was shot in the chest from behind. Bullet went through her and through the baby killing both.
Korea has always been a hot bed. When my grandmother was alive, she could only read the Japanese. During WW2, the Japanese occupied Korea and forced young women to learn Japanese. That was mainly to use them as sex slaves.
As to the death of Jong il, I believe the Chinese are going try to influence the succession. If a Chinese lackey comes into power, you will probably find a more open N. Korea but also a more modernized and dangerous N. Korea.