"Northern Korea will soon collapse." This sentence comes from Kim Jong-Nam, the eldest son of the former North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, who passed away in December 2011. However, what is remarkable is not the content of this statement, but rather the fact that it originates from a North Korean source. Western observers have long predicted the implosion of this politically often as enigmatic as unpredictable state. A prime example of this can be found in the statements of German political scientist Hanns W. Maull, who repeatedly pointed out in 2009 the urgent need for political and economic reforms in North Korea, as the North Korean state, according to Maull, was no longer viable. The fact is that both quoted statements share two commonalities: firstly, they are neither new in content, nor are they...