Security & Stability: The First Phase of a Post-Kim Transition

With a coordinated plan in place, early stabilization can be achieved within the first 6–12 months after regime collapse, and then progressively institutionalized into a lasting security order—forming the foundation for political transition and economic reconstruction.

The collapse of the Kim regime will not immediately produce freedom or peace. It will produce a sudden concentration of risk—uncontrolled weapons, fractured security forces, and a population emerging from decades of coercion.

Planning for post-authoritarian collapse elsewhere—including the Hudson Institute’s report, China after Communism: Preparing for a Post-CCP China—highlights a consistent lesson: regimes fall faster than the coercive structures that sustained them. Armies, security services, and systems of control do not dissolve on their own; if left unmanaged, they become sources of instability rather than foundations for renewal.

The Security & Stability section of the NVNK Blueprint focuses on five immediate tasks.

1. Weapons Control & Denuclearization

The first priority is not symbolic disarmament but physical control. Nuclear and strategic weapons must be identified, secured, and placed under verifiable oversight to prevent proliferation, fragmentation, or coercive bargaining. Denuclearization follows only once control becomes irreversible.

2. Military Transition & Demobilization

North Korea’s armed forces cannot simply disappear without creating instability. A phased transition includes reducing force size, removing ideological command structures, and repurposing remaining units for stabilization and disaster response. It aims to prevent armed fragmentation while dismantling the regime’s military legacy.

3. Internal Security & Judicial Transition

The collapse of political police and surveillance organs creates a dangerous vacuum. Provisional law enforcement and limited judicial mechanisms are essential to prevent revenge and vigilantism, while preserving records for future accountability.

4. Humanitarian Assistance & Civilian Protection

Humanitarian breakdowns quickly become security crises. Ensuring food access, medical care, and civilian protection—especially for women, children, and displaced populations—is critical to stabilizing daily life and restoring public trust.

5. Security Coordination & Stabilization

This task focuses on technical deconfliction, coordination with international partners, and preventing accidental or opportunistic violence—without addressing political authority or long-term governance.