North Korea coup speculation is back!

Sending 12,000 troops to war means coup speculation will return

When you’re sending 12,000 troops to battle in support of a side not exactly known for its kind treatment of conscripts, you’ve got to be thinking twice about the soldiers you’re threatening to send and the soldiers coming back. If those troops end up as cannon fodder, with Kim Jong-un’s stupidity, the coup d’etat speculation is back on!

There’s a history. In 1996, the Korean People's Army Sixth Corps, headquartered in Chongjin, planned a coup d'etat. With the failure of state services and continuing restrictions on trading, North Hamkyung Province was hungry and dissatisfied - including the leadership and officers in each link of the self-monitoring triumvirate of political committees, military command, and National Security Agency. We know it failed, but we also know it’s a very real threat.

Edward N. Luttwak's Coup d’État: A Practical Handbook is the best known book on how to undertake a coup. Does North Korea check all the boxes?

Luttwak’s book explores the mechanics of seizing state…