A North Korean report threatened “merciless punishment” for South Korean media and a Seoul-based think tank that “slandered” the regime by hosting discussions related to its stability and possible collapse.

The conference, hosted by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies last week, featured North Korea watchers from several countries who discussed the long-term prospects for the North. Among them was Center for Naval Analyses senior researcher Ken Gause, who stated that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who took over after his father’s death in late 2011, has one or two more years before consolidating control over the country.

The