As attention is being turned to who will lead North Korea amid its reclusive leader Kim Jong-il's reported illness, a U.S. expert on North Korean affairs argues that Pyongyang will likely form a collective leadership.

U.S. diplomatic journal "Foreign Affairs" interviewed Ken Gause, an analyst at the Center for Naval Analysis, on the current situation in the North. He said Kim's brother-in-law, Jang Song-thaek, and O Kuk-ryol, a 75-year old general and Kim's closest confidant, are likely to form a collective leadership system.

The analyst also said that some experts believe North Korea already has a collective leadership system of sort that takes care of the country's routine affairs.

Gause forecast that Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's Number Two leader, will likely join the collective leadership system. He added that Kim Ok, Kim Jong-il's secretary and de facto spouse, is playing an influential role behind the scene.

The analyst noted, however, Kim Jong-il's sons are unlikely to succeed him, as they have neither been appointed nor groomed to take over command.