A U.S. expert says North Korean instability is the most likely crisis that future presidents of South Korea, the United States and China will face during their presidency.

Georgetown University Professor Victor Cha made the statement in a recent report titled “A New Cold War in Asia?”

He said North Korean instability stemming from the death of its ailing leader Kim Jong-il, or a failed attempt to hand over power to his son, Jong-un, known to be under 30, will likely result in a critical situation.

Cha said the key to averting such a crisis is through better cooperation among the key players on the peninsula—Washington, Seoul, and Beijing.

However, Cha said such cooperation may not be forthcoming when considering the pattern of China’s performance in response to the North’s provocations against the South in 2009 and 2010.