A state-run Russian research center predicts that the likelihood of regime collapse in the North will increase as a result of the ongoing father-to-son succession, and the two Koreas will move into a phase of de facto unification by the late 2020s.

The Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) said in a special report that South Korea will likely emerge as a developed democratic nation over the next 20 years, while the North will witness a collapse of its regime, and the two nations will enter a stage where they are de facto unified.

The institute said if North Korean leader Kim Jong-il leaves the political arena, an internal power struggle will occur in the North. The report said there could be strife between bureaucrats in the communist nation who have access to external information and the military that does not.