"North Korean Troops Could Just Walk Into South Korea"... Why Elon Musk Issued This Warning

Pointing Out South Korea's Ultra-Low Birth Rate: "It's Insane"
"In Just Three Generations, South Korea's Population Will Shrink to 3%"

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, highlighted the seriousness of South Korea's demographic structure, stating, "North Korea doesn't even need to invade." He warned that if current trends continue, South Korea's population will sharply decline in several decades.

The Tesla CEO appeared on the podcast 'Moonshots,' which was released on January 7 (local time), and remarked, "(The North Korean military) could just walk into (South Korea)," making this claim.

The Moonshots podcast is hosted by entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, and this episode focused on the 'Age of Abundance' brought by artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. YouTube capture

During the conversation, Musk discussed aging and disease, mentioning the need for 'adult diapers.' He said, "I hope I don't get sick even when I'm old," adding, "It's only a matter of time before I get back pain, and I want to sleep through the night without having to go to the bathroom. Wearing adult diapers would probably help."

When one of the hosts commented, "That doesn't sound like a good story," Musk emphasized, "Adult diapers are real. This is a sign that a country is heading in the wrong direction. When sales of adult diapers surpass those for infants, it is a bad sign."

He continued, "South Korea has already passed that point. Isn't that really crazy?" He added, "Currently, South Korea's birth rate is one-third of the population replacement rate, and in three generations, the population will decrease to one twenty-seventh of its current size. In other words, it will shrink to 3% of today's population."

Elon Musk, CEO, having a conversation on a podcast. YouTube capture

In fact, South Korea's total fertility rate in 2024 is 0.75, which is only about one-third of the 2.1 rate typically required for a country to maintain its population.

In response, Diamandis asked, "Wouldn't life extension be the solution to low birth rates? If the average age in the United States increases and people can work longer, wouldn't the entire economic situation change?" Musk replied, "If there is a willingness to work, AI and robots will make everything possible."

However, he said, "The human lifespan is a solvable problem," and predicted, "Our body's biological clock is synchronized. We are programmed to die in a certain way. If we can figure out how to change that program, we could live longer."