Proliferation Papers - North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Development: Implications for Future Policy Proliferation Papers, No. 33, Spring 2010
Despite the resumption of high-level diplomatic contact between Washington and Pyongyang in late 2009, realization of a non-nuclear Korean Peninsula remains a very remote prospect, with the DPRK insisting that a peace agreement between the U.S. and North Korea and hence the cessation of "hostile DPRK-U.S. relations" are necessary before any consideration of denuclearization.
Despite the resumption of high-level diplomatic contact between Washington and Pyongyang in late 2009, realization of a non-nuclear Korean Peninsula remains a very remote prospect, with the DPRK insisting that a peace agreement between the U.S. and North Korea and hence the cessation of "hostile DPRK-U.S. relations" are necessary before any consideration of denuclearization. This essay assesses North Korea's long-standing quest for nuclear weapons, alternative strategies for inhibiting Pyongyang's weapons development, and the potential implications for regional security and non-proliferation should the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) retain and enhance its weapons programs.