North Korea and the Development of its Nuclear Arsenal

Summary: The Korean War

On August 15th of  1945, Korea split into North Korea and South Korea. After years of simmering tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the Korean War officially began on June 25, 1950 when North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel, invading South Korea. Though the fighting occurred on Korean soil, the Korean War was a proxy war between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War Period. During this proxy war, the North was supported by China and the Soviet Union while the South was supported by the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Nations. As a result of these international blocs, North Korea formed a communist government that the Soviet Union and China supported, while South Korea formed democratic government that its Western allies endorsed. 

The war ended on July 27th, 1953 with the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement. This agreement ceased the fighting on the Korean Peninsula but also formally codified the division of Korea into North and South Korea. 

North Korea’s Government 

During the Korean War, the Soviet Union and China set Kim Il Sung as the first leader of North Korea, who established North Korea as a dictatorship. Under his regime, the rights and freedom of the people were extremely limited – citizens’ rights were traded off with the greater objectives of the government. Specifically, Kim Jong Un and his predecessors ended up trading off the welfare of citizens for nuclear weapons. 

North Korea’s Nuclear Program 

Unable to sustain itself like South Korea due to its lack of innovation and jobs, North Korea  relied on the support of China and the Soviet Union in the aftermath of the Korean War. As a result, when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the North Korean economy began to decline. China still supported North Korea with resources, but the loss of a superpower’s support is tangible. Absent a strong economy, the threats of recession and lack of resources increased, decreasing North Korean security. 

The loss of security was one of the largest motives for the development of nuclear weapons. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States posed a huge threat to North Korea. In this situation, nuclear weapons became the deterrent to foreign attacks – countries would not attack North Korea because of the threat of nuclear weapons. In North Korea’s case, building up a nuclear arsenal was much more effective than simply creating conventional weapons. A large-scale nuclear attack allowed for North Korea to potentially wipe out territories instantly, while a large-scale conventional attack does not have this capability. 

For this reason, North Korea has not shown any signs of halting its nuclear development, with Kim vowing that “there would be no denuclearization or any negotiations on denuclearization”. Kim’s strict approach has caused displeasure among non-proliferation states, weakening relations between North Korea and the broader international community. For this reason, nuclear weapons have served as leverage in diplomatic negotiations for North Korea. North Korea is estimated to have about 1,000 ballistic missiles, which allows it to pressure other countries to win sanctions relief and other concessions. The USA, North Korea’s rival, has always advocated for the halting of nuclear proliferation, pushing for North Korea denuclearization. Thus, North Korea chooses to use its increasingly developed and advanced nuclear arsenal as a bargaining chip to secure benefits and safety for itself amidst such denuclearization campaigns. 

COVID and North Korea’s Nuclear Development 

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, trade with China, which accounted for more than 90% of North Korea’s total trade volume, declined by more than 80%. This decreased trade coupled with worldwide sanctions pushed North Korea to shambles. Regardless, during the pandemic, North Korea still forged ahead with the development of its nuclear program (Smith, 1). While there was a huge decrease in trade with China, the funding of the nuclear program did not suffer as a result of cyberattacks. Cyber attacks help North Korea fund its nuclear program – .North Korea has stolen $340 million alone from cyber attacks in 2023. While cyber-attacks are criminal activities, Kim would take any path to secure the development of his nuclear arsenal. 

The Modern Day 

Current tensions between the USA and North Korea are extremely fragile, and it is likely that an arms race between these two nations will ensue. As a result of North Korea’s rapid development of nukes, the United States may feel incentivized to ramp up nuclear development to catch up to North Korea. Both the United States and North Korea will try to take steps to guarantee their national security and hegemony on the global stage – but it is important that these tensions do not escalate. 

Works Referenced

—. “The Korean War.” PBS, —. 

—. “North Korea 101: The History of North Korea.” Liberty in North Korea, —.

Brumfield, Cynthia. “North Korea’s state hacking program is varied, fluid, and nimble.” CSO, 10/30/2023

Kim Hyung-Jin. “How impoverished North Korea finances its missile testing.” Los Angeles Times, 11/4/2022

McCarthy, Simone. “The West fears a closer Russia and North Korea. China may not.” CNN, 9/15/2023

Seth, Michael. “An Unpromising Recovery: South Korea’s Post-Korean War Economic Development: 1953-1961.” Association for Asian Studies, 2013

Smith, Josh. “North Korea’s weapons programme defies COVID outbreak, reaches ‘uncharted territory.’” Reuters, 12/27/2022

Yeo, Andrew. “North Korea is addressing the pandemic in its ‘style.’ That means leaving a lot of people hungry.” Brookings, 11/22/2021

Yeung, Jessie. “North Korea amends constitution to bolster nuclear power status, calls US and allies ‘worst threat.’” CNN, 9/28/2023

Cover Image: Sue-Lin Wong/Reuters. From https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/north-korea-nuclear-weapons-missile-tests-military-capabilities.