The North Korea Nuclear Crisis, 1992-2002

North Korea is one of the world’s smallest and poorest nations, yet it is one of only nine nations with a nuclear arsenal. Its long-range missiles are believed capable of reaching the United States. Specialists doubt its warheads can survive re-entry into the atmosphere and accurately hit a designated target, but persistent effort makes this eventually likely. How did this happen? Thirty years ago, the US and DPRK signed the Agreed Framework, their first diplomatic agreement. It was to keep the Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons. Obviously, it fell short. Why? This study seeks an answer. The author was a key player in the agreement’s negotiation and implementation which he recorded contemporaneously in twenty-eight unpublished notebooks, diaries, and hundreds of photographs between 1992 and 2002. He has merged this with knowledge gleaned from official documents and other authors' insights. His conclusion may not be definitive, but it is arguably a significant step in that direction.