“To North Korea, diplomacy is
another form of war.”
–Brian R Myers, The New York Times – February 2005
North Korea has always opted for a rigid and an aggressive foreign policy. It has always stood firmly in the face of opposition and this cannot be more evident than in the case of the development of its nuclear arsenal. In 1963, North Korea had asked Soviet Union for help in building nuclear weapons which it declined but then it agreed to assist in the development of its peaceful nuclear programme. It began operating facilities for uranium fabrication and conversion, and conducted high-explosive detonation tests. It also kept working on its nuclear weapons side by side, very clandestinely, and even refused the inspection of its nuclear energy programme by IAEA. It then announced the withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty amidst international speculations that it was building nuclear weapons. Despite international sanctions, especially by US, North Korea did not deter from carrying out its programme to completion and in 2006, conducted the first test. The possession of nuclear weapons was officially confirmed by the government a year later. As international pressure mounted, North Korea agreed to shut down its nuclear facility after a series of six party talks, involving North Korea, South Korea, China, Russia, Japan, and the United States. It received fuel aid in exchange for this. However, the agreement fell apart as it further conducted a missile test in 2009 and subsequent nuclear tests in 2009,2013 and 2016. It also launched a satellite into orbit around the earth despite heavy criticism from Japan. At present, tension is rising between US and North Korea over the latter’s latest development in the reliable long-range missiles which are claimed to have the potential to reach the mainland United States. If this is true, the course of global politics is expected to change in the coming months with serious warnings coming from US for North Korea to halt its programme.