Despite years of international sanctions and recent pressure from the Trump Administration, North Korea’s missile program has continued to rack up successes and acquire new capabilities. It would seem these new capabilities have made North Korean leader Kim Jong-un more confident, evidenced by his threat to conduct a missile test aimed toward the U.S. territory of Guam. After Trump doubled down on his commitment to use force against North Korea, Kim withdrew his threat to carry out the test while stating it could happen at any time of his choosing. For the moment, North Korea and the U.S. are at an impasse. The Cipher Brief spoke to James Kim, director of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC., to learn more about North Korea’s new capabilities, its motivations, and how it has managed to achieve technical success in spite of international sanctions.
The Cipher Brief: The Pentagon recently completed a report saying North Korea could successfully miniaturize a nuclear warhead and place it on a missile. North Korea has claimed this capability for some time, and previous reports suggested they had achieved this capability. What is new about this report?
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