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How Did North Korea Get Nuclear Weapons?

This picture taken and released on July 4, 2017 by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the test-fire of the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
This picture taken and released on July 4, 2017 by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the test-fire of the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

In an interview with The American Prospect, White House strategist Steve Bannon said “there’s no military solution” to North Korea’s growing nuclear weapons program. Going against President Trump’s threat of “fire and fury,” Bannon suggested Trump should tone down the brinkmanship with North Korea and focus on China instead.

But how did North Korea get its nuclear weapons in the first place?

Here & Now‘s Meghna Chakrabarti talks with James Acton (@james_acton32), co-director of the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, about the origins of the North Korean nuclear program and how that history informs the situation today.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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