{"id":8821,"date":"2023-12-14T12:45:12","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T11:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.northkoreainfo.com\/?p=8821"},"modified":"2023-12-14T12:45:12","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T11:45:12","slug":"when-did-north-korea-acquire-nuclear-weapons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northkoreainfo.com\/when-did-north-korea-acquire-nuclear-weapons\/","title":{"rendered":"When Did North Korea Acquire Nuclear Weapons"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The North Korean nuclear weapons program has been hotly debated over the past decade. North Korea has long been a reclusive nation, and its secretive nature has caused much speculation over when, or if, it has attained nuclear capabilities. The answer is now known, as North Korea has officially declared it has nuclear weapons. What remains to be determined is when North Korea acquired nuclear weapons capability, and exactly how it has achieved it.<\/p>\n

In order to determine when North Korea acquired nuclear weapons, one must first understand the history of the country, and how its nuclear program developed. North Korea started to explore the possibility of a nuclear weapon in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, during the Cold War. The country was heavily influenced by the Soviet Union and its efforts to create a nuclear bomb of its own. North Korea was supported financially, and in some cases, even technical assistance was provided.<\/p>\n

North Korea took a major step forward when it signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1985. This treaty established the boundaries and conditions in which signatories could use nuclear weapons and technology. North Korea, however, did not adhere to the treaty and continued testing and research. This made it difficult to determine when North Korea began developing a nuclear arsenal.<\/p>\n

Experts believe that North Korea acquired nuclear weapons capability in the late 1990s. The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency determined that North Korea had begun to acquire nuclear weapons parts and materials, and was able to build a weapons-grade uranium enrichment program. By 2006, it was estimated that North Korea had enough highly enriched uranium to assemble up to 12 nuclear warheads.<\/p>\n