We have made numerous agreements with North Korea concerning their nuclear programs in the past during the Clinton Administration. North Korea gained much aid from the United States and South Korea on these deals. These agreements were good if North Korea did not violate them, Clinton was a fool. Clinton made the deal and North Korea in effect told him to stuff the deal up his ass. Clinton did nothing and Obama was even worse.
Our bargaining position with North Korea should be very simple. Agree with the agreements we made or face military might. That is all they understand.
Face military might? That means war, and who wants war with N. Korea?
It’s pretty clear why the N. Koreans want nukes. I know they bluster about attacking the USA, but nukes are defensive in nature. A non-nuclear state is at a clear disadvantage against a nuclear one, but two nuclear states are stabilized by threats of mutual destruction, aka MAD.
In a sense, nuclear weapons limit and prevent war. That’s why we didn’t go head to head against the USSR so much as engage in proxy fights.
I don’t think a nuclear N. Korea means the USA gets nuked. They know we have the power to completely wipe them out with or without nukes. However, a nuclear N. Korea could retaliate against the US homeland, and even with near perfect “Star Wars” defenses, the USA could suffer severe damage. So that means—from a Nork perspective—they are finally secure.
I know we have no intention of ever attacking a non-nuclear N. Korea, but THEY don’t know that. That’s why they want the great equalizer: nuclear weapons. We just need to decide if it’s worth going to war to stop them, because that’s probably the only way they will be stopped at this point.