Missing Pieces and the 1994 Gamble to Freeze North Korean Nukes
North Korean nuclear assets were traded for reactor promises in a 1994 deal that left the IAEA as a bargaining chip and the South Koreans as spectators.
By Eleanor Voss ·
DPRK
Moscow Denies North Korea Nuclear Plant Amid Massive Arms Demands
North Korea’s bid for nuclear power and massive arms shipments met a hard line from Moscow as the client state failed to pay substantial export arrears.
By Eleanor Voss ·
Three employees left North Korea diplomatically paralyzed in Vienna
Diplomatic paralysis left North Korean staff unable to navigate international organizations or ask questions at the IAEA, relying on Hungarian aid and a single atomic energy specialist.
By Eleanor Voss ·
African Presidents and Communists Demand US Nuclear Forces Leave South Korea
American nuclear forces and technical patents were targeted by African presidents and communists in Brussels seeking to choke Seoul's industrial capacity.
By Vera Kessler ·
Pyongyang Sought to Break Moscow's Grip With 0.26 Percent Uranium Ore
North Korea secretly targeted Prague for uranium-mining gear and a reactor while diplomats in Geneva fought to freeze the nuclear map during the mid-1960s.
By Roy Castellano ·
Kim Yu Sun disputes IOC claims that Pyongyang blocked Olympic entry
Pyongyang officials were labeled as obstacles to the 1988 Games after the IOC president alleged they blocked their own athletes, a claim Kim Yu Sun fought to correct for international optics.
By Vera Kessler ·
Soviets deny North Korea nuclear plant and 350,000 metric tons of fuel
North Korea faced a difficult economic situation as Soviet officials issued verbal rejections to avoid creating a formal record of promised energy aid or nuclear power.
By Roy Castellano ·
North Koreans sought Soviet space aid under treaty conditions
North Koreans sought satellite capabilities to monitor across distances, but whether Gyae Eung-tae ever signed the required international agreement remains unknown.
By Vera Kessler ·
Prague Warns North Korean Nuclear Weapons Could Spark Global War
Prague feared North Korea was equipping itself with nuclear weapons and risking global war while Budapest dismissed the alarm as a tactic to sound out Jimmy Carter's plans.
By Roy Castellano ·
300,000 Soldiers Built a Dam as Kim Il Sung Masked Systemic Desperation
Behind choreographed flatteries, Kim Il Sung confessed to Erich Honecker that his people lacked food and clothing while 1,000 nuclear warheads threatened to turn his country into complete rubble.
By Vera Kessler ·
Kim Il Sung pivoted from forceful liberation to 100,000-man troop cap
East Berlin analysts watched Kim Il Sung shift from calls to forcefully liberate the south to a proposal for reducing armed forces to 100,000 men.
By Vera Kessler ·
Kim Il Sung Claimed 92 Percent Autonomy to Mask Soviet Credit Needs
Pyongyang hid its reliance on Soviet credits for steel mills and power plants behind a mask of total autonomy while shifting its political allegiance toward Beijing.
By Vera Kessler ·
North Korea sought 95 students for secret nuclear training
Czechoslovakia and East Germany blocked students from accessing state secrets in nuclear physics after Pyongyang urgently offered to pay all costs for 95 trainees.
By Eleanor Voss ·
Kim Il Sung pivots to Mao as Soviets reject low-quality towels
A Cuban ambassador leaked secrets to Kim Il Sung and China while Soviet diplomats fought over rejected towels and watched Park Chung-hee stabilize South Korea's free market.
By Roy Castellano ·
Kang Seong-san sought $2 billion to match Seoul's nuclear prestige
North Korea gambled on a $2 billion Soviet credit to match South Korean prestige, accepting IAEA inspections to secure a reactor that Soviet experts warned would take a decade to build.
By Eleanor Voss ·
600 Japanese citizens used China to slip into North Korea
India feared US reprisals while 600 Japanese citizens lied on visa forms to enter Pyongyang, hiding trade ties and using China as a buffer to bypass Western containment.
By Roy Castellano ·