Andrew Mack, ‘North Korea’s Nuclear Program: The Options are Shrinking’, IR Working Paper 1994-5, Canberra: Department of International Relations, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, July 1994.

This paper reviews the recent history of the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula. It argues that North Korea is determined to acquire nuclear weapons for reason of regime security and prestige. It will not, therefore, bargain away the nuclear option for economic and political concessions despite the growing crises in the economy. The paper outlines a radical unilateral package that addresses the North’s security concerns directly and thus might persuade the regime to abandon the nuclear option. Failing this, the paper argues that the international community will have to learn to live with a nuclear-armed North Korea.