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The Inquiry: How did North Korea get the bomb?

How did North Korea get the Bomb?

04/05/2017 GMT

How did North Korea get the bomb?

BBC World Service - The Inquiry, How did North Korea get the bomb?

Exploring how the secretive state has acquired nuclear weapons

Exploring how a poor and isolated country has acquired nuclear weapons.

Tensions between the US and North Korea are running high. Kim Jong-Un has been testing long-range missiles and nuclear weapons. The Trump administration wants Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons programmes and has said “all of our options are on the table” in pursuit of that goal. North Korea has said that a "super mighty pre-emptive strike” is planned if the US uses military force against them. But – our question this week – how did this poor and isolated country develop nuclear weapons in the first place?

Presenter: Ruth Alexander

Producers: Kate Lamble, Phoebe Keane and Estelle Doyle

(Photo: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets scientists and technicians in the field of researches into nuclear weapons. Credit: Reuters)

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