North Korea Announces Capability to Miniaturize Nuclear Warhead

Korea Chair Snapshot

  • Miniaturization is one of several technological bottlenecks to a nuclear arsenal. North Korean claims of having accomplished this feat cannot be completely dismissed as fanciful.
     
  • The timing of the statement suggests a degree of pique at Secretary of State Kerry's strong statements against the North and in support of the alliance on the occasion of his May 17 – 18 visit to South Korea.
     
  • It also suggests some pushback at Western analysis downplaying the significance of their submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launch on May 8, 2015.
     
  • North Korean outbursts like this have sometimes been intended to establish a position of strength in advance of the start of negotiations.


Korea Chair Snapshot is a product by the CSIS Korea Chair providing key takeaways from breaking events of the day. Snapshot is published by the Office of the Korea Chair (http://www.csis.org/program/korea-chair) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).