Dana Steinberg reviews and offers a teaser of an upcoming Kathryn Weathersby article that says the norks nukes are for defensive purposes only and there's a historical context to back that claim up.

The old adage “history is the key to the present” is particularly apt in this instance, as newly available historical evidence sheds much needed light on the intentions and motivations of North Korea’s leadership. Over the past three years, the Wilson Center’s Cold War International History Project (CWIHP), with support from the Korea Foundation, has uncovered, translated, analyzed, and published scores of archival documents from North Korea’s former allies.

Weathersby said transcripts of recorded conversations between Kim Il Sung and East German leader Erich Honecker revealed the North Korean leader’s changing attitude about unification. Given his country’s economic weakness and the drain of sustained conflict on the DPRK’s military and economic resources, Kim not only acknowledged that North Korea could not overpower South Korea, but also went so far as to praise Mikhail Gorbachev’s initiative with Ronald Reagan to eliminate nuclear weapons.

As early as the 1960s, North Korea maintained it was hypocritical for the United States to discourage other countries from possessing nuclear weapons while it developed them, and Pyongyang began pressing its allies to give it the capacity to make its own nuclear weapons. “Today, since the U.S. attack on Iraq, it’s difficult for President Bush to persuade North Korea that the United States won’t attack,” said Weathersby. “Bush has declared that his administration aims to end tyranny and he has called Kim Jong-Il a tyrant. Thus, North Korea is trying to persuade the United States they have nuclear weapons to deter a U.S. attack.”

Weathersby said that although North Korea may possess nuclear weapons, evidence shows that in the past half-century, it has consistently operated under clearly defined constraints. “There is a record of North Korea taking advantage of its allies through lying and extortion,” said Weathersby, “but I do not believe it’s the case that their acquisition of nuclear weapons is for offensive purposes. Rather, it’s likely defensive. Consequently, a key condition for North Korea to denuclearize is a credible assurance that it is not in danger of attack.”