ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how Pyongyang came to the conclusion that powerfully increasing its military capabilities, specifically by ultimately acquiring and demonstrating its nuclear weapons capability, was the best choice for the survival of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). To provide a solid foundation to the explanation, this chapter examines the DPRK’s juche idea and the songun policy. After a brief discussion of some important security-related issues, this chapter also shows the connection of juche and songun to the first and second DPRK nuclear crisis and provides some perspective to Pyongyang’s relations with Washington and Tokyo.
