Summary

In the 1990s North Korea accelerated the development of large rockets. These rockets have been tested in various configurations and could provide the capability to deliver a warhead over intercontinental ranges.

North Korea has not met its obligations under bilateral safeguards agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency, strengthening the suspicion that it has a clandestine nuclear weapon programme. Given the continued state of high tension on the Korean Peninsula, there is widespread concern about the implications of weapon development in North Korea for regional and international security.

In September 1999 the United States and North Korea reached an agreement by which North Korea is expected to suspend its long-range ballistic missile testing programme.

Appendix 11A. Multilateral weapon and technology export controls

Appendix 11A examines recent developments in the multilateral weapon and technology export control regimes. It places particular emphasis on the review of the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls conducted by participating states five years after the arrangement began to operate.

Appendix 11B. The Wassenaar Arrangement 1999 plenary meeting statement