ABSTRACT
Evaluating the non-proliferation and diplomatic history surrounding Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs requires a basic understanding of the two paths to build the necessary inputs for a nuclear weapon. Iran and North Korea's nuclear pursuits both raise concerns about their use of uranium enrichment and plutonium reactors to open two separate paths to the bomb. North Korea signed the non-proliferation treaty (NPT) in 1985 under Soviet pressure and tentative Soviet promises to build the country proliferation. Both Iran and North Korea have attempted to leverage their extraordinary position as nuclear outliers to get special treatment and a pass with the international community on a range of unrelated matters. In 2003 the second North Korean nuclear crisis had begun. In July 2006 North Korea launched seven missiles, including its first flight test of the Taepodong-2 rocket with applications for an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
