ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book provides that Iran and North Korea are illicit nuclear aspirants. They have pledged to forego nuclear weapons and taken overt acts over many years in violation of that legally binding and highly consequential pledge to the international community. The book discusses the two regimes' domestic political and economic similarities are limited, and the regimes' fundamental political and economic structure and orientation do not merit grouping them together in a typology of states. It describes the human rights problems in Iran and North Korea. However, North Korea's and Iran's similarities on the nuclear issue and lack of diplomatic representation create an opportunity to leverage the Iran-North Korea comparison to mitigate downside risk. The book explains third-party financial sanctions are a tool of financially powerful states to encourage foreign countries and businesses to stop conducting business with Iran or North Korea.
