North Korea Nuclear Timeline Fast Facts
KNA : Here is a look at North Korea's nuclear capabilities and the history of its weapons program
date
nuclear program
1985
North Korea signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
1994
North Korea and the United States sign an agreement. Among other stipulations, North Korea pledges to freeze and eventually dismantle its old, graphite-moderated nuclear reactors in exchange for international aid to build two new light-water nuclear reactors.
2003
January 10
North Korea withdraws from the NPT.
2006
July
After North Korea test fires long range missiles, the UN Security Council passes a resolution demanding that North Korea suspend the program.
2007
February 13
North Korea agrees to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for an aid package worth $400 million.
2008
December
Six-party talks are held in Beijing. The talks break down over North Korea's refusal to allow international inspectors unfettered access to suspected nuclear sites.
2009
May 25
North Korea announces it has conducted its second nuclear test.
2015
May 24
A spokesman for South Korea's Defense Ministry says that based on analysis of commercial satellite images at North Korea's nuclear test site, North Korea appears ready to carry out a nuclear test at any time.
2014
March 30-31
- North Korea warns that it is prepping another nuclear test and the following day, the hostility escalates when the country fires hundreds of shells across the sea border with South Korea. In response, South Korea fires about 300 shells into North Korean waters and sends fighter jets to the border.
2016
January 6-7
North Korea says it has successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test. A day after the alleged test, White House spokesman Josh Earnest says that the United States has not verified that the test was successful.
2017
January 1
In a televised address, Kim Jong Un claims that North Korea could soon test an intercontinental ballistic missile.
2017
July 25
North Korea threatens a nuclear strike on "the heart of the US" if it attempts to remove Kim Jong Un as Supreme Leader, according to Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).