A conversation with MIT’s Jim Walsh about the future of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and how the biggest dangers aren’t what we think
By Robert K. Elder, Outrider
Although delayed by the Covid pandemic, North Korea is poised to start testing its nuclear weapons program, says Jim Walsh, a senior research associate at MIT’s Security Studies Program.

“Most analysts who work on North Korea’s nuclear program expect a test, as a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if,” Walsh says.
North Korea is one of nine known nations with nuclear weapons and the newest to acquire the bomb, which the country’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un has used to threaten and intimidate political adversaries.
Walsh spoke with Outrider about the state and future of North Korea’s nuclear program—and what that means for world politics.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Outrider: Why do you think another North Korean nuclear test is imminent?
Jim Walsh: North Korea has tested nuclear weapons six times in the past. I expect a North Korean nuclear test sometime over the next six months, and as early as September, I am in good company on that one. We have been expecting a test for a while, and there has been the occasional false start.
Recent Posts
Visits Of Justice: Stella Assange’s Plea To Australia
May 29, 2023
Take Action Now “Julian is lying in his cell, probably awake and struggling to fall asleep. It’s where he spends twenty-two hours a day, every…
No Parade For Me: On Getting Memorial Day Wrong
May 29, 2023
Take Action Now The days has too often and for too many become an expression of faux patriotism that further exploits the sacrifices of the slain and…
What Can I Do To Prevent Nuclear War? You Can Shout ‘No’ Now!
May 28, 2023
Take Action Now We’ve done 31 War Abolition Walks in Madison since April 2022 to call for an end to the war in Ukraine, and all war. By Janet…
Henry Kissinger, War Criminal, Is Somehow Still Alive
May 27, 2023
Take Action Now Much of the world views Kissinger as a war criminal – yet in the US, surrounded by powerful friends, he is feted as a…