North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs: Foreign absorption and domestic innovation

North Korea’s strategic weapons innovation system is exemplary of an authoritarian mobilization model. The top leadership prioritizes the program and mobilizes country’s science, technology, heavy industrial resources around key programs. Key to success are investments in a defense infrastructure that runs from basic research development applied R&D, product development, linked production capability. Although foreign borrowing important, nuclear missile programs would not have gelled absence complementary domestic investments.