In 1994 , North Korea and the United States signed an Agreed Framework which was designed to freeze and eventually dismantle the North 's nuclear weapons program in exchange for aid in producing two power-generating nuclear reactors and the assurance that it wo n't be invaded again . In 2000 , after a meeting with Madeleine Albright , he agreed to a moratorium on missile construction . In 2002 , Kim Jong-il 's government admitted to having produced nuclear weapons since the 1994 agreement . Kim 's regime argued the secret production was necessary for security purposesciting the presence of United States-owned nuclear weapons in South Korea and the new tensions with the United States under President George W. Bush . On 9 October 2006 , North Korea 's Korean Central News Agency announced that it had successfully conducted an underground nuclear test
an underground nuclear test
2006 North Korean nuclear test
Kim Jong-il