The international environment changed with the election of U.S. president George W. Bush in 2001 . His administration rejected South Korea 's Sunshine Policy and the Agreed Framework . The U.S. government treated North Korea as a rogue state , while North Korea redoubled its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons to avoid the fate of Iraq . On 9 October 2006 , North Korea announced it had conducted its first nuclear weapons test
its first nuclear weapons test
2006 North Korean nuclear test
North Korea