One problem not well understood is that the North Koreans believe recent developments in their nuclear weapons program have boosted them to a level of invulnerability, and that as a result, Washington‐whatever it might say‐is without options to counter them.In fact, Pyongyang is so convinced that its strategic position has fundamentally changed for the better that it has recently suggested there may be no need for it to continue building up its program. Since two successful ICBM launches last July, the North’s position is that it has reached the "final stage" in bolstering the nuclear force. It has even explicitly laid out a final goal, a "practical equilibrium" with the United States. What that means exactly we do not know, though presumably Pyongyang has something specific in mind.