Editor’s note: What If? is an NK News series featuring scenarios about North Korea’s future. Articles in this series draw on verified facts and rigorous analysis to explore hypothetical events in the years and decades ahead.

“Earlier today, the Republic of Korea achieved its goal of acquiring the most powerful weapons in the world to defend our country.”

Speaking at a televised press conference on Korean Liberation Day in 2033, the South Korean president delivered the news of her country’s first nuclear test in a stern tone. Implicitly acknowledging the world’s grave concerns about the implications for global non-proliferation, the