Book review: An insider’s account of how the US dropped the ball on North Korea



Opinion Book review: An insider’s account of how the US dropped the ball on North Korea In ‘Fallout,’ Joel Wit documents three decades of diplomacy gone wrong and the failure to stop the DPRK nuclear program Stephen Mercado October 24, 2025 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON A collage of U.S. presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un \| Images: White House, KCNA, edited by NK News “Fallout: The Inside Story of America’s Failure to Disarm North Korea” is a book likely to dismay readers. The author Joel S. Wit, a distinguished fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Center and a former State Department official, has written a compelling insider’s history of Washington’s failure to come to grips with Pyongyang’s development of nuclear weapons. Exhaustively researched, the book finds fault with George W. Bush’s desertion of the Agreed Framework, with Barack Obama’s “strategic patience” and with Donald Trump’s inability to realize the promise of negotiations. Along the way, Wit presents engaging portraits of the personalities involved, bringing © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update & Podcast Updates Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

Opinion

Book review: An insider’s account of how the US dropped the ball on North Korea

In ‘Fallout,’ Joel Wit documents three decades of diplomacy gone wrong and the failure to stop the DPRK nuclear program

Stephen Mercado October 24, 2025

Book review: An insider’s account of how the US dropped the ball on North Korea

A collage of U.S. presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un | Images: White House, KCNA, edited by NK News

“Fallout: The Inside Story of America’s Failure to Disarm North Korea” is a book likely to dismay readers.

The author Joel S. Wit, a distinguished fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Center and a former State Department official, has written a compelling insider’s history of Washington’s failure to come to grips with Pyongyang’s development of nuclear weapons.

Exhaustively researched, the book finds fault with George W. Bush’s desertion of the Agreed Framework, with Barack Obama’s “strategic patience” and with Donald Trump’s inability to realize the promise of negotiations.

Along the way, Wit presents engaging portraits of the personalities involved, bringing

About the Author

Stephen Mercado

Stephen Mercado is a retired officer of the CIA’s Open Source Enterprise (originally the Foreign Broadcast Information Service). A researcher primarily interested in Japanese intelligence history and Asian open-source intelligence, he earned a master’s degree in international affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He is the author of "Japanese Spy Gear and Special Weapons: How Noborito's Scientists and Technicians Served in the Second World War and the Cold War" (Pen & Sword Military, 2025), "The Shadow Warriors of Nakano: A History of the Imperial Japanese Army’s Elite Intelligence School" (Brassey’s, 2002), a dozen articles and several dozen book reviews.

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