What lay behind the declaration was the regime’s recognition that a second-term Bush administration would not soften its demand for a complete repudiation of its nuclear program, but would instead continue to pursue policies aimed at isolating and stifling North Korea. The same goes for Japan, whose stance on the abduction of its citizens by North Korean agents in the 1970’s and 1980’s was also cited by the Kim regime last June as a reason for walking out of the six-party talks.
金正日政府之所以正式承认拥有核武器，是认识到了连任的布什政府在要求北朝鲜完全放弃其核武器方案方面不会让步，而是会继续实行孤立、扼杀北朝鲜的政策。在此问题上日本也持同样态度。去年6月，金正日政府在退出六国会谈时，就以日本政府对20世纪70年代和80 年代北朝鲜间谍劫持日本公民事件的立场来证明了这一点。