Speaking on Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia, Carnegie’s Douglas Paal argued that North Korea may only be willing to open talks after it perceives that it has developed reliable intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads that can threaten the United States. Paal then argued that while there is some truth in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s point that sanctions would not make North Korea abandon its nuclear program, it is mostly a talking point for Putin to keep people from discussing the likelihood that unemployed Russian rocket scientists may have been helping North Korea develop its new capabilities.

This broadcast was originally broadcast by Bloomberg.