North Korea’s ‘exponential’ nuclear program: why Kim Jong-un is racing to expand his arsenal

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un inspecting a newly-inaugurated nuclear materials production factory at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Photograph: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un inspecting a newly-inaugurated nuclear materials production factory at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Photograph: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP/Getty Images North Korea North Korea’s ‘exponential’ nuclear program: why Kim Jong-un is racing to expand his arsenal The heightened rhetoric from Pyongyang has left analysts asking why North Korea appears to need so many nuclear weapons