In the case of North Korea, the United States encourages the DPRK to adopt responsible nonproliferation behavior, abide by the Agreed Framework on nuclear issues, curb its indigenous missile programs, and refrain from exporting missiles. With Russia and China, the United States has a sustained and high-level dialogue to press them both firmly to cease cooperating with or supplying materials to countries of proliferation concern. The United States also raises international awareness of proliferation concerns by actively speaking out at the United Nations and other multilateral venues where these issues are addressed. This is the case with proliferation threats in Iraq, Libya, and Sudan. The combination of dialogue and cooperation and implementation of additional measures to enhance confidence and security among regional states can reduce further the incentives countries may have to acquire WMD or missiles.
Defensive planning is critical and can itself deter states from undesirable courses of action.
Depending on the circumstances, counterforce or preemption might be appropriate responses. In between fall active defense measures, most prominently now, a national missile defense system. While WMD proliferation presents a significant challenge to the United States, the challenge is being addressed. Our nonproliferation strategy will continue to combine efforts to reduce incentives to acquire WMD, convince those on the supply side that threats from proliferation dramatically outweigh economic benefits, and remind proliferators that their actions come with a high price. The key remains to identify proliferation threats at an early stage before costly countermeasures are needed, keep focused on reducing WMD and missile programs to zero, and control access to key technologies.