But when it comes to rogue states and terrorists, we must resort to more coercive measures to prevent proliferation. One of these measures is sanctions. We have led the international community in imposing economic sanctions against two of the most dangerous nations, Iran and Libya. These sanctions have helped prevent Iran from achieving its goal of having nuclear weapons, and they have significantly slowed Libya's efforts to put a chemical weapon production plant into operation. Therefore, we are prepared to take preventive measures to keep Libya from posing such a threat to peace and stability.
Prevention typically includes a combination of diplomacy and defense.
In North Korea, for example, we used such a combination to stop that nation's nuclear weapons program. Just two years ago this spring, North Korea was building facilities that could produce enough plutonium to make about a dozen nuclear bombs per year. But after the United States and the nations in the region threatened economic sanctions and beefed up our military forces in the region, North Korea agreed to meet and discuss the issue, and it finally ended up signing the Framework Agreement. Under this agreement, North Korea agreed to freeze and then dismantle its nuclear weapons program in return for assistance in the production of commercial power. Today, North Korea continues to pose a conventional military threat on the peninsula, but it is abiding by the agreement and is not mounting a nuclear threat.