On 25 October, US director of national intelligence James Clapper stated that persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programme was "probably a lost cause". Speaking at an event at the Council of Foreign Relations think-tank, Clapper suggested that the US could instead seek to agree "some sort of a cap", but that this would require "some significant inducements". Although Clapper's candour may be surprising, his assessment is not. North Korea has demonstrated incremental but significant progress in its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes during 2016.
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