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Clinton eyed bombing North Korea's Yongbyon but chose Carter's deal

Source: washingtonexaminer.com

TL;DR

In 1994, President Bill Clinton's team planned to bomb North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor after it unloaded fuel rods without IAEA inspectors.
Jimmy Carter's surprise deal with Kim Il Sung, announced on CNN, led Clinton to drop the strike and pursue the Agreed Framework instead.
The deal froze Yongbyon temporarily but collapsed by 2006, showing strikes delay but do not end determined nuclear programs.[[1]](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine/3460320/bill-clinton-north-korea-considered-bombing-nuclear-facility/)[[2]](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine/3460320/bill-clinton-north-korea-considered-bombing-nuclear-facility)

The story at a glance

The article details the 1994 crisis when North Korea's unloading of spent fuel at Yongbyon pushed the Clinton administration toward military action, only for Jimmy Carter's freelance diplomacy to shift to talks. Key figures include Clinton, Defense Secretary William Perry, Joint Chiefs Chairman John Shalikashvili, negotiator Robert Gallucci, and Carter, who met Kim Il Sung. It's reported now amid parallels to Iran's nuclear standoff. The Agreed Framework emerged but later failed.[[1]](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine/3460320/bill-clinton-north-korea-considered-bombing-nuclear-facility/)

Key points

North Korea unloaded 8,000 spent fuel rods from Yongbyon in June 1994 without inspectors, enough for 5-6 plutonium bombs if reprocessed.[[1]](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine/3460320/bill-clinton-north-korea-considered-bombing-nuclear-facility/)
US strike plans targeted the above-ground reactor with F-117 stealth bombers and Tomahawk missiles, but risked war with up to 1 million casualties and wouldn't end the program.[[1]](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine/3460320/bill-clinton-north-korea-considered-bombing-nuclear-facility/)
Intelligence indicated North Korea might already have 1-2 bombs; Perry briefed Clinton on options during a war plan review.
Carter, visiting Pyongyang, secured Kim Il Sung's freeze commitment and announced it live on CNN, derailing the briefing and strike momentum.[[1]](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine/3460320/bill-clinton-north-korea-considered-bombing-nuclear-facility/)
The 1994 Agreed Framework halted Yongbyon for promised light-water reactors from US, South Korea, and Japan; one of five failed North Korea deals.
North Korea tested its first bomb in 2006 after covertly advancing uranium enrichment.[[1]](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine/3460320/bill-clinton-north-korea-considered-bombing-nuclear-facility/)

Details and context

The crisis peaked when North Korea blocked IAEA access, violating safeguards and raising fears of bomb-making. US officials like Perry and Gallucci saw no choice but confrontation after warnings were ignored, but Seoul's vulnerability—threatened by artillery turning it into a "lake of fire"—loomed large.

Carter's intervention, though criticized as freelancing, bought time; the framework froze plutonium production for a decade but crumbled over verification disputes and North Korea's secret uranium path.

The piece argues strikes might reinforce regimes' nuclear "insurance policy" drive, drawing Iran parallels: cat-and-mouse inspections fail without full access, and determined states persist covertly.[[1]](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine/3460320/bill-clinton-north-korea-considered-bombing-nuclear-facility/)

Key quotes

William Perry: “We were about to give the president the choice between a disastrous option — allowing North Korea to get a nuclear arsenal... and an unpalatable option, blocking this development, but thereby risking a destructive non-nuclear war.”[[1]](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine/3460320/bill-clinton-north-korea-considered-bombing-nuclear-facility/)
Robert Gallucci: “No one thought that this would stop the North Korean nuclear weapons program... It could easily have led to a war.”[[1]](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine/3460320/bill-clinton-north-korea-considered-bombing-nuclear-facility/)

Why it matters

Military action against nuclear sites carries high escalation risks and may only delay proliferation for resolute regimes like North Korea's. For US policymakers, it underscores diplomacy's short-term wins but long-term pitfalls without ironclad verification. Watch Iran's choices and any new inspector access demands, though outcomes remain uncertain.[[1]](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine/3460320/bill-clinton-north-korea-considered-bombing-nuclear-facility/)