Aleksandr Kapto reflects on the Soviet Union's normalization of relations with South Korea, and the consequential fallout in relations between North Korea and the USSR. According to Kapto, North Korea threatened to develop nuclear weapons and withdraw from the NPT as a result of Soviet-South Korean rapprochement.

Ri Sang-jo (Yi Sang Jo) was a central figure in promoting changes to the North Korean post-war development strategy. After meeting with Soviet officials in Moscow to encourage Soviet intervention in North Korean policies in 1956, Ri was removed from his post.