korea has become vishnu. how did a country so poor, so isolated from the world acquire the most destructive technology on earth? and can we really expect them to give it all away? this is the story of now north korea got the bomb. north korea's nuclear program began early. >> they always wanted a nuclear weapon. >> to get the bomb, kim il-song needed help from his powerful cold world ally the soviet union. the soviets gave the north civilian nuclear technology. training its scientists in russia and helping them build a small nuclear research reactor.