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SpyTalk, a podcast at the intersection of intelligence, foreign policy,

national security, and military operations with Jeff Stein and Jean Miserve.

Hi there, I'm Jeff Stein.

And I'm Jean Miserve, welcome to another episode of SpyTalk.

We decided this week to take another look at the intelligence picture on North Korea.

Long time Asia watcher Robert Manning repeated what many have said over the years,

North Korea is basically a black box.

Well, yeah, as you said, I've been following it for more than three decades in and out of government.

And I have to say it's probably the hardest of hard targets,

because there's no other country that's that insular that is so hermetically sealed.

That's the Atlantic Council's senior fellow Robert Manning.

We'll have more on the challenges of spying on North Korea later in the show.

But meanwhile, Jean Miserve has this fascinating segment on startling developments in China's nuclear missiles.

That's right, Jeff. This spring, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command Admiral Charles Richard

raised the alarm in front of a congressional committee about a sudden and alarming increase in China's nuclear capabilities.

To me, they are at some kind of an inflection point and are rapidly expanding their strategic capabilities.

This has happened within the last year.

...