It dates back quite a long time. Development started as a response to the US putting nuclear artillery on the border with North Korea in 1958 and pointing it directly at Pyongyang.
>What else is their development of nuclear arms about? NK is a signatory of the NPT.
They withdrew from the NPT in the run up to the totally provoked and necessary invasion of Iraq. Around this time Bush famously branded them part of the "axis of evil" and casually threatened nuclear annihilation, among other provocations.
I guess something led them to believe that they needed a nuclear deterrent?
They did at the time make an offer to the US in light of the provocations: sign a non-aggression treaty and let them to continue developing nuclear power. The US didn't, so they withdrew.
>What they actually want is to win
No, they want some kind of military parity before joining the negotiating table because Iraq shows what happens when you don't have parity...
