Twenty-five years ago, John McCain discovered nuclear weapons in North Korea. The location of the secretive nation’s arsenal was about to become a major issue for the next presidential administration.
McCain, along with other Republicans, was mulling at his deliberations that North Korea would likely launch a missile during the next presidential campaign. Armed with a chip and known for its strategic perspective, family member and Obama campaign adviser Ted Kaufman had spent more than eight years negotiating with the nation of North Korea in the late 90s to obtain a deal that would prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons.
Election weeks were nearing, and the former Biden counsel arrived in his boss’s office “wearing a lobster suit.” Biden started the meeting with a map depicting North Korea with the Texas border marked in red and the North Korean capital of Pyongyang circled. In the North, Biden said, visitors “can’t find food.” Yet, the map shows “a school that’s growing strawberries.” Kaufman asked what was so special about the school. Biden spoke of a program called North Korea Plus.