This paper deals with several important questions concerning the third North Korean nuclear crisis and achieving a nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula. What are the character and experience of the North Korean nuclear issue? What are the post-October 3, 2007 developments in the North Korean nuclear problem? How did the third North Korean nuclear crisis break out? What are North Korea’s strategy of survival and prosperity and its implications on the nuclear issue? What are U.S. and Chinese policies towards North Korea, respectively? Has North Korea been recognized as a nuclear-weapon state? What are the implications of the Cheonan Incident on the denuclearization of North Korea? What are the prospects for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula? Finally, this paper puts forth the author’s policy recommendations for achieving a nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula.