In an emergency meeting early Friday morning, Mr. Kim was photographed signing an order directing rocket units on standby to strike the US and South Korean targets at any time. This was prompted after a nuclear-capable US B-2 stealth bomber was part of joint military drills with South Korea hours earlier. The photographs published by the state-run Rodong newspaper included one with a chart labeled “US mainland strike plan” with trajectories of missiles in the vicinity of Hawaii, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas.
The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Mr. Kim as stating that: In the event of any “reckless” US provocation, North Korean forces should “mercilessly strike the US mainland … military bases in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in South Korea.”
Though North Korea has no proven ability strike the US mainland, Mr Kim said: “The time has come to settle accounts with the US imperialists.”