PYONGYANG: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on Friday issued orders to put rocket units on standby to strike the US mainland and military bases in the Pacific after the US flew two B-2 stealth bombers on practice runs over South Korea.
Kim directed the move at an overnight emergency meeting with top army commanders.
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”, Kim was quoted as saying by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The order came as US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Washington would not be cowed by Pyongyang’s bellicose threats and stood ready to respond to “any eventuality”.
Kim argued that the stealth bomber flights went beyond a simple demonstration of force and amounted to a US “ultimatum that they will ignite a nuclear war at any cost”.
DND
