ANALYSIS: North Korean Photo Reveals ‘U.S. Mainland Strike Plan’

Information revealed in official North Korean military photo shows would-be U.S. attack

From NK News March 29, 2013 (excerpt)

UPDATE 1449KST: South Korean intelligence agencies have spotted increased activity on North Korean mid-to-long range missile platforms, an unnamed official told Yonhap in Seoul: “We are closely watching for  the possibility of a missile launch,” the anonymous government source said.

SEOUL – Kim Jong Un signed off on a plan to ready his forces to target the U.S. mainland and American bases in East Asia following yesterday’s U.S.-led B-2 stealth bomber runs, the KCNA reported after the North Korean military conveyed an “emergency meeting” in the early hours of this morning.

In a photo published in the Korea Worker’s Party (KWP) paper the Rodong, plans for a strike on the U.S. mainland are clearly –and therefore probably deliberately– visible. The newspaper is widely distributed in cities, and often displayed in public places for easy viewing.

“He finally signed the plan on technical preparations of strategic rockets, ordering them to be on standby to fire so that they may strike any time the U.S. mainland, its military bases in the operational theaters in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in south Korea,” a KCNA report in English said.

In the below photos, Kim Jong Un can be seen in what appears to be a military command room, signing the ready order.

In the version enlarged by NK NEWS (below), the text reads “U.S. Mainland Strike Plan” [미본토타격계획], and a larger map towards the back of the command centre appears to show the Western coast of the United States.

A composite overlay appears to show San Diego, Washington D.C., Hawaii and possibly Austin as being primary targets in a North Korean attack plan:

In a second picture Korean People’s Air Force (KPAF) air wing numbers are visible, as is what appears to be the location of the U.S. 7th fleet on the side of the large map on the wall. A 21.5 inch aluminum unibody iMac is on Kim Jong Un’s desk, confirming long-held rumors of the Kim family’s passion for Apple Macs.

Given that the photo will have primarily been intended for a domestic audience, it will most likely have already served its purpose of demonstrating North Korean military capabilities internally. Most analysts agree North Korea would not be able to hit any U.S. mainland targets….

read … NK News