North Korea says mainland America is now within missile range as tensions between north and south continues to rise

October 9, 2012 – NORTH KOREA – North Korea today warned that mainland America is now within range of its missiles as it accused the U.S. of conspiring with South Korea. It comes after Seoul announced that it has reached a deal with Washington allowing it to nearly triple the range of its missiles to better cope with North Korean nuclear threats. North Korea claims the move proves that the allies are plotting to invade the country – calling the deal a ‘product of another conspiracy of the master and the stooge’ to ‘ignite a war’ against the North. In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, a spokesman at the powerful National Defense Commission said the North would bolster its military preparedness. He said: ‘We do not hide… the strategic rocket forces are keeping within the scope of strike not only the bases of the puppet forces and the US imperialist aggression forces’ bases in the inviolable land of Korea but also Japan, Guam and the US mainland.’ South Korea’s Defence Ministry said it has no official comment on the North’s statement but Seoul and Washington have repeatedly said they have no intention of attacking North Korea. North Korean long-range rockets are believed to have a range of up to about 4,160 miles (6,700km), putting parts of Alaska within reach, according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry. But the North’s patchy record in test launches raises doubts about whether it is truly capable of an attack. Pyongyang shocked Japan in 1998 when it sent a rocket over Japan’s main island and into the Pacific. That also alarmed Washington because about 50,000 US troops are deployed in Japan and their bases could be within the North’s range. Tokyo and Washington have since intensified their ballistic missile defenses. –Daily Mail

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