North Korea Could 'Burn Manhattan To Ashes'

North Korea Could 'Burn Manhattan To Ashes'

By FRANK

Kim Jong-Un's North Korean regime has threatened to attack Manhattan

North Korea has reportedly claimed it could wipe out Manhattan by burning it "down to ashes" using a hydrogen bomb on a ballistic missile.

It comes as the United Nations human rights investigator for North Korea called for leader Kim Jong-Un and senior officials in the country to be prosecuted for committing crimes against humanity.

The threat against the heart of New York City is the latest by Mr Kim's regime aimed at the West, which has hit Pyongyang with sanctions.

And it comes amid heightened tensions in the Korean peninsula as the South carries out joint military drills with its US ally.

A report by the state-run outlet DPRK, citing a nuclear scientist named Cho Hyong-Il, said: "Our hydrogen bomb is much bigger than the one developed by the Soviet Union.

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Video: UN: 'Closing In' On North Korea
"If this H-bomb were to be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile and fall on Manhattan in New York City, all the people there would be killed immediately and the city would burn down to ashes."

The newly-developed hydrogen bomb "surpasses our imagination", the scientist was quoted as stating.

"The H-bomb developed by the Soviet Union in the past was able to smash windows of buildings 1,000km away and the heat was strong enough to cause third-degree burns 100km away," the report added.

Big Amphibious Landing Exercise
UN human rights investigator Marzuki Darusman told the UN Human Rights Council that North Korea was devoting huge resources to developing nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.

But at the same time many of its citizens lack sufficient food and others work in "slave-like conditions", he said.

"We are now at a crucial stage, therefore there is a fundamental need for countries to make that next step in ensuring accountability is undertaken," he said.

North Korea Missile Hopes
In January, Mr Kim ordered North Korea's fourth nuclear detonation and said it had successfully tested a miniaturised hydrogen bomb.

But many experts, including from the US, were sceptical of the claim, although some said the North may have been trying to test components of a hydrogen bomb.

Last week, Mr Kim reportedly said his country has miniaturised nuclear warheads to mount on ballistic missiles.

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In February, the North came under more international condemnation after it launched a long-range rocket carrying what it called a satellite.

Critics said it was being used to test technology for a long-range missile.

Seoul and Washington are discussing whether to deploy an advanced missile defence system in South Korea.