KIM’S HIT LIST
These are the US cities Kim Jong-un wants to attack, according to a North Korean map
The map singling out four major US cities was headed with the words: 'US mainland strike plan'
NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong-un has signed off plans to nuke the US mainland, disturbing images from its state-run news agency appear to show.
They are reported to show dictator Kim holding an "emergency meeting" in the early hours of this morning, days after parading rockets allegedly capable of hitting America through Pyongyang.
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On a detailed map behind Kim and his generals appear to be the words "US mainland strike plan" in North Korean, as well as four distinct lines pointing to Hawaii, Virginia, Texas and California.
The respected website suggests the cities being singled out on the mainland are Austin in Texas, San Diego in California and Washington DC.
Another image clearly shows Korean People’s Air Force (KPAF) wing numbers and what appears to be the location of the US 7th fleet off the Korean peninsula.
The meeting was held hours after two US B2 bombers simulated striking North Korean targets on an island off the coast of South Korea.
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A KCNA report said Kim "finally signed the plan on technical preparations of strategic rockets".
It went on to claim his Hwasong-15 rockets, which have a range of 8,000 miles, are "on standby to fire on the US mainland, its military bases including Hawaii and Guam, and those in south Korea.
But experts including John Swenson-Wright, senior lecturer in East Asian International Relations at the University of Cambridge, have shrugged it off as little more than propaganda.
"It seems reasonable to suppose that the target map is designed for home consumption and to create an impression of war-readiness," he told NK News.
Kim Jong-un watches ballistic missiles roll past in huge North Korean military parade
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"All the available technical evidence suggests that the North’s claims to be able to hit, let alone target precisely, geographical sites in the United States are highly implausible."
Kim showed off the new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) it tested last year during Thursday's military parade in Pyongyang.
The parade, marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army, was attended by leader Kim Jong Un and other senior officials.
It took place on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics being staged in the South Korean mountain resort of Pyeongchang, just across the heavily fortified border.
Dramatic video of anti-terror drills held in Pyeongchang in South Korea ahead of Winter Olympics
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North Korean state media broadcast the parade, showing what appeared to be the Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15, the ICBMs test-launched last year for the first time.
The two-stage, liquid-fuel Hwasong-15 made its parade debut, with four of the large missiles carried on nine-axle transporter-erector-launchers (TELs).
The ICBM was successfully tested last November and some analysts believe it to be capable of reaching the continental United States.
The Hwasong-14 ICBM, successfully tested twice last year, also made its first appearance at the parade.
The focus on missiles over tanks and artillery suggests the rogue nation is trying to project the image of a country with advanced warfare capabilities.
Analysis shows there has been a decline in conventional weapons on display since Kim's first parade in 2012 and an increase in sophisticated weapons such as ballistic missiles.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong arrives in South Korea for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang