North Korea Falsely Brags It Could Wipe Out Manhattan

Attack Would Involve Hydrogen Bomb North Korea Doesn't Have

North Korea’s state-run media today falsely bragged it was capable of wiping out Manhattan with a single missile strike involving a hydrogen bomb, a claim which is twice untrue, as North Korea is neither believed to have hydrogen bombs, nor missiles that could get anywhere near Manhattan.

The report claimed North Korea has hydrogen bombs “much bigger than the one developed by the Soviet Union.” The most recent underground explosion by North Korea, which they claimed was a hydrogen bomb test, was considered far too small by experts to be anything but a traditional atomic bomb detonation.

Whether North Korea is capable of miniaturizing any atomic weapons or not to a missile-deliverable form is as-yet unclear, though US officials have previously insisted that North Korea was likely years from mastering such technology.

Even then, the pinnacle of North Korean missile technology is far from being able to deliver a shot to New York City from the Korean Peninsula. There is some evidence that North Korean missiles could cross the Pacific and hit the West Coast of America, albeit with little accuracy, but to cross the entire continent to hit the East Coast would be a feat North Korea is likely decades from achieving.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is news editor of