Kim okays rocket strikes at US, allies

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered strategic missiles to be prepared so that they may strike any time the US mainland, its military bases in the operational theatres in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in South Korea Pyongyang (IANS): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ratified a strike plan by the Strategic Rocket Force as US B-2 stealth bombers flew over the Korean Peninsula, the KCNA news agency reported on Friday. Kim Jong Un ordered strategic missiles to be prepared "so that they may strike any time the US mainland, its military bases in the operational theatres in the Pacific, including Hawaii andGuam, and those in South Korea," state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an English�language statement. "The time has come to settle accounts with the US imperialists in view of the prevailing situation," Xinhua quoted Kim Jong Un as saying after an urgent meeting with top military officials early Friday. He ratified a plan of the Strategic Rocket Force for firepower strike on the US and South Korea if they "make a reckless provocation", said the KCNA. Kim said the latest US move is "not a simple demonstration of forces" but "an ultimatum that will ignite a nuclear war at any cost on the Korean Peninsula". Tens of thousands of North Korean soldiers and civilians held a huge rally and march in Pyongyang on Friday, in a mass display of support for a possible military strike against the United States. The rally in Pyongyang's giant Kim Il-sung Square was attended by soldiers, veterans, workers and students, all wearing military uniforms. The North's young leader, Kim Jong-un, was not present. Two B-2 Spirit bombers were sent to the Korean Peninsula on Thursday for a firing drill but US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel denied that flying the bombers to the peninsula would aggravate the situation in the region. Tensions have been running high on the Korean Peninsula since North Korea conducted its third nuclear test Feb 12 as a countermeasure against the joint military drills of the US and South Korea. North Korea also threatened to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike for self-defense and unilaterally nullified the 1953 armistice that suspended the Korean War. It is the latest in the litany of apparently empty threats that North Korea has issued, including highly improbable ones to nuke the United States. Experts believe the country is years away from developing nuclear-tipped missiles that could strike the United States. Many analysts say they've also seen no evidence that Pyongyang's missiles can hit the US mainland. Still, North Korea remains unpredictable, and its threats do raise tensions given the kind of arsenal it has: short- and mid-range missiles that can hit South Korea. Also, Seoul is only a short drive from the heavily armed border separating the Koreas.