--- description: Officials in Washington are of the opinion that North Korea's nuclear arsenal holds missiles that could reach the mainland U.S. title: Pentagon Says North Korea Capable of Nuclear Strike on U.S. image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbe4fb1cd477eb0f/6988675fab6d77189e6a691b/rtr4a39t.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Pentagon Says That North Korea Is Capable of a Nuclear Strike on the U.S. by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 8, 2015 8:13 AM CUT  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance at the newly built Wisong Scientists Residential District in Pyongyang, in 2014. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance at the newly built Wisong Scientists Residential District in Pyongyang, in 2014.KCNA—Reuters by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 8, 2015 8:13 AM CUT Officials in Washington are of the opinion that North Korea’s nuclear arsenal holds missiles that could reach the mainland U.S.A. — but stress that it is a threat that the Pentagon is adequately prepared to face, [according to one senior military official quoted by Reuters.](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/08/us-usa-north-korea-arms-idUSKCN0S207L20151008?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm%5Fsource=twitter "undefined") “I’m pretty confident that we’re going to knock down the numbers that are going to be shot,” Admiral Bill Gortney, who heads the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said of a potential strike. He spoke at an event hosted by the international affairs think tank Atlantic Council on the matter of “protecting the homeland.” North Korea has long taunted the West with allusions to the country’s nuclear means. Every few years, it announces that it has conducted successful nuclear tests, boasts that are [interspersed with erratic pledges to end them](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11813699 "undefined") in return for economic aid or diplomatic concessions. Authorities in Pyongyang say that recent rocket launches are part of a legitimate space program. Gortney said that the Pentagon is seeking to update its missile defense system despite the impending threat of congressional budget cuts. “We’re ready for\[Kim\], and we’re ready 24 hours a day if he should be dumb enough to shoot something at us,” Gortney said. ### See the Monumental Extravagance of North Korea's Architecture  Portraits of the leaders in a Pyongyang Metro car. The Pyongyang Metro opened in 1973 and currently consists of two lines Eddo Hartmann—Koryo Studio  Statue of Kim Il Sung at Kaeson station, Pyongyang Metro As part of the efforts to give each station in the metro system a distinct design, Kaeson station has no pillars Eddo Hartmann—Koryo Studio  Portrait of the Leaders, Jannamsan Hotel, Kaesong, Pyongyang. There are a number of portraits of the North Korean leaders, featuring specific backdrops or content that have been officially approved and are displayed throughout the country. Artists who have been specially trained in reproducing the image of the leaders create all these portraits at Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang Eddo Hartmann—Koryo Studio  Yanggakdo Hotel on Yanggak Island, Pyongyang rises to 47-storeys. Eddo Hartmann—Koryo Studio  Pyongyang Metro at rush hour. The stations of the Pyongyang Metro showcase distinct designs, usually featuring statues and mosaics Eddo Hartmann—Koryo Studio  Kim Il Sung Square, Pyongyang. Constructed in the mid-1950s, this square lies in the centre of post-war Pyongyang, and was built in the same style as many of those found in the USSR Eddo Hartmann—Koryo Studio  Sings display the date of Kim Il sung's birthday, which is April 15\. That date is now a national holiday in North Korea Eddo Hartmann—Koryo Studio  The entrance to Kim Il sung stadium. The marble pillars and expansive lobby are typical of the neoclassical style seen throughout Pyongyang Eddo Hartmann—Koryo Studio  A loudspeaker sits outside the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, Pyongyang. The building originally functioned as the seat of government under Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) and today acts as his mausoleum for him and his son, Kim Jong Il (1941-2011) Eddo Hartmann—Koryo Studio ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4065771/nuclear-weapon-north-korea-strike-us/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4065771/nuclear-weapon-north-korea-strike-us/"},"headline":"The Pentagon Says That North Korea Is Capable of a Nuclear Strike on the U.S.","datePublished":"2015-10-08T08:13:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:19.859Z","description":"The secretive nation has long declined to give a straight answer about its nuclear capacity","url":"https://time.com/4065771/nuclear-weapon-north-korea-strike-us/","keywords":["Military","North Korea","Pentagon","pyongyang"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbe4fb1cd477eb0f/6988675fab6d77189e6a691b/rtr4a39t.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbe4fb1cd477eb0f/6988675fab6d77189e6a691b/rtr4a39t.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance at the newly built Wisong Scientists Residential District in this undated photo released by KCNA","caption":"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance at the newly built Wisong Scientists Residential District in this undated photo released by KCNA","creditText":"KCNA—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4065771/nuclear-weapon-north-korea-strike-us/","name":"The Pentagon Says That North Korea Is Capable of a Nuclear Strike on the U.S."}}]}] ```