North Korea has the capability to strike any state in the US according to a leading American commander who heads up a secretive military monitoring centre.
The man in charge of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) revealed for the first time how officials who work there monitor North Korea missile tests 24/7.Engineers, photo experts, and intelligence analysts at the Ohio air base pour through satellite information for impending weapon tests - and analyse the results from missile launches.
It comes amid escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula, as the US Defence Secretary yesterday admitted the chance of a North Korean nuclear strike was "accelerating".
Colonel Sean Larkin, who heads up the NASIC programme, told CBS that North Korea is well equipped to hit any state of the US mainland.
He said: "The missile tests this summer have demonstrated the ability that they could reach the US."
When asked if this would put any state in particular danger, the US military leader was unequivocal: "All 48 states on the mainland."
Colonel Larkin admitted that the if positioned in a standard trajectory, the missiles launched in July could have blitz California.
In a shocking computer stimulation of the North Korean ICBM, researchers at NASIC revealed how Kim Jong-un is within touching distance of ordering a nuclear blast on the US west coast.
Col. Larkin revealed the only piece of the puzzle missing from a nuclear North Korea was a re-entry vehicle that could withstand the heat of plunging back into the planet's atmosphere.
Researchers at NASIC believe North Korea is determined to develop such a re-entry vehicle, as revealed in photos of tests last year.
As a result, US President Donald Trump has admitted that unless the US can confirm whether or not Kim Jong-un's regime has developed such capabilities, he may order a preventative strike against the regime.