Pentagon believes North Korean missile could reach U.S. within a year

North Korea has warned that it will launch a nuclear strike “at the heart of the U.S.” if authorities there don’t stop calling for the removal of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. This threat became more concerning Tuesday when a report revealed that U.S. intelligence officials believe Pyongyang will have a reliable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of carrying a nuclear warhead as soon as next year.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported a spokesman from the North Korean foreign ministry saying Tuesday: “Should the U.S. dare to show even the slightest sign of attempt to remove our supreme leadership, we will strike a merciless blow at the heart of the US with our powerful nuclear hammer, honed, and hardened over time.”

The statement was a direct response to CIA Director Mike Pompeo’s July 20 comment: “I am hopeful we will find a way to separate that regime from this system. The North Korean people I’m sure are lovely people and would love to see him go.”

The foreign ministry spokesperson warned all countries who threaten the “supreme dignity” of North Korea that Pyongyang would “preemptively annihilate those countries… by mobilizing all kinds of strike means including the nuclear ones.”

The direct threat to the U.S. comes just weeks after North Korea claimed it had successfully tested an ICBM which experts said had the potential to reach Alaska — and possibly as far as San Diego.

On Tuesday the Washington Post reported on a classified paper prepared by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, which concludes that North Korea could have a nuclear-capable missile ready by 2018 – a full two years earlier than U.S. officials previously thought.

The report reveals that American analysts believe North Korea could test one of the technical hurdles it needs to overcome to achieve its goal of a missile capable of hitting the U.S within days.

Pyongyang is making final preparations to test a new re-entry vehicle — which allows the missile to pass through the upper atmosphere without damage to the warhead — and it could happen as soon as Thursday.

The compilation of the Pentagon report was prompted by North Korea’s July 4 test of its ICBM, with Kim claiming the missile could “reach anywhere in the world.”

An official from the office of the Director of National Intelligence told CBS News that the successful test represented “one of the milestones that we have expected would help refine our timeline and judgments on the threats that Kim Jong Un poses to the continental United States.”

Since the beginning of 2017, North Korea has been testing missile technology at a rapid pace, showing developments and advances that many in the international community had thought were still years away.

These latest findings will put further pressure on the White House to take action and halt Pyongyang’s ability to develop such weapons. On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to slap new sanctions on North Korea, with officials saying these will include measures aimed at Chinese financial institutions. Susan Thornton, the acting assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said sanctions would be in place within 30 days.