The escalating situation in North Korea is truly frightening, particularly for those of us on the West Coast. In addition to a number of missile tests since the start of the year, the events of the past weekend underscore the scope of the threat from Pyongyang.
Saturday marked the 105th birthday of the regime’s founding father Kim Il Sung, and a number of events were held to commemorate the occasion. These include a failed ballistic missile test on Saturday and a large celebration that featured one very disturbing video.
The martial music concert was part of the "Day of the Sun" festivities honoring late founding father Kim Il Sung. As the uniformed brass band and choir played performed enthusiastically to an audience of clapping soldiers, a propaganda video showing missiles being launched was shown on a large overhead screen.
Eventually the nukes found their target, San Francisco, and exploded in massive fiery eruptions, engulfing the city in flames. The audience appeared to applaud San Francisco's destruction, primitive CGI production values notwithstanding. The image of flickering flames overlaid shots of an American flag and a military cemetery.
While the concert took over an hour to finish, San Francisco was wiped out in about 15 seconds.
Not yet shaken? On Wednesday, the Pentagon announced that it would conduct two tests in May to gauge its ability to strike down a North Korean missile. The tests will be carried out from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County.