North Korea added to its list of threats on Sunday by claiming that it could wipe out Manhattan by sending a ballistic missile to the heart of New York.

If this bomb were to be mounted on an inter-continental ballistic missile and fall on Manhattan, “all the people there would be killed immediately and the city would burn down to ashes,” said nuclear scientist, Cho Hyong Il in a popular North Korean newspaper.  State media recently reported that North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un met with nuclear scientists and technicians to discuss the research conducted on new weapons for nuclear warfare. North Korea has claimed to have miniaturized nuclear warheads to fit on ballistic missiles.The claim is impossible to verify from the images alone and experts are still casting doubt on North Korea’s allegations.  However, these types of missiles are known to be very dangerous and need to be taken with extreme caution. The missiles have a very long range of travel  and can reach extremely fast speeds. For example, a ballistic missile can strike a target within a 10,000 kilometer range in about 30 to 35 minutes. After the country reported a successful test of  a hydrogen bomb in February 2016, and as tension between the U.S and North Korea continues to grow, many are concerned with North Korea’s intentions.

“It is definitely a scary situation,” says Junior Maddie Acampora. “especially with last year’s issue with the hacking of Sony; the issue now is  that they have both the weapons and technology to cause some serious damage.”

Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, has threatened to launch a surprise nuclear strike on the US and South Korea. In retaliation, the US and South Korea have been discussing the possible deployment of a US missile defense system to the peninsula; a move that is strongly opposed by North Korea, Russia and China.