This is what would happen if North Korea launched a real attack | Watch Video

In this video explained, why experts are urging Trump to act now while he still can.
4:25 - Clarification: the US has the largest arsenal of ICBM's. Russia has the largest arsenal of nuclear warheads as of April 01, 2017.
Courtesy: Vox (YouTube Channel)

President Trump would have "Maybe 10 minutes," to decide whether to launce a retaliatory strike against North Korea - should it ever fire a missile that's capable of reaching the US mainland, experts say.

Speaking to the Associated Press about what would happen in the event of a nuclear strike from the North, scientist David Wright, of the UCS Global Security Program, and rocket analyst Markus Schiller, of ST Analytics in Germany, described how the drama would unfold.

"The timeless are short," Wright explained. "Even for long-range missiles, there are a lot of steps that go into detecting the launch and figuring out what it is, leaving president with maybe 10 minutes to decide whether to launch a retaliatory strike."

Its state-run KCNA News service alleged that it now has the ability to send a "Large-size heavy nuclear warhead," across the Pacific following its test of a Hwasong-12 missile over the weekend.

Bit Kim Dong-yub, professor of South Korea's Kyungnam University, told local media that they'd be lucky to reach Alaska or Hawaii, at best.

If they did have the capability of hitting US targets, though, Wright and Schiller predict that things could get out of hand - and fast.

While Wright believes an intercontinental ballistic missile fired from the Hermit Kingdom would take a little over a half-hour to reach San Francisco, Schiller said he believes one could strike Seattle or Los Angeles less that 30 minutes after launch.


New York and Washington, at less than 6,800 miles away, would likely have between 30 and 40 minutes before being hit, Schiller and Wright said.

American allies around the Korean Peninsula will have an even shorter window, should leader Kim Jong Un decide to attack his neighbors in the South Pacific.

The Pair told the AP that if the North ultimately thought it was under immediate attack or threatened, one possible scenario would be that it would first target the South Korean city of Busan, which is often used as a port by the US Navy.

From the point on, It is unclear what would likely be the next-step. But if Trump did decide to fire back, Schiller and Wright said he could have land-based ICBMs in the air within five minutes, and submarine-based missiles in 15.