LIGNET Chief: North Korea’s Nuke Threats Are Real; But They Probably Can’t Hit Us

The nuclear threats North Korea has fired at the United States are deadly serious — but President Kim Jong Un’s weapons are probably unable to reach U.S. soil, according to the global forecasting and intelligence website LIGNET.

“It’s easy to say, well, the North Koreans are nuts, that they’re always making threats like this,’’ Frederick Fleitz, LIGNET’s managing editor told Newmax TV’s “The Steve Malzberg Show.’’

“But sources we have in the government — intelligence sources, national security sources, people in the State Department — have approached us and said this is different. And you can see it’s different.

“Other than all of the other crazy things they’ve said, the fact that they’ve actually threatened a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States — this is news.’’

But luckily, Fleitz added, “they don’t have a warhead small enough and light enough to hit the United States. They just can’t do it right now. And, frankly, all of the levelheaded analysts are prepared to acknowledge that.’’

However, he said, it’s possible North Korea could successfully fire a nuclear warhead or chemical warhead at Japan or South Korea.

“That’s something that’s within the realm of possibility. What we’re looking at is that the North Koreans may be looking at a provocation like in 2010 when they sank the South Korean ship,’’ he said.

“Some kind of provocation they could get away with, not something that would cause retaliation that might end the regime.’’

He said the rhetoric now being thrown out by Kim “is mostly related to domestic political politics and is an opportunity for them to get on the soap box because of the joint exercise between South Korea and the U.S.

“I’m hoping that over the next few weeks they will slowly calm down and they will go back to their usually somewhat belligerent self.’’