It was tricky moving these missiles into their silos without being discovered, but they had found a way. The Chinese had taken the missiles apart and moved them in pieces to the mountain, then reassembled them and lowered them into the silos. Ultimately though, it took a significant amount of luck, along with a concerted effort by the North Koreans to distract the Americans, for those missiles to be reassembled and placed into the silos undetected.
The DF-5B had an operational range of 12,000 to 15,000 kilometers, placing nearly all the Continental United States within its range. This variant of the missile given to the Koreans was also MIRV capable, meaning each missile could carry six independently targetable warheads or decoys. The one flaw to the missiles was the amount of time required to get them ready to launch; from the time the order would be given, it would take between 30–40 minutes to fuel them and have them ready to take off.
Despite providing the Koreans with the DF-5B, the Chinese were unwilling to provide them with nuclear warheads. They insisted that those had to come from the Koreans themselves, because they did not want the warheads to be traced back to them. The North did not initially have 60 nukes to fill all the MIRVs, so they took three of the missiles and loaded them with just a single 1 Megaton warhead. The remaining MIRVs were loaded with three 25 kiloton warheads and three decoys each.
The soldiers manning the entrance to the missile complex looked nervous because of all the heightened security. They had seen many missile drills in the past, but this drill seemed different. Lieutenant General Ghim Choi, the Commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces, was there to personally tour the site. The guards were instructed to seal the entrance after he arrived and to not let anyone in afterwards. They were also told to prepare to repel any potential attack. Rumors had been rampant that war was really going to happen, and soon.
Following an emergency meeting with Supreme Leader Pak Lee and the rest of his senior military advisors, Lieutenant General Ghim Choi had been given a clear set of new orders. He was to change their ICBM targets to a set of selected US military bases as opposed to only targeting US cities. A few of the cities would remain as targets, but the Supreme Leader wanted to take out some of the bases that the U.S. had specifically slated to support the war effort in Asia. General Ghim had also been told to ensure the mobile launchers would target the US fleet and bases in South Korea.
Before Ghim left the meeting with the Supreme Leader, Pak Lee had issued some very specific final instructions. “If the Americans attempt to decapitate the government, you are to ready the missiles. If you are unable to maintain contact with me, and no one else in the government can respond or assume control, then you are directed to launch all of the missiles at the pre-determined targets.”
When the meeting ended, Ghim had quickly boarded a helicopter that would take him to an obscure base, where he transferred to a jeep and was driven to their secretive missile command base on the Paektu Mountain.
As the general cleared security and entered the missile complex, he headed straight for the command center to meet with the facility commander and inform him of their new orders and change in missile targets. He walked quickly down the narrow tunnel, lined with very yellow florescent lights that blinked in an irritating fashion.
As Ghim stood in the elevator that would take him several hundred feet below the surface to the launch control center, he couldn’t help but think to himself, “I might never see the sun again, or feel the warmth of its rays against my face.”
He almost felt a sense of fear at this revelation, but he knew he had a duty to protect his country.
As the elevator dinged his arrival at the bottom floor, the facility commander met General Ghim at the elevator entrance; he was a colonel, and not someone Ghim personally liked, but he was a smart and capable man, nonetheless.
The colonel greeted him. “General, it is a pleasure to see you. We were not expecting you. Is something wrong?” he inquired, hoping he was not being relieved.
Ghim sized up the colonel before responding, “No, nothing is wrong. The Supreme Leader has instructed me to be here in case the Americans launch an attack against us. We were warned by the Chinese and the Russians that the Americans are planning to launch a pre-emptive spoiler attack before we invade the South. The Leader fears the Americans may try a decapitation strike to wipe out the government.” He paused for a moment as a couple of missile technicians briefly walked past them before continuing to bring the facility commander up to speed. “If the Americans do try to wipe out the government, and I cannot regain communication with the Leader or whoever takes over, I have been ordered by the Supreme Leader to launch our missiles against the Americans. I also have new targets for the missiles, and I will need you to input them immediately,” he ordered.
The base commander looked surprised for a moment, but then his features hardened as the reality of what this meant for him and his country hit him; he would do his duty at all costs. “Yes, of course,” he responded, “we will get the new targets inputted immediately.”
The colonel signaled for some of his other officers to come to him. He took the new targeting list from General Ghim and went over them with his officers.
As he looked at the new targets, he slowly walked closer to the general. In a hushed voice so no one else could hear, he asked “Have the Chinese given us permission to use our nuclear missiles?”
General Ghim looked dismissive of the colonel’s question. “We do not need Chinese permission to use our nuclear weapons. If the Americans wipe out our government, then we will respond by attacking them with the one weapon we have that will equalize our nation with our adversaries and give us a chance to win.”
He then proceeded to pull a piece of paper out of the briefcase that was still handcuffed to his left hand. He retrieved the paper from a folder marked Top Secret, and handed it to the colonel. “These are the new targets for the ICBMs. The missiles need to be reprogrammed immediately.”
The colonel took the document from him and examined the targets. One of the missiles with a MIRV was now to be targeted at the American naval facility at San Diego; a second MIRV missile was now supposed to be targeted at New York City as opposed to Chicago.
“That makes sense,” he thought. “New York has one of the largest ports on the East Coast; it’s a critical port location for the war in Europe.”
A third MIRV missile was to be targeted against the American naval facilities in Hawaii. The remaining seven ICBMs were supposed to target military bases in Alaska, Washington State, Utah, Nevada, Texas, and the West Coast port of Oakland, California.
The colonel was satisfied with the new targets; not that he had much say in the matter, but he was happy to see that these targets were of high military value and would have a large impact on a war with the Americans.
“I will get the new targets inputted now. Do you want me to start fueling the missiles?” he asked. Although the fueling of the missiles took between thirty and forty minutes, if they were not launched within six hours, they would have to be emptied. Each time they went through that process, it created its own dangers, and there was always the possibility of something going wrong or of a mechanical failure.
“No, we will wait until it becomes clear that we need to launch before we fuel the missiles. Continue to have everyone on alert and ready to launch, should it become necessary,” Ghim replied. As long as they did not lose communication with the other missile sites or their command center in Pyongyang, they would wait.