The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against The United States

by Jeffrey Lewis

The site was struck with no less than a dozen cruise missiles. They targeted not only the palace’s buildings but also the systems that provided electricity and ventilation to Kim’s bunker beneath the mountain. Although he was far too deep for American missiles or bombs to reach directly, there was another possibility—what the military calls “functional defeat,” or effectively turning the bunker into a tomb. At the very least, the bombs would make life very unpleasant for those inside by striking the entrances and the life support systems. With no electricity, it would be dark in the bunker. The increasingly foul air would be hard to breathe. Food would spoil, and toilets would not flush. Kim would be cut off from communications. The explosions might also trigger avalanches that would send rocks cascading over the entrance of the bunker, blocking the door.