The arch was commissioned by Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, in 2001 to symbolise hope for a potential reunification of the peninsula in the future.
According to The New York Times, US officials believe that an all-out war would threaten the North Korean leader’s position but they noted smaller military strikes could be on the table, something the paper described as “lethal military action”.
The anonymous officials told the paper that Washington DC is not expecting the fragile peace in the peninsula to break but they are taking Kim’s hostility seriously.
Their assessment came days after a report by 38 North researchers claimed that Pyongyang “made a strategic decision to go to war.”
They argued the Korean Peninsula is now facing its most dangerous moment since the Korean War.
