North Korean YouTube account Uriminzokkiri has released a propaganda video depicting a man dreaming of manned space flight by the North. In the video, We Are the World plays in the background, and a short segment appears to show an American city under attack – a point that has already started to make ripples in Western headlines, with some suggesting that the video specifically depicts a missile strike on a U.S. city.

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North Korean propaganda is usually dismissed for its bizarre and incomprehensible nature, but in the wake of a successful rocket launch before Christmas and an imminent nuclear test, the footage is being taken seriously by some.

The regime has been producing endless propaganda material related to the successful launch of its rocket, and given its mutual hostility towards America, the text accompanying the offending images is largely consistent with its ongoing message. North Korean propaganda produces, and is the target of, much ridicule and sensationalism – the latter influencing most recent reports on both accounts.

NK News has a full and independent translation of the transcript that describes the man’s dream, that largely centres around an imagined ‘space plane’, and the man’s thoughts as he looks down at earth:

Last night, I had such a wonderful dream. I found myself rising high into space riding the “Eunha 9” rocket. In happiness and excitement, the spaceship “Kwangmyungsong 21” separated, and was flying into the grand and endless space.

From onboard, I could see beautiful colors and stark contrast [of the outside]. I was about to press the button to take a picture as I was heading toward our perfectly green earth, a shining star in the midst of the darkness.

Suddenly, through the camera lens, the image of the unification flag blowing over our one unified country crops up. Even I weep as I hold tightly to that camera, concerns rushing over me.

In America, I can see black smoke. It seems like the devil’s nest that habitually caused wars of invasion and persistence are finally burning under the flames it itself has ignited.

The free and peaceful world and the magnificent and awe-striking space seem to be blessing our spaceship “Kwangmyungsong 21.”

Dear viewers, think about this. Korea’s spaceship flying through space, to the backdrop of the brightly-lit sun and space.

I am certain that my dream will come true. Even the complete ending of the imperialists schemes. Seeing our Bakedu Mountain country prospering strongly under reunification, they will not be able to prevent our people from going forward towards a final victory.

Although the video is not that bizarre alongside the regular propaganda Uriminzokkiri produces, the direct correlation of the Unha-3 launch and the destruction potentially belies the North’s assertion that the Unha-3 was merely a peaceful satellite launch. This news comes soon after reports that the North is internally calling the rocket used a “long-range ballistic missile.”

After further UN sanctions were announced in January, the North’s National Defense Commission announced that a “variety of satellites and long-range rockets” would be launched in the future.