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.

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,