The Chinese government has revealed for the first time that it has nuclear submarines capable of attacking cities throughout the United States.

Last week, state-run Chinese news agencies – such as China Central TV, the People’s Daily, the Global Times, the PLA Daily, the China Youth Daily and the Guangmin Daily – ran identical reports about the ‘awesomeness’ of the People’s Liberation Army’s submarine force.

‘This is the first time in 42 years since the establishment of our navy’s strategic submarine force that we reveal on such a large scale the secrets of our first-generation underwater nuclear force,’ the Global Times said in a lengthy article titled ‘China for the First Time Possesses Effective Underwater Nuclear Deterrence against the United States.’

Deterrent: China’s state-run media has reported that it now has subs capable of launching nuclear weapons at the United States

Chinese news agencies also reported on the Army’s lethal intentions should it ever use the nuclear weapons the submarines are capable of launching.

‘Because the Midwest states of the U.S. are sparsely populated, in order to increase the lethality, [our] nuclear attacks should mainly target the key cities on the West Coast of the United States, such as Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego,’ the Global Times said. ‘The 12 JL-2 nuclear warheads carried by one single Type 094 SSBN can kill and wound 5 million to 12 million Americans.

But West Coast cities aren’t the only metropolitan areas in the U.S. that face the threat of a nuclear attack from the Chinese, according to the country’s state-run media.

‘If we launch our DF 31A ICBMs over the North Pole, we can easily destroy a whole list of metropolises on the East Coast and the New England region of the U.S., including Annapolis, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Portland, Baltimore and Norfolk, whose population accounts for about one-eighth of America’s total residents,’ the Global Times said.

The JL-2 missiles have a range of about 8,700 miles and could hit almost the entire continental U.S. with independently targetable re-entry  vehicle warheads. The Type 094 Jin Class submarine was developed in 2010 and is capable of launching 12 to 16 JL-2 missiles.

The Chinese submarine fleet reportedly is the the second-largest in the world. According to Chinese media, the fleet includes 70 subs, 10 of which are nuclear powered. At least four of those subs are capable of launching the JL-2 missiles.

Each of the reports from China’s state-run media stressed that the PLA’s submarine fleet currently is on routine strategic patrol, ‘which means that China for the first time has acquired the strategic deterrence and second strike capability against the United States.’

‘Our JL-2 SLBMs have become the fourth type of Chinese nuclear missiles that threaten the continental United States, after our DF-31A, DF-5A and DF-5B ICBMs,’ said the Global Times.