(Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File). FILE - In this July 28, 2017, file photo distributed by the North Korean government, shows what was said to be the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed...

(Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File). FILE - This file photo distributed by the North Korean government shows what was said to be the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM, in North Korea's northwest, T...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs (all times local):

Elected officials in Guam are reassuring constituents that the U.S. territory is safe following North Korea's claim that it is examining its plan for "making an enveloping fire" around the strategically important Pacific island.

Governor Eddie Baza Calvo said Wednesday there is no threat to Guam or to the Mariana Islands to the north. He adds that he will continue discussions with Joint Region Marianas Commander Rear Admiral Shoshana Chatfield to discuss military and first-responder readiness, to ensure that Guam is "prepared for any eventuality."

Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo issued a statement saying Pentagon officials have assured her that the territory is protected.

Bordallo was critical of President Donald Trump's vow Tuesday to answer North Korea "with fire and fury like the world has never seen" if Pyongyang continues to threaten the U.S. She urged Trump to work with the international community to de-escalate tensions.

A nuclear expert who has repeatedly visited North Korea's nuclear facilities says he doubts the country is yet capable of attacking the U.S. territory of Guam with medium- to long-range missiles. He says escalating rhetoric from both the North and the U.S. is the real danger.

The North said Wednesday it is examining its plan for "making an enveloping fire" around Guam, a Pacific island that is home to major U.S. military bases.

Siegfried Hecker, a professor at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation, said Tuesday night in the U.S. that although the North tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles last month, developing a nuclear warhead for such a missile is "extremely challenging and still beyond North Korea's reach."

Hecker says the real threat is "stumbling into an inadvertent nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula by misunderstanding or miscalculation." He adds, "Inflammatory rhetoric on both sides will make that more likely."

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says North Korea is reckless, provocative, dangerous and a threat to peace.

Turnbull's comments on Wednesday come after North Korea said it is examining its operational plans for attacking Guam to contain U.S. bases there.

The prime minister said of North Korea's regime: "Its conduct is illegal, it's reckless, it's provocative, it's dangerous. And it threatens the peace of the region, the peace of the world."

Turnbull says a conflict with North Korea would be shattering and have "catastrophic consequences." The prime minister says the global community is united in seeking to impose the maximum economic pressure on North Korea "to bring them to their senses without conflict."

Security and defense officials on Guam say there is no imminent threat to people there or in the Northern Mariana Islands after North Korea said it was examining its operational plans for attack.

Guam's Department of Homeland Security and Office of Civil Defense say they are monitoring North Korea with U.S. military and government officials.

Guam's Homeland Security Adviser George Charfauros says officials there are confident "the U.S. Department of Defense is monitoring this situation very closely and is maintaining a condition of readiness."

Charfauros in his statement Wednesday morning urged calm and said defenses are in place on Guam and its neighboring Pacific islands for threats such as North Korea.

The speaker of the Guam Legislature says he hopes the island can defend itself in the event of an attack from North Korea.

Benjamin J. Cruz tells The Associated Press in a telephone interview, "We're just praying that the United States and the ... defense system we have here is sufficient enough to protect us."

North Korea says it is examining its operational plans for attacking Guam to contain U.S. bases there.

Cruz calls the threat "very disconcerting," saying, "It forces us to pause and to say a prayer for the safety of our people."

Rena Chang, who owns a hair salon in the tourist area of Tumon, says: "That's so scary. My heart is pumping right now."

North Korea says it is examining its operational plans for attacking Guam to contain U.S. bases there.

The army said in a statement distributed Wednesday by the state-run news agency that it is studying a plan to create an "enveloping fire" in areas around Guam with medium- to long-range ballistic missiles. The U.S. territory is home to Andersen Air Force Base.

The statement says the move is in response to a recent U.S. ICBM test.

It comes as President Donald Trump says North Korea "will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it makes any more threats to the U.S.

A Japanese defense paper and a U.S. media report Tuesday said North Korea may have successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.

Republican Sen. John McCain says "great leaders" don't threaten foes unless they're ready to act - and he's not certain President Donald Trump is ready to act against North Korea.

McCain, who heads the Armed Services Committee, made the comments Tuesday in an interview on KTAR News in Phoenix.

He is responding to Trump's warning that North Korea could face "fire and fury" if it threatens the United States after a new report said U.S. intelligence officials believe Pyongyang has successfully produced a nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.

McCain says he takes exception to Trump's comments "because you got to be sure you can do what you say you're going to do."

President Donald Trump says that North Korea "had best not make any more threats to the United States" or "they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

Trump issued the warning during a briefing on opioid addiction at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.

A Japanese defense paper and a U.S. media report said Tuesday that North Korea may have successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.

That's a key benchmark in the country's attempt to become a full-fledged nuclear power.

Washington's alarm over North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's pursuit of a nuclear capability has intensified in the past month after the North conducted two tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles last month.

The Washington Post is reporting that U.S. intelligence officials assess that North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.

That would mean North Korea has passed a crucial threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power.

The Post story, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, said the confidential analysis was completed last month by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.

Officials at the agency would not comment Tuesday. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence could not immediately be reached for comment.

Separately, Japan's defense ministry assessed in a report Tuesday that it is possible that North Korea has achieved the miniaturization of nuclear weapons and has developed nuclear warheads.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> The threat comes just hours after US President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang that if they continued to threaten the US, they would "face fire and fury like the world has never seen."

Dubbed the "Tip of the Spear," Guam is a key to the US military's forward deployed presence in the Pacific and is home to thousands of American service members and their families.

The statement from a spokesman from the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army, warned that recent US military maneuvers —including an intercontinental ballistic missile test last week and a bomber flight on Monday -- "may provoke a dangerous conflict."

Specifically, the statement mentioned a potential strike on "Anderson Air Force Base in which the US strategic bombers, which get on the nerves of the DPRK and threaten and blackmail it through their frequent visits to the sky above south Korea, are stationed and to send a serious warning signal to the US."

The US flew two B1B bombers over the Korean peninsula on Monday, according to a spokesman with Pacific Air Forces. The bombers flew out of Anderson AFB in Guam on Monday as part of its "continuous bomber presence", according to the spokesman. The bombers were joined by Japanese and South Korean aircraft. The North Korean statement on Guam references this action. This was before Trump's warning to North Korea on Tuesday. </s> Hours after President Trump threatened North Korea with "fire and fury," the country responded with a threat to attack the U.S. protectorate of Guam to contain the U.S. bases there.

"Such military maneuvers of the U.S. may provoke a dangerous conflict under the present extremely acute situation prevailing on the Korean peninsula," said the Korean People's Army in a statement to the state-run news agency KCNA.

North Korea said U.S. bombers from Guam patrol the skies over South Korea "openly stage actual war drills and muscle-flexing in a bid to strike the strategic bases of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea]."

The U.S. and South Korea frequently conduct joint military exercises.

The statement said the U.S. should "immediately stop its reckless military provocation against the state of the DPRK so that the latter would not be forced to make an unavoidable military choice."

DPRK added it's "now carefully examining the operational plan for making an enveloping fire" in Guam using "medium-to-long-range strategic ballistic" missiles.

In response, Madeleine Z. Bordallo, the non-voting U.S. Rep. from Guam, (D-Guam), called the attack reports "troubling" but she wrote that she is "confident that Guam remains safe and protected."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Pacific Air Forces stand ready as they tweeted out a message stating they've joined their counterparts from South Korea and Japanese air forces in sequenced bilateral missions.

Earlier Tuesday, Mr. Trump warned "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States."

"They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen," Mr. Trump told reporters. Kim Jong Un "has been very threatening -- beyond a normal statement. As I said, they will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before."

8/8/2017 Related Story: Trump Warns North Korea Will Be 'Met With Fire And Fury'

The threats came hours after a CBS News poll released Tuesday found nearly 3 in 4 Americans are uneasy about the possibility of a conflict with North Korea, and most are also uneasy about Mr. Trump's approach to the situation. Of those polled, 61 percent were uneasy about Mr. Trump's ability to handle the North Korean nuclear situation, while 35 percent were confident in his ability.

The U.S. in May successfully carried out its first-ever missile defense test to intercept an ICBM-type weapon, but other tests have had mixed results.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> SEOUL: North Korea on Thursday (Aug 10) said US President Donald Trump was "bereft of reason" and would only respond to force, as it elaborated on a threat to attack the US Pacific territory of Guam.

Trump this week stunned the world with a bold-faced message to Kim Jong-Un, saying his country faced "fire and fury like the world has never seen".

Pyongyang then said it was considering strikes near US strategic military installations in Guam with intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

"Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," the official KCNA news service quoted General Kim Rak Gyom of the Korean People's Army (KPA) as saying on Thursday morning.

The statement said the KPA would complete mid-August a plan for the attack, which would involve four rockets flying over Japan, and submit it to Kim Jong-Un for consideration as a "crucial warning to the US." </s> U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis delivered a pithy response on Sunday to North Korea’s nuclear test earlier that day. This was the core of the statement: “Any threat to the United States or its territories including Guam or our allies will be met with a massive military response, a response both effective and overwhelming.”

Global markets barely moved upon opening on Monday, which was consistent with the broader treatment of these words as just more of the same from Washington. But that is to misinterpret Mattis, whose words represent a significant escalation in U.S. policy: The probability of a U.S. strike on North Korea has clearly risen.

Compare Mattis’ statement with the key part of Donald Trump’s remarks on August 8, in which the president said, “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”

First, context. On August 8, Trump spoke off the cuff from a golf club during a discussion on opioids, which left ambiguous how far his words represented the administration’s position. Mattis spoke outside the White House, flanked by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Joseph Dunford, in a scripted statement, in which each word had clearly been carefully chosen.

Second, speaker. We have become accustomed to Trump’s remarks being contradicted by members of his administration, or by his own subsequent statements. But not so with Mattis, who is one of the most highly respected military officers of his generation. When Mattis speaks, you listen to each word. And the two key words in Mattis’ statement were “will be”: Not “might be”, but will be. That tells us that if North Korea makes a threat that meets the administration’s definition, the next step is a U.S. strike, rather than more diplomacy.

Third, scope. Trump said on August 8 that threats “to the United States” would trigger a U.S. military response. Since then, North Korea has threatened Guam, an unincorporated U.S. territory, and flown a missile over Japan, but has been careful not to cross Trump’s line by threatening the U.S. mainland directly. Mattis’ statement makes clear that now any threat to Guam or U.S. allies like South Korea or Japan will trigger a U.S. strike. So the bar for what will trigger a U.S. strike has been lowered.

Fourth, detail. Trump’s “fire and fury like the world has never seen” can be interpreted in many ways, if indeed it is even understood as a statement of policy, not just rhetoric. Conversely, from Mattis’ precise statement, we can now deduct the outline of what a U.S. strike would look like.

Thus, Mattis asserted that “we are not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely, North Korea”. Translation: a U.S. strike would target North Korean nuclear and military assets, rather than destroy the whole country, and is unlikely to involve any U.S. invasion; but such a U.S. strike would nonetheless be massive and sudden, and without further warning, if North Korea were to make the threat in question.

Furthermore, Mattis ended his statement by clearly noting the U.S. preference for a diplomatic solution: “Kim Jong Un should take heed the United Nations Security Council’s unified voice. All members unanimously agreed on the threat North Korea poses. And they remain unanimous in their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”

In sum, it seems clear that Mattis wants a peaceful solution as a primary objective, but is ready to strike North Korean nuclear and military installations if Pyongyang makes any further threat to the U.S. or its allies.

However, Mattis was careful to leave a safety valve in the language he used. His statement leaves the Trump administration room to maneuver in the definition of the term “any threat”. Thus, such language could be interpreted by the administration to either include or exclude merely verbal threats, or indeed, any other type.

But Mattis’ use of the term “any threat” may have been designed to anticipate a justification to use force in self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, which is understood to require an imminent threat of “armed attack” against which action can then be taken in self-defense, if that attack has not yet begun. Note that action taken under Article 51 does not require prior U.N. Security Council approval.

Furthermore, we should recognize that while Mattis’ words give us the most precise account of the Trump administration’s position on North Korea to date, there may well remain substantial differences within the administration. The UN Security Council meets Monday, and it is possible that U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Nikki Haley and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson can craft an alternative diplomatic path.

Kim Jong Un’s demurral from threatening the United States mainland after Trump’s August 8 remarks may indicate that he takes Washington’s rhetoric seriously, and that he acts relatively rationally. But now Mattis has extended the precision of the U.S. position to include North Korean threats to U.S. allies, and used the words “will be” in a formal context, Kim Jong Un has been pushed into a tighter corner.

So let’s be clear: Yesterday was not more of the same. The probability of a U.S. strike on North Korea has gone up in the last 48 hours. The ball is in Kim Jong Un’s court, and he has a history of taking wild swings. If he says the wrong thing now, the next step could well be violent. If that happens, don’t say Mattis didn’t warn you. </s> SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for more weapons launches targeting the Pacific Ocean to advance his country's ability to contain Guam, state media said Wednesday, a day after Pyongyang for the first time flew a ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload over Japan.

Tuesday's aggressive missile launch — likely the longest ever from North Korea — over a close U.S. ally sends a clear message of defiance as Washington and Seoul conduct annual military drills. The Korean Central News Agency said the launch was a "muscle-flexing" countermeasure to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint exercises that conclude Thursday. Pyongyang views the drills as invasion rehearsals and often conducts weapons tests and escalates its rhetoric when they are held.

The KCNA report said the missile was an intermediate-range Hwasong-12, which the North first successfully tested in May and threatened to fire into waters near Guam earlier this month.

Kim expressed "great satisfaction" over the launch that he called a "meaningful prelude" to containing Guam and said North Korea would continue to watch the U.S. demeanor before it decides future actions, KCNA said. The U.S. territory is home to key U.S. military bases that North Korea finds threatening.

Kim also said it's "necessary to positively push forward the work for putting the strategic force on a modern basis by conducting more ballistic rocket launching drills with the Pacific as a target in the future."

The launch seemed designed to show that North Korea can back up a threat to target Guam, if it chooses to do so, while also establishing a potentially dangerous precedent that could see future missiles flying over Japan.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile traveled around 2,700 kilometers (1,677 miles) and reached a maximum height of 550 kilometers (341 miles) as it flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

President Donald Trump said North Korea had signaled its "contempt for its neighbors" and that "all options are on the table" in terms of a U.S. response. Trump said in his statement that "threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime's isolation in the region and among all nations of the world."

The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned the launch, which came less than a month after the council imposed its toughest-yet sanctions on North Korea. The statement released after a meeting Tuesday evening in New York doesn't mention any potential new sanctions but calls for strict implementation of existing ones.

Any new test worries Washington and its allies because it presumably puts North Korea a step closer to its goal of an arsenal of nuclear missiles that can reliably target the United States. Tuesday's test, however, looks especially aggressive to Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.

North Korea has conducted launches at an unusually fast pace this year — 13 times, Seoul says — and some analysts believe it could have viable long-range nuclear missiles before the end of Trump's first term in early 2021.

Seoul says that while North Korea has twice before fired rockets it said were carrying satellites over Japan — in 1998 and 2009 — it has never before used a ballistic missile, which is unambiguously designed for military strikes.

North Korea also chose not to fire its most recent missile at a lofted angle, as it did in previous launches to avoid other countries, and Seoul's spy service said the North launched from an unusual spot: the international airport in its capital, Pyongyang. The North still claimed on Wednesday that its recent launch "had no impact on the security of the neighboring countries."

Some outside observers said launching a road-mobile missile from an airport runway could demonstrate the North's ability to fire its missiles from anywhere in the country.

The launch is also another rebuke to Trump, who suggested last week that his tough approach to North Korea, which included threats to unleash "fire and fury," meant Kim "is starting to respect us."

Tuesday's missile landed nowhere near Guam, but firing a Hwasong-12 so soon after the threat may be a way for North Korea to show it could follow through if it chose to do so. Guam is 3,400 kilometers (2,110 miles) away from North Korea, but South Korea's military said the North may have fired the missile at a shorter range.

Guam's civil defense office said the missile was determined to not be a threat. Residents said they were not worried, for now. Eddie Cruz, 60, said he is concerned that with each missile launch, North Korea is getting better. "They're practicing, and that's exactly what I'm worried about," he said.

North Korea will no doubt be watching the world's reaction to see if it can use the same flight path for future launches.

Japanese officials made their usual strongly worded condemnations of the launch.

"We will do our utmost to protect people's lives," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. "This reckless act of launching a missile that flies over our country is an unprecedented, serious and important threat."

Tokyo said there was no reported damage from the missile. Residents on Hokkaido were warned by loudspeakers, phone alerts and an email that told them to stay indoors.

The launch was also condemned by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and a number of other countries.

Tuesday's launch came days after North Korea fired what was assessed as three short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, and a month after its second test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which analysts say could reach deep into the U.S. mainland when perfected.

In an unusual move, the South Korean military released videos of missile tests it conducted last week. They showed two types of new missiles with ranges of 800 kilometers (500 miles) and 500 kilometers (310 miles) being fired from truck-mounted launchers.

South Korea's Agency for Defense Development said the launches represented the last flight test for the longer-range missile before it is operationally deployed. Such missiles, which would be the latest additions to South Korea's Hyumoo family of missiles, are considered key components of the so-called "kill chain" pre-emptive strike capability that South Korea is pursuing to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threat.

South Korea also said its air force conducted a live-fire drill involving four F-15 fighter jets dropping eight MK-84 bombs that accurately hit targets at a military field near the country's eastern coast. Yoon Young-chan, chief press secretary of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said the exercise was conducted after Moon directed the military to "display a strong capability to punish" North Korea if need be.

Associated Press writers Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo, Jennifer Peltz at the United Nations and Grace Garces Bordallo in Hagatna, Guam, contributed to this report. </s> A day after North Korea threatened revenge on the United States over newly issued sanctions handed down by the United Nations, President Donald Trump and North Korean officials exchanged threats Tuesday.

These would include US Navy ships and submarines armed with cruise missiles, plus Air Force bombers that could operate out of bases in Japan or Guam, he said.

“The situation on the Korean peninsula is already volatile enough”, said Sen.

The North Korea comments were published after US President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang that if it continued to threaten the US, it would “face fire and fury like the world has never seen“.

And now? Last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered soothing words about North Korea: “We do not seek a regime change, we do not seek a collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula, we do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the 38th Parallel”, he said.

“Slow down, think strategy Mr. President”, said John McLaughlin, the CIA Director under President Obama.

The successful testing of two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) last month suggested the reclusive North was making technical progress, Japan’s annual Defence White Paper warned.

No one has come up with the answer as yet.

It wasn’t clear what threats Trump was referring to when he addressed reporters Tuesday. This is especially true when it would appear that, by its very nature, the information coming out of North Korea could not possibly be as unquestionable as it seems to be with regard to Russian Federation.

North Korea experts have long advised against overtly hostile threats to the North, particularly given how little is known about the country’s unpredictable young leader, Kim Jong Un, and his stewardship of the world’s largest standing army.

The consequences of any US strike would potentially be catastrophic for South Koreans, Japanese and USA military personnel within range of North Korean retaliatory strikes.

Should US allies refuse to let the military to launch strikes from their territory, Guam would be the most likely place from which to launch airstrikes on North Korea, Schuster says, adding that this is how Kim will regard it.

Similar threats in 2013 led Guam’s U.S. Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo to advocate for the THAAD system, she said in a statement Wednesday.

“We must all continue our diplomatic efforts – it is the only way to ensure that the threat of the illegal North Korean nuclear weapons programme can be contained”, he said. If the North calls Trump’s bluff and conducts more missile launches or nuclear tests, Trump will be under added pressure now to deliver a forceful American response. The South Koreans obviously expect us to meet our mutual defense treaty requirements, but they just elected to office a new administration that desires to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, indeed direct talks.

True, Beijing has not done enough to change Kim’s calculus and their implementation of sanctions in the past has been spotty, but in the wake of a truly significant win in the UN – one that represented a galvanized worldwide community against an increasingly isolated North – Trump actually risks isolating the United States instead.

And The Washington Post reported Tuesday that USA intelligence officials assess that a decade after North Korea’s first nuclear test explosion, Pyongyang has produced nuclear weapons for ballistic missile delivery, including by intercontinental missiles – the type capable of reaching the continental U.S. They immediately effectively called Trump’s obvious bluff (who promises nuclear war over threats rather than actions?!) by announcing plans to strike the island of Guam.

The comments come as Trump and North Korea traded escalating threats.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held talks with Malaysian officials on August 9, as part of a Southeast Asia trip created to persuade allies to maintain pressure on North Korea over its nuclear missile program.

The U.S. has expressed a willingness to work with Kim. </s> Queens Congressman Joseph Crowley, the House Democratic caucus chairman, criticized North Korea for launching a ballistic missile over a northern Japanese island on Friday, saying that it is hurting efforts for peace and stability in the region.

On Friday morning, North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Hokkaido — the second missile fired over Japan since the one that occurred last month and the first since North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test. It is also the first launch since the United Nations Security Council issued a new set of sanctions against North Korea after it tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July. Those sanctions could cost North Korea $1 billion, according to the State Department.

“This launch is the latest in a series of actions that further isolates North Korea and jeopardizes peace and stability in the region,” Crowley said in a statement. “The sanctions imposed this week by the UN Security Council were a step in the right direction, but pressure must continue to be applied in tandem with diplomatic efforts.”

Crowley called on China and Russia to put more pressure on North Korea.

“China and Russia must exert more forceful leadership and demand that North Korea cease its threatening and destabilizing behavior toward America and our allies, including Japan and South Korea,” Crowley continued.

Before North Korea fired the missile, Trump said that he has a “very good relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and guaranteed that Americans “will be very, very safe” because they are “working on different things,” according to CNN. And he also indicated via Twitter recently that he is allowing Japan and South Korea “to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States.”

Last month, Trump warned North Korea that if it continues to threaten the United States, it “will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen,” accusing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un of being “very threatening.” In response, North Korea said that it was “carefully examining” a plan to strike Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory, with missiles. When asked what a tough response would look like, Trump implied that his assertion “wasn’t tough enough” and said “we’ll see.”

Asian elected officials and community leaders, including Queens Assemblyman Ron Kim — the first and only South Korean elected to the state Senate — and Queens Congresswoman and Democratic National Committee Vice Chairwoman Grace Meng, however, have called on Trump to stop his “ad libbing” on Twitter and to concentrate on diplomatic channels and peaceful measures to settle the ongoing conflict with the North Korean government. </s> The unusually detailed report on the attack plan marked a further escalation in tensions between Pyongyang and Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump warned North Korea earlier this week it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States.

North Korea's official news agency KCNA described Trump's threat as a "load of nonsense."

"Sound dialog is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," it said of Trump, adding that it will keep closely watching the speech and behavior of the United States.

The North Korean army is developing a plan "in order to interdict the enemy forces on major military bases on Guam and to signal a crucial warning to the United States," the KCNA report said. Guam is home to about 163,000 people and a U.S. military base that includes a submarine squadron, an airbase and a Coast Guard group.

"The Hwasong-12 rockets to be launched by the KPA (Korean People's Army) will cross the sky above Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi Prefectures of Japan," the report said, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the KPA.

"They will fly 3,356.7 km (2,085.8 miles) for 1,065 seconds and hit the waters 30 to 40 km away from Guam."

Tensions surged this week after Trump's warning to the isolated state to give up its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

North Korea carried out two nuclear bomb tests last year and two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July. Trump has said he will not allow Pyongyang to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also issued a stark warning to North Korea on Wednesday, telling Pyongyang it should stop any actions that would lead to the "end of its regime and the destruction of its people."
Hours after Trump made this remark, North Korea says it is "carefully examining" a missile strike against United States territory of Guam.