We’re all set to blitz US island in days, vows North Korea
NORTH Korea yesterday branded President Donald Trump a madman as it gave details of its plans to fire missiles at the US Pacific island of Guam.
It said it will be ready within days to launch intermediate-range missiles on the 18-minute flight over 2,100 miles of ocean to land within 20 miles of Guam.
America would almost certainly view this as an attack and respond militarily, at the very least by shooting down the missiles.
The US Seventh Fleet has six Aegis ballistic missile defence ships in the region capable of targeting the missiles, while Japan has four.
Guam also has a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence anti-missile system similar to one recently installed in South Korea.
Desire
Earlier this week, Mr Trump vowed that any threats by North Korea would be “met with fire and fury like the world has never seen”.
But yesterday North Korea dismissed this as a “load of nonsense” and stepped up its rhetoric.
The state-run KCNA news agency said of Mr Trump: “Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him.”
Dictator Kim Jong-un has made no secret of his desire to target the US mainland with nuclear weapons.
Earlier this week the US Defence Intelligence Agency said Pyongyang has developed a miniaturised nuclear weapon that can fit on top of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
North Korea has carried out five nuclear bomb tests since 2006, including two last year, and last month testfired two long-range missiles.
Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka yesterday told the BBC: “Donald Trump has been unequivocal. He will use any appropriate measures to protect the United States and her citizens.” He added: “We do not telegraph our future scenarios and how we are going to react. If you show players around a table your poker hand, you will lose that game. It is not a good idea in cards, it is a very bad idea in geopolitics.”
On Wednesday, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis threatened North Korea with “the destruction of its people” if it attacked US soil.
North Korea responded by revealing its plans to target Guam, which is home to about 163,000 people, a US air base and Naval installation that includes a squadron of submarines.
Guam’s Governor Eddie Calvo said: “We are concerned about these threats but at the same time we want to make sure people don’t panic.”
Last weekend the UN Security Council, including Kim’s only ally, China, voted unanimously to impose tough new sanctions on North Korea.
China told Kim to halt his tests of nuclear bombs and missiles.
In London yesterday, First Secretary Damian Green called for calm. “It is obviously in all our interests to make sure nothing escalates,” he said.