North Korea said it was "carefully examining" plans to strike the
US territory after Donald Trump launched a furious tirade at Kim
Jong-un, warning that North Korea would be met with “fire and fury” if
the rogue state continued to threaten America.
The North Korean Strategic Commander added: “We are seriously
considering an operation plan to carry out the siege of Guam around the
strategic ballistic rocket ‘Hwaseong-12’ type.”
Two US B-1B bombers have arrived in Guam and are prepared to “fight tonight”.
The Pacific Air Forces tweeted: “South Dakota airmen arrive on Guam –
conduct #bilateral missions with Japan & ROK [South Korea] – US
ready to #fighttonight.”
Base and Naval Base Guam housing thousands of American service members and their families.
Roughly 28 percent of the
island is occupied by the U.S. military. The base houses bomber
assurance and deterrence missions, including six B-52s which the air
force says provide 'strategic global strike capability [to] deter
potential adversaries and provide reassurance to allies' and that they
are ready to go.
In another statement citing a different
military spokesman, North Korea also said it could carry out a
pre-emptive operation if the U.S. showed signs of provocation.
Earlier Pyongyang said it was ready to
give Washington a 'severe lesson' with its strategic nuclear force in
response to any U.S. military action.
The statement from the North comes after
Trump told the country's leader Tuesday that additional threats of
violence against the U.S. 'will be met with fire and the fury like the
world has never seen.'
Base and Naval Base Guam housing thousands of American service members and their families.
Roughly 28 percent of the
island is occupied by the U.S. military. The base houses bomber
assurance and deterrence missions, including six B-52s which the air
force says provide 'strategic global strike capability [to] deter
potential adversaries and provide reassurance to allies' and that they
are ready to go.
In another statement citing a different
military spokesman, North Korea also said it could carry out a
pre-emptive operation if the U.S. showed signs of provocation.
Earlier Pyongyang said it was ready to
give Washington a 'severe lesson' with its strategic nuclear force in
response to any U.S. military action.
The statement from the North comes after
Trump told the country's leader Tuesday that additional threats of
violence against the U.S. 'will be met with fire and the fury like the
world has never seen.'
'He has been very threatening beyond a normal state, and as I said
they will be met with the fire and fury and frankly power, the likes of
which this world has never seen before,' Trump added in remarks at the
top of an unrelated meeting.
'North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,'
Trump cautioned after a reporter asked him about the nuclear standoff.
Trump told the
world Tuesday morning that it must be vigilant against North Korea in
the face of new threats from the country's young dictator.
Kim had warned the United States that it
would pay 'pay dearly' for the United Nations sanctions regime it
successfully imposed over the weekend and hinted at military action as
tensions continued to escalate.
'Physical action will be taken mercilessly
with the mobilization of all its national strength,' North Korea's
state-run news agency said Tuesday.
The 33-year-old Kim was lashing out at a
U.S. push to drain him of the hard currency he needs to develop his
nuclear program that Russia and China reluctantly signed on to last weekend.
The sanctions put a hard stop to a third of North Korea's export revenue - a deafening blow to the country's economy.
Trump celebrated the universal
participation of Security Council countries in the sanctions with a
tweet this morning that said, 'After many years of failure,countries are
coming together to finally address the dangers posed by North Korea. We
must be tough & decisive!'
A Washington Post report
on Tuesday suggested that North Korea had invented a miniaturized
warhead that it has the capability of attaching to the intercontinental
ballistic missiles its been testing.
According to the report, US officials estimate that Kim now has 60 nuclear weapons in his possession.
By comparison, the US is estimated to have more than 6,800 in its stockpile, and Russia is thought to have 7,000.
Shortly after Trump's morning message,
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley appeared on
Fox & Friends to deliver tough talk to North Korea and take a
victory lap on sanctions.
'The United States will respond
accordingly, and I think the international community will respond
accordingly,' she said of the dangerous actions that Kim could take in
response to the punishing actions.
