 |
| Photo credit to owner |
North Korea's military is "examining the operational plan" to strike areas around the US territory of Guam with medium-to-long-range strategic ballistic missiles, state-run news agency KCNA said early Wednesday local time.
Specifically, the statement mentioned a potential strike on Andersen Air Force Base designed "to send a serious warning signal to the US."
Guam's governor, Eddie Baza Calvo, released a statement Wednesday, reassuring the island's residents that there was no escalated threat.
"I want to reassure the people of Guam that currently there is no threat to our island or the Marianas," he said.
He added that there was no change in the threat level resulting from North Korea.
"I also want to remind national media that Guam is American soil and we have 200,000 Americans in Guam and the Marianas. We are not just a military installation."
The US Department of Defense reiterated its capability to counter North Korean aggression.
"We always maintain a high state of readiness and have the capabilities to counter any threat, to include those from North Korea," spokesman Johnny Michael told CNN.
Should the US retaliate to Kim's latest threats, its position makes the US territory the most likely place from which to launch airstrikes on North Korea.
The Trump administration considers North Korea to be America's greatest national security threat and tensions have steadily escalated this year.
Pyongyang had threatened the US in response to the UN Security Council's adoption this weekend of new, tougher sanctions spearheaded by Washington. The sanctions followed groundbreaking long-range missile tests last month that showed North Korea could potentially reach the continental US with its missiles. The newly revealed US intelligence assessment indicates those missiles can carry nuclear warheads.
Denouncing the UN sanctions through state media, North Korea warned: "We will make the US pay by a thousand-fold for all the heinous crimes it commits against the state and people of this country."
Comment your thoughts, hit Like and Share the article. Thank you!
Source: CNN
0 comments: