North Korea plans to strike 30 km from Guam

North Korea says it will develop a plan by mid-August to launch four intermediate range missiles at Guam, hitting waters near the territory.

State media said the plan would then be presented to the leader Kim Jong Un who will make a decision on whether to proceed.

The report cited a commander in the Korean People's Army who said the Hwasong-12 rockets will cross the skies of Japan and hit the sea 30 to 40 kilometres from Guam

"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 for 1,065 seconds and hit the waters 30 to 40 km away from Guam."

The report added that US President Donald Trump's "fire and fury" comments earlier this week were a "load of nonsense", saying only "absolute force can work on him".

Guam Governor reassured of US protection against North Korea

Meanwhile, the Governor of Guam Eddie Calvo says the United States has reassured him of its protection in the event of a North Korean missile attack.

In a special address yesterday Mr Calvo called for calm saying he had been in touch with the Whitehouse.

"An attack or threat on Guam is an attack or threat on the United States. They have said that American will be defended."

He called for calm in Guam.

"I want to reassure the people of Guam, and currently there is no threat to our island or the Marianas. There is no change in the threat level resulting from North Korea events."

Auckland University politics and international relations professor Stephen Hoadley said Guam authorities weren't worried because experts are sceptical about North Korea's claimed missile capability.

"There is a lot of debate whether these North Korean missiles, firstly, are accurate and, secondly, can survive the re-entry from space into the earth's atmosphere with the risk of burning up - can the North Koreans actually put a nuclear warhead on to these missile?"

Retired US army General Wesley Clark spoke out about Mr Trump's latest comments.

"You can't be engaging in schoolboy rhetoric with North Korea - it's just absurd. We have a very strong military; the emphasis should be on deterrents. War could start from an accidental miscalculation on the Korean peninsula, and it's more likely with that escalatory rhetoric from the President of the United States, I'm sorry to say."

The New Zealand Defence Force has confirmed an Air Force aircraft is in Guam as part of a military exercise, but will not comment on the North Korean threat against the country.

 

Kim Jong Un Photo: supplied