North Korea threatens to launch four missiles towards Guam
"The Strategic Force of the KPA is seriously examining the plan for an enveloping strike at Guam through simultaneous fire of four Hwasong-12 intermediate-range strategic ballistic rockets in order to interdict the enemy forces on major military bases on Guam and to signal a crucial warning to the US" General Kim Rak-Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army said in a statement released by North Korean state news agency KCNA.
"The KPA Strategic Force will finally complete the plan until mid-August and report it to the commander-in-chief (Kim Jong-un) of the DPRK nuclear force and wait for his order," the statement added.
This unit of the Korean People's Army is the operational leader of the Pyongyang missile program.
"The Hwasong-12 rockets to be launched by the KPA will cross the sky above Shimane, Hiroshima and Kochi Prefectures of Japan. They will fly 3,356.7 km for 1,065 seconds (nearly 18 minutes) and hit the waters 30 to 40 km away from Guam," the statement detailed.
Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington have escalated following the North Korean regime's threat to attack Guam and a strong warning by US President Donald Trump.
Trump warned Tuesday that if Pyongyang does not stop threatening the US, it "will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen". The Pentagon then decided to send two strategic B-1B bombers, which are stationed in Guam, to the outskirts of the Korean peninsula in response to the threats.
North Korea's top general also criticized Trump, saying he "again let out a load of nonsense about 'fire and fury,' and failed "to grasp the ongoing grave situation."
"Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," Kim said of Trump.
North Korea will "keep closely watching the speech and behavior of the US," the statement concluded.
