North Korea will develop Guam strike plan by mid-August: State media

SEOUL (REUTERS) - North Korea will develop a plan by mid-August to launch four intermediate range missiles at the US territory of Guam before presenting it to leader Kim Jong Un who will make a decision on whether to proceed, the North's state media said on Thursday (Aug 10).

"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," KCNA said, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the KPA.

"They will fly 3,356.7km for 1,065 seconds and hit the waters 30 to 40km away from Guam."

The unusually detailed report on the attack plan marked a further escalation in tensions between Pyongyang and Washington after US President Donald Trump warned North Korea earlier this week it would face “fire and fury” if it threatened the United States.

The news agency described Trump’s threat as a “load of nonsense”, adding “sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him.”

On global markets, the strong rhetoric and sharp increase in tensions drove investors out of stocks and other risky assets on Wednesday and into textbook safe havens like gold and Treasuries.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis issued a stark warning earlier on Wednesday, telling Pyongyang the United States and its allies would win any arms race or conflict.

“The DPRK should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people,” Mattis said in a statement, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The United States and South Korea remain technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty. North Korea regularly threatens to destroy the United States.