North Korea Threatens to Strike Guam

Earlier today, US President Donald Trump warned North Korea that any threat to the United States would be met with “fire and fury.”

Trump’s remarks came hours after reports that North Korea had developed a nuclear weapon small enough to fit on a missile.

North Korea responded a few hours later, in statements on state-run TV, saying it is “carefully examining” a plan to strike the US Pacific territory of Guam with missiles.

In the statement, a spokesman for the Korean People’s Army said the strike plan will be “put into practice in a multi-current and consecutive way at any moment” once leader Kim Jong Un makes a decision.

According to an NBC news article, Trump’s remarks came hours after reports that North Korea had developed a nuclear weapon small enough to fit on a missile. Last month, North Korea proved its missile capabilities have reached a point where US cities are within “target range.”

“North Korea had best not make any more threats to the United States,” the president said in a news conference held in New Jersey today. “They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.” He added that Kim Jong Un “has been very threatening beyond a normal state.”

With tensions rising with North Korea, it has lead Hawaiʻi officials to come up with a plan. Last month, the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency announced plans for a public information and education campaign related to the ballistic missile threat from North Korea. The plan includes instructions for Hawaiʻi residents and tourists on what to do if a ballistic missile attack is detected.

In April of this year, officials with the State Emergency Management Agency said the threat of North Korea actually firing a nuclear missile at Hawaiʻi is extremely small; but “yet with the unpredictable leadership of North Korea, Hawaiʻi needs to take steps to prepare just in case.”

Military experts estimate a missile from North Korea would take between 12-20 minutes to reach Hawaiʻi.