US President Donald Trump issued another warning to North Korea on Friday with a reference to American weapons being “locked and loaded.”
“Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!” Trump wrote on Twitter, a day after his defense secretary said the United States was ready to counter any threat from Pyongyang.
Guam Posts Emergency Guidelines
Guam posted emergency guidelines on Friday to help residents prepare for any potential nuclear attack after a threat from North Korea to fire missiles in the vicinity of the US Pacific territory.
Pyongyang's state-run KCNA news agency said on Thursday its army would complete plans in mid-August to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land near Guam as North Korea and the United States engaged in increasingly heated rhetoric this week over the North's nuclear weapons program.
North Korea did not threaten Guam with a nuclear attack, but the crisis between Pyongyang and the United States has stirred fears that a nuclear conflict could break out in the region.
Trump’s Rhetoric Against North Korea
On Thursday, President Donald Trump had ratcheted up his rhetoric toward North Korea saying it should be “very, very nervous” if it even thinks about attacking the United States or its allies, after Pyongyang said it was making plans to fire missiles over Japan to land near the US Pacific territory of Guam.
Trump told reporters in New Jersey, where he was meeting with his national security team:
The people of our country are safe. Our allies are safe. And I will tell you this: North Korea better get their act together or they’re going to be in trouble like few nations ever have been in trouble in this world.
North Korea’s Detailed Plan to ‘Strike’ Guam
North Korea, in its turn, announced a detailed plan to launch a volley of ballistic missiles toward the US Pacific territory of Guam, a major military hub and home to US bombers, and dismissed President Donald Trump's threats of “fire and fury” if it doesn't back down.
The announcement, made in the name of a general who heads North Korea’s rocket command, warned the North is preparing a plan to fire four of its Hwasong-12 missiles over Japan and into waters around the tiny island, which hosts 7,000 US military personnel on two main bases and has a population of 160,000.
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