Island prepared for the worst: Guam governor

Guam Governor Eddie Calvo on Monday said that local authorities were prepared for the worst scenario in case North Korea launches missiles into the sea near the island.

Calvo said there were no changes in the security level and asked both locals and tourists to go ahead with their plans normally, reports Efe news.

"Although there is no heightened threat level, it is important to inform the public of all contingencies", Calvo said at a press conference broadcast live on Facebook.

"If (a nuclear attack) were to occur, then you're seeing not only catastrophe in the Marianas, you're not only seeing catastrophe in the Korean peninsula, catastrophe in Japan, but the world."

The governor and security adviser George Charfauros appeared confident about the anti-ballistic missile defence system deployed by the United States on the island and the preventive measures put in place by Seoul and Tokyo.

"The chances of a missile getting through the various layers of defence, both of US military and our allies, is 0.000001 percent," said Charfauros.

Last week, Pyongyang said it was chalking out a plan to launch four missiles mid-August into the territorial waters of Guam, an unincorporated US territory with a population of 163,000 that is located some 3,430 km to the southeast of North Korea.

Defence experts estimate that the intermediate-range ballistic missile Hwasong-12 would take between 14 and 15 minutes to reach Guam from North Korea.

Calvo said 14 minutes would not be enough time to run or evacuate, but it was possible to inform people beforehand about what to do in case of an attack.

Charfauros added that no evacuation plan had been made because it would be chaotic with so little time available.

Guam Homeland Security had released a factsheet telling people how to prepare for an attack.

In 2013 also, Pyongyang had threatened to attack Guam, because of it being a strategic base for the US in the Pacific, with 6,000 troops stationed and B-1B bombers with nuclear capacity operating from the island.

--IANS

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