Kim examines plans for missile attack near Guam

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has examined plans for an attack on areas surrounding America's Guam Island and decided to watch Washington's reaction "a little more" before undertaking the offensive.

Kim was briefed on the plan during an inspection of the North Korean People's Army (KPA) Strategic Force on Monday, where he also accused the US of driving the situation on the Korean peninsula into a "touch-and-go situation", Efe quoted local media reports as saying.

"In order to defuse the tensions and prevent the dangerous military conflict on the Korean peninsula, it is necessary for the US to make a proper option first and show it through action," Kim was quoted as saying.

The North Korean leader accused Washington of provoking Pyongyang by "introducing huge nuclear strategic equipment into the vicinity of the peninsula" and urged the US to stop "arrogant provocations against the DPRK and unilateral demands and not provoke it any longer."

Kim praised his troops' preparation to take action at some point, although his last words suggest that the bombing of Guam is not imminent, as he said he wants to " watch a little more the foolish and stupid conduct" of Washington.

Tensions between North Korea and the US have exacerbated after Pyongyang protested last week against recent UN sanctions that punished its missile launches, and threatened to attack US territory, while US President Donald Trump replied by promising "fire and fury".

In an unusual turn, the Kim Jong-un regime said it was preparing a plan to launch four missiles to the vicinity of Guam Island, which houses important US military bases and some 7,000 US soldiers.

Pyongyang's continued missile tests have raised tensions on the Korean peninsula and hardened the rhetoric of Donald Trump's administration, which has hinted at the possibility of preemptive strikes against North Korea.

--IANS

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