[AP / Yonhap]
With a cynical rebuff of President Donald Trump's warnings, North Korea disclosed a concrete trajectory of four intermediate-range ballistic missiles for a possible open strike on maritime targets around Guam, home to US strategic bombers in the Western Pacific.
The four Hwasong-12 missiles will be placed on launch pads by mid-August, waiting for a final order from leader Kim Jong-un, the commander of the North's Strategic Force said in a statement published by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
For an "enveloping strike" to interdict US strategic bombers in Guam, the missiles will be set to cross the sky over three Japanese prefectures and land in waters about 30 to 40 kilometers away from Guam after flying 3,356.7 kilometers (2,080 miles) for 1,065 seconds (about 18 minutes), Commander Kim Rak-gyom said.
"Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," the commander was quoted as saying, referring to Trump's warning that North Korean threats would be met with "fire and fury".
The commander said the planned missile launch could be made public "to signal a crucial warning" to Washington. Pyongyang insists the Hwasong-12 could put US military bases in Hawaii and Alaska within its range, although experts cast doubt over its capabilities.
The North reacted hysterically to US strategic bombers such as B-1Bs capable of carrying nuclear weapons which have staged sporadic joint drills with South Korean fighter jets on the Korean peninsula. The latest flight of two B-1B bombers was reported on Tuesday.
In his latest tweet, Trump said the United States is now armed with "far stronger and more powerful" nuclear weapons than ever. "My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal," he said. "It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before. Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!"
Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to Trump, saw the tweet as a warning to Pyongyang. "He's saying, 'Don't test America and don't test Donald J. Trump,'" Gorka said in a Fox interview.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis followed up with his warning that North Korean provocations could destroy its regime and people. "The DPRK (North Korea) regime's actions will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates," he said in a statement.
Mattis said the president's first orders to him upon taking office centered on maintaining the readiness of US ballistic missile defense and nuclear deterrent forces.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
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