US should prepare to shoot down North Korean missiles if Kim doesn’t ditch Guam strike plan: experts

The US should prepare to shoot down the four intermediate-range missiles Pyongyang has promised to fire near the US Pacific island territory of Guam, but efforts should continue to be made to convince North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to abandon his strike plan to lower the escalatory risks for both Washington and Pyongyang, US nuclear security analysts said.

David Albright, president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, said North Korea would be making “a horrible mistake” by proceeding with the Guam strike plan that Pyongyang’s state news agency KCNA announced as a countermeasure to US President Donald Trump’s threat of bringing “fire and fury” to the hermit nation.

Since then, the US and North Korea have continued to exchange provocative threats. KCNA said the Guam strike plan will be ready for Kim Jong-un’s consideration in days and that “Trump is driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war”. The intermediate-range missiles would be fired east and over Japan before landing around 30km to 40km off the coast of Guam, according to KCNA. Guam is more than 3000km from North Korea.

Trump’s response was to tweet: “Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely.” Trump added in his Twitter post: “Hopefully Kim Jong-un will find another path!” The Pentagon said the US and South Korea would proceed as planned with a joint military exercise in 10 days, Reuters reported. US Pacific Command also tweeted that US Air Force Lancer bombers on Guam stand ready to “fight tonight” if called up on to do so.