朝鮮“正在研究”對關島實施導彈打擊的計劃

Elected officials in Guam are reassuring constituents that the U.S. territory is safe following North Korea's claim that it is examining its plan for ``making an enveloping fire'' around the strategically important Pacific island.

In the statement issued early Wednesday in Asia, the North's Korean Central News Agency said its armed forces were "carefully examining" a plan for missile strikes on Guam. American military bases on the U.S. Pacific island territory are believed to hold the largest U.S. arsenal of nuclear weapons outside the continental United States.

A spokesman for North Korea's army was quoted as saying the strike plan will be "put into practice in a multi-current and consecutive way any moment," once an order is given by Kim Jong Un.

Guam Governor Eddie Calvo said there was no threat to the island, but also said it was "prepared for any eventuality" in a televised speech. Governor Calvo said "Guam is American just a military installation," and was assured by the White House that an attack on Guam would be considered an attack on the United States.

Madeleine Bordallo, Guam's elected congressional delegate, also expressed confidence in the ability of U.S. forces to protect the island amid North Korea's "deeply troubling" threat, but urged Trump to work with the international community to de-escalate tensions.

The moves followed a day of heated rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a stark warning to North Korea, saying if Pyongyang continues its threats against the United States, "they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”

Trump told reporters Kim Jong Un has been acting in a "very threatening" manner since the United States increased its sanctions against the reclusive communist state and won a unanimous vote by the U.N. Security Council to impose penalties on Pyongyang.

Speaking at his golf club in New Jersey, where he has been on a working vacation, Trump repeated his warning that Kim Jong Un risked bringing down on his impoverished country “fire, fury and frankly, power the likes of which the world has never seen before.”

Earlier Tuesday U.S. media outlets reported the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency has concluded that North Korea recently succeeded in building a miniaturized nuclear warhead, small enough to fit in the intercontinental ballistic missiles Pyongyang recently has test-fired.

Trump's forceful language on Tuesday, and Pyongyang's vociferous response, revived concerns about renewed war on the Korean peninsula, where three years of combat in the early 1950s ended in stalemate.關島政府官員安撫民衆說，關島很安全。此前，朝鮮聲稱，正在研究計劃，對這個太平洋上具有戰略意義的島嶼“進行覆蓋性打擊”。

朝中社亞洲時間星期三早上發表聲明說，朝鮮武裝部隊正在“仔細研究”一項計劃，對關島實施導彈打擊。據信，關島美軍基地上的核武器存量是美國大陸以外最多的。

朝中社援引朝鮮軍方一位發言人的話說，一旦金正恩做出決定，隨時可能以“多路徑的連續方式”對關島實施打擊。

關島總督卡爾沃在電視講話中說，關島不面臨威脅，但他同時表示，關島“爲任何可能發生的情況做好了準備”。卡爾沃說，“關島是美國屬地，並不只是軍事裝置”，白宮已經向他保證，對關島發動襲擊就是對美國發動襲擊。

關島議員博爾達洛也說，朝鮮發出了“令人深感不安的”的威脅，但她相信美國部隊有保護關島的能力。不過，她同時敦促川普總統跟國際社會合作，緩解緊張局勢。

一天前，華盛頓和平壤在言辭上激烈交鋒。美國總統川普星期二對朝鮮發出嚴厲警告。川普說，如果平壤繼續威脅美國，“他們將承受的是前所未見的烈焰與怒火”。

川普告訴記者說，自從美國加大對朝鮮的制裁，並贏得聯合國安理會一致通過，對朝鮮實施懲罰以來，朝鮮領導人金正恩採取了“極具威脅”的姿態。

正在新澤西州工作休假的川普在他的一個高爾夫球俱樂部再次警告說，金正恩讓朝鮮冒着“烈焰與怒火”的危險，坦率的說，打擊力量將是這個世界前所未見的。”

美國媒體星期二早些時候報道說，美國國防情報局得出結論，朝鮮最近成功生產了微型核彈頭，可以配置在最近試射的洲際彈道導彈上。

川普星期二的強勢辭令和平壤的高調回應都讓外界擔心，朝鮮半島可能再次陷入戰爭。