The Latest: Officials in Guam say it’s safe from North Korea

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs (all times local):

1 a.m.

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.

Governor Eddie Baza Calvo said Wednesday there is no threat to Guam or to the Mariana Islands to the north. He adds that he will continue discussions with Joint Region Marianas Commander Rear Admiral Shoshana Chatfield to discuss military and first-responder readiness, to ensure that Guam is “prepared for any eventuality.”

Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo issued a statement saying Pentagon officials have assured her that the territory is protected.

Bordallo was critical of President Donald Trump’s vow Tuesday to answer North Korea “with fire and fury like the world has never seen” if Pyongyang continues to threaten the U.S. She urged Trump to work with the international community to de-escalate tensions.

12:20 a.m.

A nuclear expert who has repeatedly visited North Korea’s nuclear facilities says he doubts the country is yet capable of attacking the U.S. territory of Guam with medium- to long-range missiles. He says escalating rhetoric from both the North and the U.S. is the real danger.

The North said Wednesday it is examining its plan for “making an enveloping fire” around Guam, a Pacific island that is home to major U.S. military bases.

Siegfried Hecker, a professor at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, said Tuesday night in the U.S. that although the North tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles last month, developing a nuclear warhead for such a missile is “extremely challenging and still beyond North Korea’s reach.”

Hecker says the real threat is “stumbling into an inadvertent nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula by misunderstanding or miscalculation.” He adds, “Inflammatory rhetoric on both sides will make that more likely.”

10 p.m.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says North Korea is reckless, provocative, dangerous and a threat to peace.

Turnbull’s comments on Wednesday come after North Korea said it is examining its operational plans for attacking Guam to contain U.S. bases there.

The prime minister said of North Korea’s regime: “Its conduct is illegal, it’s reckless, it’s provocative, it’s dangerous. And it threatens the peace of the region, the peace of the world.”

Turnbull says a conflict with North Korea would be shattering and have “catastrophic consequences.” The prime minister says the global community is united in seeking to impose the maximum economic pressure on North Korea “to bring them to their senses without conflict.”

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9 p.m.

Security and defense officials on Guam say there is no imminent threat to people there or in the Northern Mariana Islands after North Korea said it was examining its operational plans for attack.

Guam’s Department of Homeland Security and Office of Civil Defense say they are monitoring North Korea with U.S. military and government officials.

Guam’s Homeland Security Adviser George Charfauros says officials there are confident “the U.S. Department of Defense is monitoring this situation very closely and is maintaining a condition of readiness.”

Charfauros in his statement Wednesday morning urged calm and said defenses are in place on Guam and its neighboring Pacific islands for threats such as North Korea.

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8:30 p.m.

The speaker of the Guam Legislature says he hopes the island can defend itself in the event of an attack from North Korea.

Benjamin J. Cruz tells The Associated Press in a telephone interview, “We’re just praying that the United States and the ... defense system we have here is sufficient enough to protect us.”

North Korea says it is examining its operational plans for attacking Guam to contain U.S. bases there.

Cruz calls the threat “very disconcerting,” saying, “It forces us to pause and to say a prayer for the safety of our people.”

Rena Chang, who owns a hair salon in the tourist area of Tumon, says: “That’s so scary. My heart is pumping right now.”

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7:40 p.m.

North Korea says it is examining its operational plans for attacking Guam to contain U.S. bases there.

The army said in a statement distributed Wednesday by the state-run news agency that it is studying a plan to create an “enveloping fire” in areas around Guam with medium- to long-range ballistic missiles. The U.S. territory is home to Andersen Air Force Base.

The statement says the move is in response to a recent U.S. ICBM test.

It comes as President Donald Trump says North Korea “will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen” if it makes any more threats to the U.S.

A Japanese defense paper and a U.S. media report Tuesday said North Korea may have successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.

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6:20 p.m.

Republican Sen. John McCain says “great leaders” don’t threaten foes unless they’re ready to act — and he’s not certain President Donald Trump is ready to act against North Korea.

McCain, who heads the Armed Services Committee, made the comments Tuesday in an interview on KTAR News in Phoenix.

He is responding to Trump’s warning that North Korea could face “fire and fury” if it threatens the United States after a new report said U.S. intelligence officials believe Pyongyang has successfully produced a nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.

McCain says he takes exception to Trump’s comments “because you got to be sure you can do what you say you’re going to do.”

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3:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump says that North Korea “had best not make any more threats to the United States” or “they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”

Trump issued the warning during a briefing on opioid addiction at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.

A Japanese defense paper and a U.S. media report said Tuesday that North Korea may have successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.

That’s a key benchmark in the country’s attempt to become a full-fledged nuclear power.

Washington’s alarm over North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s pursuit of a nuclear capability has intensified in the past month after the North conducted two tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles last month.

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1:29 p.m.

The Washington Post is reporting that U.S. intelligence officials assess that North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.

That would mean North Korea has passed a crucial threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power.

The Post story, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, said the confidential analysis was completed last month by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.

Officials at the agency would not comment Tuesday. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence could not immediately be reached for comment.

Separately, Japan’s defense ministry assessed in a report Tuesday that it is possible that North Korea has achieved the miniaturization of nuclear weapons and has developed nuclear warheads.

Source: www.apnews.com