N Korea details Guam missile plan; calls Trump’s warning a ‘load of nonsense’

Seoul/Guam, August 10 : North Korea dismissed on Thursday warnings by US President Donald Trump that it would face “fire and fury” if it threatened the United States as a “load of nonsense”, and outlined detailed plans for a missile strike near the Pacific territory of Guam. North Korea’s apparently rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons and missiles capable of reaching the US mainland has fuelled tensions that erupted into a war of words between Washington and Pyongyang this week, unnerving regional powers and global investors. Trump’s unexpected remarks prompted North Korea to say on Thursday it was finalising plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land 30-40 km (18-25 miles) from Guam, adding detail to a plan first announced on Wednesday.Guam, more than 3,000 km (2,000 miles) to the southeast of North Korea, is home to about 163,000 people and a US military base that includes a submarine squadron, an air base and a Coast Guard group.“Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him,” a report by the North’s state-run KCNA news agency said of Trump.