17 August, 2017
SEOUL, South Korea North Korea said Tuesday that leader Kim Jong Un was briefed on his military's plans to launch missiles into waters near Guam as part of an effort to create "enveloping fire" near the USA military hub in the Pacific.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, meanwhile, a liberal who favors engagement with the North, urged North Korea to stop provocations and to commit to talks over its nuclear weapons program.
But U.S. officials have taken a gentler tone in recent days.
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, second from left, takes part in a welcoming ceremony with chief of the Joint Staff Department of the People's Liberation Army General Fang Fenghui, left, in Beijing.
Kim said North Korea would conduct the launches if the "Yankees persist in their extremely unsafe reckless actions on the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity", and that the United States should "think reasonably and judge properly" to avoid shaming itself, the news agency said.
Last week, the North said a plan was being drawn up to fire four missiles into the sea off Guam, where USA bombers are based.
China has repeatedly called for all sides to exercise restraint and remain calm, and while it has signed up for tough United Nations sanctions on North Korea, it says the key to a resolution lies in Washington and Pyongyang talking to each other, rather than expecting China to do all the work.
"Every North Korean must have seen this photo on TV and newspapers". He said no USA military action on the Korean Peninsula could be taken without Seoul's consent. Experts contacted by Business Insider noted that North Korea's statement was full of conditional clauses, and likely indicated he was bluffing.
North Korea has often threatened to attack the United States and its bases and released similar photos in the past but never followed through. North Korea regards the USA exercises with South Korea and Japan as preparations for invasion.
Dunford is visiting South Korea, Japan and China after a week in which Trump declared the USA military "locked and loaded" and said he was ready to unleash "fire and fury" if North Korea continued to threaten the United States.
The tentative interest in diplomacy follows unusually combative threats between President Donald Trump and North Korea amid worries that Pyongyang is nearing its long-sought goal of accurately being able to send a nuclear missile to the USA mainland.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe praised a commitment by Trump that the United States would stand with its allies in the region to counter threats from North Korea.
The KCNA report Tuesday said Kim had "examined the (strike) plan for a long time and discussed it with the commanding officers in real earnest".
Calls for nuclear armament have gained traction as Pyongyang stepped up its nuclear and missile programs, with two nuclear tests past year, as well as a series of missile launches, including those capable of reaching the continental U.S.
This has led to growing calls among South Korean conservatives for the United States to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea after withdrawing them in the 1990s.
He said he had spoken to his counterparts in China, the US and South Korea in recent days.
"He emphasised that the US and China have the same goal - a denuclearised Korean peninsula achieved through peaceful means".
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the Trump administration remains interested in a dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un but is waiting for some sign of interest from Pyongyang.
Speaking with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday in a phone conversation, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said peacefully solving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is in the interest of all relevant parties, including China and Russia. "We would like to have talks with him when the time is right, when they show they're serious, serious about an effort to move to denuclearization".
North Korea is currently holding three US citizens it accuses of espionage or hostile acts, but now is not the right time to discuss them, KCNA reported, citing a foreign ministry spokesman.
