Guam Governor Eddie Calvo says the U.S. territory is prepared to deal with whatever North Korean leader Kim Jong Un decides to dish out in the coming days.
In a briefing Monday about Guam’s preparedness in the event of a nuclear attack following threats from North Korea to launch four missiles near the waters off Guam, Calvo told local and international reporters that Guam is similar to the State of Israel in many ways.
“Like Israel, we’ve had a lot of practice here [dealing with threats]… some of it – most of it – made by nature, and now of course some of the threat made by a gentleman from North Korea. So we are as prepared as any American community can be for a potential crisis,” Calvo said.
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford has arrived in the region to discuss the current state of affairs; he landed in Seoul to meet with military officials in South Korea as well as the country’s President Moon Jae-in.
In Guam, the U.S. territory has been directly threatened by Pyongyang; preparations continue to be made ahead of any possible attack there as well.
North Korean officials spent 10 days in Iran attending the recent inauguration ceremony for President Hassan Rouhani’s second term in office, and following up with diplomatic, military and economic talks. In addition, the North Korean delegation opened a new embassy in Tehran during their visit as well.
Ties between the two rogue states, both of whom continue to test ballistic missile technology in direct violation of United Nations resolutions, are very strong, with both sharing missile and nuclear technology.
Iran, which has vowed to wipe Israel off the world map, is somewhat constrained by the JCPOA nuclear agreement it signed with six world powers in 2015; however it has found ways to work around that deal via its international partners, including North Korea and numerous terrorist proxy groups.
Meanwhile, North Korea is rapidly advancing its ability to miniaturize its nuclear technology, and recently succeeded in fitting a nuclear warhead to its ballistic missiles, making it clear that within the next year, the continental United States will likely be within range of a nuclear attack by the DPRK.