Guam is safe, for now, after North Korea backed off its recent threat to fire its new missiles at the Pacific island. That’s a huge sigh of relief after over a week of increasingly tense exchanges between Kim Jong-un and President Trump, in which each bragged about their military might and firepower. But Guam, and the rest of the world that is in range of North Korea, isn’t out of the woods yet. Kim Jong-Un cited a new military plan presented to him by his advisors as part of why he’s holding off on attacking Guam.
“If the Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions on the Korean Peninsula and in its vicinity, testing the self-restraint of the DPRK, the [North] will make an important decision as it already declared,” said Mr. Kim according to North Korean state media. He added that the United States should “stop at once arrogant provocations against the DPRK and unilateral demands and not provoke it any longer.”
Trump himself recently called Guam’s governor to assure him that the U.S. territory would remain safe. The island took Kim Jong-un’s threats seriously enough that guidelines were circulated with information on what to do in the case of a nuclear attack, including how to seek shelter and how to take a decontamination shower. Trump also said in that phone call that the standoff with North Korea would ultimately boost Guam’s tourism and make the governor famous.
Guam Lieutenant Governor Ray Tenorio said, “We are happy that the rhetoric has calmed down, that he won’t be pursuing his threats to fire missiles at Guam. The comments allay some of the concerns and the fears.”
(Via Wall Street Journal)