World War 3? North Korea threatens Guam with ’salvo of missiles’ after US military drills

The threat has come in response to two Air Force supersonic heavy bombers being flown over the Korean peninsula in a show of force against Pyongyang on Tuesday night.

Two B-1B Lancers based in Guam flew a mission in the vicinity of the Sea of Japan in joint aviation exercises with Japan and South Korea, according to the US Pacific Air Forces.

In a statement released by North Korean state media, Pyongyang said: “We have already warned several times that we will take counteractions for self-defence including a salvo of missiles into waters near the US territory of Guam.

“Guam is an advance base for invading the DPRK, where key US bases are located, as the US has resorted to military actions in sensitive regions, making the waters off the Korean peninsula and in the Pacific restless.

“The US military actions hardens our determination that the US should be tamed with fire and lets us take our hand closer to trigger for taking the toughest countermeasure.”

The island territory of Guam is an important strategic hub for US power in the Pacific.

It is home to Anderson Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam, which are bases containing 6,000 troops but also long-range bombers, ships and submarines.

North Korea first threatened to strike Guam with four Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missiles in August, shortly after Donald Trump said he was prepared to “unleash fire and fury like the world has never seen” against North Korea.

News of North Korea’s most recent threat towards Guam has come as Donald Trump has decided to send a warship with 7,500 sailors to South Korea, within striking range of Kim Jong-un’s North Korean hermit state.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt left San Diego last week to focus on maritime security operations in the area.

The £3.4billion warship is “ready as a war-fighting force”, Admiral Steve Koehler said.

The strike group commander said: “The US Navy carrier strike group is the most versatile, capable force at sea,” he said in a statement before the ship’s launch.

“After nearly a year of training and integration exercises, the entire team is ready as a war-fighting force and ready to carry out the nation’s tasking.”