North Korea Looking At Attack Plans Against US Territory Guam

WASHINGTON, DC — North Korea, which might have produced a nuclear warhead that's small enough to fit inside its missiles, now says it's scrutinizing operational plans for attacking Guam to contain U.S. bases there.

The army said in a statement distributed Wednesday by the state-run news agency it is studying a plan to create an "enveloping fire" around Guam with medium- to long-range ballistic missiles. The U.S. territory is home to Andersen Air Force Base. The move is in response to a recent U.S. ICBM test, the statement said, and comes as President Donald Trump says North Korea "will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it continues to threaten the U.S.

A Japanese defense paper and a U.S. media report Tuesday said North Korea may have successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.(For more information on this and other White House stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Japan's Defense Ministry concluded in a yearly white paper released Tuesday that "it is possible that North Korea has achieved the miniaturization of nuclear weapons and has developed nuclear warheads." Japan, a key U.S. ally, could be a target of North Korean aggression.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that U.S. intelligence officials assess that a decade after North Korea's first nuclear test explosion, Pyongyang has produced nuclear weapons for ballistic missile delivery, including by intercontinental missiles — the type capable of reaching the continental United States. Doing so would be a key threshold in becoming a full-fledged nuclear power.

Watch: Trump: North Korea Will Be Met With 'Fire And Fury'

The Post story, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, said the confidential analysis was completed last month by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. The U.S. also calculated last month that North Korea has up to 60 nuclear weapons, the Post said, more than double most assessments by independent experts.

The U.N. Security Council this weekend slapped its toughest sanctions yet on North Korea over its latest test of a ballistic missile that could be used to deliver a nuclear weapon. Despite the rapid tempo of these tests, uncertainty has lingered over the isolated nation's ability to couple such a missile with a nuclear device. Those uncertainties appear to be receding.

Officials at the agency would not comment Tuesday on the report. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence could not immediately be reached for comment.

President Donald Trump said North Korea "had best not make any more threats to the United States" or "they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

Trump issued the warning during a briefing on opioid addiction at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Alarm in Washington over North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's pursuit of a nuclear capability has intensified in the past month after the North conducted two tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles for the first time last month.

By MATTHEW PENNINGTON and DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press

Photos credit: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP