GUAM residents received a nasty jolt after two radio stations accidentally issued emergency warnings to indicate an imminent threat or attack, at a time when the US territory is already on edge over North Korean threats to fire missiles into nearby waters.

Several concerned listeners were reported to have called police after the stations triggered the Emergency Alert Broadcast System, issuing “a civil danger” warning at 12:25 am today, local time that was later confirmed to be a mistake.

North Korea had said it would finalise plans by mid-August on whether to fire missiles at Guam in response to “fire and fury” threats from US President Donald Trump.

But Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Tuesday reported that Kim had examined the plans but made no move towards an immediate strike.

“Residents and visitors are reminded to remain calm,” said Guam’s homeland security adviser George Charfauros.

“There is no change in threat level, we continue business as usual.” Homeland Security confirmed in a statement that the “unauthorised test was not connected to any emergency, threat or warning” and it was working with the radio stations “to ensure the human error will not occur again”.

Kim on Tuesday hinted he would hold off on the missile strike, saying he would “watch a little more the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees spending a hard time of every minute of their miserable lot”.

KIM’S SECRET MESSAGE

KIM Jong-un may have hidden a secret message to the United States in his blustering boast that he is now ready to lob missiles at Guam. But can President Trump understand it?

This morning North Korean media stated Kim had been briefed by his Missile Command on completed plans to test launch missiles and ‘bracket’ the US Pacific territory of Guam.

But Kim stated he would watch the “foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees” a little more before deciding whether to give an order for the missile test.

The US has stated any missiles lobbed toward Guam would be seen as a deeply provocative act.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the United States would “take out” any such missile and declared such a launch could lead to war.

Kim’s comments, however, come with an almost hidden tone of moderation.

He appears to hold out the offer to defuse the growing crisis — if the United States made a conciliatory gesture.

“The US Imperialists caught the noose around their necks due to their reckless military confrontation racket ... (but) he would watch a little more the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees spending a hard time of every minute of their miserable lot,” the Pyongyang statement reads.

Dr Genevieve Hohnen, Lecturer in Politics at Edith Cowan University, says this quote holds a clear — if buried — olive branch.

It appears to signal a path to defuse the crisis by saying Kim would watch any US behaviour before giving the order to fire.

“We know what to expect from Kim. This isn’t the kind of statement that would be interpreted as aggressive — despite all the aggressive rhetoric. The fact Kim Jong-un says he will respond only if the US does not de-escalate the situation is significant.”

But the question is whether or not everybody who needs to understand that, understands that.

“The problem is that Kim Jon-un is largely the same personality type as Trump — both are paranoid, narcissistic and have huge egos,” Dr Hohnen says. “We’ve never really had leaders like that on both sides before.

“The unknown factor in this is not Kim, it’s Trump. Kim Jong-un is acting as we expect him to behave.”

“We’ve actually been expecting something like this,” she says. “Today’s quite an important day in North Korea (celebrations marking the liberation of Korea at the end of World War II). The North Koreans usually do something in terms of military development to coincide with such events.”

DIPLOMATIC CRISIS

Officials have told US media that satellites have observed DPRK mobile missile launcher movement, indicating an intermediate-ballistic missile may be being prepared as part of North Korea’s holiday celebrations.

The move comes as the United States and South Korea plan to start annual defensive military drills that the North asserts are a severe provocation and a possible preparation for invasion.

But South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency says President Moon told a gathering he will prevent war in Korea “at all costs”.

No US military action on the troubled peninsula was possible without Seoul’s consent, he said.

US President Donald Trump, who today returned to his residence in New York for the first time since becoming President in January, has phoned regional leaders — including Japan’s Shinzo Abe.

“We agreed that Japan, the U.S. and South Korea will coordinate closely, cooperating with Russia, China and other members of the international community to, above all else, prevent North Korea from launching missiles,” Mr Abe said about the call with President Trump.

US Secretary of Defence James Mattis warned any further escalation could rapidly lead to war: “Yes that means for a lot of young troops they’re going to be in a wartime situation.”

‘DELIGHTFUL HISTORIC MOMENT’

Pyongyang’s state media has this morning reported President Kim Jong-un as “praising” his Strategic Force for drawing up a “careful” plan for a “power demonstration” to “envelop” Guam in fire.

“The nuclear force of the DPRK is strong in its guts and no one can guess its muscle as the flight trajectory of medium-to-long ballistic rocket Hwasong-12, firing data and the correct hitting-point are made public at home and abroad.”

Kim said he would “watch a little more” Washington’s behaviour, but he will make an “important” decision if the US continues its “extremely dangerous reckless actions”.

“The US Imperialists caught the noose around their necks due to their reckless military confrontation racket ... (but) he would watch a little more the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees spending a hard time of every minute of their miserable lot,” the report says.

“If the planned fire of our demonstration is carried out as the US is going more reckless, it will be the most delightful historic moment when the Hwasong artillerymen will wring the windpipes of the Yankees and point daggers at their necks.”

The missile being prepared may be a Hwasong HS-12. Such intermediate missiles do not have the capacity to reach the mainland United States, but can reach the US military bases of Guam and Japan.

‘WARTIME SITUATION’

Mattis told reporters in Washington this morning the situation could escalate to war “very quickly”.

He said it could be assessed “within moments” if a missile fired from North Korea was on track to hit Guam.

The United States would “take out” any seen to be heading for American soil.

DELVE DEEPER: What would a war with North Korea look like?

If missiles were fired at US bases: “I think if they fire at the US it could escalate to war very quickly ... Yes, that’s called war, if they shoot at us.”

He added: “If they shoot at the United States, I’m assuming they hit the United States. If they do that, it’s game on.”

North Korea’s has today repeated previous assertions that its plan was to fire missiles to land in the ocean around Guam, not at Guam itself. The US has stated this would be an unacceptable provocation.

Mattis was asked what response the US would give to such a ‘near miss’: “You can’t make all those kinds of decisions in advance,” he said. “There’s a host of things going on. There’s allies that we consult with ... I need a certain amount of ambiguity on this.”

Intercepting a long-range ballistic missile mid-flight is hard. Here’s how to do it better. https://t.co/6xFI7rZfJ1 pic.twitter.com/PmeJqDoH7o — CSIS (@CSIS) August 12, 2017

Mattis’s comments came after he and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wrote in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal that America has “no interest” in regime change in Pyongyang or the accelerated reunification of the two Koreas, and stressed the importance of a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

HOLIDAY SPECTACLE?

Today is a public holiday in North Korea (Liberation of the Fatherland Day — marking the end of World War II). Previous missile launches have been timed to coincide with such calendar events to maximise internal propaganda impact.

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Another DPRK statement this morning attacked planned US-South Korea “Freedom Guardian” military drills scheduled for August 21.

“No matter what rhetoric they let out about “annual, regular and defensive drills”, they cannot cover up the danger of a war outbreak,” the statement says.

“If any accidental case would be sparked, though unwanted, it would never avert a war. What matters is that when a second Korean War breaks out, it would be a nuclear war.”

INTERNATIONAL CONCERN

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has called for “peaceful, not military” means to resolve the Korean peninsula crisis, urging Pyongyang to avoid any “further provocative action” that could stoke tensions.

“At such a critical juncture, the European Union supports diplomatic work with our partners aimed at the de-escalation of the situation and achieving the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula through peaceful, not military, means,” Federica Mogherini said in a statement.

The statement was issued after a meeting of a key EU panel which agreed the bloc would reach out to North and South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.

“There is an urgent need for a de-escalation of tensions on the situation on the Korean Peninsula,” Mogherini said.

“(...) We therefore call on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to refrain from any further provocative action that can only increase regional and global tensions.”

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