A list of potential North Korean nuclear targets , published by a European thinktank, is not a sign of increasing danger of war.

Also on the list are US military bases in South Korea, Guam and Japan, as well as cities Tokyo, Osaka and Seoul.

But there are no real surprise targets mentioned in the report, ANU and Macquarie University's Bates Gill said.

"In some cases North Korea has been quite public in signalling either its ability or its ambition to target these sites," he told nine.com.au.

"They've had videos that show the White House going up in flames.

"Guam has been the most recent example of the regime in Pyongyang identifying places it could threaten attack."

And the existence of the list doesn't mean North Korea has any intention of carrying out an attack on those targets, the US Studies Centre's Brendan Thomas-Noone said.

"Just because this European report has been put out saying they want to hit the Pentagon and the White House means they will," he told nine.com.au.

"Right now they don't have a missile that they've demonstrated can reach the White House."

Not included as a North Korean target is anywhere in Australia , despite our close relations with the US and Japan.

"Clearly adversaries they are trying to deter are primarily the United States or Japan or South Korea," Dr Gill told nine.com.au.

"In that framework, Australia is not seen at that same level as a potential enemy.

"Nor would this list suggest that North Korea sees military assets in Australia as being a risk."

North Korea's most recent missile tests suggest they are not yet capable of hitting targets as far away as the US mainland or much of Australia.

The European Council on Foreign Relations identified North Korea's key nuclear targets. (ECFR)

They also currently do not have the capability of miniaturising a nuclear warhead so it can be attached to an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), experts believe.

The list also draws a distinction between counterforce and countervalue targets.

"Countervalue are civilian assets, cities or towns or pieces of infrastructure," Mr Thomas-Noone said.

"Counterforce are military targets.

"You bomb a counterforce target as a signal that you are not yet attacking cities.

Kim Jong-un surveys a map surrounded by his generals. (KCNA)

"And if start doing countervalue targets, it's full blown."

Counterforce targets include US aircraft carriers, military bases and Guam.

Countervalue targets include Seoul, Manhattan and Tokyo.

The sources within North Korea have no intention of triggering a war themselves, the report states.

"The North Korean sources consistently refer to nuclear weapons as part of a defensive, rather than an offensive, strategy," the report reads.

Kim Jong-un talks with North Korean military leaders. (AAP)

"They never mention the possibility of using the country’s nuclear capacity for blackmail – to coerce or intimidate South Korea and Japan – or to carry out acts of terrorism.

"Nor does the literature discuss using nuclear weapons as cover to carry out conventional strikes without facing retaliation."

Dr Gill put the situation simply.