US allies warn North Korea against firing missiles toward Guam

WASHINGTON: South Korea and Japan warned North Korea that it would face a strong response if it carried through with a threat to launch a missile toward the US territory of Guam.

Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said it would be legal for Japan to intercept a missile aimed at Guam. North Korea’s threats to strike around Guam pose a serious challenge, a spokesman at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters on Thursday.

"We give a strict warning," the spokesman said. "If North Korea commits provocations despite our stern warning, it will face a strong response from South Korea’s military and the US-South Korea alliance."

Later on Thursday, South Korea’s National Security Council took a softer tone, saying the door for dialogue remained open and it would take all possible steps to ease tensions.

North Korea, responding to US President Donald Trump’s "fire and fury" warning, outlined a detailed plan to fire four Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Guam by mid-August. They would fly over southwestern Japan and land as close as 30 km from Guam, the Korean Central News Agency reported on Thursday.

South Korea’s Kospi index fell as much as 1.2 per cent as foreigners sold shares, before paring the drop to 0.4 per cent at the close. The won weakened 0.6 per cent against the dollar, touching the lowest level in almost a month. Hong Kong’s stock market saw heavy selling, while the Topix index in Tokyo closed little changed. The yen climbed 0.1 per cent.

More than 3,000 km southeast of North Korea, Guam is an important strategic hub for the US military. It has air and naval bases, as well as missile-defense launchers on the island.