(CN) - North Korea's military said Wednesday that it will be ready for the "historic enveloping fire at Guam" by mid-August and will be awaiting orders from leader Kim Jong Un.
Calling President Donald Trump's warning of "fire and fury" if it threatens the U.S. a "load of nonsense," General Kim Rak Gyon said in a statement carried by state-run news agency KCNA that "only absolute force" can work on someone as "bereft of reason" as Trump.
Kim heads North Korea's rocket command.
He said the action the military "is about to take" will restrain "frantic moves" by U.S. forces in the Korean Peninsula. The action will include firing four mid-range missiles to strike the Pacific Ocean 19-25 miles off the coast of Guam.
The general added the plan to strike the waters near Guam will be finalized within days and in the meantime will "keep closely watching the speech and behavior of the U.S."
Kim's statement comes a day after Trump vowed to respond to Pyongyang's threats against Guam - a U.S. territory - with "fire, fury and, frankly, power the likes of which this world has never seen before." The barrage of threats are set against the backdrop of a report by The Washington Post which said U.S. intelligence officials now believe North Korea already has the ability to miniaturize a nuclear weapon for use in a missile, something they'd previously thought the reclusive regime wouldn't achieve until 2018.
Whether North Korea has the technical capability to cover the 2,100 miles between it and Guam, however, remains to be seen.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
