Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption It's not the first time North Korea has made threats against Guam 
 
 North Korea says a plan that could see it fire four missiles near the US territory of Guam will be ready in a matter of days. 
 
 State media said Hwasong-12 rockets would pass over Japan and land in the sea about 30km (17 miles) from Guam, if the plan was approved by Kim Jong-un. 
 
 It denounced Donald Trump's warnings of "fire and fury" and said the US leader was "bereft of reason". 
 
 The US has warned the North its actions could mean the "end of its regime". 
 
 US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said Pyongyang would be "grossly overmatched" in any war against the US and its allies. 
 
 The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, who is in Guam, says there is a sense that the North Korean threat is rhetorical, as most people feel that if they really did strike with missiles it would be suicidal for the North Korean regime. 
 
 Separately, the European Union said it was freezing the assets of nine more people and four more entities, including North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank, in line with fresh sanctions approved by the UN Security Council on Saturday. 
 
 What is the North planning? 
 
 The North first announced on Wednesday that it had been drawing up plans for a missile strike against Guam, a Pacific island which is home to US military bases, strategic bombers and about 163,000 people. 
 
 A later statement carried by state media said the military would "finally complete the plan" by mid-August and send it to leader Kim Jong-un for his approval. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Robin Brant asks those in the South Korean capital, Seoul: "Are you scared?" 
 
 "The Hwasong-12 rockets to be launched by the KPA [Korean People's Army] will cross the sky above Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi [Kochi] Prefectures of Japan," state news agency KCNA said, quoting army chief General Kim Rak Gyom. 
 
 "They will fly 3,356.7km for 1,065 seconds and hit the waters 30-40km away from Guam." 
 
 The Hwasong missiles are North Korea's domestically produced medium and long-range weapons. 
 
 What has been the reaction in the region? 
 
 The governor of Guam addressed the North's new statement on Thursday, telling Reuters news agency that North Korea usually likes to be unpredictable and has fired surprise missiles in the past. 
 
 "They're now telegraphing their punch, which means they don't want to have any misunderstandings. I think that's a position of fear," said Governor Eddie Calvo. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption North Koreans rally to denounce 'gangster' US 
 
 Meanwhile Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Pyongyang's actions were "provocative to the region including Japan as well as to the security of the international community". 
 
 "We can never tolerate this," he added. 
 
 Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told MPs Japan could legally intercept a North Korean missile headed for Guam because such a move would threaten Japan's existence as a nation. 
 
 Recent legislation also allows Japan to defend the US and other allies from attack. Previously Japan's position was only to shoot down missiles headed for its own territory. 
 
 South Korea's military said it was prepared for swift action. 
 
 "If North Korea conducts provocation in defiance of our military's grave warning, it will confront the strong and firm response of our military and the US-South Korea alliance," Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Roh Jae-cheon said. 
 
 The foreign ministry in Seoul, meanwhile, urged Pyongyang to respond to its recent offer of new dialogue. 
 
 China has urged calm, describing the situation as "complex and sensitive". 
 
 What have the two sides been saying? 
 
 North Korean state media said President Trump's remarks on Tuesday that the North risked "fire and fury" for threatening the US were "a load of nonsense". 
 
 "Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," it added. 
 
 Amid escalating rhetoric, Mr Mattis issued a strongly worded statement on Wednesday calling on Pyongyang to halt its arms programme. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Trump will use "any appropriate measures" - adviser Sebastian Gorka 
 
 "While our state department is making every effort to resolve this global threat through diplomatic means, it must be noted that the combined allied militaries now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth," he said. 
 
 Mr Trump, who is holidaying in New Jersey, boasted about America's atomic arsenal earlier on Wednesday. 
 
 The tiny but important island of Guam 
 
 The 541sq km (209 sq miles) volcanic and coral island in the Pacific between the Philippines and Hawaii. 
 
 It is a "non-incorporated" US territory, with a population of about 163,000. 
 
 That means people born in Guam are US citizens, have an elected governor and House Representative, but cannot vote for a president in US national elections. 
 
 US military bases cover about a quarter of the island. About 6,000 personnel are based there and there are plans to move in thousands more. 
 
 It was a key US base in World War Two, and remains a vital staging post for US operations, giving access to potential flashpoints like the South China Sea, the Koreas and the Taiwan Straits. 
 
 Should we be worried? 
 
 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has sought to reassure Americans that North Korea does not pose an imminent threat. 
 
 On Wednesday, he said the situation had not dramatically changed over the past few days, and that Americans "should sleep well at night". 
 
 South Korea's military says it has not seen any unusual action in the North that might indicate a provocation. 
 
 Despite rounds of UN sanctions, Pyongyang carried out two nuclear tests last year and two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July. 
 
 Various reports recently have suggested the North has now achieved its goal of making a nuclear warhead small enough to fit inside its missiles. 
 
 But this remains unconfirmed, and most analysts doubt the country would launch a pre-emptive attack on the US. ||||| FILE - In this May 13, 2017 file photo, Japanese soldiers use rubber rafts as part of an amphibious drill during joint military exercises between the U.S., Japan, France and the United Kingdom, on Naval... (Associated Press) 
 
 HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Residents of the tiny Pacific island of Guam say they're afraid of being caught in the middle of escalating tensions between the U.S. and North Korea after Pyongyang announced it was examining plans for attacking the strategically important U.S. territory. 
 
 Though local officials downplayed any threat, people who live and work on the island, which serves as a launching pad for the U.S. military, said Wednesday they could no longer shrug off the idea of being a potential target. 
 
 "I'm a little worried, a little panicked. Is this really going to happen?" said Cecil Chugrad, a 37-year-old bus driver for a tour bus company in Guam. "If it's just me, I don't mind, but I have to worry about my son. I feel like moving (out of Guam) now." 
 
 Guam is used to the threats from North Korea but advances in the country's nuclear program paired with fiery rhetoric from President Donald Trump has raised the already high animosity and heightened worries that a miscalculation might spark conflict between the nuclear-armed nations. 
 
 Reports suggested North Korea mastered a technological hurdle needed to strike the U.S. with a nuclear missile. The advances were detailed in an official Japanese assessment and later a Washington Post story that cited U.S. intelligence officials and a confidential Defense Intelligence Agency report. 
 
 In response, Trump on Tuesday threatened the communist country "with fire and fury." On Wednesday, the North Korean army said in a statement that it was studying a plan to create an "enveloping fire" in areas around Guam with medium- to long-range ballistic missiles. 
 
 While it is extremely unlikely that Pyongyang would risk the assured annihilation of its revered leadership with a pre-emptive attack on U.S. citizens, some residents are concerned. 
 
 "If anything happens, we all got to be ready, be prepared, and pray to God that it doesn't happen," Daisy Mendiola, 56, said after finishing lunch with her family at a restaurant near Hagatna. "Everyone's afraid, because we're dealing with powers that's beyond us." 
 
 Other residents are worried about the political atmosphere and the government's ability to find a peaceful solution. 
 
 Todd Thompson, a lawyer who lives on Guam, said he laughed off past threats because he "figured cooler heads in Washington would prevail, and it was just an idle threat." 
 
 "But I have to say, I'm not laughing now," Thompson said. "My concern is that things have changed in Washington, and who knows what's going to happen?" 
 
 His brother Mitch Thompson, who also lives on Guam, added he believes "a lot of people have no confidence that the White House will do the right thing under the circumstances." 
 
 However, the brothers say they haven't seen anyone panicking or stocking up on supplies. 
 
 "I think people are just stunned and really don't know what to think," Todd Thompson said. 
 
 Guam is about 2,100 miles (3,380 kilometers) southeast of Pyongyang and 3,800 miles (6,115 kilometers) west of Honolulu in the Pacific Ocean. For years, North Korea has claimed Guam is within its missiles' striking distance, making furious statements each time when the U.S. flew powerful bombers from the island's air base to the Korean Peninsula. 
 
 In August last year, the North's Foreign Ministry warned that all U.S. military bases in the Pacific including Guam would "face ruin in the face of all-out and substantial attack" by the North's military. In the spring of 2013, state media cited leader Kim Jong Un as having ordered his military to prepare plans on launching strikes on U.S. military bases in Guam, Hawaii and South Korea as well as the American mainland. 
 
 Guam is armed with the U.S. Army's defense system known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, which can intercept missiles. 
 
 Similar threats in 2013 led Guam's U.S. Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo to advocate for the THAAD system, she said in a statement Wednesday. 
 
 "North Korea's most recent threat to target Guam is dangerous and it further heightens tensions in our region," Bordallo said. "While we have heard threats like this in the past, I take them very seriously." 
 
 Guam's Homeland Security Adviser George Charfauros urged calm and said defenses are in place for such threats. 
 
 "An attack or threat to Guam is a threat or attack on the United States," said Guam Gov. Eddie Calvo, who said he spoke with White House officials Monday morning. "They have said that America will be defended." 
 
 A travel agent on Guam said they haven't had a surge of customers seeking to book flights off the island. 
 
 "It's not bad at all, no chaos," said Mariah Sablan, who works for Golden Dragon Travel Inc. "It's just like a regular business day." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Bussewitz reported from Honolulu. Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage contributed to this report. 
 
 ___ 
 
 This story has been corrected to show that the North Korean announcement came Wednesday in Guam due to the international date line. ||||| North Korea is "clearly" in a position to threaten Hawaii today, and the state could benefit from additional protections against an attack, the head of U.S. Pacific Command told Congress on Wednesday. 
 
 North Korea is "clearly" in a position to threaten Hawaii today, and the state could benefit from additional protections against an attack, the head of U.S. Pacific Command told Congress on Wednesday. 
 
 The top American military officer in the Pacific slammed recent North Korean missile tests as 'unacceptable' on Tuesday, denouncing attempts at military escalation as unwarranted during meetings with Japanese leaders. 
 
 The top American military officer in the Pacific slammed recent North Korean missile tests as 'unacceptable' on Tuesday, denouncing attempts at military escalation as unwarranted during meetings with Japanese leaders. 
 
 The U.S. Air Force on Friday conducted military training exercises in the skies above South Korea, near the country's northern border – an apparent show-of-force meant to demonstrate an 'ironclad commitment' to American allies facing increasing threats from North Korean. 
 
 The U.S. Air Force on Friday conducted military training exercises in the skies above South Korea, near the country's northern border – an apparent show-of-force meant to demonstrate an 'ironclad commitment' to American allies facing increasing threats from North Korean. 
 
 The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency is kicking off an educational campaign aimed at helping residents and visitors figure out what to do if the state is the target of a nuclear missile attack from North Korea. 
 
 Hawaii is the first state to prepare the public for the possibility of a ballistic missile strike. 
 
 The state's emergency management agency said the threat to the islands from the rogue nation is "currently assessed to be low." 
 
 But officials added ongoing North Korean missile tests — and growing public concern — have prompted officials to work on preparedness and disaster management plans. 
 
 Vern Miyagi, administrator of the emergency management agency, stressed that the public shouldn't be alarmed by the planning. 
 
 Rather, he said, the public should see the preparation and education much like the work being done to prepare the public for hurricane and tsunami, which pose a greater risk to the state. 
 
 "We need to tell the public what the state is doing," Miyagi said. “We do not want to cause any undue stress for the public; however, we have a responsibility to plan for all hazards." 
 
 Earlier this month, North Korea tested an ICBM missile, drawing condemnation from the US and other countries. Experts say an ICBM like the one North Korea launched could reach Alaska and possibly even Hawaii. 
 
 The state plan considers what is currently a worst-case scenario: A 15-kiloton nuclear weapon detonated 1,000 feet above Honolulu. 
 
 In that scenario, public service announcements will tell residents, people should "get inside, stay inside, and stay tuned." 
 
 During the Cold War, the state said, Hawaii routinely updated plans and conducted drills related to nuclear attack scenarios. But those plans gathered dust as the threat faded. 
 
 And officials stressed, the time to plan is now — even if the threat level is low. 
 
 "We don’t know the exact capabilities or intentions of the North Korean government, but there is clear evidence that it is trying to develop ballistic missiles that could conceivably one day reach our state," Miyagi said. "Therefore, we cannot wait to begin our public information campaign to ensure that Hawaii residents will know what to do if such an event occurs." 
 
 It would take 20 minutes for an ICBM to travel to Hawaii from North Korea. The public would have eight to 12 minutes of notice before the attack started. 
 
 As part of the new campaign, the state will also start testing a new "wailing" emergency siren on the first workday of the month. 
 
 That testing will start as early as November — the normal siren will sound, followed by a second siren that would be used in the event of an attack. 
 
 The agency's new campaign is causing concern among some in the tourism industry, who worry visitors could choose other destinations for fear of a North Korea attack. 
 
 “We support the efforts of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to prepare for any threat to Hawaii’s well-being, be it man-made or a natural disaster," said Charlene Chan, director of communications at the Hawaii Tourism Authority. 
 
 "However, we also know from speaking to our tourism industry partners that if reports are misinterpreted about the State’s need to prepare for an attack, this could lead to travelers and groups staying away from Hawaii. The effect of such a downturn would ultimately be felt by residents who rely on tourism’s success for their livelihood.” 
 
 Miyagi is set to unveil more details on the educational campaign Friday. 
 
 Copyright 2017 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved. ||||| Leaders agreed to call for an emergency meeting of the UN security council to discuss the launch 
 
 Donald Trump and Shinzo Abe have vowed to increase pressure on North Korea after the regime launched a missile over Japan on Tuesday morning. 
 
 The Japanese prime minister denounced the launch as an “unprecedented and grave threat” to the country’s security. In a 40-minute phone call with the US president they agreed to call for an emergency meeting of the UN security council to discuss the situation. 
 
 
 
 Living on the edge of oblivion: life along the North Korean border Read more 
 
 Officials in South Korea said the missile may have flown further than any other tested by North Korea. The test, one of the most provocative ever from the reclusive state, sent a clear message to Washington just weeks after Kim Jong-un threatened to target the US Pacific territory of Guam with similar intermediate-range missiles. 
 
 It also demonstrated the regime’s willingness to raise the diplomatic stakes by sending a missile directly over Japanese territory. Pyongyang has tested more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) this year, but Tuesday’s launch followed a much flatter trajectory than those tests. 
 
 Trump said the US was “100% with Japan” and repeated his strong commitment to the defence of Japan, Abe said shortly after the call. 
 
 
 
 “The outrageous act of firing a missile over our country is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat and greatly damages regional peace and security,” Abe told reporters in Tokyo, adding that his government had protested to Pyongyang via the Japanese embassy in Beijing. 
 
 The missile was the third fired by North Korea to have passed over Japanese territory. The first was in 1998 and the second in 2009, although Pyongyang claims they were satellites. 
 
 Abe said Japan would “strongly call for increased pressure on North Korea in cooperation with the international community” via the security council. 
 
 
 
 The missile, thought to be a new intermediate-range Hwasong-12, flew over Hokkaido and landed in the Pacific about 733 miles (1,180km) east of the northern Japanese island, South Korean and Japanese officials said. 
 
 The Hwasong-12 is the same type of missile North Korea recently threatened to launch towards Guam. 
 
 China called for restraint and warned that the situation on the Korean peninsular had reached “a tipping point approaching a crisis”. 
 
 Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily press briefing in Beijing: “Think hard about it, who do you think should take the blame, if China is urging all parties to calm down while one party holds constant military exercises … and the other is constantly launching missiles?” 
 
 Japan’s J-Alert warning system advised people across a large area of northern Japan to seek shelter. Japan’s self-defence forces did not attempt to shoot down the missile and there were no reports of damage from falling debris. 
 
 
 
 The public broadcaster NHK said the missile had been launched from a site near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang and passed over a sparsely populated area of Hokkaido just after 6am local time (10pm Monday British summer time). It broke into three parts and landed in the sea. 
 
 Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said the missile travelled about 2,700km and reached a maximum height of 550km. 
 
 The JCS said it was analysing the launch with the US and that South Korea’s military had strengthened its monitoring and preparation in case of further actions from North Korea. 
 
 Abe said his government was trying to establish the details of the launch and was doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the Japanese people. 
 
 Tuesday’s launch may have been a show of defiance towards military drills involving US and South Korean troops as well as a smaller number of personnel from other countries. 
 
 The drills have coincided with a dramatic rise in tensions on the Korean peninsula after North Korea’s test launch of two ICBMs and its threat to target seas off the coast of the Guam. 
 
 Seoul and Washington say their drills are an opportunity for the allies to improve their defensive capabilities but Pyongyang routinely denounces them as a dress rehearsal for war against North Korea. 
 
 On Tuesday North Korea’s ambassador to the UN said the joint exercises were driving the Korean peninsula towards “an extreme level of explosion”. 
 
 “Now that the US has openly declared its hostile intention towards the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, by waging aggressive joint military exercises despite repeated warnings … my country has every reason to respond with tough counter-measures as an exercise of its right to self defence,” Han Tae Song told the UN conference on disarmament, which is taking place in Geneva. 
 
 At the UN conference, multiple envoys, including those from the US, European Union, Japan and Australia took the floor to blast North Korea. “My hope is that North Korea ends this provocative behaviour,” US ambassador Robert Wood said. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest US soldiers during the annual US South Korea Ulchi-Freedom Guardian military exercises in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea. Photograph: Ahn Young-joon/AP 
 
 
 
 
 
 The latest launch came three days after the North fired what were assessed as three short-range ballistic missiles into the sea and a month after its second test flight of an ICBM that analysts say could theoretically reach the US mainland. 
 
 Tuesday’s missile landed nowhere near Guam, which is about 2,500km south of Tokyo, but it covered enough distance to suggest that North Korea could follow up on its threat to the US territory. 
 
 South Korea said it was launched from Sunan, the location of Pyongyang’s international airport, raising the possibility that a runway was used as the launchpad. 
 
 Several towns in Japan have held evacuation drills this year in anticipation of a North Korean attack and there has been a steep rise in sales of individual nuclear shelters. 
 
 
 
 After North Korea threatened to fire a volley of missiles towards Guam earlier this month, Japan deployed Patriot missile defence systems in areas along the missiles’ anticipated route. Japan also has an Aegis destroyer stationed in the Sea of Japan. 
 
 North Korea first fired a missile over Japanese territory in 1998, triggering widespread condemnation and attempts by Japan’s government to improve its missile defence systems. 
 
 Japan has in the past vowed to shoot down North Korean missiles or rockets that threaten to hit its territory. In 2009 a North Korean rocket passed over Japanese territory without incident, leading to an immediate denunciation by Japan. 
 
 At the time North Korea said it was launching a telecommunications satellite but Washington, Seoul and Tokyo believed Pyongyang was testing an ICBM. 
 
 Wang Zhen in Beijing and agencies contributed to this report
– North Korea threatening imminent thermonuclear war? Must be Wednesday. "According to intelligence obtained by our side and the US, the possibility of a missile launch by North Korea is very high," South Korea's foreign minister said today, while CNN reports that a US official says Pyongyang could in fact be planning multiple strikes. South Korea is taking the threats seriously, increasing surveillance and engaging in diplomacy efforts via China and Russia. Japan has already responded by deploying missile interceptors, and the region's US commander has said it is also capable of thwarting a launch, reports CBS. "I believe we have the ability to defend the homeland, Guam, Hawaii, and defend our allies," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. The Musudan missiles installed by Pyongyang are potentially within range of US military bases in Japan and Guam. But despite the very real probability that North Korea will launch a missile soon, everyday life goes on in Seoul, where citizens have long adjusted to its threats, reports Reuters. Likewise, signs of war are absent from the streets of Pyongyang, where soldiers continue to work on urban renewal projects and there hasn't been an air raid drill in months, the AP reports.