Finger on the trigger for Guam missiles: Kim Jong-un warns US

North Korea's leader says he will monitor the US a little longer after receiving army's plan to fire missiles towards US territory of Guam, the state-run media says. Meanwhile, South Korea says it would avoid a second Korean War at all costs.

A woman walks past a television news screen showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un receiving a briefing, at a railway station in Seoul on August 15, 2017. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has been briefed on a plan to fire missiles near Guam but hinted that he would hold off on the launch, Pyongyangs state media said on August 15.
AFP

A woman walks past a television news screen showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un receiving a briefing, at a railway station in Seoul on August 15, 2017. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has been briefed on a plan to fire missiles near Guam but hinted that he would hold off on the launch, Pyongyangs state media said on August 15.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said on Tuesday he would hold off on a planned missile strike near Guam, but warned the highly provocative move would go ahead in the event of further "reckless actions" by the US.

Some analysts suggested that Kim's comments opened a possible path to de-escalating a growing crisis fuelled by a bellicose war of words between the US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leadership.

Their recent exchanges were focused on a North Korean threat to fire a volley of four missiles over Japan towards the US territory of Guam, which hosts a number of strategic US military bases.

The North's official KCNA news agency said that Kim was briefed on the "plan for an enveloping fire at Guam" during an inspection on Monday of the Strategic Force command in charge of the nuclear-armed state's missile units.

Before executing any order Kim said he would "watch a little more the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees."

If they "persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions on the Korean peninsula," then North Korea would take action "as already declared," he said.

Reuters

South Korean President Moon Jae-In (front-L) and first lady Kim Jeong-Suk (front-R) gives three cheers for the country during celebrations of the 72th anniversary of Koreas Independence Day from Japanese colonial rule in 1945 in Seoul, South Korea, August 15, 2017.

South Korea says to avoid war

Tensions have been mounting since the North tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (or ICBMs) last month, which appeared to bring much of the US within range.

Responding to the tests, Trump warned Pyongyang of "fire and fury like the world has never seen", while the North responded with the plan to fire missiles close to Guam.

The stand-off has sparked global alarm, with world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping urging calm on both sides.

The US and its ally South Korea remain technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty. 

South Korean President Moon Jae-In weighed in on Tuesday, saying Seoul would avoid a second Korean War at all costs.

"Military action on the Korean Peninsula can only be decided by the Republic of Korea and no one may decide to take military action without the consent of the Republic of Korea," Moon said.

He was making an annual speech to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the nation's liberation from Japanese military rule that began in 1910 and ended in 1945.

But Moon added there could be no dialogue before the North halts its "nuclear and missile provocations."

US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said on Monday that the US military would know the trajectory of a missile fired from North Korea within moments and would "take it out" if it looked like it would hit the US Pacific territory.

"The bottom line is, we will defend the country from an attack; for us [US military] that is war," Mattis said.

The North has always denounced the drills of South Korea and the US as provocative rehearsals for an invasion and has in the past offered a moratorium on further nuclear and missile testing in exchange for their cancellation  - a trade off promoted by Pyongyang's main ally China, but repeatedly rejected by Washington and Seoul.

Reuters

Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-14 is pictured during its second test-fire in this undated picture provided by KCNA in Pyongyang on July 29, 2017.

North seeking a quid-pro-quo deal?

Some analysts said that North Korean leader Kim was seeking a similar quid-pro-quo this time around, using the Guam missile threat as leverage.

"This is a direct invitation to talk reciprocal constraints on exercises and missile launches," said Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

John Delury of Yonsei University in Seoul said Kim was "de-escalating, putting Guam plan on ice" - at least for now.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor and a military expert at Kyungnam University's Institute of Far Eastern Studies in Seoul urged caution in assuming North Korea was bluffing with its missile threats.

"There is no stepping back for North Korea. Those who don't know the North very well fall into this trap every time (thinking they are easing threats) but we've seen this before."

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