Why Would North Korea Attack Guam?

Guam, a remote U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean, is in North Korea's crosshairs. A state media report from North Korea detailed that a military plan is being prepared for its leader, Kim Jong Un, outlining a test firing of four missiles near Guam. The move is intended as a show of force against the U.S. to push back against recent heated rhetoric from President Donald Trump.

But, why Guam?

Guam is home to two critical U.S. military bases, U.S. Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base. The two bases are the closest military bases to North Korea that are on U.S. territory. The air force base there houses U.S. bombers equipped with nuclear weapons capable of striking North Korea.

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Guam is also only around 2,100 miles away from North Korea. Two North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests this summer show that it is possible for the North Korean military to strike the U.S. mainland, but the country is still testing the outer limits of its missile capability.

“North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before,” said Trump on Tuesday, prompting North Korean's Guam plan.

U.S. intelligence reports indicated this month that North Korea has produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could be placed on a missile.

North Korea is not yet capable of delivering a nuclear payload to the U.S. ICBM missiles would have to enter space before falling on the continental U.S. and it appears as if North Korea has not advanced to the stage of creating a nuclear warhead that can withstand the extreme heat of leaving and re-entering the atmosphere, according to the New York Times Wednesday.

The U.S. military bases on Guam house around 5,000 servicemen and women. While the U.S. has bases in Japan and South Korea, they are on foreign soil.

Guam is also home to around 167,742 people, and Guamanians are U.S. citizens by birth.

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system was installed on the island in 2013, at another tense time between the U.S. and North Korea. A THAAD system’s purpose is to shoot down the type of intermediate range ballistic missile that North Korea could possibly shoot at or near Guam.

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North Korean state media reports, known for their bluster, shot back at Trump’s comments while outlining the alleged missile plan.

“Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him,” said the report about Trump. “(He) let out a load of nonsense about 'fire and fury' ... (and fails) to grasp the on-going grave situation.”