The US says it will be sending an advanced ballistic missile defense system to Guam in the coming weeks.
North Korea has singled out U.S. military bases in Guam and Hawaii among its potential targets in threats in recent weeks that have put the Korean peninsula on edge and triggered a change in the U.S. defense posture and missile defense planning.
The Pentagon says it will be deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system or THAAD which includes a truck-mounted launcher, interceptor missiles, an AN/TPY-2 tracking radar and an integrated fire control system.
A US Pentagon spokeswoman says the United States remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and stands ready to defend U.S. territory, its allies, and US interests.
Earlier the Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said North Korea's actions have threatened the interests of South Korea and Japan, but he also cited their direct threats against Guam, Hawaii and West Coast of the United States.
"They have nuclear capacity now, they have missile delivery capacity now, and so as they have ratcheted up her bellicose dangerous rhetoric and some of the actions they've taken, over the last few weeks, present a real and clear danger."
The US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
