Guam is being used as a pawn in the confrontation between North Korea and the United States, an academic says.
North Korea Photo: supplied
North Korea has said it will develop a plan by next week to launch four intermediate range missiles towards Guam, targeting waters near the US territory.
US President Donald Trump said he would respond to any threat from North Korea with "fire and fury".
Adjunct professor of Chamorro studies at Guam University Michael Lujan Bevacqua said both North Korea and the US were exploiting Guam's status as an unincorporated territory.
"North Korea is not saying they're going to aim their missiles for the waters off of Hawaii or off of Washington State or off of California because that would be such a direct provocation.
"But Guam is a little bit different, and on the US side, Guam or other US bases in the Pacific-Asia region may be lost but the US itself is safe."
A US F-16 flies along Guam's coastline. Photo: Guam Airforce
Meanwhile, Guam governor Eddie Calvo has said the US had reassured him of its protection in the event of a North Korean missile attack.
In a special address yesterday, Mr Calvo called for calm, saying he had been in touch with the White House.
"An attack or threat on Guam is an attack or threat on the United States. They have said that Americans will be defended."