Questions: The 4 missiles NK is threatening to launch towards Guam (on the 15th?) are they...

[Lurks Often]

2. Some answers

1. Regardless of what Fat Boy says, the missiles will be treated as if they had a warhead attached, I don't believe there is a way for us to tell if the missile is armed or not.

2. As for whether the US will fire on the missiles will depend on how close they think the missiles will come to Guam, something NORAD will know within a few minutes. While anything outside of 12 miles is considered international water, I expect that the military will fire on the missiles if they think the missiles will land with 25 miles of Guam, partly because NK missiles aren't that accurate and IF (and I doubt it) a missile is armed with a nuclear warhead, we would want to intercept far enough out that if it goes off* so Guam is unaffected or if it is intercepted and doesn't go off any radioactive material falls into the ocean.

Hopefully China's rather blunt warning that Fat Boy is on his own if he makes the first move will mean things will start to settle down.


*I know most if not all "modern" nuclear weapons will not go off if intercepted, but I doubt NK is that advanced yet, I suspect the design is far closer to a Hiroshima or Nagasaki type warhead rather then the far more sophisticated warheads of the other nuclear armed countries.