North Korea Holds Off on Guam Missile Plan as China Urges ‘Brakes’ on Rhetoric

North Korea Holds Off on Guam Missile Plan as China Urges ‘Brakes’ on Rhetoric
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Command of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in an unknown location in North Korea in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on August 15, 2017. KCNA/via Reuters
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SEOUL/WASHINGTON—North Korea’s leader has delayed a decision on firing missiles towards Guam while he waits to see what the United States does next, the North’s state media said on Tuesday, as South Korea’s president said Seoul would seek to prevent war by all means.

Signs of an easing in tension on the Korean peninsula helped stock markets rally for a second day running even as the United States and South Korea prepared for more joint military drills, which infuriate the North, and experts warned it could still go ahead with its provocative plan.

In his first public appearance in about two weeks, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected the command of the North’s army on Monday, examining a plan to fire four missiles to land near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, the official KCNA said in a report.

People chant slogans during a rally calling for peace on the peninsula in central Seoul, South Korea, August 15, 2017. (Park Dong-ju/Yonhap via Reuters)
People chant slogans during a rally calling for peace on the peninsula in central Seoul, South Korea, August 15, 2017. Park Dong-ju/Yonhap via Reuters