Even before tensions between the U.S. and North Korea escalated to new levels on Tuesday, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker told Politico he “of course” is concerned about North Korea directing a missile attack at his state.
U.S. intelligence officials at the Defense Intelligence Agency have concluded that North Korea has created a nuclear weapon small enough to fit in a missile, according to The Washington Post. The country has been launching test ICBM missiles that experts say could reach parts of the U.S., including the state of Alaska.
The President told reporters Tuesday that the threat would be met with “fire and fury like the world has never seen,” which prompted North Korea to threaten to attack the American territory of Guam.
In an interview with Politico before tensions rose this week, Walker said he is concerned about being in the “trajectory zone” between the U.S. and North Korea and that the country’s ability to strike the U.S. has come to fruition much quicker than anticipated.
“It’s actually, in some respects, gotten here sooner than we thought,” he said. “We thought that the trajectory would be sometime in 2020. So we’re earlier than anticipated and we want to make sure that we’re well protected and everything.”
He said no one is panicking yet, but Walker said he would like to be prepared.
“No one’s hiding under the desk that I know of at this point,” he said. “But we do have to make sure we have the technology and awareness of what could happen.”
