US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has said America considers the DPRK a "real and clear" danger, given its nuclear and missile capabilities.

Chuck Hagel, US Secretary of Defense, said, "They have nuclear capacity now. They have missile delivery capacity now, so as they have ratcheted up their dangerous rhetoric and some of the actions they have taken over the last few weeks present a real and clear danger and the threat to the interests, certainly of our allies, starting with South Korea and Japan, and also the threats that the North Korea has leveled directly at the United States."

Pyongyang has threatened to target South Korea and the US in recent weeks. It’s mentioned military bases in the US territory of Guam and the US state of Hawaii as possible targets. The warlike rhetoric follows new UN sanctions and joint military drills by the US and South Korea. The United States has responded by deploying an advanced missile system to the Pacific island of Guam.