Trump Prioritising China Rivalry Over N. Korean Threat: Analyst

Intermediate range missile launch system in the country.

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Intermediate range missile launch system in the country. A US-Japan agreement signed in 2006 will also see 4,000 US marines currently stationed in Okinawa be re-deployed by 2028 to Guam, a US island territory located in the western Pacific.

Dr Bence Nemeth of the Defence Studies Department at King's College London said that Guam's location is advantageous in that it is "far enough from the Korean peninsula to be less vulnerable to Chinese missile attacks, yet close enough to allow rapid deployment of forces in a crisis".

Guam is roughly equidistant from Tokyo and Manila, both US allies, with each being around 2,500km away. Seoul is slightly further away at 3,200km.

But Dr Nemeth pointed out that "for contingencies specific to the Korean peninsula, forces stationed in Guam would function as reinforcements rather than as a standing deterrent".