Guam's prayers for peace as North Korean missile threat looms

Kenji Kikuchi plays with his son Hideki in Ypao Beach, Tumon, Guam. Photo / AP

Priests in Guam led prayers for peace amid ongoing fears that their tiny Pacific island could come under fire from North Korean ballistic missiles over the next few days.

The call to prayer came ahead of what promises to be another tense week in the US territory, whose 162,000 inhabitants have been on tenterhooks since Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator, said he was mulling plans to fire four Hwasong-12 missiles within 40km of their coastline by mid-August.

Michael Byrnes, a Guam Archbishop, urged leaders of the island's 26 churches to "offer prayers for peace between our nations, just resolution of differences, and prudence in both speech and action," reflecting international pleas for Donald Trump, the US President, to tone down his bellicose rhetoric.

He also asked for prayers for "diligence and courage" for the men and women working on the Andersen Air Force base and the Naval Base Guam, where thousands of US military personnel are deployed to defend American interests in the western Pacific.

About 85 per cent of Guam's population claim an affiliation to Roman Catholicism, making it the main religion of the former Spanish colony, which was conquered by the US in 1898.

During several days of being in the international spotlight, many Guamanians, US citizens by birth, have invoked their Christian faith as an answer to dealing with the anxiety of being in the crosshairs of a potential nuclear conflict.

"The newspaper says it only takes 14 minutes for their bombs to get here but, you know, the Lord is going to take care of us," grandmother Elena Sanicolas said while doing her weekly shopping at the local K-Mart.

In the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica, churchgoers hugged loved ones and shook hands with their neighbours.

"It's important, especially today, to pray for peace, and for two people being able to come together, two leaders of the world, and think that there is a bigger picture that encompasses everybody rather than to have such huge conflict," Ronnie Connelly, a congregant, told Pacific Daily News.

Devout Catholics did not confine themselves to expressing their faith within the church walls. A "prayers for peace" lunchtime rally in the capital Hagatna drew around 100 people.

A woman holds rosary in her hand as people gather at Plaza de Espana, to pray for peace in Hagatna, Guam. Photo / AP

Father Mike Cristostomo said their response to the threat was to have faith and pray. "This goes to show to the other worlds, to the other nations and the countries, that Guam may be small, our faith and trust is big," he said.

Dora Salazar, 82, travelled 14km from her village of Mangilao to join the crowd and to pray for Kim. "We pray that God will touch his heart," she said.

But with one eye nervously on the skies, life is carrying on as normal for Guam residents and schools will reopen after the summer holidays on Thursday.

The Ministry of education issued guidance yesterday, urging parents to "stay calm" in the event of an emergency. "Listen to the news," it said. "Do not call the school. Be patient. Wait until you are told to pick up your child."