The North's official news agency said on Tuesday the plan involved firing medium-to-long-range rockets at Guam, where US strategic bombers are based.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, flying into Guam, said there was no imminent threat from North Korea.

He also defended President Donald Trump, who on Tuesday threatened Pyongyang with "fire and fury".

Mr Tillerson said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not understand diplomatic language, and a strong message was needed that he would understand.

"I think the president just wanted to be clear to the North Korean regime that the US... will defend itself and its allies," he said.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump tweeted that the US nuclear arsenal was "more powerful than ever before", but added he was hopeful "we will never have to use this power".

The recent exchanges mark a sharp rise in rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang, but China has urged calm.

A foreign ministry statement quoted by Reuters called on all sides to avoid words or actions which might escalate the situation and to make greater efforts to resolve the issue via talks.

The UN recently approved further economic sanctions on North Korea, which Pyongyang said were a "violent violation of our sovereignty", warning the US would "pay a price".

On Wednesday, the official KCNA news agency said North Korea was "carefully examining the operational plan for making an enveloping fire at the areas around Guam" using its domestically made medium-to-long-range Hwasong-12 missiles.

The news agency reported a military statement issued on Tuesday, which probably came in response to US military drills in Guam.

However, there has been no indication that any attack on Guam by North Korea is imminent.

In a message to the public, the governor of Guam Eddie Baza Calvo said there was currently "no threat" to the island and the Marianas archipelago, but that Guam was "prepared for any eventuality".

North Korea's statement is the latest stage in a heating up of rhetoric and tension.

Pyongyang, which has tested nuclear devices five times, launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in July, claiming it now had the ability to hit mainland US.

On Tuesday, media reports in the US claimed the North had achieved its goal of making a nuclear warhead small enough to fit inside its missiles.

Media captionNorth Korea's second intercontinental missile launched last month was "seen from Japan"

While not confirmed, this was seen as one of the last obstacles to North Korea being a fully nuclear-armed state.

A report in the Washington Post, citing US intelligence officials, suggested North Korea was developing nuclear weapons capable of hitting the US at a much faster rate than expected.

A Japanese government defence white paper also said the weapons programme had "advanced considerably" and that North Korea possibly now had nuclear weapons.

North Korea's missile programme explained

In response, President Trump warned North Korea to stop threatening the US, saying they would be "met with fire and fury like the world has never seen".

However, veteran US Senator John McCain was sceptical about Mr Trump's statement, saying he was "not sure that President Trump is ready to act".