We could be gone tomorrow': Life in North Korea's crosshairs

'We could be gone tomorrow': Life in North Korea's crosshairs

By Joshua Berlinger, CNN

Updated 2127 GMT (0527 HKT) August 12, 2017

Hagatña, Guam (CNN)With rough, calloused hands, Guam local Marco Martinez steadily trims his fishing line.
The 27-year-old is preparing to cast into the turquoise ocean that extends as far as the eye can see -- the same waters that North Korea is developing a plan to send four missiles into, less than 25 miles from where he stands.
"If it does happen, OK, it happens, but I just try not to really think about it," Martinez told CNN.
Marco Martinez, 27, fishing in Hagatna.
Marco Martinez, 27, fishing in Hagatna.

Martinez was born and raised on this small island of 160,000 or so people. They're used to living with intimidation from North Korea, including in 2013 when Pyongyang warned that the island was within its "striking range."
However, the latest round of tensions firmly puts Guam at the center of a very specific and potent threat.
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A plan to fire four ballistic missiles into the stunning blue waters off the coast is being prepared for Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un by mid-August, state media reported Thursday. No one knows if or when the North Korea leader will give the order to launch.

North Korea's estimated splashdown of the missiles would place them just outside Guam's 12 nautical mile territorial waters, but well within its 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone -- waters where locals fish for tuna and blue marlin.
Guam's Homeland Security Advisor George Charfauros said Friday it would take 14 minutes for a missile fired from North Korea to reach Guam.
Guam has been a US territory for more than 100 years.
Guam has been a US territory for more than 100 years.
Like Martinez, most of the dozen or so residents CNN spoke to weren't panicked.
The US military has a large presence here -- its bases cover almost a third of the island's land area -- and prepares for worst-case scenarios like this.
However, that doesn't mean people aren't worried, said Jodiann Santos, who works at the Guam Museum.

"We're told to keep calm and that we're well-protected, but the reality is we could be here today and gone tomorrow," she said.
Jodiann Santos works at the Guam museum
Jodiann Santos works at the Guam museum
The island's Governor, Eddie Calvo, has offered assurances, saying the island is well-protected, including with the THAAD missile defense system, which is specifically designed to shoot down ballistic missiles.
"There is no panic in Guam," Calvo told CNN. "I'm not trying to overlook it or understate it. We understand the threats, but we also don't want to panic anybody, and we don't want to jump to conclusions based on rhetoric."

As he fishes, Martinez says North Korea remains at the back of his mind, despite his best efforts not to think about it. And he's pretty sure he's not alone.
"Sometimes I feel like they fear it but they just don't want to show it, don't want to express it," Martinez said. "That's just sometimes how people are -- they don't want to show their fear inside."