North Korea will develop a plan by mid-August to launch four intermediate range missiles at the U.S. territory of Guam before presenting it to leader Kim Jong Un, who will make a decision on whether to proceed, the North's state media said on Thursday.

The unusually detailed report on the attack plan marked a further escalation in tensions between Pyongyang and Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump warned North Korea earlier this week it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States.

North Korea's official news agency, KCNA, described Trump's threat as a "load of nonsense.