North Korea said on Tuesday its strategic rocket and long-range artillery units have been ordered to be combat ready, targeting US military bases on Guam, Hawaii and mainland America after US bombers flew sorties threatening the North.

The order, issued in a statement from the North’s military “supreme command”, marks the latest fiery rhetoric from Pyongyang since the start of joint military drills by US and South Korean forces early this month.

South Korea’s defence ministry said it saw no sign of imminent military action by North Korea. “From this moment, the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army will be putting into combat duty posture No. 1 all field artillery units, including long-range artillery units and strategic rocket units, that will target all enemy objects in US invasionary bases on its mainland, Hawaii and Guam,” the North’s KCNA news agency said.

The North previously threatened nuclear attack on the US  and South Korea, although it is not believed to have the capability to hit the continental United States with an atomic weapon. But the US military’s bases in the Pacific area are in range of its medium-range missiles. South Korea’s defence ministry said it had detected no signs of unusual activity by the North’s military.