- Kim Jong-un has warned Donald Trump that he will “pay dearly” for his threat to strike North Korea.
- Donald Trump told the UN that the US will have “no choice but to totally destroy North Korea” unless it ceases its nuclear programme.
- North Korea’s foreign minister has said that the rogue state could launch a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.
- Russia and China have voiced concerns over the ongoing war of words.
Here are live updates and the latest news on North Korea and the US. All times BST.
11.30am: Russia ‘deeply concerned’ by Trump and Kim threats
Moscow is deeply concerned by the escalation of tension on the Korean peninsula caused by the continued war of words between the United States and North Korea, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
“Moscow is convinced that there is no alternative to a political and diplomatic settlement of the North Korean problem,” he told a conference call with reporters.
He said the situation was being further aggravated by “the swapping of silly statements full of threats”.
8.30am: China calls for restraint
China has called on the US and North Korea to exercise restraint amid an unprecedented war of words between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang also told a daily news briefing in Beijing that China opposes unilateral sanctions outside the United Nations framework.
His comments came after US President Donald Trump ordered new sanctions against North Korea on Thursday over its nuclear and missile programmes.
6.00am: North Korea warns it could drop H-bomb
North Korea could launch a nuclear weapon over the Pacific Ocean in response to Donald Trump’s threat to “totally destroy” the hermit state.
The country’s foreign minister Ri Yong Ho told reporters in New York: “This could probably mean the strongest hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific Ocean.”
He conceded that any such test would need to be ordered by Kim Jong-un, adding: “We have no idea about what actions could be taken.”
Kim Jong-un has called Donald Trump a “mentally deranged dotard”, and has warned that the president will “pay dearly” for his threats to strike North Korea.
In an unprecedented video, the despot said that North Korea “will consider with seriousness exercising of a corresponding, highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history.”
“I am now thinking hard about what response he could have expected when he allowed such eccentric words to trip off his tongue,” Kim said.
“I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire.”
Kim’s words were a direct response to Mr Trump’s shocking maiden UN speech, in which he said that the US will be left with no choice but to “totally destroy” North Korea unless it halts ints nuclear programme.
“No nation on Earth has an interest in seeing this band of criminals arm itself with nuclear weapons and missiles,” he said.
“The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.
“Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.”