The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, has warned the world that the hermit kingdom’s sixth nuclear test, the most recent of which took place on September 6, has shown the rapid progress made towards becoming a fully functioning nuclear power.
Mr Amano said: “The yield is much bigger than the previous test, and it means North Korea made very rapid progress.
“Combined with other elements, this is a new threat and this is a global threat.”
Tensions between the world and North Korea went up another gear after the most recent weapons test from the isolated nation leading to a fresh set of sanctions against the despotic leader Kim Jong-un.
Mr Amano claims that the IAEA is unable to confirm whether Pyongyang has tested a hydrogen bomb, although North Korea has boasted otherwise.
South Korea said yesterday that the unstable North is considering upping tensions another notch at the upcoming anniversary of the founding of the North Korean communist party on 18 October.
Tensions have reached boiling point between the US and hermit kingdom after both Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un found themselves locked in a war of words this week.
Pyongyang recently accused Trump of declaring war on Pyongyang after a tweet from the President stated that Kim Jong-un “won’t be around much longer”.
The President tweeted: “Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at UN If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won’t be around much longer!”
In response, North Korea’s Foreign Minister, Ri Yong Ho, stated that the United States had declared war on the isolationist nation.
Since the feud, the US has denied declaring war on North Korea with White House press secretary Sarah Sanders claiming accusations made were “absurd”.
Experts have warned that the prospect of World War Three is now a “real possibility” and Britain would have to act immediately with a defence think thank warning hundreds of thousands of people are likely to be killed or injured.
World War Three could be triggered by either North Korea or the US but there is a growing risk that Donald Trump will decide to “resolve” the issue “sooner rather than later”, according to its report.
The UK would have only a few hours at most to decide how to respond, the chilling report warned.
The report stated: “War is now a real possibility
“With North Korea making rapid progress in its missile and nuclear programmes, time is not on diplomacy’s side.”