World War 3: North Korea could hit US mainland with a nuclear weapon within NINE months

may have nuclear capabilities to hit the United States with the space of nine months, according to Gordon Chang, author of ‘Nuclear Showdown’. 

Donald Trump’s strategy towards the rogue nation is the right one, Mr Chang has claimed, but progress against Kim Jong-un’s state must be accelerated. 

Speaking to Fox News, Mr Chang claimed that the dictator may have nuclear capabilities to hit the US within nine months, but highlighted the progress already made.

He said: “Take the case of the most difficult of all which is China. China at the end of September seems to have ordered its banks to end their relationships with North Korea. 

“But we are going to have to see over term whether they actually enforce that continually. Nonetheless, that’s a step forward. 

“We have seen a lot of these African countries stop paying money to North Korea and that’s a direct result of American diplomacy. 

“There has been progress. Now the question is, we need to have progress pretty quickly because the North Koreans within about nine months or so will be able to put a nuke on top of a long-range missile and hit the American homeland and of course we do not want that capability. 

“On the other hand, I think the President has actually got the right strategy and is pretty determined to carry it out.” 

North Korea has been ramping up threats to the US and has increased testing of nuclear weapons in recent months. 

The most recent test took place on September 3 at the Punggye-ri Test Site which was so powerful it was registered as a 5.7 magnitude earthquake by the South Korean government. 

also issued another warning to the US as a senior diplomat from Pyongyang said warnings of a possible atmospheric nuclear test over the Pacific Ocean should be taken “literally”.

The US President is set to visit Asia this week in a bid to highlight his campaign to put pressure on the rogue state and its nuclear programmes. 

Fears have been raised that the US President arriving in Asia could spark a war in the region, leading to worries. 

The White House said: “The President’s engagements will strengthen the international resolve to confront the North Korean threat and ensure the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.”

Pyongyang has been told to abandon its nuclear programme by defence officials from the US, South Korea and Japan. 

A statement said: “Together they called upon North Korea to refrain from irresponsible provocations that aggravate regional tensions, and to walk away from its destructive and reckless path of development.”