World War 3: ‘Our last opportunity!’ SHOCK warning over North Korea’s nuclear threat

has been accelerating its testing of nuclear weapons in recent months, and Ed Royce, US representative for California called for China to do more. 

Mr Royce said that if North Korea are allowed to develop nuclear weapons, the “genie will be out of the bottle”, leading to fears. 

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News, that the hermit kingdom is “very very close” to developing nuclear weapons which could threaten the world. 

He said: “It is not in China’s interest to have North Korea go rogue with this capability because then, Japan and South Korea are also going to develop a nuclear weapons programme. 

“The genie will be out of the bottle.

“At this point, they don’t have the capability, right? So now is the time to cut off the ability for them to have billions of additional dollars they need to build out the programme to miniaturise the weapon, to put it on their ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile’.” 

Mr Royce claimed that the best way to limit ‘s development in North Korea was to increase sanctions on the rogue state and ensure that they are implemented. 

He said: “This is our last opportunity. According to our minister who defected, if we listen to Thae Yong-ho, he says they are on the cusp. And I think he is right, they are very very close. 

“Now would be the time to have their dictator not able to pay his generals… when we put those sanctions on North Korea in 2016, it shut down the production line for their missile programme. It shut down their capabilities and it shut down their ability to pay their officers and pay their army. 

“That is not a good position for a dictator to be in, and that is, if we press on this and give them that choice, business with the United States for these financial institutions, and cut off those accounts, or no business, that is the kind of hard diplomacy we have got to do now.” 

North Korea have continued to test nuclear weapons over the past few months, with its most recent test being its most powerful. 

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

It was reported that a tunnel collapse in North Korea left 200 workers dead at the Punggye-ri testing facility at some point after the sixth test in September.

Threats between North Korea and the US have continued after a senior diplomat from Pyongyang warned the United States to take the threat of a possible atmospheric nuclear test over the Pacific Ocean should be taken “literally”.

President is set to travel to Asia in his bid to urge countries to continue applying pressure on the rogue state and its nuclear programmes. 

The US has deployed nuclear bombers to the Pacific ahead of the Asia tour.