North Korea leader Kim Jong-un warned that there was a “nuclear button is always on my desk” as he sent a grave warning during his address in Pyongyang.
The dictator of the rogue state could bring World War 3 fears to boiling point and fire another missile before the Winter Olympics.
The games, which are due to be held in PyeongChang in South Korea in February, could be targeted by Kim Jong-un.
Speaking to Fox News, former Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis warned about the dictator’s next steps.
He said: “We can count on the fact, and I suspect within a few weeks that North Korea is going to fire another Hwasong-15 ICBM and that will generate everything back up again and get everyone excited and that’s right before the Olympics.
“The other thing that we have got to watch at is was is North Korea going to do in the lead up to the Olympics because I suspect they may feel a little more able to do something to stir things up a little bit more.
“Figuring that the United States will have their hands tied a bit to be able to do anything during the Olympics for fear of bringing any problems to the worlds Olympics.
“He’s not going to attack anything but what he may do is think he can take a little more of a risk and launching these missile tests because he thinks ‘well they are not going to be able to do anything in response’.
“What he wants is to have the effect of the tests so that he can validate his missile program, but he doesn’t want to participate an attack. So he may use the Olympics to blunt our response.”
Last year North Korea tested three intercontinental ballistic missiles and its sixth nuclear test.
After its latest ICBM test, Kim Jong-un claimed their rockets were now capable of reaching “all the US mainland”.
The United Nations Security Council imposed tough new sanctions on North Korea after its continued missile testing. The resolution seeks to ban nearly 90 percent of refined petroleum product exports to North Korea.
The resolution also bans exports of industrial equipment, machinery, transportation vehicles and industrial metals to North Korea.
The North Korea foreign ministry responded to the UN sanctions and branded them an “act of war”.
South Korea has now offered “high-level” talks with the regime in a bid to discuss cooperation as the Winter Olympic games approach.
President Moon Jae-in said he had already proposed making the games a “groundbreaking chance” to move towards peace.