North Korean soldiers are reportedly in “no fit state to fight” and are at risk of starving to death as the nation’s leaders focuses on rising tensions with the US and not on the plight of its people.

The Guardian reports increased sanctions, a severe drought and shortage of food is threatening the lives of millions of citizens of the North.

It claims a drought that emaciated crops earlier this year will mean many people, including those in its million-strong army, will be left without proper access to food.

Jiro Ishimaru, a Japanese filmmaker who works with a number of citizen reporters inside the North, said a key issue for the country is there are “too many soldiers to feed”.

“Corruption is rife, so that by the time senior military officers have taken their share of food provisions to sell for profit on the private market, there is next to nothing left for ordinary soldiers,” he said.

Ishimaru claims one of his North Korean contacts told him there is talk of war with the US but that “many North Korean soldiers are in poor physical condition and in no fit state to fight”.

“This is exactly what Kim Jong-un wants – to project an image of strength, that he and the people are one and the same,” he said. “In an ordinary country, there would be riots over the food shortages, but not in North Korea.”

North Korea's forces consist of a massive 5.8 million paramilitary personnel, which accounts for a quarter of the country's population. They have 1.2 million active troops and another 600,000 in reserve.

The South is outnumbered in the air, with 450 combat aircraft compared to the North's 650. However, North Korea's planes are mostly obsolete Chinese and Soviet aircraft.

The South also has the United States in their corner, which would make all the difference when it comes to outright victory.

In response to concerns over the conditions inside the ‘Hermit Kingdom’, the United Nations has greenlighted more than $6 million in aid.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation last month released a special alert stating that if rains do not improve soon in the Asian region, the 2017 cereal output may “decrease significantly”.

North Korea yesterday revealed plans for the development of its missile program, as its leader ordered stepped-up production of rocket engines and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) nosecones.

Under Kim, Pyongyang has made rapid strides in its ballistic missile technology, which it is banned from pursuing under UN resolutions that have slapped it with seven sets of sanctions.

Last month it carried out two successful ICBM launches, overseen by Kim and apparently bringing most of its sworn enemy the United States into range for the first time.

A series of threats followed from both sides, and while the rhetoric has since eased, the US and South Korea this week kicked off their annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian military drills, which the North always condemns as dress rehearsals for invasion.

Yesterday, US President Donald Trump declared the North Korean leader is "starting to respect" the United States.

Trump's remarks, at a rally in Phoenix, came hours after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said talks with the nuclear-armed North over its banned weapons programs might be possible "in the near future".