NORTH Korea’s new nukes could soon be capable of destroying a US naval base some 6,000 miles away in California, a leading expert has warned.

Kim Jong-un caused a stir once again when he test-fired his Hwasong-14 rocket on July 4 – America’s Independence Day.

2 The Hwasong-14 missile is pictured during a test launch on July 4

2 Kim Jong-un was present for the launch and was pictured celebrating Credit: AP:Associated Press

The missile is currently estimated to have a range of 4,000-5,000 miles – enough to reach Alaska or Hawaii, according to aerospace engineer John Schilling.

He said: "If the Hwasong-14 is put together the way we think it is, it can probably do a bit better than that when all the bugs are worked out."

Speaking to 38 North – a monitoring project linked to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA – Schilling warned the rocket is "likely" to be able to deliver a half-tonne warhead to San Diego within two years.

Schilling added: "The North Koreans won't be able to achieve this performance tomorrow, but they likely will eventually."

At present it would be "lucky to hit even a city-sized target", due to limits to its re-entry technology, he said.

But with "a year or two of additional testing and development", he added, "it will likely become a missile that can reliably deliver a single nuclear warhead to targets along the US west coast, possibly with enough accuracy to destroy soft military targets like naval bases", such as that at San Diego in California.

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The North's missile technology – which it is banned from developing by the UN Security Council – has advanced rapidly under Kim, ramping up tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.

The impoverished state has also staged five nuclear tests – including two last year.

Washington is set to to propose tougher UN sanctions against the North, but analysts say they will have a limited impact unless China – the North's only major ally – steps up pressure.

Beijing is reluctant to risk destabilising the North, fearing a potential influx of refugees along the frontier or US troops stationed on its border in a unified Korea.

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