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(Image: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/GETTY)

A state-of-the-art missile destroyer has been finished two months quicker than planned and will soon be mass-produced, reports South Korean news outlet Yonhap.

The M-SAM surface-to-air rocket has passed its test launches and will form a key part of defence against possible North Korean missile attacks.

"The prototype of the M-SAM to intercept an enemy's ballistic missile was rated fit for combat operation by meeting all the requirements at a test early this month," a South Korean defence insider said, on condition of anonymity.

The news comes as Kim Jong-un vowed to build nuclear missiles faster than ever before.

South Korean defence spending has reportedly been set at a record $38.7 billion (£30 billion) to combat increasing weapons threats from its Northern neighbour and China.

The new defence weapon would thwart flying rockets up to 40km in altitude and blow them up before they hit any towns or cities.

Mass production would likely start before the end of this year and finish by 2019.

M-SAM would bolster the nation's Korea Air and Missile Defence System (KAMD) which is set for completion in the early 2020s.

US President Donald Trump is facing increasingly serious threats from the war-hungry tyrant after a series of mid-range nuclear-capable missile tests.

United Nations committees have heaped pressure on North Korea to stop building weapons and take apart the ones it already has.