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The secretive state claims the spike comes after Kim issued a highly unusual personal statement mocking Trump and threatening war with the US.

His explosive comments were in response to Trump’s vow to “totally destroy” North Korea if forced to do so in his debut United Nations address.

Ramping up his rhetoric against the US, the totalitarian leader said he is considering the “highest level of hard-line countermeasure” over the threat.

Since then millions of North Korean students, including 1.2million women, have signed up to fight against the US, according to state newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

(Image: GETTY)

North Korea regularly boasts about huge increases in military personnel when war tensions with the US flare.

A similar claim was made last month when the UN announced fresh sanctions against North Korea after it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Kim has been whipping up support for his regime by claiming Trump’s apocalyptic speech at the UN was a “declaration of war”.

Last weekend tens of thousands of North Koreans took to the streets to praise Kim’s message to Trump.

Now Kim is preparing his army to “annihilate” the US with “the toughest counter strike ever in history”, according to Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

(Image: GETTY)

North Korea has an army comparable in size to the US, with almost one million active members, including 200,000 special forces soldiers.

Pyongyang’s special operations troops are well trained, well equipped and pose a significant danger, according to US military sources.

Around 1.4 million troops currently serve in the US army.

On Tuesday Trump said military options to deal with North Korea would be “devastating” and stressed he did not want to use them.