Satellite images have revealed how North Korea is preparing to trial its arsenal of submarine rockets amid fears of an impending nuclear test.

Pictures of the Nampo Naval shipyard on the country's west coast show dictator Kim Jong-un has 'imported' a new barge so his navy can carry out underwater test missile launches.

The 68ft barge is identical to another seen at the Sinpo South shipyard on the east coast which has been involved in up to six test launches since 2014.

Satellite images have revealed how North Korea is preparing to trial its arsenal of submarine rockets amid fears of an impending nuclear test. Pictures of the Nampo Naval shipyard (pictured) on the country's west coast show dictator Kim Jong-un has 'imported' a new barge so his navy can carry out underwater test missile launches

The 68ft barge is identical to another seen at the Sinpo South shipyard (pictured) on the east coast which has been involved in up to six test launches since 2014

According to 38North, which monitors North Korea, there has been no sign that the barge was constructed on the west coast, suggesting it may have been acquired from abroad.

The design is similar to a Russian submersible test stand barge, but it is not clear which country it was imported from.

They are often used to test missile tubes and launch systems before they are installed in submarines.

38North said: 'The discovery of a second missile test barge may have a number of implications for the future of North Korea’s SLBM program that appears to be an important priority for Kim Jong Un.

'A key consideration is the timing of the acquisition of the barges. If both were acquired at the same time, it would imply that Pyongyang had planned a more extensive test program than it has so far conducted.

'However, since the second barge seems to have been acquired three years after the first, this could mean that North Korea is planning to accelerate its SLBM test program to include a west coast component or develop new SLBM designs, or that it may deploy a ballistic missile submarine with the West Sea Fleet. None of these possibilities are mutually exclusive.'

Kim Jong-un (pictured) has accused the US of pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of American bombers carried out training drills in the region

The satellite images come amid fears North Korea is plotting to carry out a sixth nuclear test and amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and the US

The satellite images, both taken on April 19, come amid fears North Korea is plotting to carry out a sixth nuclear test and amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and the US.

This morning Kim Jong-un accused the US of pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of American bombers carried out training drills in the region.

The supersonic B-1B Lancers were deployed in a joint training exercise with the Japanese air forces.

North Korea said the bombers conducted 'a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects' in its territory at a time when US President Donald Trump and 'other U.S. warmongers are crying out for making a preemptive nuclear strike'.

'The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war,' the North's official KCNA news agency said this morning.

The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as Trump said he was open to meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in the appropriate circumstances, even though Pyongyang suggested it would continue with its nuclear tests.