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North Korea is ready to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile which could reach America or Britain, Japanese military claims.

Maniac despot Kim Jong-un has begun moving the rockets into position according to several Japanese military sources.

One of the sources says that movement of one of the launch pads was first noticed yesterday morning.

They said, according to its size, it is large enough to fire a carry an ICBM class Hwasong-14 ballistic missile with a range of more than 10,000km (6,200 miles).

The UK is almost 5,400 miles from North Korea while the US is just over 3,500 miles away - putting it well within target range of both

Japan - which has been threatened with a nuclear attack by the rogue state - also says the missile launch pad started moving yesterday.

(Image: AFP) (Image: AFP) (Image: Getty) (Image: REUTERS)

Nikkei reports that the missile is already loaded with fuel and could be launched imminently.

News outlet Assahi also reports that the rocket is being moved into position.

Other Japanese media also report the missile is a Hwasong-14 which Jong-un previously said could reach 'anywhere in the world'.

The Hwasong-14 is known to have been tested by North Korea on July 4 2017 - a test which was said to have been "far more successful than expected".

Jong-un is said to have laughed as the weapon was fired - declaring it it a "special gift for American b******s".

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He also bizarrely described it as a “handsome good-looking boy”.

While North Korean state media said the missile flew only 580 miles (933 km) and reached an altitude of 1,741 miles (2,802 km) - it took just 39 minutes before it was deliberately crashed into Japanese waters and is widely believed to be capable of reaching much further.

At the very least it is capable of reaching Alaska in the US - where Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described its test flight as a "new escalation of threat".

(Image: REUTERS) (Image: AFP) (Image: Reuters)

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News of the missile deployment comes only hours after the rogue state threatened to use nuclear weapons to “sink” Japan and reduce the United States to “ashes and darkness”.

Its vitriol apparently reflects its anger for those countries supporting a UN Security Council resolution and sanctions following Kim Jong-un 's latest nuclear test.

It comes after the regime has threatened to use nuclear weapons to “sink” Japan and reduce the United States to “ashes and darkness”.

Its vitriol apparently reflects its anger for those countries supporting a UN Security Council resolution and sanctions following Kim Jong-un 's latest nuclear test.

Pyongyang’s so-called Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee - largely used for propaganda - also called for the breakup of the Security Council which it called “a tool of evil” made up of “money-bribed” countries that move at the order of the United States.

(Image: Getty Images AsiaPac) (Image: Getty)

In a statement carried by the North’s official KCNA news agency, the committee said: "The four islands of the archipelago should be sunken into the sea by the nuclear bomb of Juche.

"Japan is no longer needed to exist near us."

Juche is the North’s ruling ideology that mixes Marxism and an extreme form of go-it-alone nationalism preached by state founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of the current leader, Kim Jong Un.

(Image: REUTERS)

(Image: James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies)

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Regional tensions have risen markedly since the reclusive North conducted its sixth, and by far its most powerful, nuclear test on September 3.

The 15-member Security Council voted unanimously on a US-drafted resolution and a new round of sanctions on Monday in response, banning North Korea’s textile exports that are the second largest only to coal and mineral, and capping fuel supplies.

The North reacted to the latest action by the Security Council, which had the backing of veto-holding China and Russia, by reiterating threats to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea.

(Image: REUTERS)

“Let’s reduce the US mainland into ashes and darkness. Let’s vent our spite with mobilization of all retaliation means which have been prepared till now,” the statement said.

Japan’s Nikkei stock index and dollar/yen currency pared gains, although traders said that was more because of several Chinese economic indicators that were released today rather than a reaction to the North’s latest statement.

South Korea’s won also edged down around the same time over domestic financial concerns.

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(Image: REUTERS)

The North’s latest threats also singled out Japan for “dancing to the tune” of the United States, saying it should never be pardoned for not offering a sincere apology for its “never-to-be-condoned crimes against our people”, an apparent reference to Japan’s wartime aggression.

It also referred to South Korea as “traitors and dogs” of the United States.

Japan criticized the North’s statement harshly.

“This announcement is extremely provocative and egregious. It is something that markedly heightens regional tension and is absolutely unacceptable,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference today.

North Korea had already categorically rejected the Security Council resolution imposing sanctions over its latest test, vowing to press ahead with its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of international pressure.

(Image: REUTERS) (Image: REUTERS)

A tougher initial US draft of Monday’s resolution was weakened to win the support of China and Russia. Significantly, it stopped short of imposing a full embargo on oil exports to North Korea, most of which come from China.

The latest sanctions also make it illegal for foreign firms to form commercial joint ventures with North Korean entities.

US President Donald Trump has vowed that North Korea will never be allowed to threaten the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile, but has also asked China to do more to rein in its isolated neighbor. China in turn favors an international response to the problem.

The North accuses the United States, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, of planning to invade and regularly threatens to destroy it and its Asian allies.

The United States and South Korea are technically still at war with North Korea because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce and not a peace treaty.