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A series of photographs from the infamous Sinpo South Shipyard suggest Kim Jong-un’s military chiefs are working on a submarine-launched ballistic missile.

It would signal a huge statement of intent from the rogue state and put Pyongyang on the top table of nuclear powers as Kim looks to warn off external threats.

Onlookers fear the hermit kingdom is planning to unleash the dreaded Juche Bird missile – believed to be capable of striking every city on the US mainland.

And these snaps could be proof of just that.

(Image: 38NORTH – Imagery courtesy of Planet) (Image: 38NORTH – Imagery courtesy of Planet)

They appear to show that work on an experimental ballistic missile submarine is complete, that a new shipbuilding programme is under way and improvements are being made to existing test stands.

Chillingly, the new images come as North Koreans celebrate the anniversary of the ruling Workers Party – a day previously picked out by the regime to test new missiles.

And experts fear Kim could now be preparing a launch for next week, saying October 18 – the start of China’s Party Congress – would be another ideal opportunity.

(Image: GETTY/38NORTH – Imagery courtesy of Planet)

Pyongyang is adamant on continuing Kim’s nuclear programme despite a string of increasingly volatile threats from Donald Trump.

Just this week, American bomber planes flew over the Korean peninsula.

And a “nuke sniffer” aircraft was deployed yesterday before the hermit kingdom threw fuel on the fire.

Although no military provocation materialised, the North’s state-run newspaper attacked the US in an editorial the same morning.

It accused the White House of pushing them towards a nuclear war and vowed not to stand by in the face of “criminal actions of warmongers.”

Earlier this week, President Trump summoned US generals to the White House War Room over the ongoing crisis.

War fears heightened recently after he warned to “totally destroy” Kim's rogue state.

He described the tubby tyrant as a “rocket man on a suicide mission” in a barnstorming debut speech at the UN.

And the hermit kingdom responded by stressing their right to nuclear weapons, labelling Trump “deranged” in the process.

Kim has repeatedly launched missiles in a series of tests this year.

He believes expanding his nuclear arsenal will secure his legitimacy domestically and tighten the state's security from the threat of a US invasion.