Kim Jong-un 'begging for war': North Korea nuclear crisis

According to South Korea's Asia Business Daily, the rocket was spotted moving on Monday, the day after Pyongyang's sixth and largest nuclear test.

The North Korean missile programme’s launch facilities are on the west coast – and the move was reportedly made during the night in order to avoid surveillance.

The report could not be confirmed by South Korea’s defence ministry, but said on Monday that its neighbour was ready to launch more missiles.

In July, the North tested two ICBMs, which are capable of flying around 6,200 miles, capable of threatening parts of the US mainland.

On Tuesday, South Korea flexed its military muscle and held live-fire drills in the Sea of Japan, involving 2,500-ton frigate Gangwon, 400-ton guided missile vessels and a 1,000-ton patrol ship in a show of force aimed at deterring the North.

According to the commander of the 13th Maritime Battle Group, Captain Choi Young-Chan: "If the enemy launches a provocation above water or underwater, we will immediately hit back to bury them at sea."

South Korea has also been in discussions with the US about deploying aircraft carriers and bombers to the Korean Peninsula.

It was agreed on Monday that the country could scrap a warhead weight limit on its missiles, which are currently capped at 500kg, meaning it could strike back at Pyongyang with greater force.

Seoul has claimed that there would be more live-fire drills this month, as well as a naval battle group training exercise and joint anti-submarine warfare exercise with the US. The defence ministry in Seoul also told parliament that the US would deploy a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to seas of the Korean peninsula.

The South region was alarmed by the North when it launched its most powerful test to date on Sunday, which was claimed to be a hydrogen bomb that could be mounted on a long-range missile.

America’s ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, commented that her country did not want a war with the Pyongyang regime, but its patience was “not limited”. Kim Jong Un was “begging for war”.

Speaking at the UN Security Council, Haley said “enough is enough”, warning the organisation that its previous approach of imposing “incremental” sanctions against the North have been in vain.

Sunday’s device is believed to have been around 5 times larger than the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan in World War II, causing a tremor with a magnitude of 6.3.