North Korea 'could test-fire new ICBM by end of November' sparking WW3 fears

South Korea's Defence Intelligence Agency said there are signs that North Korea will soon be ready to test launch an ICBM designed to reach the US mainland - and it could happen in November

North Korea could test-fire its new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as early as November, sparking fears of a third world war, South Korean officials have warned.

Politicians in South Korea have said that, according to the country's military intelligence agency, North Korea appears prepared to test the missiles, which are capable of reaching the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has also flaunted his military nuclear program in recent months, testing various missile systems and disclosing a secretive facility for producing weapons-grade uranium in September.

South Korea's Defence Intelligence Agency believes that North Korea has finished preparations to conduct a nuclear test at its testing ground in the north-eastern town of Punggye-ri, with the detonation likely to be carried out at tunnel No. 3, said Lee Seong Kweun, one of the politicians who attended the hearing. North Korea conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in 2017.

The agency also said it's detecting signs that the North will soon be ready to test launch an ICBM designed to reach the US mainland, including the placement of a launch vehicle and a missile, said Lee and fellow politician Park Sunwon. The agency believes the ICBM test could take place some time in November.

"We cannot specify the exact location but the transporter-erector launcher has been deployed at a certain area where it could be anticipated that an ICBM test aimed at verifying atmospheric re-entry technology could be conducted," Lee added. All of North Korea's ICBM tests since 2017 have been conducted at a high angle to avoid the territory of neighbours.

Experts have said the North may eventually seek to flight test its weapons at an angle closer to a normal ballistic trajectory to verify whether the warhead would survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric re-entry. The re-entry vehicle technology is considered one of the few remaining technological obstacles North Korea needs to overcome to obtain functioning long-range missiles.

Earlier this month, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he expected North Korea to stage major provocations like nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests around the US election to dial up pressure on Washington and its allies. The military intelligence agency also said some advance units of North Korean troops sent to Russia may have arrived at battlefronts as the forces prepare to move to the Kursk region, according to the politicians.

A senior South Korean presidential official, who spoke on condition of anonymity during a background briefing, said Seoul and its allies assess that the number of North Korean troops now dispatched in Russia is at least 11,000. More than 3,000 of them are believed to have moved toward combat zones in western Russia, the official said, without specifying the locations.

Last night, it emerged that North Korea might also be plotting to send more troops to support Russia's war in Ukraine. Sources told The Mirror Russia could be exchanging technology information relating to North Korea's various weapons programmes or its space technology.