Read on for a closer look at the potential conflict scenarios, after two prominent analysts set North Korea watchers’ tongues wagging by warning Kim ‘has made a strategic decision to go to war’.

US and China likely to continue developing hypersonic weapons while also improving their defensive capabilities to neutralise these systems: analyst.

American defence posture is vulnerable amid Beijing’s build-up of its advanced missiles, warships and technology, influential government panel told.

Congress hears plea for more funding, speed and capability to protect strategically vital American territory as PLA enhances its missile technology.

Putin said in the interview published on Wednesday that Russia was technically ready for nuclear war and that if the US sent troops to Ukraine, it would be considered a significant escalation of the conflict.

A missile crashed into the sea near the submarine that launched it, an embarrassing outcome for a country that once boasted world’s most powerful naval force.

Two new-generation Pulhwasal-3-31 missiles ‘flew in the sky above the East Sea … to hit the island target’, state media reported on Monday, adding that Kim had ‘guided’ the launch.

Multiple projectiles were detected around the waters near North Korea’s Sinpo area, as Seoul steps up monitoring Pyongyang’s movements.

Tehran said it had conducted a successful launch of a satellite into its highest orbit yet, in a space programme that the West fears will improve the country’s ballistic missile capabilities.

The raid marks the latest seizure by the US Navy and its allies of weapon shipments bound for the rebels, who have launched a series of attacks now threatening global trade.

Solid-fuel missiles do not need to be fuelled immediately ahead of launch, are often easier and safer to operate, and require less logistical support, making them harder to detect and more survivable than liquid-fuel weapons.

The South Korean military says the North has fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

‘There is no longer any disguise … the Russian Federation for the first time struck at ... Ukraine with missiles received from … North Korea,’ a senior Kyiv official said.

US intelligence officials believe that Russia is also seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran to replenish supplies for its war with Ukraine.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol says he will strengthen his military’s pre-emptive strike in his New Year’s Day address.

Leader Kim Jong-un slams US policy for making war a ‘realistic reality’ and says he has ordered the military to prepare to ‘pacify the entire territory of South Korea’.

Kim Jong-un ordered the munitions industry and nuclear weapons sector to accelerate war preparations to counter what he called unprecedented confrontational moves by the US, state media reported.

Emergency Security Council meeting sees Washington calling on Pyongyang to put diplomacy over missile tests after country conducts its 31st this year.

Pyongyang sought to seize the ‘military initiative’ with Monday’s ICBM test, observers say – and it’s far from finished ratcheting up tensions.

On Beijing visit, North Korean deputy foreign minister tells top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi his country will continue to deepen ties with China as Pyongyang launches fifth ICBM this year.

Kim Ju-ae has been gaining prominence in the public eye, with South Korean authorities now considering the possibility she may be the heir apparent.

Choe Su-yong, a former intelligence official claims that Kim Jong-un introduced his daughter to Dennis Rodman saying in Korean that ‘jeo-ae’ (that girl) is his daughter. The basketball player misunderstood ‘jeo-ae’ as her name.

Russia’s new nuclear-powered submarine Imperator Alexander III carried out a successful test launch of the Bulava ballistic missile, designed to carry nuclear warheads.

The 1996 treaty outlaws all nuclear explosions, including live tests of nuclear weapons, though it never came into force because some key countries – including the US and China – never ratified it.

The bill rescinding ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty will now be sent to President Vladimir Putin for final approval.

As Israel’s war with Hamas rages on in Gaza, international groups worry about potential for nuclear conflict, but Chinese defence contractor says reliability of Israeli strike capabilities is ‘questionable’.