Could World War 3 happen? How North Korea and Kim Jong-un could cause a nuclear apocalypse

NORTH Korea's relentless missile launches have seen tensions reach breaking point between the rogue state and the US.

As Kim Jong-un continues North Korea's sabre-rattling and Donald Trump threatens the state with annihilation how close are we to a third world war?

Could World War Three actually happen?

Tensions between the US and North Korea are said to be the most serious threat to world peace.

The US ambassador to the UN told an emergency Security Council meeting North Korea is "begging for war" and called for "the strongest possible measures".

President Donald Trump has threatened military action and warned North Korea it faces "total annihilation" if it threatens the US or its allies Japan and South Korea.

But defiant Kim Jong-un threatened America with a "miserable end" as he reportedly moved a ballistic missile to the west coast ready for another test launch.

He has previously threatened to launch rockets at US Pacific island Guam and moved fighter jets to the coast to intercept US bombers after accusing Trump of declaring war.

The past months have seen a series of alarming events that appear to have brought the two states to the brink of armed conflict.

    April 9: A US strike force was sent towards the western Pacific Ocean near the Korean peninsula
    April: President Trump ramped up the pressure on China to take action against the secretive state by declaring the US would “solve the problem” alone if it did not step up.
    April 14: During parades marking 105 years since the state’s founder Kim Il-sung was born, a devastating arsenal was on show including a KN-08 rocket, thought to be capable of flying more than 7,000 miles – within range of Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC. But experts have since questioned if the weapons were genuine.
    Hours before the parade a top general had told North Korean state TV "we’re prepared to respond to an all-out war with an all-out war”.
    April 15: North Korea again enraged the US by launching a missile test but this time it was an embarrassing flop exploding almost immediately.
    April 17: US Vice President Mike Pence told Pyongyang the "era of patience is over" as he warned tubby tyrant Kim Jong-un not to test Trump as plans were made to send a missile defence system to South Korea earlier than planned.
    April 17: It was reported China and Russia reportedly retaliated to the US' naval presence in the area by sending spy ships to chase a task force out of the Korean peninsula.
    April 19: Vice President Mike Pence warned Kim Jong-un the US would "defeat any attack" as he spoke to soldiers aboard a massive aircraft carrier.
    April 28: North Korea launched a devastating attack on the US Capitol to spark World War Three in a terrifying propaganda film released on April 28
    May Kim Jong-un warned that it would be a "piece of cake" to nuke Japan warning that those who tried to retaliate and their supports would not be safe
    May: The hermit state said that it has the right to “ruthlessly punish” any US citizens after it detained a fourth American at the start of May
    May 5: Pyongyang also announced it would seek the extradition of anyone involved in what it says was a CIA-backed plot to kill leader Kim Jung Un with a biochemical poison
    June 13: North Korea threatened to nuke Trump's home town of New York after he mocked the missile programme.
    July 4: Kim Jong-un laughed as he launched North Korea's first ICBM long-range missile declaring it was a special “gift for American b******s" on Independence Day.
    July 28- Seconf lunch of the Hwasong-14 missile over the sea of Japan. It is said to have a potential range of more than 6,000 miles - bringing parts of mainland USA within reach.
    July 31: It was reported that Donald Trump was ready to order a military strike against a North Korean nuclear weapons facility hidden beneath a mountain range.
    August 8: Trump has warned North Korea faces “fire and fury” if  it threatens the US – as intelligence documents reveal Kim Jong-un has made mini nukes to attach to his new rockets
    August 9: In a blatant of strength two US Air Force B-1B fighter jets took off from the US base alongside bombers from Japan and South Korea.
    August 10: North Korean state media said it was planning to launch four rockets towards the US territory of Guam.
    August 10: Trump declared North Korea "better get their act together" or they will be trouble like "few nations have ever been". He also suggested he might not have been tough enough with his previous comments on the rogue state.
    August 11: The Sun revealed Britain would play no part in a military strike on the communist state in a move that was slammed as “weak and ill-judged" by ex-Commander of British Forces Afghanistan Colonel Richard Kemp.
    August 12: New satellite images of North Korea bases appear to show the volatile state is overhauling its missile sub fleet.
    August 15: North Korea appeared to back down from an imminent strike by saying Kim Jong-un would watch "the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees" before deciding whether to fire on Guam.
    August 28: It was reported that North Korea had fired a missile towards Northern Japan. Residents were called to take immediate shelter underground.
    August 29: Officials confirmed the North's missile launch. The "unidentified projectile" hurtled over the country before breaking into pieces, according to South Korea's military.
    August 31: The US responded to Kim Jing-un's latest missile outrage with a terrifying show of strength, dropping huge bombs near the North Korean border.
    September 3: The West awakes to the news North Korea has detonated a nuclear device in a test. The blast was triggered an artificial earthquake six times larger than any previous test. North Korea claimed it has developed a sophisticated 120 kiloton hydrogen bomb small enough to be carried on a missile.
    September 4: James Mattis, the US Defense Secretary, warned of a "massive military response" to any threat from North Korea against the United States or its allies.
    September 15: North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan and into the Pacific, responding to new UN sanctions with its furthest-ever missile flight
    September 25: North Korea threatened to attack US warplanes and accused Donald Trump of declaring war.
    September 26: North Korea moved jet fighters to the coast to intercept US bombers

Who would win the war?

It is impossible to say with any certainty who would win a conflict, particularly if other world superpowers were dragged into the battle.

Donald Trump has said his first order as president was to renovate and modernise the US' nuclear arsenal, which he claims is "now far stronger and more powerful than ever before".

North Korea has been relentless in its nuclear tests and it is now believed the rogue state has missiles capable of hitting US territories.

The US spends far more on its military than any other nation and is the only country in possession of fifth-gen fighter planes - 187 F-22 jets, plus the F-35 which is not yet out of the testing phase.

But, it may not have an advantage over the rest of the world for long as Russia is developing a new stealth fighter nicknamed The Ghost and China is working on four.

In terms of submarines, the US Navy has 14 ballistic missile submarines with a combined 280 nuclear missiles.

They also possess four guided missile submarines with 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles each and 54 nuclear attack submarines.