North Korea unveils 'ice missile' as Kim Jong-un warns that nuclear launch button is 'always at my desk'

Kim Jong-un has told Donald Trump that the nuclear launch button is “always” at his desk during his annual New Year speech.

The warning came as North Korea welcomed in 2018 with an ice sculpture of the Hwasong-15 long-range missile, which was tested in November 2017.

The frozen replica was unveiled at a festival in Pyongyang as revellers in the pariah state counted down to midnight.

The ballistic missile was the first developed by North Korea theoretically capable of reaching all of the United States mainland.

In a televised speech on New Year’s Day, the North Korean leader announced plans to begin mass-producing nuclear warheads.

He warned America that it can “never start a war against me and our country.”

“We must mass-produce nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles and speed up their deployment,” he said.

“We should always keep readiness to take immediate nuclear counter-attacks against the enemy’s scheme for a nuclear war.

“The US should know that the button for nuclear weapons is on my table,” he added.

“This is reality, not a threat. The entire area of the US mainland is within our nuclear strike range…

“No matter how much America wants to attack us with their military might and nuclear power, they know that now we possess such great nuclear power and therefore they will not dare,” he said.

He celebrated the “historic accomplishment of completing our nuclear capabilities” in 2017.

However, in a more conciliatory tone, Kim also referred to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, in South Korea, proposing delegation talks.

“The Winter Olympic games that will be held soon in the South will be a good opportunity to display the status of the Korean nation and we sincerely wish that the event will be held with good results,” he said.

He also expressed his desire for “for peaceful resolution with our southern border.”

“North and South must work together to alleviate the tensions and work together as a people of the same heritage to find peace and stability,” Kim said.

Park Soo-hyun, the spokesman for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said the President’s office welcomed Kim’s comments.

“The [President’s office] has been expressing its intent to talk with North Korea anytime, anywhere and regardless of formality if this is for the normalisation of the inter-Korean relations and for the peace of the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

He added that the President also “hopes South and North Korea will peacefully resolve North Korea’s nuclear issue while closely cooperating with the international community.”

“If the PyeongChang Olympics can be successfully held as peace Olympics, it will make contributions to the peace and harmony of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, as well as to the world,” a spokesman added.