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Although British ministers have refused to disclose whether the UK has a plan in place should war erupt in North Korea, military planners are already weighing options and drawing tactics.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is not due to enter service until 2020, but she will be commissioned at the end of this year. Navy sources said she could technically then be sent to war. While Kim's threats have focused on the US, British officials fear the UK would be dragged into any war with the regime, which has been sanctioned by the UN.

A senior Whitehall source said: ‘We have plenty of ships to send… the Type-45 destroyers, the Type-23 frigates. Britain's new aircraft carrier could be pressed into service early if things turn south.'

Last week Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon told the Tory Party conference: ‘North Korea's illegal testing underlines just how irresponsible it would be to scrap the deterrent that protects us.

‘It is all very well Jeremy Corbyn saying he would never use nuclear weapons but Manchester and London are closer to Pyongyang than Los Angeles.'