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Just 6,350 miles south of the hermit kingdom, Foreign Affairs Minister Gerry Brownlee admitted they feared a missile could be sent their way from their belligerent neighbour.

Their concerns have escalated after it emerged the brutal regime, headed by despotic leader Kim, have developed a weapon powerful enough to reach the US and also New Zealand.

Mr Brownlee said: "When you think about the range they're able to get now, that puts a lot of pressure on countries like Japan and China and parts of Russia.

"If they ever get to a point where they can hit the continental USA, then they'll also be able to hit us.

Reuben Teo / mediadrumworld.com

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"US President Donald Trump has said the world will never see North Korea reach the final stage of developing nuclear weapons that could reach the US, but recent strategic weapon tests have proved the country is not far away from testing an ICBM.

Pyongyang fired the ballistic Hwasong-12 missile last month, reaching an altitude of 1,312 miles.

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While the regime hailed it as a success, that claim was later backed up by South Korea and US officials who confirmed it could have hit American soil.

In response the US carried out the first test of a missile defence system against an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) able to intercept a missile from North Korea.

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This guy is irrational

Gerry Brownlee

And adding to fears, Mr Browlee highlighted the volatile and unstable nature of its portly leader, Kim Jong-un, who often sets unrealistic targets on his malnourished and impoverished citizens.

He said: This guy is irrational. He's nuts and not a sort of person that you'd want to have with a finger anywhere near the trigger of a nuclear weapon.

"It's an awful situation there, you've got a complete nutter running the place.

"Bear in mind here there's millions of people in North Korea living on the edge of starvation.

"We've made a small contribution over the years to the food and support for those people.

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But if there's any doubt about whether it's funding the nuclear programme, we're dealing with that by stopping the funding."

There are fears North Korea could imminently test-fire another missile, following the pattern seen over the past few months.

Read more:

WW3 FEARS: Kim Jong-un could launch missile strike on New Zealand, warns minister - Express.co.uk