North Korea v USA: Updates as Kim Jong-un threatens war with Trump

NORTH Korea has detained another American citizen as tensions continue to escalate between Kim Jong-un's regime and Donald Trump's administration on the eve of South Korea's election.

North Korea is engaged in a war of words with America as Kim Jong-un's regime threatens to conduct a sixth nuclear weapons test.

Donald Trump has warned military action remains possible after the US moved an anti-missile system, submarines and aircraft carriers into the region. 

With the people of South Korea set to go to the polls tomorrow, here are the latest updates on the situation its northern neighbour.

Tuesday May 9

2.00am BST: North Korea has threatened to speed up its production of nuclear weapons after claiming the Trump administration’s plans for military action were a bluff.

State-controlled media has claimed Pyongyang will ramp up production of its nuclear weaponry, blasting Donald Trump’s war rhetoric as “unsubstantial and nonsensical”.

The propaganda claims: “April has gone and now its May.

“So, the big show of the US spreading the story of a war in April ended with failure.

“The Trump administration revealed itself before the world how unsubstantial and nonsensical its DPRK policy was.

“If the Trump administration noisily vociferates about the story of a war in May to avoid disgrace, nobody would believe it.

Monday May 8

9.45pm BST: Speaking about the latest detention of a US citizen, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, told reporters: “Obviously, this is concerning. 

“We're well aware of it and we're going to work through the embassy of Sweden through our State Department, to seek the release of the individuals there.”

Both the US and the UK do not have diplomatic relations with North Korea, so any negotiations are down through the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang.

7.45pm BST: Ex-North Korean detainee Jeffrey Fowle opened up abut his experiences in a North Korean prison.

The 58-year-old father-of-three visited North Korea in May 2014 where he was arrested for leaving a Bible under a bin.

North Korea is ranked number one on Open Doors’ list of countries persecuting Christians – tens of thousands of Christians are allegedly held in labour camps.

“I advise anyone planning personal travel to North Korea to seriously reconsider their plans,” M Fowle told Fox News.

During his time in prison he was coached into writing a confession of guilt, which he was then forced to re-write over and over again.

After being imprisoned for nearly six months, Mr Fowle was finally released back to his family in October 2014.

3.30pm BST: Moon Jae-in is the favourite to win Tuesday's election and become the first liberal president in South Korea in nine years. 

It is thought Moon could take a softer line on North Korea after saying the nation has no choice but to recognise Kim Jong-un as leader of North Korea. 

"We can’t deny that the ruler of the North Korean people is Kim Jong Un,” he said in March. 

“We have no choice but to recognize Kim Jong Un as a counterpart, whether we put pressure and impose sanctions on North Korea or hold dialogue.” 

Noon BST: Visitors to North Korea are seeing more and more locally made products replace the mostly Chinese imports in shops and supermarkets, according to a new report from Reuters.  

Shop assistant Rhee Kyong-sook, 33, said: "As new factories open, the branding, packaging and ingredients of our food products have improved.” 

Andray Abrahamian, of Singapore-based Choson Exchange, that trains North Koreans in business skills, said: "Around 2013, Kim Jong Un started talking about the need for import substitution.”

6.30am BST: President Donald Trump is using Kim Jong-un as a diversion so he can launch a nuclear strike against ally China, it has been claimed.

The US President is reportedly disguising Washington’s defence strategy – which features an attack against Beijing – with a plan to curb North Korean nuclear aggression.

International expert and author James Petras said Donald Trump is using America's hostile situation with North Korea to prepare his army and initiate a surprise attack on China.

Sunday May 7

3pm BST: North Korea has detained another American citizen on suspicion of acts against the state, which if confirmed would make him the fourth U.S. citizen to be held by the isolated country amid diplomatic tensions.

Kim Hak Song, who was detained on Saturday, worked for the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, the North's KCNA news agency, said.

"A relevant institution of the DPRK detained American citizen Kim Hak Song on May 6 under a law of the DPRK on suspension of his hostile acts against it," KCNA said. DPRK is short for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, NorthKorea's official name.

1am BST: Kim Jong-un has continued his sabre-rattling with an astonishing outburst against USA.

In an editorial published by state-run media agency KNCA, North Korea attacked President Donald Trump's decision to send naval forces to the Japan Sea.

It said: “This is a stern warning to the US imperialists and their stooges running amuck for aggression and war moves.

“The world will clearly witness how the crime-woven history of the US imperialists will be over, how the despicable remaining days of the south Korean puppet forces will come to an end and how national reunification, the cherished desire of the Korean nation, will be achieved.”

Saturday May 6

9pm BST: North Korean troops are being motivated to fight against the US by being made to watch a bizarre Godzilla-like film - which was produced by Kim Jong-un’s father.

The 1985 film Pulgasari is considered to be a ‘must-see’ movie for all North Korean troops as it depicts a group of peasants banding together and defeating a much larger and more powerful enemy.

The film, designed as a piece of propaganda, has now been dusted down and is being shown after tensions have been rising in the area, especially with the US as well as Japan with either side ratcheting up the threats.

Kim Jong-un recently threatened to hit his neighbour South Korea in a military strike whilst visiting a military base and is believed to be building secret islands where he can launch nuclear missiles from.

Similarly US President Donald Trump has also been sabre-rattling and has sent an ‘armada’, including an aircraft carrier, to the area and is currently station off the coast of North Korea.

Then North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, father of the country’s ruler, was a huge fan of the director Sang-ok Shin from South Korea, and since North and South have technically been at war since 1951 and have no diplomatic relations, Kim had him kidnapped.

Mr Shin eventually escaped back to South Korea, but not before he had been forced to make this movie for the erratic North Korean leader.

In a 2003 interview with The Guardian, Mr Shin said: “I hated communism, but I had to pretend to be devoted to it, to escape from this barren republic. It was lunacy.”

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