KIM'S COUNTDOWN

>> North Korea steps up nuclear & missile testing >> Naive troops aiding Putin 'in Russian uniform'

- CHRIS HUGHES

NORTH Korean despot Kim Jong-Un is preparing to test a missile capable of reaching the USA.

South Korean intelligence warned of the upcoming launch as well as the state's first nuclear bomb test since 2017.

The provocative tests have been timed to coincide with the US election.

They come as thousands of North Korean troops prepare to fight alongside Russian forces in their war with Ukraine.

The first contingent are to be unleashed against Ukrainian troops who have made an incursion into Russia in the Kursk region.