North Korea has repeatedly threatened the UK as Kim Jong-un continues along a path of nuclear armament many fear could trigger World War 3. 

And as the crazed dictator continues to advance his arsenal with inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBM’s) the chances the Kim regime could gain the capacity to strike Britain grows ever more likely.

Now Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has claimed the Navy’s new warship will strike fear into the young despot – and even cause Russian strongman Vladimir Putin to pause before threatening the UK.

The newly-appointed chief of the nation’s defences stepped aboard the 280-metre, 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth as she completed the latest round of sea trials off the south coast.

He said: "Let's not underestimate the growing threat from Russia and North Korea. These are countries that want to damage Britain, these are countries that want to undermine Britain.

"When Russia sees this aircraft carrier - they have nothing like it in the world. This is the finest aircraft carrier in the world - it is leagues ahead of any other nation.

"We should take a great amount of pride in that, and we can use this to strike fear into the hearts of all our enemies and that is what it is designed to do, and I am sure that is what it will do."

His tour of the aircraft carrier marks the first time Mr Williamson has stepped on a Royal Navy vessel.

Mr Williamson went on to confirm the Queen will formally commission the ship into the Royal Navy on December 7, in what he believes will be a statement to the world about Britain's military ambition.

He said: “"This is very much about how Britain can project its influence and its power right across the world," Mr Williamson said.

"It is how we can say to the rest of the world, we are not a nation in retreat, we are a nation that wishes to play a significant part in world affairs."

Commanding officer Captain Jerry Kyd claimed the ship’s crew were pleased to be able to give the new defence secretary "full exposure of the best the Royal Navy has to offer”.

He said: "Clearly he is a new pair of eyes and he's been intrigued to meet a lot of the ship's company and get a sense of the culture and the philosophy of the ship - and to see what the nation has bought.”

It comes after warnings North Korea could hit the UK with a nuclear missile in one year’s time.

General Sir Richard Barrons claimed the hermit kingdom could hit London with a missile “within the next 12 to 18 months” – adding Britain’s defence was “close to breaking” and would “fall over” unless more money was put in

He said: “We now live in an age where people who are not on our side have capability that they could, I'm not saying they will, but could, inflict on the UK homeland at short notice which we can't deal with.

“We aren’t living in the comfortable waters of the 1990s and we have not yet addressed that.

“Defence is close to breaking and unless you put more money in it, it will fall over.

"There are clearly existential threats to our country and they come in many forms.

"They come in the form of Daesh (Islamic State), who if they could, would find weapons of mass destruction and apply them to the UK.

"We are locked in a daily confrontation with Russia, the Prime Minister said so herself yesterday.

"We are looking at North Korea which within the next 12 to 18 months will make a nuclear missile to an intercontinental range ballistic missile that could reach London and we can't deal with that."