UK Armed Forces have drawn up plans to rush HMS Queen Elizabeth into service for a potential war with North Korea, it has been revealed.
Top military brasses are now looking at how Britain would respond if Kim Jong-un does instigate war on the Korean Peninsula.
It comes amid fears the regime is planning on launching a Hydrogen Bomb today.
Pyongyang is preparing to celebrate the Worker’s Party of Korea – Kim’s ruling regime – with a national celebration on October 10 (4.30pm today in the UK).
North Korea has a long history of testing missiles and launching weapons on national holidays.
One of the options that has reportedly been floated is to deploy Britain’s newest aircraft carrier, which is due to be given to the Navy later this year.
HMS Queen Elizabeth could transport 12 f-35B jets to the Peninsula in a show of strength alongside the the United States and South Korean forces.
The carrier would potentially be escorted by Type-45 destroyers and Type-23 frigates.
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.”
Tensions have reached new heights this year as Donald Trump launched a war of words with Pyongyang.
Yesterday, the US President cryptically tweeted “only one thing will work” against North Korea.
Kim believes securing nuclear weapons will protect his regime from any attempt to depose him by the US.
Last month, the regime accused of the US of “declaring war”.
The North’s foreign minister Ri Yong Ho said: “The whole world should clearly remember it was the US who first declared war on our country.
“Since the United States declared war on our country, we will have every right to make countermeasures.
“These include the right to shoot down United States strategic bombers even when they are not inside the airspace border of our country.”
