BREAKING: North Korea fires three ballistic missiles amid fears Kim Jong-un wants war

The unhinged despot has shot the devastating warheads into the sea off its south east coast, according to South Korea's Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The missiles were fired from a western region south of the capital Pyongyang at around 3am GMT.

It comes just days after Kim Jong-un threatened to turn South Korea's military into "a heap of ashes".

No other details about the missile launch are currently available, but they were fired hours after the leaders of South Korea and China, the North's main diplomatic ally, met at the G20 world leaders' meeting in Hangzhou, China.

The crackpot North Korea leader has a history of conducting surprise missile tests

The launch came as representatives from China, North Korea's ally, and South Korea met at G20 summit
Kim Jong-un has a history of conducting surprise missile tests.

North Korea has been banned from testing nuclear or ballistic missile technology, but it has ramped-up its testing programme in recent months.

Two weeks ago the isolated nation fired a ballistic missile from a submarine off the east coast.