North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged government officials to engineer a "fundamental transformation" in agricultural production, state media reported on Tuesday, amid fears that the country's food shortage is worsening.

The announcement comes after Kim pledged to counter US nuclear threats with nuclear weapons on Friday. Kim said the country’s new Hwasong-17 ICBM showed North Korea’s resolve and ability to eventually build the world’s strongest army.

apanese Deputy Defense Minister Toshiro Ino, in turn, told reporters that for the first time ever, North Korea conducted four missile tests in a week.

The nosedive in cryptocurrency markets has wiped out millions of dollars in funds stolen by North Korean hackers, four digital investigators say, threatening a key source of funding for the sanctions-stricken country and its weapons programmes.

South Korea's Air Force conducted a rare training involving its F-35A radar-evading fighters in a show of airpower Friday, a day after North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).