Pyongyang

North Korea fired more than 200 artillery shells near two South Korean islands on Friday, Seoul's defence ministry said, warning the actions threatened peace and it would respond.

Residents on the two islands were ordered to evacuate, in one of the most serious military escalations between the two Koreas since the North fired a barrage of shells at one of the islands in 2010.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his top military officers to use maximum force against South Korea and the United States if they initiate a military confrontation, state media reported Monday.

Seoul and Washington have ramped up defence cooperation in the face of a record-breaking series of weapons tests by Pyongyang over the past year.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wrapped up the year with fresh threats of a nuclear attack on Seoul and orders for a military arsenal build-up to prepare for a war that can "break out any time" on the peninsula, state media reported Sunday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged his party to "accelerate" war preparations including its nuclear programme, state media said Thursday.

The comments came just a week after Kim warned Pyongyang would not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if "provoked" with nukes.

South Korea has sanctioned the head of North Korea's intelligence agency over illicit cyber activities following Pyongyang's recent launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

Recent reports from the UN nuclear watchdog and independent experts suggest that North Korea has initiated operations at a new reactor within the Yongbyon nuclear complex. This reactor could potentially produce plutonium, fueling concerns about the nation's nuclear weapons program, according to Reuters.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned Pyongyang will not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if "provoked with nukes", state media said Thursday, while Seoul and its allies called for "dialogue without preconditions".

South Korea, the United States and Japan on Tuesday activated a system to share real-time data on North Korean missile launches, Seoul's defence ministry said, as the three countries seek to bolster security cooperation against the nuclear-armed North.

North Korea initiated the firing of an unspecified ballistic missile towards the East Sea (Sea of Japan) in the early hours of Monday, as reported by the South Korean military, intensifying concerns amid speculation about its nature.

According to officials in Seoul and Tokyo, North Korea launched another long-range ballistic missile on Monday with the potential to strike the United States, continuing a record-breaking number of weapons tests this year that the West has denounced.