Japan to impose extra NKorea sanctions

Japan will impose additional sanctions against North Korea following the reclusive country's repeated missile launches and unresolved abduction issue, its top government spokesman says.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Friday that Japan will freeze the assets of six more organisations and two more individuals linked to North Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered more solid-fuel rocket engines, state media reported on Wednesday, as he pursues nuclear and missile programmes amid a standoff with Washington.