Japan says to impose additional sanctions against North Korea

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

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that Japan would 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.