At least one person confirmed to have Covid-19 has died in North Korea and hundreds of thousands have shown fever symptoms, state media said on Friday, offering hints at the potentially dire scale of country's first confirmed outbreak of the pandemic.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile Sunday, Seoul said, resuming a weapons-testing blitz after a month-long lull during the Beijing Winter Olympics, with the world's attention now focused on Ukraine.

North Korea on Sunday tested its most powerful missile since 2017, ramping up the firepower for its record-breaking seventh launch this month as Seoul warned nuclear and long-range tests could be next.

North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) on Monday from an airport in its capital city of Pyongyang, South Korea's military reported, the fourth test this month to demonstrate its expanding missile arsenal.

North Korea fired a suspected submarine-launched ballistic missile into the sea on Tuesday, the South's military said, the nuclear-armed country's latest advance in weapons technology and one that could give it a second-strike capability.

North Korea said on Sunday the United Nations Security Council applied double standards over military activities among UN member states, state media KCNA said, amid international criticism over its recent missile tests.

North Korea has successfully fired a new anti-aircraft missile, state media said Friday, as the United Nations Security Council prepares to meet in response to a recent flurry of weapons tests by the nuclear-armed nation.

North Korea fired a missile towards the sea off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, as Pyongyang called on the United States and South Korea to scrap their "double standards" on weapons programmes to restart talks.

North Korea is willing to consider another summit with South Korea if mutual respect between the neighbours can be assured, state news agency KCNA said on Saturday, citing Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the North's leader Kim Jong Un.

A senior North Korean official ridiculed American hopes for talks on Tuesday, as the United States and South Korea agreed to consider scrapping a controversial working group established to coordinate their policy toward Pyongyang.

The United States' new top envoy for North Korea said on Monday in Seoul that he looks forward to a "positive response soon" on dialogue from North Korea.

North Korea has attempted to steal Covid-19 vaccine technology by hacking Pfizer Inc according to South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.