Severe storms in North Korea have pushed the death toll from bad weather this month up to at least 119, state media reported Wednesday, as an aid group said those affected urgently needed help.

Severe storms in North Korea have pushed the death toll from bad weather this month up to at least 119, state media reported Wednesday, as an aid group said those affected urgently needed help.

Pyongyang's official news agency said 31 people were killed by landslides and lightning during the storms on Sunday and Monday, with a further 16 missing, after many were killed earlier in July during a week of floods.

More than 21,000 people were left homeless by the latest storms, bringing the total number of those made homeless by recent bad weather to around 84,000, according to state media.

Coal mines in the Kaechon and Tokchon areas were also hit by "devastating" floods which left dozens dead or injured, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, without giving further details.

Tens of thousands of tones of coal and a lot of equipment was also washed away, it said.

KCNA reported at the weekend that a week-long flood left 88 dead and more than 63,000 homeless, as well as devastating vast swathes of farmland in a state that struggles to feed itself at the best of times.

Wednesday's new death toll came as an aid group said North Koreans hit by the floods badly need drinking water, food and medical assistance.

UN officials have toured badly-hit regions to assess aid needs.

Shortage of drinking water, difficulty in rebuilding destroyed homes and crop losses are the main concerns cited by residents, he said, adding it was "so difficult" for the injured or sick to get medical treatment in some areas.

In February the United States reached a deal to offer the North 240,000 tones of food in return for a freeze on nuclear and missile tests.

But the plan was scrapped after Pyongyang's rocket launch in April, seen by the US and its allies as an attempted ballistic missile test.