Kim Jong-un orders execution of military top brass - for not giving his troops larger portions of rice

North Korea: Trigger-happy despot Kim Jong-un has ordered the execution of yet more top-ranking officials - for not giving his troops larger portions of rice.

The North Korean dictator followed up his slaying of a defence chief by anti-aircraft missile with another purge of military top brass - this time for not giving soldiers more food.

In the latest cull, vice armed forces minister So Hong-chan - and several others 'close to him' - were killed for not following orders.

Observers believe So has been taken out because he was not seen during Kim's visit to the Kumsusan Place of the Sun to see the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather.

So was seen with Kim on earlier visits to the memorial.

He was last seen publicly during one of Kim's 'field guidance' visits, where the dictator offers advice to his people.

Senior military officials are said to have been punished for their failure to increase the rice allowance for the nation's soldiers.

It is the latest in a series of executions ordered by Kim. Observers are unclear if it is due to a power struggle with the army top brass, or the dictator 'flexing his muscles'.

His behaviour, even by his mercurial standards, has been bizarre in recent days.

He was pictured berating officials on an official visit to a terrapin farm earlier this month. And a picture of a 'missile launch' released to state media was shown to have been photo-shopped by experts in the West.

Hyon Yong-Chol, 66, named head of North Korea's military in 2012, was killed in front of hundreds of bloodthirsty officials at a military camp in the capital Pyongyang on April 30.

A ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun was used - just as it was when a number of victims were killed at the same camp last October.

The targets were just 100 feet from the guns, which have a range of 26,000 feet.

Han Ki-Beom, of South Korea's National Intelligence Agency, told a parliamentary committee that hundreds of officials watched the execution.

Anti-aircraft gun has become the execution method of choice for those who fall foul of Kim. Hyon was caught falling asleep during formal military events.

The guns would have left any victims utterly unrecognisable.

The executions were initially reported by South Korea's Yonhap news agency, although reports from North Korea are impossible to independently confirm.

Kim has ordered the execution of 16 senior officials this year as punishment for challenging his authority. In all, around 70 officials have been executed since Kim took over after his father's death in 2011, according to South Korea intelligence reports.

Analysts are split on whether the bloody power shifts indicate a young leader in firm control, or someone still struggling to establish himself.

In 2013, Kim executed his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, once considered the second most powerful man in the country, for damaging to the economy, along with a group of officials close to him.