A typhoon pounded North Korea on Saturday, killing five people and injuring three, state news agency KCNA reported yesterday.

Typhoon Lingling, one of the most powerful typhoons to have battered South Korea, moved to North Korea on Saturday, raising concerns about a crop damage in the impoverished country, which frequently suffers food shortages.

"Crops fell down, (were) inundated or buried in 46,200 hectares of farmland," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Saturday.

"Active work to eradicate the aftermath is now under way in the afflicted areas," it said.

North Korea held an emergency meeting on Friday under the guidance of leader Kim Jong Un, who berated senior officials for being "helpless against the typhoon, unaware of its seriousness and seized with easygoing sentiment," KCNA reported on Saturday.