Seoul: North Korea has warned that a blockade by the United States and its allies could lead to war and Japan would not be safe from "the flames of war". The warning came as the United States and its regional allies, most notably Japan and Australia, have begun cracking down on North Korean trade in illicit drugs, weapons and counterfeit money.

Pyongyang's main state-run newspaper, 'Rodong Sinmun', on June 17 charged that the United States was "laying an international siege to the North and putting a blockade against it as a premeditated scheme to start a new war on the Korean peninsula". North Korea will take "physical retaliation," including "all means and methods an independent country can take", once it concludes that the recent moves by the allies violate its sovereignty, said 'Rodong' in a commentary monitored by South Korean news agency Yonhap.

"There is no guarantee that this blockade will not lead to such a serious condition as a full-scale war," said Rodong. "If war breaks out between the North and the United States, it will not be limited to the Korean Peninsula, but all the areas where aggressors are lurking will become our targets."

ANI