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N. Korea: Blockade means war
PYONGYANG, North Korea -- North Korea is warning that any U.S.-led blockade against it could spark an "all out" war that would engulf much of the surrounding region, including Japan. A statement published in state-run media Tuesday warned that retaliation could include "all possible means and ways a sovereign state can take," adding that any such action would be "limitless." "Nobody can vouch that this blockade operation will not lead to such a serious development as an all-out war," the statement went on. The stark warning comes after the United States and its allies started cracking down on an alleged North Korean trade in illicit drugs and weapons. The North's commentary, published in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper accused Washington of ``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.'' Hinting at the large U.S. military presence in Japan, the North warned that if war did erupt it would "not be limited to the Korean Peninsula but all the areas where aggressors are lurking." Japan, it said, was turning itself into the ``base camp for U.S. aggression against Korea.'' Shipping inspections
Japan has begun tightening inspections of ships carrying goods to and from North Korea, recently detaining at least one cargo ship and blocking another from docking. The move came after a North Korean defector told U.S. lawmakers last month that a North Korean ferry linking the two countries was used to smuggle missile parts The smuggling trade is thought to be one of the few sources of hard cash for the otherwise bankrupt North Korean leadership, as well as a key source of funds and parts for its ambitious military programs including efforts to build nuclear weapons. The U.S. has said that any form of policing of North Korea's exports would constitute an enforcement of existing laws and not represent the imposition of sanctions or an official blockade. Washington and Pyongyang have been involved in an escalating war of words over the North's nuclear program and what the North Korean government calls America's "hostile policy" towards the secretive communist state. Last week, after months of allegations, North Korea made what was seen as its first public confirmation that is possesses nuclear weapons and was willing to use them in response to threats posed by the United States. Whether or not such weapons do indeed exist and whether North Korea has the means of delivering them remains a mystery. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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