North Korea says US and Japan 'bringing the raging wind of war'

Reclusive state warns maritime blockade by US will be an considered act of war

Kim Jong-un has China’s backing in denouncing the US-led maritime blockade (AP) (AP)

North Korea has accused the US and Japan of bringing “the raging wind of war” to the peninsula, while warning the Trump administration over any maritime blockade of the country.

State media also said Pyongyang would regard any maritime blockade by the United States as an act of war.

Quoting a government source, a report said: “The US and Japanese reactionaries must not act recklessly, keeping in mind that if they dare to provoke the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] ... with a wrong view of the changed world, they will only put their security and existence in jeopardy”.

It added the statement was issued “as the US and Japan are going to extreme lengths to bring the raging wind of war to the Korean peninsula.”

On Friday, Washington announced its largest package of sanctions aimed at pressuring North Korea into giving up its nuclear and missile programmes.

Donald Trump warned of a “phase two” which could be “very, very unfortunate for the world” if the steps did not work.

The US Treasury Department sanctioned one person, 27 companies and 28 ships.

The sanctions’ targets include a Taiwan passport-holder, as well as shipping and energy firms in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. The actions block assets held by the firms and individuals in the US and prohibit US citizens from dealing with them.

North Korea accused the US of trying to undermine an improvement in inter-Korean relations.

“Thanks to our supreme leadership’s noble love for the nation and strong determination for peace, long-awaited inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation have been realised and the Olympics took place successfully by the inter-Korean collaboration,” the North’s KCNA news agency said, citing North Korea’s ministry of foreign affairs.

“On the eve of closing of the Olympics, United States is running amok to bring another dark cloud of confrontation and war over the Korean peninsula by announcing enormous sanctions against the DPRK,” the state news agency added.

China also reacted angrily to the new US measures, saying the unilateral targeting of Chinese firms and people risked harming cooperation on North Korea.

Despite the bellicose remarks, members of a high-level North Korean delegation visiting South Korea for the closing ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics said the North was open to talks with the US, the South’s presidential office said.

In a meeting with South Korea’s President, Moon Jae-in, in an undisclosed location in Pyeongchang, the North’s delegation also said developments in relations between the two Koreas and those between North Korea and the US should go hand in hand, the Blue House – the South’s presidential residence – said in a statement.

Additional reporting by agencies