N Korea bans ships from coastal waters

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A South Korean fishing boat, front, passes by a navy ship around western Yeonpyong Island, near the disputed sea border with North Korea, Sunday. — AP

SEOUL, June 8 (Agencies): North Korea has warned fishermen and boat captains to stay away from the country's east coast, Japan's coast guard said Monday, in another sign the regime is planning to fire medium-range missiles in the area.
Pyongyang also threatened Monday to retaliate with a "super hard-line" response if sanctions were imposed.
North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper said Pyongyang "has made clear many times that we will consider any sanction a declaration of war and will take due corresponding self-defence measures." The commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency did not elaborate.
The UN Security Council has been discussing imposing sanctions against the North in response to its recent nuclear test, while Washington considers introducing its own financial sanctions.
On Monday, Japan's coast guard said it picked up a North Korean radio signal banning ships from waters off Wonsan near the eastern coastal city of Anbyon from June 10-30. South Korean media have reported that the North is planning to fire several medium-range missiles from the eastern coastal town.
Pyongyang, meanwhile, handed down 12-year prison sentences to two US journalists, convicting them of unspecified hostility toward the country and illegally crossing the border. The reporters were arrested March 17 near the North's border with China while researching a story.
The verdict came as the US was trying to muster international support for cutting off North Korean shipments that may be carrying nuclear technology or other weapons, as part of punishing Pyongyang for its May 25 nuclear test and a barrage of missile launches.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in an interview broadcast Sunday that failing to take aggressive and effective action against the North could spark an arms race in northeast Asia.
She also said Washington is considering adding North Korea back to a list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Seoul's mass-circulation JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said Monday that there have been brisk movements of up to six vehicles mounted with mobile missile launchers at Anbyon over the past week.
Earlier South Korean media reports had speculated that a launch could come next week - around June 16 when the presidents of South Korea and the United States are scheduled to hold a summit in Washington.