SEOUL: The DPRK has warned fishermen and boat captains to stay away from the country's east coast, Japan's coast guard said yesterday, in another sign the country is planning to fire medium-range missiles in the area.

Pyongyang also threatened yesterday to retaliate with a "super hard-line" response if sanctions were imposed.

The DPRK'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-defense measures." The commentary carried by the official KCNA agency did not elaborate.