North Korea warns of retaliation against any effort to intercept rocket

Seoul: North Korea's military has threatened immediate retaliation if "even the slightest effort" is made to intercept a rocket that it plans to launch in the next few days.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency quoted its military as specifically mentioning Japan, the United States and South Korea, threatening a "thunderbolt of fire" if Japan takes any action against what Pyongyang claims is a launch to put a communications satellite into orbit.

The Thursday statement told the United States to withdraw its armed forces in what appeared to be a reference to US warships that have reportedly set sail to monitor the launch from international waters.