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Third story down on Yomiuri on line is one that starts this way:

North Korean Missile Launch Foreshadowed,
U.S. SecState Warns

(New York, Hishinuma Takeo) At a news conference in New York on Sep. 23, Secretary of State Powell said with regard to indications of an impending launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea, “There are indications of activity, but it’s not certain where the missile is aimed.”

(snip)

(Yomiuri Shimbun) September 24, 2212

Ah, here's Nikkei Keizai Shimbun

North Korea Says, If US Starts Nuclear War, Tokyo Will Be Sea of Fire

North Korea’s Labor Party newspaper “The Labor Newspaper” said in an article published on the 23rd, “Japan is the most important base in the US’s military strategy with regard to North Korea and Asia. If the US starts a nuclear war, US military bases in Japan would become a huge time bomb threatening our survival, unavoidably becoming the lighted fuse that would turn Japan into a nuclear sea if fire.” This is posted on a web site operated by North Korea, Waga Minzoku Doushi. (Don’t search for it. That’s a transliteration of Chinese characters.)

On the eve of the Japan Korean working-level talks on abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea scheduled to open in Beijing on the 25th, it is possible that this “sea of fire” statement may have widening repercussions. However, as part of its strategy for clarifying what actually happened in the abductions, Japan is seen not to be backing down from its hard-line stance toward North Korea.

In March 1994, when the working-level talks between the North and the South on the North Korean nuclear issue broke down, the head of the North Korean delegation threatened, “If South Korea starts a war, we will turn Seoul into a sea of fire,” so this isn’t the first time they’ve said such a thing. (23:03)

Sorry for the quality of the translation. It's 2 in the morning here, and I just hammered it out any old how. Didn't even check official English names of Korean stuff.

On the eve of the Japan Korean working-level talks on abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea scheduled to open in Beijing on the 25th, it is possible that this “sea of fire” statement may have widening repercussions. However, as part of its strategy for clarifying what actually happened in the abductions, Japan is seen not to be backing down from its hard-line stance toward North Korea.

Ahh... Ok. Then this is just the standard negotiating strategy of N. Korea (and seems to be a widespread Asian strategy). "Talk softly and carry a big stick" isn't the way they approach negotiation.