North Korea has threatened to respond to the resumption of flying anti-North leaflets with military power.

The North's propaganda Web site Uriminzokkiri said Friday that Pyongyang's patience had run out and it already declared a "merciless barrage of fire" response to the leaflet campaign by North Korean defectors groups in South Korea.

The Web site particularly took issue with the circulation of DVDs of the U.S. comedic film "The Interview" about an assassination plot of the North Korean leader.

It called the circulation no different than a declaration of war and threatened those who provoked it must bear all responsibility for a dreadful situation possibly leading to an exchange of bullets and shells.

The North also accused the South Korean presidential office and the National Intelligence Service as the masterminds behind the DVD distribution, adding that it is out of the question that the Seoul government did not know about the leaflet plans.

Last weekend, activist Lee Min-bok flew balloons carrying one million leaflets and several thousand DVDs of the film across the inter-Korean border from Ganghwa Island. 

On Thursday, another North Korean defectors group attempted a balloon launch in Paju, Gyeonggi Province but was blocked by police.