Pyongyang has threatened to turn Japan into a "sea of fire" in the event the United States wages a nuclear war against the North.

The Rodong Sinmun, the North Korean Workers' Party newspaper, said Thursday that if the United States ignites a nuclear war in the region, U.S. military bases in Japan would serve as a detonating fuse to turn Japan into a nuclear sea of fire.

The report, carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency, claimed that the danger of a nuclear war in Northeast Asia continues to increase as a result of Washington's push to realign its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Pyongyang's saber-rattling followed a report in Tokyo that North Korea's military appears to be preparing to test-fire a missile that can reach most parts of Japan.

Approximately 70,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan.