DPRK 'to block border traffic'

SEOUL / BEIJING - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) threatened on Wednesday to block cross-border traffic and blow up any Republic of Korea (ROK) loudspeakers blasting propaganda northward after a six-year hiatus, as tensions soared over the sinking of an ROK warship.

The dramatic deterioration in relations came as US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Seoul at the end of a three-nation Asian tour that earlier took her to Japan and China.

Clinton on Wednesday voiced unequivocal support for the ROK in dealing with the sinking of the Cheonan, which Seoul claims was torpedoed by the DPRK, calling Pyongyang's "aggression unacceptable."