Japan warned on Sunday that it would consider "all options" against North Korea, including sanctions on oil and food sales, if the reclusive communist country goes ahead with a test launch of a long-range missile.

The US, Japan and other countries have been weighing options to try to head off any launch of a missile believed capable of hitting Japan and parts of the United States. Both the US and Japan have made clear that sanctions are an option if North Korea refuses to cooperate.

Graphic on North Korea's Taepodong-2 missile which, reports indicate, the government is preparing to test-fire, plus information on the missile's range. [AP]

The North, meanwhile, renewed its commitment to what it called an "anti-US campaign for protection of peace" in a newspaper commentary published Sunday, marking the anniversary of the 1950 start of the Korean War, which ended in a 1953 cease-fire.

"If the US imperialists set another fire of war ... our army and people will finally settle our battle with the US by mercilessly crushing and sweeping out the aggressors," the North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

The government in Pyongyang has given no hint whether it will fire a missile, said Jane Coombs, New Zealand's ambassador to the Koreas, who met with top North Korean officials.

"They did not confirm that such a test was imminent ... nor did they deny that such a test was" imminent, Coombs said Saturday in Beijing after a four-day trip to Pyongyang.

US, Japanese and South Korean officials have said there is cause for grave concern. Intelligence reports say fuel tanks have been seen around a missile at the North's launch site on its northeastern coast, but officials say it's difficult to determine if the rocket is actually being fueled by looking at satellite photos.

"All options are on the table," Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Sunday on public broadcaster NHK, referring to what Japan would do if there were a launch. "I believe public opinion would condone sanctions, even on oil or food."

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