Vowing to "sweep away" the Japanese islands, North Korea called the Abe administration's actions a provocation.

It was the North's first rally against Japan in six years after a 2001 protest against a raid by Tokyo on the headquarters of the Chongryon.

Violent expressions against Japan dominated the rally, such as "Clubbing is best for a mad dog," and "We will shatter Japan into pieces."

This is not the first time North Korea denounced Japan for the auction of the Chongryon headquarters. Pyongyang started criticizing Tokyo when Japan froze the sale of the Chongryon headquarters and its land on June 26.

The Chongryon, once a major source of foreign currency for North Korea, is on the verge of insolvency as it has failed to repay 62.7 billion yen to a creditor, the Resolution and Collection Corp., which is a debt collection firm affiliated with the Japanese government.

The North looks like it may move to link the Chongryon issue with the six-way nuclear talks. The Chosun Shinbo, a Chongryon publication, said that even if the six-way talks reopen, participants would not make progress and conflict could break out instead.

(englishnews@chosun.com )