The United States has no indication that North Korea's nuclear capabilities have changed, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Tuesday.
"I'm not aware that that assessment has changed," Earnest told reporters on Tuesday, according to Reuters, when asked about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s threat that his country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile.
"If it has changed it's something that will come from the intelligence community," he added.
During a televised New Year's Day speech this past weekend, Kim said, "We are in the final stages of test-launching the intercontinental ballistic missile... Research and development of cutting edge arms equipment is actively progressing and ICBM rocket test launch preparation is in its last stage.”
On Sunday, a spokeswoman for the State Department warned North Korea against provocations.
The spokeswoman, Anna Richey-Allen called on Pyongyang "to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric that threaten international peace and stability, and to make the strategic choice to fulfil its international obligations and commitments and return to serious talks."
She urged "All states to use every available channel and means of influence to make clear to the DPRK and its enablers that launches using ballistic missile technology are unacceptable, and take steps to show there are consequences to the DPRK's unlawful conduct."
On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump responded to Kim’s threats by tweeting, “North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!”