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North Korean flagReuters

Senior North Korean official Ri Yong Pil on Wednesday warned the U.S. to take Pyongyang's threat of setting off a hydrogen bomb "literally".

In an interview with CNN, Ri said that the threat made by North Korea's foreign minister last month should not be dismissed.

North Korea "has always brought its words into action," Ri stressed.

His was referring to comments made last month by North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho during a visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. At the time, the foreign minister raised the possibility that North Korea could test a powerful hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.

The threat came hours after President Donald Trump threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea in a speech to the UN.

"The foreign minister is very well aware of the intentions of our supreme leader, so I think you should take his words literally," Ri told CNN in Pyongyang.

The interview comes amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, over North Korea's repeated nuclear and missile tests.

North Korea carried out the strongest of its six-ever nuclear tests in early September, claiming to have used a hydrogen bomb.

The UN responded to the test by imposing fresh sanctions on the rogue state.

North Korea's continued threats have put its neighbors in the Pacific on high alert. In September, Pyongyang flew a ballistic missile over Japan. When North Korea it carried out its sixth nuclear test, it claimed to have detonated a hydrogen bomb that could fit atop a ballistic missile.

During the back-and-forth barbs with Washington, Pyongyang at one point threatened to fire missiles into the waters off the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

In the interview with CNN, Ri also implied that diplomatic channels between the U.S. and North Korea were nonexistent, despite Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reiterating that they are still open.

"The U.S. is talking about a military option and even practicing military moves. They're pressuring us on all fronts with sanctions. If you think this will lead to diplomacy, you're deeply mistaken," Ri stressed.

His remarks come after Trump said on Sunday that the U.S. was "prepared for anything" when it came to the North Korea nuclear crisis.

"We're so prepared like you wouldn't believe," Trump told Fox News, adding, "You would be shocked to see how totally prepared we are if we need to be.”

Trump recently met with his national security team to discuss what was described as "a range of options" on North Korea in response to its increasing nuclear ambitions.

Trump will be in South Korea during his trip to Asia next month but will most likely forgo a visit to the heavily fortified border with between North Korea, a senior White House official told CNN.