North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho has described U.S. President Donald Trump speech to the UN as “the sound of a barking dog” following a frosty relationship between his country and the United States (U.S.).
The crisis in the Korea Peninsula has been a major source of their soured relationship.
Speaking to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Trump said he would “totally destroy” North Korea if it posed a threat to the U.S. or its allies.
Yong-ho’s comments were North Korea’s first official response to the speech.
The North has continued to develop its nuclear and weapons programmes, in defiance of a UN ban.
Yong-ho told reporters near the UN headquarters in New York: “There is a saying that goes: ‘Even when dogs bark, the parade goes on’.”
“If (Trump) was thinking about surprising us with the sound of a barking dog then he is clearly dreaming.”
Speaking about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Mr Trump had told the UN: “Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime.”
When asked what he thought of Trump calling Kim “rocket man”, Yong-ho responded: “I feel sorry for his aides.”
Yong-ho is set to make a speech to the UN on Friday.
Separately, on Thursday South Korea said it would send fresh humanitarian aid to the North for the first time in nearly two years.
The unification ministry in Seoul plans to provide $8m (£6m) through UN programmes aimed at children, pregnant women and improving medical supplies.
The decision comes days after the UN approved new sanctions against Pyongyang, restricting oil imports and banning textile exports, an attempt to starve the North of fuel and income for its weapons programmes.
The UN sanctions came in response to the North’s latest nuclear test on September 3.
Experts say North Korea has made surprisingly quick progress in its development of long-range missiles and nuclear weapons.
