A senior North Korean diplomat has urged the US to take its hydrogen bomb threat "literally".
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho threatened to conduct the "strongest hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific Ocean" last month after President Donald Trump vowed during a speech at the United Nations to "totally destroy" the country if it attacked the US or its allies.
Now, a senior official from the North Korean Foreign Ministry has suggested that the US take its threats seriously because Mr Ri is in close contact with leader Kim Jong-un.
![President Donald Trump speaks at Fort Myer in Arlington Va. Photo / AP](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/ICOM5Y54VADOZYGVXRQ34GNH6M.jpg?auth=d35da021f6f0b050e813d58bbebe63acc381185c6362b19b6f5705b9ee99f7f0&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
"The Foreign Minister is very well aware of the intentions of our supreme leader, so I think you should take his words literally," Ri Yong-pil told CNN.