In a statement, a spokesman for North Korea’s defence ministry accused the US of increasing nuclear threats, citing joint military drills with South Korea and sending a strategic nuclear submarine, the state-run KCNA report said.

The spokesman also criticised the US military’s Sept 28 strategy statement for its descriptions of China as the “pacing challenge” and Russia as an “acute threat”. North Korea said it was “political provocation” against independent sovereign states.

The US defence department’s unclassified version of its “2023 Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction” said “North Korea, Iran and violent extremist organisations remain persistent threats as they continue to further pursue and develop WMD capabilities”.

The North Korean military will counter the US military strategy with the “most overwhelming and sustained response strategy,” the spokesman said, citing an addition to the country’s law.

North Korea last week adopted a constitutional amendment to enshrine its policy on nuclear force as leader Kim Jong-un pledged to accelerate production of nuclear weapons to deter what he called US provocations, according to state media.