North Korea has threatened to conduct a hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific sparking fears World War 3 could break out as Kim Jon-un builds up his nuclear arsenal.
The Trump staffer said although the administration recognises “a certain amount of bluster” coming from Pyongyang, the US was taking the threat seriously.
Speaking anonymously, the senior official told Reuters: “It would be a game changer in some sense, but I don’t think we should give too much credence to it at the moment.
“There’s a certain amount of bluster that’s taken for granted when you’re dealing with North Korea.
“We have to some extent take it seriously.”
The slanging match between Donald Trump and Kin Jong-un went up another notch after the US President promised to “totally destroy” North Korea if it tried to attack the states.
His fiery address to the UN General Assembly drew an unprecedented response from the despotic Kim, who delivered a personal address to his arch nemesis.
Kim warned: “I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire.“
Hours later North Korea’s foreign minister Ri Yong Ho was asked by reporters in New York to elaborate on the threat.
Ri said: “This could probably mean the strongest hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific Ocean.
“Regarding which measures to take, I don’t really know since it is what Kim Jong Un does.”
Asked about the North Korean hydrogen bomb threat, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told ABC iplomatic efforts will continue but all military options are still on the table.
He said the Trump administration was “quite challenged” by the escalating rhetoric, but hoped increased sanctions and “voices from every corner of the world” would help lead Kim to talks.
Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on September 3 and has launched dozens of missiles this year as it accelerates a programme aimed at enabling it to target the US with a nuclear-tipped missile.