North Korea has blasted a new U.S. strategy on countering weapons of mass destruction(WMD) for describing the reclusive regime as a “persistent threat.”

In a statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Pyongyang’s defense ministry denounced the description as another grave military and political provocation against the regime.

The statement said that the term “persistent threat” is most suitable for the United States, the world’s largest possessor of WMDs, which has escalated its nuclear threats against the North since the last century.

The U.S. Department of Defense's recently released "2023 Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction" said North Korea, Iran and violent extremist organizations remain persistent threats as they continue to further pursue and develop WMD capabilities.

The defense ministry spokesperson said that Washington’s reckless act of deploying a strategic nuclear submarine to the Korean Peninsula equipped with a nuclear warhead sufficient to devastate a country is the most serious WMD threat.

The statement then warned that the North Korean military will counter the U.S. military strategy with the most overwhelming and sustained response strategy.