The U.S. State Department said that North Korea should understand that the only viable path forward is through diplomacy in a response to a report by the regime’s state media on the constitutional revision enshrining its policy on nuclear force.

In a press briefing Thursday, department spokesperson Matthew Miller was asked about whether the U.S. will pursue additional action in the wake of the latest change.

Miller said North Korea's unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs constitute a threat to international peace and security and the global nonproliferation regime, and reiterated that Pyongyang should recognize that diplomacy is the only viable way forward. 

Noting that the U.S. has underscored that point on numerous occasions only to be rebuffed, he said that Washington will continue to consult closely with Seoul, Tokyo and other allies and partners on engagement strategies, deterrence and international responses to multiple violations of UN Security Council resolutions.

According to the regime’s Korean Central News Agency on Thursday, the Supreme People’s Assembly held a meeting Tuesday and Wednesday and unanimously adopted a constitutional revision stipulating more advanced development of nuclear weapons to ensure its rights to existence and deter war.

The amendment comes a year after the regime enacted a new law allowing the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.