In response to remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korea warned late Wednesday that if the United States takes any military action against the regime of leader Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang will take "prompt corresponding actions at any level."

Nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and the North have effectively been deadlocked since working-level talks in early October ended with Pyongyang's top negotiator, Kim Myong Gil, saying they had been broken off due to Washington's "failure to abandon its outdated viewpoint and attitude."

Since then, senior North Korean officials have repeatedly criticized the U.S. over its position in the talks, seeking to carve out new concessions from the Trump administration ahead of a year-end deadline set by Kim for progress in the talks.