Story highlights The US responded to a threat in North Korean media

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Washington (CNN) With tensions rising between the US and North Korea, the Pentagon on Sunday called for the isolated communist nation to avoid destabilizing the situation further.

"We call on (North Korea) to refrain from provocative, destabilizing actions and rhetoric, and to make the strategic choice to fulfill its international obligations and commitments and return to serious talks," Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross said. "North Korea's unlawful weapons programs represent a clear, grave threat to US national security."

The statement came just hours after a North Korean newspaper said Pyongyang was ready to take out a US aircraft carrier conducting drills with Japanese destroyers near the Philippines.

Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North Korean government's Central Committee, said in an editorial the country is ready to illustrate its "military force" by sinking the "nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with a single strike."

The newspaper claimed Pyongyang has weaponry that "can reach continental US and Asia Pacific region" and the "absolute weapon," a hydrogen bomb.

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