Pyongyang (CNN) A senior North Korean official has issued a stern warning to the world that it should take "literally" his country's threat to test a nuclear weapon above ground.

The official, Ri Yong Pil, told CNN in an exclusive conversation in Pyongyang that the threat made by North Korea's foreign minister last month should not be dismissed. North Korea "has always brought its words into action," Ri said, visibly angry.

Speaking on a visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly last month, Ri Yong Ho, the foreign minister, raised the possibility that North Korea could test a powerful hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean. The threat came hours after US President Donald Trump threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea in a speech to the UN.

"The foreign minister is very well aware of the intentions of our supreme leader, so I think you should take his words literally," Ri told CNN in Pyongyang.

North Korea carried out the strongest of its six-ever nuclear tests in early September, claiming to have used a hydrogen bomb.

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