Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says that America’s threat to destroy North Korea should war break out is “a bloodthirsty tirade” and a big mistake.

Mr Lavrov made the comments while visiting Rome, where he criticised comments from US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley for saying that North Korea would be “utterly destroyed” if Pyongyang’s recent missile testing of a rocket that could potentially hit the US mainland provoked war.

“If someone really wants to use force to, as the US representative to the United Nations put it, destroy North Korea ... then I think that is playing with fire and a big mistake,” Mr Lavrov said, according to Russian news agencies.

He continued to say that Ms Haley’s speech to the UN Security Council meeting was “a really bloodthirsty tirade”.

“We will do everything to ensure that [the use of force] doesn’t happen so that the problem is decided only using peaceful and political-diplomatic means,” Mr Lavrov said.

North Korea tested a missile this week that experts believe showed that the rogue regime could launch an attack that reaches the US mainland, raising concerns that the country may soon be able to attach a miniaturised nuclear weapon to one of those missiles. It wasn’t immediately clear if North Korea’s most recent missile test actually showed that Pyongyang could deliver such a payload, as it wasn’t clear what was on the missile, but experts said it showed they were on their way.

North Korea announces test of new long-range missile

The US, Russia, South Korea, and Japan were all quick to condemn those tests. But, while Russia called it a “provocation”, Mr Lavrov has said that the way the US is handling North Korea -- which includes planned joint military exercises with South Korea in December -- is dangerously provocative.

North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Show all 13 1 /13 North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Pyongyang residents react after the news of the successful launch of the new intercontinental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Images North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un signing an order to test-fire the newly developed inter-continental ballistic missile KRT via AP Video North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch A news broadcast displays Kim Jong Un's signed document AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch People cheer as they watch the news broadcast announcing Kim Jong Un's order to test-fire the new inter-continental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Images North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Residents react after the document signing AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Pyongyang residents celebrate Kim Jong Un's announcement AFP/Getty North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Cheering Pyongyang residents react AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch To counter North Korea's missile test, South Korea fired missiles into the East Sea The Defence Ministry/Yonhap via REUTERS North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch The Hyunmu-2 missiles firing during the drill South Korean Defense Ministry vi North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch The exercise was carried out in an attempt to counter Kim Jong Un's order South Korea Defense Ministry via AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch The South Korean army continue to carry out military exercises AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Where K-9 self-propelled howitzers were taking part in a drill Rex Features North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch US soldiers are also present in the border city of Paju AFP/Getty Images

“The latest US actions look designed to deliberatively provoke Pyongyang into taking new extreme action,” Mr Lavrov said earlier this week.