Story highlights "We've already heard enough," North Korean officials told CNN of US President Donald Trump's comments

Trump's speech was absent the bellicose rhetoric he sometimes uses when discussing North Korea

Pyongyang, North Korea (CNN) North Korean officials were closely watching US President Donald Trump when he addressed the South Korean National Assembly Wednesday, but they say they weren't listening.

Though the American leader's tone was more subdued -- and he proposed what some perceived as a conditional olive branch -- officials in Pyongyang authorized to speak for the government told CNN when it comes to Trump, "we don't care about what that mad dog may utter because we've already heard enough."

Pyongyang accuses Trump and the United States of heightening tensions to a level not seen since the Korean War ended in an armistice in 1953. They say it's actions not words that matter, pointing to three US aircraft carriers and a submarine currently off the coast of the Korean Peninsula.

"The United States is threatening us with nuclear aircraft carriers and strategic bombers. They are challenging us with with the most vicious and demeaning provocations but we will counter those threats by bolstering the power of justice in order to take out the root cause of aggression and war," the officials said.

Trump did hint at a chance of diplomacy to resolve the standoff, but only if North Korea were to stop its provocative behavior, quit developing ballistic missiles, and agree to "complete, verifiable, and total" denuclearization. Most Korea-watchers believe that last item is a non-starter.

Read More