KARACHI, Pakistan

North Korea slammed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for branding the country a "rogue state" and vowed to take "tough counteraction" against any provocation from Washington, state media reported Monday.

In a first official criticism of the Trump administration, Pyongyang condemned Rubio's remarks for tarnishing the image of a sovereign state, calling them a "grave political provocation," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

A spokesperson for North Korea's Foreign Ministry issued the statement after Rubio, in a recent interview, said the US has rogue states to deal with such as Iran and North Korea.

"It is necessary to mention how absurd and illogical it is that the most depraved state in the world brands another country a rogue state," the statement said.

It added that Rubio's remarks reaffirmed that the US’s hostile policy toward the North remains unchanged.

"We will never tolerate any provocation of the U.S., which has been always hostile to the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and will be hostile to it in the future too, but will take tough counteraction corresponding to it as usual," the spokesperson said.

Trump has expressed his intention to re-engage with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Pyongyang, however, has not responded.