North Korea's deputy foreign minister has warned that the way the US will behave will determine the "Christmas gift" they receive by the end of the year.

"The call for more US talks is a stupid trick to tie North Korea to the negotiation process and take advantage of this in the US political and election situation. Things to do now. depended on the United States and they will decide for themselves what Christmas gifts they will receive, "North Korea's state news agency KCNA quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Ri Thae Song today.

Deputy Minister Ri mentioned the "year-end deadline" introduced by Kim Jong-un in April, which requires the US to lift sanctions that hinder the North's economy ahead of schedule.

"North Korea, for its part, has persevered so hard not to reverse the important steps in its own initiative," Ri wrote. "The rest is American choice and it is entirely up to them to choose what their Christmas presents are."

Pyongyang has repeatedly warned against wanting to continue engaging in useless negotiations with Washington, and threatened if the Trump administration did not change its "hostile" approach, it would take counter measures. This has raised concerns that North Korea may continue to test long-range and nuclear missiles later this year or early next year, after a long delay.

The US-North Korean denuclearization process has stalled since a working-level negotiation in Stockholm, Sweden in October, in which both sides still disagreed over the size of denuclearization. as well as the benefits US can give to North Korea.

North Korea has recently increased tensions on the peninsula with successive tests of short-range missiles, super-large rocket fireplanes and tough statements warning the US and South Korea. The end of the year is a "deadline" for Washington to make a proposal that Pyongyang can accept.