U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to employees and families during a meet-and-greet at the United States Embassy in Panama City Panama City, Feb. 2. AP-Yonhap

North Korea on Monday condemned U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for calling Pyongyang a "rogue state" and vowed powerful counteraction in its first official criticism against the Trump administration.

A spokesperson at North Korea's foreign ministry issued the statement after Rubio said the United States has rogue states to deal with, such as Iran and North Korea, during his recent interview with U.S. journalist Megyn Kelly.

North Korea 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.

"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 spokesperson said, stressing that Rubio's remarks reaffirmed the U.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 and will be hostile to it in the future, too, but will take tough counteraction corresponding to it as usual," the official said.

DPRK is the acronym of the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

It marked North Korea's known first public criticism against the new U.S. administration since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last month.

Trump has expressed his intent to reengage with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, raising prospects that he may seek to revive summit diplomacy with Kim during his second term.

But North Korea has not responded to Trump's overture and instead has disclosed Kim's visit to a uranium enrichment facility while stressing the need to strengthen the country's "nuclear shield" against hostile countries.

South Korea's unification ministry said North Korea is now responding quickly to measures and remarks from the new Trump administration, following its pledge of the "toughest" response to the U.S. in a key party meeting at the end of last year.

"To be clear, the one that undermines international rules and threatens the peace of the international community is North Korea itself," ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam said, adding that South Korea, the U.S. and the international community share the goal of completely denuclearizing North Korea. (Yonhap)