A top North Korean official has said expectations for talks with the United States over its nuclear weapons program "are fading away" after "offensive" remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"To avoid terrible regrets, the United States should not test our patience with offensive comments," the North's official Korean Central News Agency quoted Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui as saying Saturday in reference to remarks by Pompeo.

In a speech Tuesday apparently intended to highlight the challenges facing the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Pompeo had referred to North Korea's "rogue" behavior as negotiations on dismantling the country's nuclear weapons program have remained deadlocked.