The White House made clear Tuesday that it would not overreact to North Korea's military threats, saying the rogue nation is "following a pattern" to escalate tensions.

"We do look at this as part of a pattern, and we respond in the way that we always have," press secretary Jay Carney said at a press briefing.

He was responding to North Korea's latest warning that its would put artillery and rocket forces on the highest level of combat posture against the U.S. and South Korea.

Carney reiterated that Pyongyang's belligerence is counter-productive.

"As we say consistently, the DPRK (North Korea) will achieve nothing by these threats or provocations, which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia," he added.

He urged Pyongyang to heed President Barack Obama's call for its leadership to "choose the path of peace and to come into compliance with its international obligations."

In the latest of weeks of strong verbal threats, the North Korean People's Army's Supreme Command said Tuesday (local time) it is taking measures to protect the communist nation's sovereignty.

"From this moment, the Supreme Command puts all of its field artillery including strategic rocket units and long-range artillery units into the No. 1 combat ready posture," it said in a statement carried by the nation's official news agency, KCNA.

They target the U.S. mainland, Hawaii and Guam and other U.S. military bases in the Pacific as well as South Korea, the statement added.

North Korea has been racheting up military threats since the U.N. Security Council introduced new sanctions against Pyongyang in early March for its nuclear test.

The North has also expressed anger over a couple of large-scale joint military drills between South Korea and the U.S., in which U.S. B-52 strategic bombers participated along with 13,500 American troops.

The Foal Eagle exercise, which began on March 1, is to last through April 30. The allies also staged drills called Key Resolve from March 11 to 21.

Earlier this week, South Korea and the U.S. also signed an updated combined plan to counter future provocations by North Korea. It was signed by Gen. Jung Seung-jo, chairman of the South Korean military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. James Thurman, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea.

The State Department echoed the White House's call for North Korea to refrain from any provocative acts.

"The U.S. is fully capable of defending itself and our allies against a DPRK attack, and we're firmly committed to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan," Patrick Ventrell, the department's deputy spokesman, said at a separate press briefing.

The Pentagon said it would not disregard any government's threats.

"We are concerned by any threat raised by the North Koreans. We take everything they say and everything they do very seriously.

They need to stop threatening peace -- that doesn't help anyone," Pentagon press secretary George Little told reporters. "We stand ready to respond to any contingency." (Yonhap News)