North Korea vows to bolster nuclear arsenal, citing 'hostile' US policies

Seoul: North Korea has vowed to bolster its nuclear arsenal, blaming Washington for what it calls a "hostile" policy, even as a special envoy for President Barack Obama travelled to the region in a bid to draw Pyongyang back to nuclear negotiations.

Envoy Stephen Bosworth, in Beijing before heading on Friday to South Korea, said Washington is ready and willing to talk directly with Pyongyang.

But North Korea dismissed the Obama administration's stance as "unchanged" from a previous policy of hostility toward Pyongyang.

The North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by state media: "Nothing would be expected from the US, which remains unchanged in its hostility toward its dialogue partner."

It said the North "will bolster its nuclear deterrent as it has already clarified."