N Korea says may seek ‘new path’ of weapons build-up

Pyongyang on Tuesday warned that it could seek a “new path” and accelerate its weapons programme, after Washington imposed fresh sanctions on North Korean companies amid stalled nuclear talks.

North Korean representative Ju Yong Chol told the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva that his country’s efforts to improve relations with Washington had been met with hostility.

“Although the US is talking about the resumption of dialogue, it has no intention at all from the beginning to drop its hostile policy towards the DPRK (Democratic Republic of Korea),” he said.

He said DPRK will steadily develop strategic weapons until the US abandons its hostile policy.

North Korea declared in December an end to moratoriums on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, which had been a centrepiece of two years of diplomacy with US.