N Korea to resume talks, says US

Washington also played down the significance of Pyongyang’s public claim that it has nuclear weapons.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the US remained "committed to a peaceful diplomatic solution".

Pyongyang has said it is quitting talks indefinitely, declaring them pointless because of "hostile" US policy.

Deputy state department spokesman Adam Ereli said the US had long assumed that North Korea had a nuclear capability, and stressed the importance of the six-party talks.

However, he ruled out offering North Korea new incentives to return to the negotiations.