DPRK vows to pump up nuclear weapons

US suggests move to bolster Kim's son as his successor

BEIJING - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) vowed on Monday to strengthen its nuclear weaponry as the world intensified pressure on Pyongyang over the sinking of a warship.

Recent developments underscore the need for the DPRK "to bolster its nuclear deterrent in a newly developed way" to cope with persistent US hostility and its military threat, a DPRK foreign ministry spokesman was quoted by its official KCNA news agency.