US 'prefers talks' over N Korea

Stephen Bosworth said North Korea had spurned advances

The US envoy to North Korea has said Washington is addressing a growing threat from Pyongyang but still hopes for a diplomatic solution.

Stephen Bosworth told a Senate hearing that the Obama administration's strong preference was to engage in "serious, effective diplomacy".

The UN Security Council agreed a draft resolution to expand sanctions against North Korea on Wednesday.

It was responding to Pyongyang's recent nuclear and missile testing.

"The United States and our allies and partners in the region will need to take the necessary steps to assure our security in the face of this growing threat," Mr Bosworth said on Thursday.

"In the interest of all concerned, we very much hope that North Korea will choose the path of diplomacy rather than confrontation."

The US envoy said that North Korea had so far spurned diplomatic advances, but that Washington was willing to resume negotiations at any stage.

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"There is no evidence [the North Koreans] are prepared to do that now but I believe they will eventually come back to the table," he said.

The draft UN resolution agreed this week calls on all member states to carry out inspections of North Korean ships that may be carrying equipment related to weapons of mass destruction.

It also reasserts a UN ban on North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile tests and calls on Pyongyang to retract its decision to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

In recent weeks, North Korea has fired a long-range and several short-range missiles, and tested a nuclear device in defiance of the UN Security Council.

On Tuesday, North Korea said it would use nuclear weapons in a "merciless offensive" if provoked.