North Korea to suspend nuclear and missile tests

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Saturday it will suspend nuclear tests and missile tests and shut down its underground test site, boosting hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough with rival South Korea and the United States.

Although the announcement stopped well short of a complete freeze, Pyongyang said it had no need for further testing as it had completed its weapons program and would now focus instead on its economy.

"At the current stage, where our nation has risen to the status of a political and military powerhouse, focusing on building the economy based on socialism is the ... strategic party line," North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a statement carried by the official