U.S. says it will not stand by as N. Korea continues nuclear, missile tests

By Sam Kim
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Yonhap) -- The United States will not "stand idly by" as North
Korea continues to improve its missile and nuclear capabilities, its top defense
official said Saturday, calling such development "ultimately self-destructive."

"We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capabilities to wreak
destruction on any target in the region or on us," U.S. Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates said in a meeting of his counterparts from Asia.
His comments at the Asia Security Summit in Singapore came as North Korea appears
to be preparing to fire a long-range missile after conducting its second nuclear
test Monday.
The country went ahead with its first atomic test in October 2006, a few months
after it launched a Taepodong-2 missile theoretically capable of reaching the
western U.S.
"North Korea's leadership has chosen to focus the North's limited energy and
resources on a reckless and ultimately self-destructive quest for nuclear weapons
and inter-continental missiles," Gates said. "We will not bend to the pressure of
provocation."
"These programs have isolated North Korea globally and quite literally starved
its people," he said, affirming that the communist state will be punished for any
proliferation activity.
"The transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to states or
non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States and
our allies," he said. "We would hold North Korea fully accountable for the
consequences of such action."
samkim@yna.co.kr
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