LEAD) U.S., S. Korea say patience running out on N. Korea

(ATTN: RECASTS lead, headline; RESTRUCTURES; TRIMS; ADDS details, background)
By Sam Kim
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States are "tired" of
warning North Korea and will respond sternly if the communist state makes an
armed provocation, their top defense officials said Saturday.

The comments by South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee and U.S. Secretary of
Defense Robert Gates came as North Korea appeared to be moving to test-fire a
long-range ballistic missile from its east coast.
The apparent preparations were reported less than a week after Pyongyang
conducted its second nuclear test on Monday, despite a slew of warnings from
around the world.
Lee, who met with Gates on Saturday on the sidelines of a security forum in
Singapore, said they agreed their patience with North Korean defiance is running
out.
"We agreed that we are tired of telling the same stories to North Korea, and that
there is nothing for North Korea to gain from its wrong behavior," he told South
Korean reporters.
North Korea, which conducted its first atomic test in October 2006, is
threatening war on the Korean Peninsula that remains divided after the 1950-53
Korean War ended in a truce.
It has warned against the safety of South Korean and U.S. vessels traveling near
the Yellow Sea border, declaring the armistice void.
Lee said the series of North Korean actions poses a "grave threat to regional and
international peace," vowing a tough response should the communist state provoke
a conflict.
"A strong response has been agreed on by the U.S. and South Korea against any
active military provocation," he said.
Government officials in Seoul believe North Korea is gearing up for the launch of
a missile theoretically capable of hitting Alaska and Hawaii.
On April 5, North Korea launched a rocket that it claims put a satellite into
orbit. The U.S. and its allies say nothing entered space, calling the launch a
test of ballistic missile technology.
North Korea is banned from such testing under a U.N. resolution adopted in 2006.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against
North Korea.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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