S. Korea, U.S., Japan pledge joint action against N. Korea

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout)
By Sam Kim
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Yonhap) -- The defense ministers of South Korea, the United
States and Japan pledged Saturday to press North Korea until the communist state
understands it will not be rewarded for its provocation.
The talks between the defense heads of the three countries took place on the
sidelines of a security forum in Singapore, less than a week after Pyongyang
conducted its second atomic test.
The meeting, the first of its kind, also coincided with apparent preparations by
North Korea to test-launch a long-range ballistic missile on its east coast.
"The talks could not have come at a better time," South Korean Defense Minister
Lee Sang-hee told reporters after his meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates and Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada.
"North Korea may have mistakenly believed that it could perhaps be rewarded. But
that is no longer the case." Lee said. "We must make North Korea clearly
recognize it will not be awarded for its wrong behavior."
Gates stressed the significance of cooperation between the three countries to
address the threat posed by North Korea, which has fired a series of short-range
missiles since the nuclear test Monday.
"Of course, the bulk of our conversation focused on North Korea," said Gates, who
said earlier Saturday that his country would hold North Korea "fully accountable"
for the consequences if North Korea proliferates its nuclear and weapons
technology.
"It is important for the Republic of Korea, Japan and the United States to work
together, along with others, to combat this problem multilaterally," he said. "My
sense, being here this weekend, is that there's a commitment to do just that."
samkim@yna.co.kr
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