N. Korea gets tough warning from U.S.

SINGAPORE — Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned North Korea today that the United States would not accept it as a nuclear-weapons state and would consider any transfer of nuclear material to other countries or terrorist groups a "grave threat" to the United States and its allies.

Gates said any step the communist nation takes to spread nuclear technology would invite the swiftest and most forceful U.S. response.

He did not specify the potential consequences, but his language hinted at a military reaction by echoing post-Sept. 11 Bush administration warnings that those who harbor terrorists would be "held accountable." Those warnings were followed by a U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

"We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in Asia — or on us," Gates told a major security conference in Singapore that has been dominated by North Korea's test this week of a suspected nuclear device and the firing of at least six short-range missiles, all in defiance of international sanctions. North Korea test-fired another missile Friday, according to a South Korean defense official.

North Korea, Gates said, had a choice: "To continue as a destitute, international pariah, or chart a new course."

Gates, speaking for the first time at the annual conference as an emissary of President Obama rather than of his former commander in chief, President George W. Bush, said the new administration had limited patience with North Korea's bellicose words and behavior.

"President Obama has offered an open hand to tyrannies that unclench their fists," Gates said. "He is hopeful, but he is not naive. Likewise, the United States and our allies are open to dialogue, but we will not bend to pressure or provocation."

Gates' speech also may serve as a message to countries and militant groups that are potential buyers of North Korean weaponry. Past customers are believed to include Iran, Syria, Libya, the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah and others.

Military officials traveling with Gates said the tough talk was aimed at increasing worldwide pressure on North Korea and at reassuring allies in the region, particularly Japan and South Korea, that the United States was committed to their defense should North Korea make good on talk of war this week. On Wednesday, North Korea threatened military strikes against the South.

The officials acknowledged that the U.S. had only limited information about what was really happening inside North Korea, and suspected its ailing and reclusive leader, Kim Jong Il, was in the midst of political maneuvers to make his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, his successor. The officials described the country's leadership as unpredictable and bizarre.

At the United Nations, meanwhile, officials continued to negotiate a draft resolution calling for the enforcement of widely ignored sanctions imposed after North Korea's 2006 nuclear test. The sanctions include further limits on shipments of weapons and luxury goods.

International nonproliferation officials said atmospheric tests may be completed next week to determine if Monday's blast was a nuclear test, as suspected.

Material from the Los Angeles Times is included in this report.