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01-11-2011, 03:56 PM
BEIJING — North Korea will pose a direct threat to the United States within five years if the communist dictatorship isn't reined in, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert <nobr id="itxt_nobr_0_0" style="color: darkgreen; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif;">Gateshttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_11pxw.gif</nobr> (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41016040/ns/world_news-asia-pacific/#) said Tuesday.
Gates cited the North's development of intercontinental ballistic missiles and its efforts to expand its nuclear weapons capability during a press conference in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Gates told reporters that he did not believe North <nobr id="itxt_nobr_2_0" style="color: darkgreen; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif;">Koreahttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_11pxw.gif</nobr> (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41016040/ns/world_news-asia-pacific/#) would amass large numbers of the missiles, saying it would be a limited capability.
"I think that North Korea will have developed an intercontinental ballistic missile within that time — not that they will have huge numbers or anything like that," Gates told reporters.
North Korea has more than 800 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 missiles of various ranges. It has sold missiles and technology overseas, with Iran a top buyer.
Pyongyang's arsenal includes intermediate-range missiles that can hit targets at up to 1,860 miles away, the Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean official as saying last year. Those missiles could hit all of Japan and put U.S. military bases in Guam at risk.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41016040/ns/world_news-asia-pacific/
Gates cited the North's development of intercontinental ballistic missiles and its efforts to expand its nuclear weapons capability during a press conference in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Gates told reporters that he did not believe North <nobr id="itxt_nobr_2_0" style="color: darkgreen; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif;">Koreahttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_11pxw.gif</nobr> (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41016040/ns/world_news-asia-pacific/#) would amass large numbers of the missiles, saying it would be a limited capability.
"I think that North Korea will have developed an intercontinental ballistic missile within that time — not that they will have huge numbers or anything like that," Gates told reporters.
North Korea has more than 800 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 missiles of various ranges. It has sold missiles and technology overseas, with Iran a top buyer.
Pyongyang's arsenal includes intermediate-range missiles that can hit targets at up to 1,860 miles away, the Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean official as saying last year. Those missiles could hit all of Japan and put U.S. military bases in Guam at risk.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41016040/ns/world_news-asia-pacific/