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U.S. sees North Korea becoming direct threat
BEIJING | Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:25am GMT
BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea is becoming a direct threat to the United States and could develop an inter-continental ballistic missile within five years, the U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates said Tuesday following talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Gates told reporters he did not believe North Korea would amass large numbers of the missiles, saying it would be a limited capability.
"I think that North Korea will have developed an inter-continental ballistic missile within that time -- not that they will have huge numbers or anything like that," Gates told reporters.
"But they will have, I believe they will have a very limited capability."
Hu will visit the United States next week, when President Barack Obama is expected to press him to exert more pressure on North Korea, which has alarmed the region by shelling a South Korean island and revealing advances in its nuclear program.
China is North Korea's only major diplomatic and economic backer. Gates said it was "self-evident" that Obama and Hu would discuss North Korea.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Ron Popeski)
