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 Gates 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 Korea 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.
The Pentagon chief also noted that South Korea's tolerance for the North's behavior has "worn thin."
He said it's time for Pyongyang to demonstrate specific ways it is ready to re-engage with its neighbors, such as moratoriums on missile testing and nuclear testing.
Gates said China has played a helpful role in lessening tensions, and said North Korea will be a significant topic when President Barack Obama meets with Hu in Washington next week.
Obama is expected to press Hu 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 travels to South Korea and Japan after China, two other countries which are involved in stalled talks aimed at getting Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions.
