US Defence Secretary campaigns for " real sanctions that bring real pain" to N Korea

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/05/30/north-korea-nuclear.html

[UNITED STATES DEFENCE SECRETARY ROBERT]GATES said the North's nuclear program does not "at this point" represent a direct military threat to the United States and he does not plan a buildup of American troops in the region. But the North's efforts pose the potential for an arms race in Asia that could spread beyond the region, he said.

He did not give specifics on how the U.S. might respond to North Korea, but called for tougher sanctions on the reclusive communist regime.

Call for sanctions causing 'real pain'

"For there to be a peaceful solution requires multilateral efforts and a willingness to impose real sanctions that bring real pain," he said.

"The policy of the United States has not changed. Our goal is complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and we will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state," Gates said.

U.S. satellite photos have revealed vehicle activity at two sites in North Korea, suggesting the regime may be preparing to launch a long-range rocket, U.S. defence officials told Agence France-Presse...