Gates jokes about North Korean missile test

[February 11, 2009]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates played down reports Tuesday that North Korea appears to be preparing to test-launch a long-range ballistic missile. He dismissed the North's last such test as a failure.

North Korea launched its most advanced rocket, the Taepodong-2, in 2006, but the missile plunged into the ocean shortly after liftoff.

"Since the first time that they launched the missile it flew for a few minutes before crashing, the range of the Taepodong-2 remains to be seen," Gates told reporters during a Pentagon news conference.

"So far, it's very short."

North Korea's reported preparation for another such test comes as Pyongyang ratchets up bellicose rhetoric aimed at the United States and North Korea's rival, South Korea. The outbursts are considered, in part, a bid for attention from the new Obama administration, which has been reviewing its options for dealing with Pyongyang's nuclear programs.

Gates would not discuss specific intelligence matters when asked about the possibility of another North Korean test launch. But, he said, "It would be nice if North Korea would focus on getting positive messages across to its negotiating partners about verification and moving forward with the denuclearization."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said earlier Tuesday that North Korea must understand that its neighbors see its behavior as "unacceptable."

Clinton told reporters at the State Department that the Obama administration intends to continue the Bush administration's policy of pushing North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons through six-nation nuclear talks. The talks currently are stalled, with the North refusing to agree to a process for verifying its nuclear programs. Clinton also mentioned possible engagement with the North through "other bilateral and multilateral forums."

Clinton travels next week to Asia, her first overseas trip as the top U.S. diplomat, and will meet with leaders in Japan, China, Indonesia and South Korea. North Korea will be a focus of her talks.

The United States, she said, is "hopeful" that North Korea's recent behavior is "not a precursor of any action that would up the ante or threaten the stability and peace and security of the neighbors in the region."

[Associated Press; By FOSTER KLUG]

AP Military Writer Anne Gearan contributed to this report.

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