SINGAPORE -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates raised the idea of a tougher approach toward North Korea's recent nuclear test in meetings here with Asian allies on Saturday, including the prospect of building up United States military forces in the region should six-nation diplomatic talks with North Korea fail, American defense officials said.
Mr. Gates raised "the notion that we should think about this as we are pursuing the six-party talks," said a senior defense official who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. "We ought to think about what more we need to do should they not prove successful."
| That's a thought we should have been having all along ... |
But another defense official cautioned that talk of any military buildup was premature and that it was merely a "prudent option" in terms of "what should we be thinking about in the event that we need to start enhancing our posture, our defenses?" On Friday Mr. Gates said that the United States had no plans to reinforce some 28,000 American troops based in South Korea.
| We don't need more ground troops in the ROK. We need to get inside the Nork decision loop. We need to start turning that country against its leaders. That means propaganda, sowing dissent, perhaps quiet contact with a general who might be persuaded to slip something into Kimmie's cognac, or who might be willing to set up a breakaway region. We need to support the Nork people by breaking down the information wall. We need to push the Nork leadership; cut off their money, scare off their potential customers and make them even more pariahs than they are now. None of that requires more troops. |
Mr. Gates, who warned North Korea in a speech here early Saturday that the United States would not tolerate it becoming a nuclear-armed nation, ...
| ... though so far we have ... |
... met throughout the day at the conference, called the Shangri-La Dialogue, with defense officials from China, South Korea, Japan and other Asian nations to begin pulling together a consensus on how to proceed. James B. Steinberg, the deputy secretary of State, attended a number of meetings, as did Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence.
| Any new policy that involves China is doomed to failure. We don't need China in our response, and our response would be better if we considered China part of the problem rather than part of the solution. To the extent that China supports the Norks, we need them to curb their dog. |
There was widespread acknowledgement that sanctions against North Korea had to be strengthened because of its nuclear test on Monday and subsequent firings of short-range missiles. There was also general agreement that the long-running six-nation talks aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear program had so far failed.
But by Sunday morning, Asian defense officials had not endorsed a specific course of action. "There's no prescription yet on what to do," said one of the senior American defense officials.
| Because they don't know. Honestly, how long have you guys had to consider alternatives? Did you really think the Norks were going to honor the previous accords? Isn't there any contingency planning at all? |
Late in the day on Saturday, Mr. Gates had a meeting focused on North Korea with the defense ministers of South Korea and Japan, a precursor to more detailed discussions to occur next week about North Korea's nuclear test. Mr. Steinberg is to lead the American team at those meetings; the group will include Stuart Levey, the Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, an indication that economic measures will be a significant part of the discussions.
Mr. Gates met on Saturday with the highest-ranking Chinese official at the conference, Lt. Gen. Ma Xiaotian, the deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army. American defense officials said after the meeting that China, which has been reluctant to take tough action against North Korea, clearly viewed the nuclear test seriously.
| That's what they're saying in English ... |
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