This undated picture, released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on October 21, 2009 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il inspecting the newly-built apartment houses in Mansudae Street in Pyongyang. The United States will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea, Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned on October 21, saying its atomic and missile programmes pose a 'lethal and destabilising' threat. Getty Images logo Getty Images 1 month ago

This undated picture, released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on October 21, 2009 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il inspecting the newly-built apartment houses in Mansudae Street in Pyongyang. The United States will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea, Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned on October 21, saying its atomic and missile programmes pose a 'lethal and destabilising' threat.

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  1. South Korean conservative activists burn a North Korean flag and a portrait of its leader Kim Jong-Il during a rally in Seoul on November 11, 2009 denouncing a sea clash between South and North Korean navy boats in the Yellow Sea the day before. South Korea's military was on alert for any retaliatory moves after the clash, and Washington warned Pyongyang against escalating tensions.
  2. South Korean conservative activists burn a portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il (L) during a rally in Seoul on November 11, 2009 denouncing a sea clash between South and North Korean navy boats in the Yellow Sea the day befor. South Korea's military was on alert for any retaliatory moves after the clash, and Washington warned Pyongyang against escalating tensions.
  3. This undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on October 25, 2009 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Il inspecting the newly-built Mt. Myohyang Recreation Ground in North Pyongan province. Senior US and North Korean envoys held rare face-to-face talks in New York on October 24, 2009, boosting hopes of progress in stalled six-party nuclear talks and paving the way toward increased bilateral engagement.
  4. This undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on October 25, 2009 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Il inspecting the Huichon Silk Mill in Noth Korea's Jagang province. Senior US and North Korean envoys held rare face-to-face talks in New York on October 24, 2009, boosting hopes of progress in stalled six-party nuclear talks and paving the way toward increased bilateral engagement.
  5. This undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on October 25, 2009 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Il inspecting the Youth Electric Complex at Huichon city in Noth Korea's Jagang province. Senior US and North Korean envoys held rare face-to-face talks in New York on October 24, 2009, boosting hopes of progress in stalled six-party nuclear talks and paving the way toward increased bilateral engagement.
  6. This undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on October 25, 2009 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Il posing with staff of the Youth Electric Complex at Huichon city in Noth Korea's Jagang province. Senior US and North Korean envoys held rare face-to-face talks in New York on October 24, 2009, boosting hopes of progress in stalled six-party nuclear talks and paving the way toward increased bilateral engagement.
  7. This undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on October 25, 2009 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Il inspecting the Huichon University of Technology in Noth Korea's Jagang province. Senior US and North Korean envoys held rare face-to-face talks in New York on October 24, 2009, boosting hopes of progress in stalled six-party nuclear talks and paving the way toward increased bilateral engagement.
  8. this undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on October 24, 2009 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (C) inspecting a newly-built pig farm at an undisclosed location in North Korea. The US froze October 23, 2009 the assets of a North Korean bank after the Treasury designated it a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction, officials said.
  9. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and his South Korean counterpart Kim Tae-young participate in a joint news conference at South Korea's defense ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009. Gates said Thursday that North Korea continues to pose a grave threat to international peace and pledged to protect South Korea with Washington's full military might, including its nuclear capabilities.
  10. Protesters holding portraits of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and his South Korean counterpart Kim Tae-young shout a slogan during a rally against the Security Consultative Meeting, or SCM, between the U.S. and South Korea in front of the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009. Gates said Wednesday the United States will never accept a North Korea with atomic bombs, saying the communist regime poses threats "even more lethal and destabilizing."
  11. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates (R) shakes hands with his South Korean counterpart Kim Tae-young during Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) at the Defense Ministry in Seoul October 22, 2009. Gates said on Thursday that North Korea poses a threat to his country's allies in North Asia and promised to protect them under the U.S. nuclear deterrent.
  12. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, shakes hands with his South Korean counterpart Kim Tae-young during Security Consultative Meeting or SCM at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009. Gates said Wednesday the United States will never accept a North Korea with atomic bombs, saying the communist regime poses threats "even more lethal and destabilizing."
  13. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, arrives to sign the guest book before meeting South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens looks on at the Government Complex in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009. Gates said Wednesday the United States will never accept a North Korea with atomic bombs, saying the communist regime poses threats "even more lethal and destabilizing" than before.
  14. U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L) talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo October 20, 2009. The United States wants to stick to a deal on realigning U.S. troops in Japan, Defense Secretary Gates said on Tuesday, giving Japan's new government little room to move on an issue that could test ties.
  15. U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (R) shakes hands with Japan's Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo October 20, 2009. The United States wants to stick to a deal on realigning U.S. troops in Japan, Defense Secretary Gates said on Tuesday, giving Japan's new government little room to move on an issue that could test ties.
  16. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, is seen with Adm. Robert Willard, center, the new head of the U.S. Pacific Command, and Adm. Michael Mullen, right, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a ceremony at Pacific Command headquarters at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, Monday, Oct. 19, 2009. A fighter pilot who made a cameo appearance as a Tom Cruise foe in "Top Gun" has taken over as the top U.S. military commander in Asia and the Pacific. Willard assumed control of the U.S. Pacific Command in a ceremony presided over by Defense Secretary Gates, who stopped in Hawaii en route to meetings in Japan and South Korea.

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