WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Tuesday vowed to take "firm action" alongside US allies against the "provocations" of North Korea after the communist state carried out its third nuclear test.
"The regime in North Korea must know that they will only achieve security and prosperity by meeting their international obligations," Obama told Congress in his annual State of the Union address.
"Provocations of the sort we saw last night will only isolate them further, as we stand by our allies, strengthen our own missile defense and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats," he said.
Obama in his first term had largely given up hope of changing the behavior of North Korea and instead pursued a series of "strategic patience" of waiting for Pyongyang to make the first move.
But North Korea worked its way back into the headlines less than a day before Obama's speech when it carried out its third nuclear test. Obama spoke earlier Tuesday with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.
- AFP/sf
Obama vows 'firm' action against N.Korea
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