Gates: No Reason To Build Up US Troops In Korea

South Korean Army soldiers approach to a canon during the military exercise near the border village of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2009. South Korean and U.S. troops raised their alert Thursday to the highest level since 2006 after North Korea renounced its truce with the allied forces and threatened to strike any ships trying to intercept its vessels. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)

From Yahoo News/AP:

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam – While worrisome, North Korea's nuclear and missile tests have not reached a crisis level that would warrant additional U.S. troops in the region, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

Gates, flying to Singapore to meet with Asian defense ministers, said he has not seen any moves by North Korea's military that would prompt the United States to add to the roughly 28,000 troops already in South Korea. He said any military actions would need to be decided upon, and carried out, by broad international agreement.

"I don't think that anybody in the (Obama) administration thinks there is a crisis," Gates told reporters aboard his military jet early Friday morning, still Thursday night in Washington.

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My Comment: What Sec. of Def. Gates should have said is the following ..... no reason to build up US troops in Korea now.