The Pentagon called North Korea's latest missile tests "unhelpful and potentially destabilizing" today as it announced a trip by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Seoul and Tokyo next week, according to Reuters. Gates will start his visit with talks with Japan's new government, which has promised to forge a diplomatic stance more independent of Washington, its close ally. Gates aimed to help Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government "better understand" past defense agreements on U.S. bases in Japan and an Afghanistan refueling mission, said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell. "We obviously want to work with the new government to make sure they have all the information they need to better understand what has been agreed to by previous governments," Morrell said.
