To ease off its "policy of threats and belligerence toward its neighbors," U. S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called on North Korea on Friday.

Gates, during a meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young in Singapore, said the North needs to back off its use of threats to bully other nations.

The South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted Gates as saying, "We call on North Korea to halt its provocations and its policy of threats and belligerence toward its neighbors and to take steps to fulfill its denuclearization commitments and comply with international law."

He and his U. S. counterpart agreed there must be "resolute countermeasures" against North Korea, which a multinational investigation blames for the March 26 sinking of the warship Cheonan in which 46 sailors died, Kim said.

It has also been reported that Gates called the attack on the South Korean navy ship "an unacceptable act of aggression." The act "deepens North Korea's isolation," he said. (With Inputs from Agencies)