Panetta calls North Korea nuke test ‘serious threat` to US

London: Outgoing Pentagon chief Leon Panetta has said that North Korean military ambitions are a ‘serious threat’ to the US.

Panetta likened the North to Iran, describing them as "rogue states". In a farewell speech at the Pentagon, Panetta said the US would continue to be tested by unpredictable regimes in years to come, the BBC reports. He said that the ‘US is going to have to deal with weapons of mass destruction and the proliferation.’ Panetta’s remarks in a speech made after Pyongyang carried out its third nuclear test on Tuesday. In New York, the UN Security Council ‘strongly condemned’ the nuclear test. The council said it would begin work on measures against North Korea, after UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the test was a "clear and grave violation,” the report said. (ANI)