Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has warned the US military to brace for more belt-tightening as he conducts a review that could cut the number of generals, pare back the civilian workforce and stem the spiraling cost of new weapons.Hagel, in his first major policy speech as Pentagon chief, told students at the National Defense University that the United States could not allow its current budget crisis to force it to retreat from the world.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is calling North Korea's development of nuclear weapons a "growing threat" to the U.S. and its allies.In a telephone call Tuesday evening to Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, Hagel cited North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles and said Washington and Beijing should continue to cooperate on those problems.A Pentagon statement describing the phone call also disclosed that Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will visit China later this month.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Wednesday said the Pentagon must "put everything on the table" as it struggles to digest major spending cuts forced by last month's sequester. In a major strategy address delivered at the National Defense University, Hagel vowed to press ahead with plans to trim the US military while insuring it can tackle 21st century challenges like terrorism and cyber attacks.

By Lee Chi-dong WASHINGTON, March 28 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said Thursday that North Korea has become more dangerous today and the U.S. has to be prepared for "any eventuality" on the peninsula. "I think their very provocative actions and belligerent tone has ratcheted up the danger. And we have to understand that reality," he said during a news conference at the Pentagon. He stressed that the U.S. and its allies should take seriously "every provocative, bellicose word and action that this new young leader (Kim Jong-un) has taken so far."