SINGAPORE: The United States demanded North Korea pay a price for allegedly sinking a South Korean warship even as Washington and its Asian allies brace for possible “provocations” by the Pyongyang regime. In a show of solidarity, US, Japanese and South Korean defence chiefs met in Singapore to discuss punitive steps against North Korea as the UN Security Council prepares to take up the crisis triggered by the sinking of the Cheonan. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told his counterparts that “it’s important we have a unified front to deter further provocations,” his press secretary, Geoff Morrell, told reporters. While condemning North Korea’s alleged torpedo attack, which left 46 South Korean sailors dead, Washington and Seoul have called for calm and avoided talk of a military response. But given the North’s volatile reputation, the United States and its allies have to be prepared for possible violence, Morrell said. “When you’re dealing with a regime as unpredictable as (North Korea), that’s always a concern,” he said. Tensions have soared on the peninsula since a multinational probe last month concluded a North Korean torpedo sank the Cheonan, triggering trade reprisals by South Korea and threats of war by the communist North. In a speech to the security conference in Singapore, Gates said the US administration was looking at “additional options” against the North, apart from UN diplomacy and planned military exercises with South Korea.