North Korea

The United States and allied powers threatened Monday to impose new penalties on North Korea after the defiant regime announced a second nuclear bomb test, but their leverage in derailing the weapons program appeared limited. The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, meeting in emergency session in New York, denounced the test as a "clear violation" of a 2006 resolution banning such actions. China and Russia, usually North Korea's defenders, joined with France, Britain and the United States in the statement.

SEOUL, South Korea -North Korea launched what was believed to be a multistage rocket Sunday, ending weeks of speculation about the regime's efforts to expand its ability to deliver nuclear weapons. The North Korean news agency announced that a rocket was launched about 11:30 a.m. The U.S. State Department, the South Korean president's office and Japanese media reports confirmed the launch. The rocket reportedly crossed Japanese airspace before plunging into the Pacific Ocean, according to news reports from Japan.

WASHINGTON -The United States and its allies stepped up pressure Thursday on North Korea to scrap its planned satellite launch, with President Barack Obama agreeing with the South Korean president to respond sternly if Pyongyang fires a long-range rocket. Defense officials said they were not planning to shoot down the missile but that the United States would increase diplomatic pressure on North Korea if it goes ahead, as expected. Pyongyang would find itself further removed from what it wants from the outside world, including diplomatic recognition, trade and investment, and security guarantees.

WASHINGTON -North Korea's planned missile launch is designed to demonstrate its ability to carry out an intercontinental military strike, a top U.S. official said Thursday, brushing aside Pyongyang's assertions that it is merely sending a satellite into space. "Most of the world understands the game they are playing," said Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair. "I think they're risking international opprobrium and hopefully worse if they successfully launch it." Blair's comments represented the most pointed U.S. challenge so far to Pyongyang's repeated assertions that its planned rocket launch is for peaceful purposes.

SEOUL, South Korea -North Korea's neighbors reacted angrily to its announcement of a plan to launch a satellite into orbit, and they say they suspect the effort masks plans for a long-range missile test. Officials in Pyongyang informed international aviation and maritime agencies that the first stage of the rocket would splash down in the Sea of Japan, and the second in the Pacific Ocean, which it identified as "danger zones" for shipping and aircraft. Japan responded testily to the announcement, asserting yesterday that it had a right to challenge any rocket or dangerous foreign object fired across its territory, whether land or sea. "Under our law, we can intercept any object if it is falling toward Japan, including any attacks on Japan, for our safety," Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said at a news conference.

SEOUL, South Korea - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday that U.S. officials and their allies are scrambling to prepare for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's possible departure from power, a development she said threatened new turbulence in one of the world's most heavily armed regions. Arriving in Seoul for security talks, Clinton said persistent signs within the secretive Pyongyang government suggest that a change of leadership might be at hand. She said the South Korean government has been especially concerned about possible developments inside its impoverished northern neighbor.

TOKYO -In her first trip abroad as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton issued a sharp warning yesterday to North Korea over its threatened missile test, signed a military agreement with Japan and conferred with senior Japanese officials on topics that included the enveloping world financial crisis. But a 45-minute "town hall" meeting at the University of Tokyo also gave the country's chief diplomat a chance to project a softer American image. She avoided the phrase war on terror, which was standard terminology during the George W. Bush years.

SEOUL, South Korea - The South Korean intelligence reports are ominous: North Korea appears to be preparing to test-launch a ballistic missile with sufficient range to strike Alaska and possibly the U.S. West Coast. A train transporting a large cylindrical object was recently spotted by a U.S. surveillance satellite chugging toward a new launch site west of Pyongyang, a South Korean government source said recently. Allegedly onboard was North Korea's most advanced missile, a Taepo-Dong 2, being readied for a potential liftoff within two months.

Gillibrand picked to fill Clinton Senate seat 3 ALBANY, N.Y.: Instantly opening a rift among New York Democrats, Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand - a little-known, pro-gun Democrat from a rural Republican district - won appointment yesterday to the Senate seat left vacant by Hillary Clinton. Gov. David Paterson announced his choice a day after presumed front-runner Caroline Kennedy - a woman with considerably more star power but less experience - mysteriously dropped out of contention. Gillibrand, at 42, will be the youngest member of the Senate and one of 17 women in the chamber.