North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il finally emerged late last month after reportedly suffering a major stroke six months ago. Although dispelling one rumor -- he didn't die -- his appearance did nothing to stop speculation about his health and who will succeed him. The temptation is to wait and see, but this would be unwise. The United States and its Asian allies must prepare for the possibility that the leadership of North Korea may change sooner rather than later, and not necessarily smoothly.

North Korean officials claim they have "weaponized" their stockpile of plutonium, a U.S. scholar said Saturday, a development that could badly complicate talks to end the regime's nuclear weapons program. Selig Harrison, speaking to reporters after he arrived in Beijing from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, said that the North Koreans had considerably hardened their negotiating positions and that the prospects for President-elect Barack Obama to make a breakthrough in talks were "gloomy."

Hillary Rodham Clinton prefaced her first trip abroad as secretary of State with a speech Friday sketching out various Obama administration views regarding her Asia itinerary. Her approach on the crucial issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons program embodies an overwhelming -- and unfortunate -- continuity with the Bush administration. This is not at all surprising, given the president's campaign rhetoric.

North Korea threatened Monday to test a missile capable of reaching the United States, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton began consultations with regional leaders on the security threat from the reclusive state, the global economic crisis and other issues. In an apparent attempt to command attention, North Korea hinted that it will test-launch a Taepodong 2 missile from its eastern coast.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that U.S. officials and allies were scrambling to prepare for the possible departure from power of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, a development she said threatened to increase turbulence in one of the world's most heavily armed regions. Arriving in Seoul for security talks, Clinton said persistent signs in the secretive Pyongyang government suggested that a change of leadership might be at hand.

South Korea's president told destitute North Korea today to abandon its plans to develop nuclear weapons and return to talks with its neighbor. North Korea has stoked regional tensions recently by announcing it is readying a test flight of its longest-range missile, which is designed to carry a nuclear weapon as far as Alaska but has not been successfully flown, U.S. and South Korean officials have said.

Neighbors of North Korea reacted angrily Friday to its announcement that it plans to launch a satellite into orbit, and say they suspect the effort masks plans for a long-range missile test. Officials in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, 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 they identified as "danger zones" for shipping and aircraft.

The United States has contacted representatives of North Korea about two detained American journalists and is waiting for a reply, a U.S. official said Saturday. North Korea confirmed earlier in the day that it detained the two Americans for "illegally intruding" in its territory after crossing the border from China. Authorities are investigating the two women, who were seized Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency said in a report.

At a time of escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula, two American TV journalists and their guide were taken into custody by North Korea while shooting video near the sensitive border region between China and the isolated state. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were on assignment with San Francisco-based Current TV when they were seized Tuesday. The guide, whose name was not released, is a Chinese citizen. Their detention was confirmed by activists who had helped arrange the reporting trip.