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Washington (CNN) - The Obama administration's first high-level direct talks with North Korea yielded no promise by Pyongyang to return to Six- Party negotiations aimed at ending its nuclear program, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton nonetheless Thursday called the meeting "quite positive."

Asked about the three-day visit to North Korea by special envoy Stephen Bosworth, Clinton told reporters, "I think for a preliminary meeting it was quite positive."

Clinton said she agreed with Ambassador Bosworth that the talks were "very useful" and added: "It does remain to be seen whether and when the North Koreans will return to the Six-Party talks but the bottom line is that these were exploratory talks, not negotiations."

Clinton said the talks "were intended to do exactly what they did: reaffirm the commitment of the United States to the Six-Party process, to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and to discuss with the North Koreans their reactions to what we are asking them to do in order to move forward."
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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed Wednesday that the White House remains open to diplomatic engagement with the Iranian government if Tehran is serious about negotiations regarding its controversial nuclear program.

"If Iran is serious about taking practical steps to address the international community's deep concerns about (the) program, we will continue to engage both multilaterally and bilaterally to discuss the full range of issues that have divided Iran and the United States for too long," she said.

"The door is open to a better future for Iran. But the process of engagement cannot be open-ended. We are not prepared to talk just for the sake of talking."

Clinton made her remarks during a wide-ranging speech on nuclear non-proliferation at the U.S. Institute of Peace, a non-partisan think tank.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former President Bill Clinton got more from his visit to North Korea than the release of two American journalists. Clinton, whose wife is Secretary of State, was able to bring valuable information back to the White House about North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, President Obama tells CNN.

"I think President Clinton's assessment was that [Kim's] - he's pretty healthy and in control," President Obama said in an interview that airs Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, "And that's important to know, because we don't have a lot of interaction with the North Koreans. And, you know, President Clinton had a chance to see him close up and have conversations with him.

"I won't go into any more details than that. But there's no doubt that this is somebody who, you know, I think for a while people thought was slipping away. He's reasserted himself. It does appear that he's concerned about - he was more concerned about succession when he was - succession when he was sick, maybe less so now that he's well."

Obama also told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King that his administration's approach to the largely-isolated Asian nation "is a success story so far."
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(CNN) – A day after meeting with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, two North Korean diplomats will meet Thursday with community and business leaders in the state to discuss renewable energy initiatives, the governor's office said.

Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the governor would not be part of the briefings because he would be in Las Cruces. However, the governor will try to meet them at the Albuquerque airport before they leave, Gallegos said.

After meeting Wednesday with Kim Myong Gil and Taek Jong Ho - senior diplomats with the North Korean mission to the United Nations - Richardson said that North Korea wanted direct talks with the United States.

"I think there's a little bit of a thaw," he told CNN's American Morning on Thursday. "I think they wanted to basically send a message that they're ready to engage in a dialogue with the United States."

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SANTA FE, New Mexico (CNN) - North Korea believes it's owed bilateral talks with the United States after the communist government released two detained American journalists this month, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Wednesday after meeting with two North Korean diplomats.

"They feel, the North Koreans, that by giving us the two American journalists that they've made an important gesture," Richardson said on CNN's "Situation Room." "And now they're saying the ball's in our court."

The visit comes on the heels of a trip to the communist nation by former President Bill Clinton to gain the release of the two journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling. During the visit Clinton met with reclusive leader Kim Jong Il, whose government is under U.N. sanctions for its efforts to develop a nuclear weapons program.

"They do feel they are owed a gesture on the U.S. part," Richardson said, adding, "I don't believe that should be the case because this was a
humanitarian gesture that needed to happen."

The North Korean diplomats felt Clinton's trip, while a humanitarian one, helped "thaw relations" and gave North Korea "international prestige,"
Richardson said.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Two top North Korean diplomats were traveling to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to hold talks with Gov. Bill Richardson, the governor's spokesman said.

Kim Myong Gil and Taek Jong Ho, senior diplomats with the North Korean mission to the United Nations, left New York on Tuesday and are scheduled for a two-day meeting with Richardson, said a U.S. source with knowledge of the visit and a senior State Department official.

Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has traveled to North Korea several times in the past, most recently in April 2007 to secure the return of remains of U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War.

The U.S. source with knowledge of the visit said that the North Koreans had asked Richardson for the meeting.

Richardson would listen to what the North Koreans had to say but would not do any negotiating, the source said.

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(CNN) – Former U.S. President Bill Clinton landed in North Korea early Tuesday on a mission to negotiate the release of two American journalists imprisoned there since March, according to the country's state news agency and a CNN source.

The North Korean news agency KCNA did not disclose the purpose of the visit in its three-line dispatch. But a source with detailed knowledge of the former president's movements told CNN late Monday that Clinton was going to seek the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, both reporters for California-based Current TV - media venture launched by Clinton's former vice president, Al Gore.

Meeting Clinton were the vice president of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, Yang Hyong Sop, and Kim Kye Gwan, the vice foreign minister, KCNA reported, adding that "a little girl presented a bouquet to Bill Clinton."

The women were arrested while reporting on the border between North Korea and China and sentenced in June to 12 years in prison on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign.

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BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) - North Korea launched a scathing personal attack on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday after she likened the leadership in Pyongyang to "small children and unruly teenagers and people who are demanding attention."

At a meeting of southeast Asian nations in Phuket, Thailand, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman blasted Clinton for what he called a "spate of vulgar remarks unbecoming for her position everywhere she went since she was sworn in," according to the state-run KCNA news agency.

The spokesman called Clinton "by no means intelligent" and a "funny lady."

"Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping," the statement said.

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BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) - North Korea launched a scathing personal attack on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday after she likened the leadership in Pyongyang to "small children and unruly teenagers and people who are demanding attention."

At a meeting of southeast Asian nations in Phuket, Thailand, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman blasted Clinton for what he called a "spate of vulgar remarks unbecoming for her position everywhere she went since she was sworn in," according to the state-run KCNA news agency.

The spokesman called Clinton "by no means intelligent" and a "funny lady."

"Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping," the statement said.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - The United States has dropped its request that two American journalists imprisoned in North Korea be released on humanitarian grounds, and is seeking amnesty instead, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

A plea for amnesty implies forgiveness for some offense.

Previously, Clinton said the United States was seeking the immediate release of the women - Laura Ling and Euna Lee - on humanitarian grounds.

The women were sentenced in June to 12 years in prison on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign.

Laura Ling's sister, Lisa Ling, told CNN Friday night that she feels the change in approach is significant, and could aid negotiations for the women's freedom. Lisa Ling is a CNN contributor.

"The two journalists and their families have expressed great remorse for this incident, and I think everyone is very sorry that it happened," Clinton told a State Department briefing Friday.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – A day after reported short-range missile tests by North Korea, one of President Obama’s top military adviserS said it was possible the regime could be preparing to test longer range missiles capable of reaching the United States.

“Certainly there are possibilities there,” Adm. Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. But Mullen added, “I haven’t seen any indications of that in recent days. The seven missiles which the leadership [of North Korea] fired yesterday basically into the sea – similar to what they did in 2006 – those were violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions.”

“They continue to thumb their nose at the international community,” Mullen added. “And I think the international community – which has been bound very tightly together to include Russia and China - and putting additional pressure on North Korea that needs to continue and those sanctions need to be enforced.”

On Iraq, Adm. Mullen rejected the suggestion that Iraqis celebrating in the streets earlier this week - as the U.S. met a deadline to pull out of major cities - was a sign that citizens of the war-torn country did not appreciate American sacrifices to establish peace and stability in the country.

Related: History will have to make a judgment on Iraq, says Powell

“I know from my engagement with Prime Minister Maliki as well as the rest of the political and military leadership in Iraq, they’re very appreciative of everything that we have done,” Mullen told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King.

Updated: 4:40 p.m.

(CNN) – There are signs that the international policy to isolate North Korea from its traditional allies is working, despite the Pyongyang regime's weekend firing of seven-short range missiles toward the Sea of Japan, Vice President Joe Biden says.

In an interview broadcast Sunday on the ABC program "This Week," Biden called efforts by the United States and others to forge a unified response to North Korea's potential nuclear threat "a significant turning in pressure."

He noted that a North Korean ship believed to be carrying weapons-related materials turned back toward North Korea when tracked by U.S. naval ships as part of U.N. sanctions recently approved by the Security Council.

"No port would take it," Biden said, citing the development as a sign of new international resolve demonstrated by China - the longtime ally and benefactor of North Korea - signing onto the Security Council resolution.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) - A majority of Americans think that North Korea represents a very serious threat, and nearly three-quarters believe that country has missiles which could strike the United States, according to a new national poll.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday indicates that North Korea is arguably the biggest threat to the U.S. in the public's mind.

"Fifty-two percent say that country is a very serious threat, higher than the 43 percent who feel that way about Iran and much higher than the 20 percent who feel that way about China or the 11 percent who think Russia threatens the U.S," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

Nearly three out of four questioned in the poll believe North Korea has a missile that could reach at least as far as Hawaii. More than nine in 10 favor military action if North Korea does attempt to hit the U.S. with a missile.

North Korea test-fired a fourth short-range missile off its east coast Thursday, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported. South Korea's Defense Ministry had earlier confirmed three launches, but could not immediately be reached about the fourth reported missile.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted June 26-28, before Thursday's test firings by North Korea. In the survey 1,026 adult Americans were questioned by telephone. The poll's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this story

TOPICS: Obama, Democrats in Congress, most important issue, economy, international threats, Sonia Sotomayor, Iran, health care, Iraq, North Korea, Michael Jackson, smoking, adultery, affirmative action, Founding Fathers.

Full results (pdf)

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - U.S. forces should board a North Korean ship if there is "hard evidence" it is transporting nuclear weapons technology in violation of the recent U.N. Security Council resolution, Sen. John McCain said Sunday.

Appearing on the CBS program "Face the Nation," the Arizona Republican said the North Korean ship being tracked by the USS John McCain - a destroyer named after his father and grandfather - may be contributing to the spread of nuclear weapons to rogue states.

"If we have hard evidence that that ship is carrying technology equipment missiles that are in gross violation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions, I think we should board it," said McCain, who lost his presidential bid to Barack Obama in last November's election.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday the United States could defend itself against a missile should the North Koreans launch one toward Hawaii.

Japanese media reported Thursday that the North Koreans are preparing to make such a launch.

Gates said U.S. officials are watching the situation carefully.

"We do have some concerns if they were to launch a missile" toward Hawaii, he told reporters.

But with missile interceptors and radar equipment in the region, "we are in a good position should it become necessary to protect the American territory," Gates said.

(CNN) – The United States will enforce the latest U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea, which calls for stopping arms shipments if necessary, Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday.

"We're going to enforce the U.N. resolution," Biden said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. "This is a matter of us now keeping the pressure on."

The resolution, passed by a 15-0 vote, expands and tightens sanctions on North Korea after the nation's recent nuclear test, firing of test rockets and threats to U.S. and South Korean ships near its territorial waters.

North Korea has said that any interdiction of its ships would be an act of war, the latest threat from a regime known for inflammatory rhetoric.

Biden said the resolution represented joint action by the Security Council members "like never before," noting that longtime North Korean ally China signed on. He called possible North Korean use or spread of nuclear weapons "a serious threat to the world, and particularly in East Asia."

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Barack Obama will meet with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak next week, Obama's spokesman announced Monday.

Robert Gibbs told the daily White House briefing that the June 16 meeting would focus on how the United States and South Korea can strengthen cooperation on international and regional issues. He said Obama invited Lee to visit at the G-20 summit in April.

The meeting comes amid rising tension with North Korea, which recently has conducted a nuclear test, fired test rockets and threatened U.S. and South Korean ships near its territorial waters. On Monday, two American journalists arrested in North Korea were convicted of illegal entry to the country and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Updated: 4:13 p.m.

(CNN) - The United States will not accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Saturday at an international conference.

"We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in the region - or on us," said Gates, speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore.

"Our goal is complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and we will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state," he said.

His comments came amid growing concern across the globe over North Korea's latest nuclear test and test-firings of short-range missiles.

On Friday, two Defense Department officials said the latest U.S. satellite imagery has spotted "vehicle activity" at a North Korean ballistic missile facility.

"North Korea's nuclear program and actions constitute a threat to regional peace and security. We unequivocally reaffirm our commitment to the defense of our allies in the region," Gates said in Singapore.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Barack Obama castigated the North Korean government Monday for conducting a second nuclear bomb test in defiance of multiple international warnings.

North Korea's actions "pose a grave threat to the peace and stability of the world," Obama said at the White House.

Obama promised that the United States and the international community would strongly respond to the test.