North Korea's ruling-party newspaper has accused Secretary Clinton of engaging in "brigandish sophism." An Agence France-Presse article related to the North Korean torpedo attack on the South Korean Cheonan ship says:

The North's ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun meanwhile accused US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of what it called "brigandish sophism" for describing Pyongyang as a threat to world peace.

It said the United States was the party endangering peace by planning naval exercises with the South at a time when "an all-out war may break out any moment".

The commentary carried on the official news agency referred to Clinton only as "Hillary".

Last July, after Clinton said North Korea's leaders were acting like "unruly teenagers," North Korea said Clinton "looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping."

(In the photo above, Clinton speaks in Seoul on May 26, 2010.)

From Secretary Clinton's news conference today in Seoul with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, it appears that the reaction to North Korea's attack on the Cheonan will be stern words, some sort of U.N. Security Council action (sanctions?), and joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises. It seems a somewhat weak response given that a country deliberately attacked a ship and killed 46 sailors, all unprovoked. But on the other hand, what can you really do, especially if you're South Korea, bordering the crazy North? As Clinton said, the attack "requires a strong but measured response."

A snippet from Clinton at the news conference:

Over the last week I have consulted with leaders in Japan and China, and we have stayed in close contact with our friends here in Seoul about the best way forward. We will be working together to chart a course of action in the United Nations Security Council, and I want to acknowledge Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's strong statement on this issue.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries have announced plans for joint exercises, and we will explore further enhancements to our posture on the Peninsula, to ensure readiness, and to deter future attacks. The United States is also reviewing additional options and authorities to hold North Korea and its leaders accountable. We call on North Korea to halt its provocation and its policy of threats and belligerence toward its neighbors, and take steps now to fulfill its denuclearization commitments, and comply with international law. 

Secretary Clinton had stern words today regarding the torpedoing of the South Korean ship Cheonan in March. At a news conference, seen above, with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada in Tokyo, she named North Korea as the culprit and said the attack will not "go unanswered":

I think it is important to send a clear message to North Korea that provocative actions have consequences. We cannot allow this attack on South Korea to go unanswered by the international community.

She also said:

[L]et me be clear. This will not be and cannot be business as usual. There must be an international -- not just a regional, but an international -- response.

Regarding North Korea as the culprit, she said:

The evidence is overwhelming and condemning. The torpedo that sunk the Cheonan and took the lives of 46 South Korean sailors was fired by a North Korean submarine. And the United States strongly condemns this act of aggression. As Minister Okada and I discussed, we will be in deep and constant consultations, not only between the United States and Japan, but also with South Korea, China, and others to determine our response. 

And just what will the response be? When someone from the U.S. media corps asked her, Clinton replied that she will be consulting with officials in Japan, China, and South Korea and said:

It is premature for me, at this moment, to announce options or actions without that level of consultation among the regional nations that are most directly affected by North Korea's behavior.

How do you think the international community should respond? How do you think it will respond? Seoul doesn't want to be decimated; the United States is bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq. Will it all be just more harsh words? 

Secretary Clinton's husband Bill has been in the headlines the past few days, and I've been swamped with other FP tasks, but here's a quick roundup of Hillary headlines:

•"Clinton tells Kenya to implement delayed reforms," reports Reuters

•"Clinton Calls for Accountability in Kenya," reports the New York Times

•"Clinton: Don't count on North Korea breakthrough," reports the Associated Press (on the Miami Herald's Web site)

•"Nairobi great place to get hair done: Clinton," a lighthearted Agence France-Presse article on Yahoo!

In the photo above:

Clinton addresses the eighth Forum of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in Nairobi, Kenya, on Aug. 5. The AGOA is a forum of some 40 African countries that enjoy trade preferences in the giant U.S. market on the condition that they uphold free elections and markets. Clinton will seek to build ties with three African powers -- Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa -- and show support for three countries recovering from conflict -- Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Liberia -- while also stopping in small U.S. ally Cape Verde.

Photo: TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton will be in the spotlight, literally, this Sunday morning. Back from Asia, she'll be on NBC's Meet the Press for the entire hour!

•Speaking of the spotlight, a New York Times headline today declares: "Asia Trip Propels Clinton Back into Limelight." (And yes, I know that many of you say she never ever was out of the limelight -- the "shadows" thing was all concocted.)

•Clinton has just "taken Asia by storm" with a tour that is "undeniably a success in public-relations and policy terms," a college professor writes in a Scripps Howard News Service op-ed.

•Clinton is viewed as the most intelligent first lady in a Harris Poll that asked about 11 first ladies from Eleanor Roosevelt through Michelle Obama (minus Elizabeth Truman and Mamie Eisenhower for some reason). Regarding the 11 first ladies, 29 percent of respondents said Clinton was most intelligent; Roosevelt was second with 13 percent, and Obama was third with 11 percent.

•Regarding this week's verbal jousting between Clinton and North Korea, a Washington Post Style article compares Clinton to the archetypal schoolyard "overachiever" and North Korea to the schoolyard's "socially inept loner."

•Hillary fans aren't going to like this one: A Boston Globe editorial accuses Clinton of "rookie mistakes" during her Asia trip.

Photo: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton has arrived in Thailand for the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Above, she speaks during a news conference with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu in Bangkok.

Due to time constraints, today I've just got a quick summary of recent Clinton news:

•Clinton to sign ASEAN treaty: She'll be signing ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, a move possibly aimed at countering China.

•Clinton is worried about military ties between Burma and North Korea.

•Clinton and India's external affairs minister signed a deal that will allow India to buy sophisticated U.S. weapons.

•Clinton said the U.S. government is doing all it can to rescue captured U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl.

•A federal judge has dismissed a 13-year-old lawsuit -- "Filegate" -- against Clinton.

Photo: NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images

While Secretary Clinton has been busy receiving honorary degrees and extending benefits to same-sex partners, she hasn't been neglecting her diplomatic duties. She doesn't have any public appointments on her schedule today, but she's most likely busy working the phones in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test and missile firings.

The Associated Press reports that Clinton has spoken on the phone with foreign ministers in a number of countries, and the Washington Post reports that she is asking them for a "strong, unified" response. As Clinton proved last April, she knows how to handle those 3 a.m. phone calls.

Photo: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton slammed North Korea yesterday. At Thursday's Senate hearing, she stated that given recent developments (such as North Korea's April 5 rocket launch and its withdrawal from six-party talks), the United States was not going to give the Hermit Kingdom any economic aid unless it returned to the discussion table.

She said, "We have absolutely no interest and no willingness on the part of this administration to give them any economic aid at all." She also said, "We are very serious about trying to make it clear to the North Koreans that their recent behavior is absolutely unacceptable."

Although noting that North Korea's return to talks appears "implausible if not impossible," she did hold out a bit of an olive branch: "That money is in there in the event, which at this point seems implausible if not impossible, the North Koreans return to the six-party talks and begin to disable their nuclear capacity again."

Really, though, does this strategy of giving North Korea aid in exchange for disarmament have much chance of success? Last fall, Kim Jong Il's former teacher (from when Kim was a teenager) wrote an article for FP, "The Secret History of Kim Jong Il." Kim's former teacher had this to say: 

Kim has managed to extract resources from wealthier and stronger states by manufacturing crises and generating international instability. His brand of nuclear blackmail is a virtual guarantor of bottomless international aid for the world’s most militarized society.