North Korea’s missile tests and menacing rhetoric have disappointed U.S. expectations that young leader Kim Jong-un would be different than his father but Washington still hopes to persuade Pyongyang to change course, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.

“With a new young leader we all expected something different,” Clinton said in a town hall-style session put together by the State Department and broadcast worldwide. “We expected him to focus on improving the lives of the North Korea people, not just the elite, but everyone.

“Instead he has engaged in very provocative rhetoric and behavior,” she said of Kim, who took over his impoverished, isolated Northeast Asian nation when his father, Kim Jong-il, died in December 2011.

READ ON: U.S. still seeks change from North Korea

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday angrily defended her handling of the September 11 attack on the U.S. mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi and denied any effort to mislead people. The attack by armed militants that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans threatens to stain Clinton’s legacy as secretary of state. It also may dent any hopes that Clinton, who mounted an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2008, may run for the White House again in 2016. By turns emotional and fierce, Clinton choked up as she spoke of comforting the victims’ families and grew angry when a Republican senator accused the Obama administration of misleading the country over whether the Benghazi incident stemmed from a protest. “With all due respect, the fact is that we had four dead Americans,” Clinton shot back as she testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, an appearance delayed more than a month because of her ill health. “Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they’d go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make?” she said, making chopping motions with her hands for emphasis. READ ON: Clinton angrily defends handling of Benghazi attackLIVE COVERAGE: Clinton testifies before House committee 
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday angrily defended her handling of the September 11 attack on the U.S. mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi and denied any effort to mislead people.

The attack by armed militants that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans threatens to stain Clinton’s legacy as secretary of state. It also may dent any hopes that Clinton, who mounted an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2008, may run for the White House again in 2016.

By turns emotional and fierce, Clinton choked up as she spoke of comforting the victims’ families and grew angry when a Republican senator accused the Obama administration of misleading the country over whether the Benghazi incident stemmed from a protest.

“With all due respect, the fact is that we had four dead Americans,” Clinton shot back as she testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, an appearance delayed more than a month because of her ill health.

“Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they’d go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make?” she said, making chopping motions with her hands for emphasis.

READ ON: Clinton angrily defends handling of Benghazi attack
LIVE COVERAGE: Clinton testifies before House committee 

Video: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator Ron Johnson clash over Benghazi consulate attack (via Talking Points Memo)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday Algerian militants involved in an attack on a desert gas plant in Algeria this month had weapons from Libya. “There is no doubt that the Algerian terrorists had weapons from Libya. There is no doubt that the Malian remnants of AQIM have weapons from Libya,” she said at a Senate hearing on the September attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya. AQIM - Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - is an affiliate of al Qaeda. LIVE VIDEO: Clinton testifies on consulate attack in Benghazi
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday Algerian militants involved in an attack on a desert gas plant in Algeria this month had weapons from Libya.

“There is no doubt that the Algerian terrorists had weapons from Libya. There is no doubt that the Malian remnants of AQIM have weapons from Libya,” she said at a Senate hearing on the September attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya. AQIM - Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - is an affiliate of al Qaeda.

LIVE VIDEO: Clinton testifies on consulate attack in Benghazi

President Barack Obama joins former President Bill Clinton (right) onstage after Clinton nominated Obama for re-election during the second session of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 5, 2012. [REUTERS/Jason Reed] FULL COVERAGE: The 2012 Democratic National Convention
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President Barack Obama joins former President Bill Clinton (right) onstage after Clinton nominated Obama for re-election during the second session of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 5, 2012. [REUTERS/Jason Reed]

FULL COVERAGE: The 2012 Democratic National Convention

LIVE COVERAGE: Clinton speaks at Democratic National Convention
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LIVE COVERAGE: Clinton speaks at Democratic National Convention

A delegate poses with her hat prior to the second session of Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 5, 2012. [REUTERS/Jim Young]  LIVE COVERAGE: The 2012 Democratic National Convention (Day 2)
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A delegate poses with her hat prior to the second session of Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 5, 2012. [REUTERS/Jim Young] 

LIVE COVERAGE: The 2012 Democratic National Convention (Day 2)

U.S. praise for Myanmar grows by the day, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton still cannot bring herself to use the name of the country in the presence of officials from the former Burma. It appears Clinton did not wish to offend Myanmar’s government and its diplomats in Phnom Penh by referring to the country by the name officially used in Washington, Burma - two short syllables that rile the former generals who now lead its nascent democracy. The dilemma dates back to 1989, a year after thousands were killed in the suppression of a popular uprising, when the army changed the name to Myanmar, a name the United States never accepted because it would have conferred legitimacy on the former generals. Many of those generals swapped their military fatigues for civilian clothes in a rigged 2010 election that cleared the way for a surprisingly reformist parliament that took office last year, ending 49 years of unbroken military rule. READ ON: Clinton lauds change in a country with no name
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U.S. praise for Myanmar grows by the day, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton still cannot bring herself to use the name of the country in the presence of officials from the former Burma.

It appears Clinton did not wish to offend Myanmar’s government and its diplomats in Phnom Penh by referring to the country by the name officially used in Washington, Burma - two short syllables that rile the former generals who now lead its nascent democracy.

The dilemma dates back to 1989, a year after thousands were killed in the suppression of a popular uprising, when the army changed the name to Myanmar, a name the United States never accepted because it would have conferred legitimacy on the former generals.

Many of those generals swapped their military fatigues for civilian clothes in a rigged 2010 election that cleared the way for a surprisingly reformist parliament that took office last year, ending 49 years of unbroken military rule.

President Barack Obama enlisted Bill Clinton to campaign alongside him in New York on Monday, tapping the popular ex-president’s star power to rake in cash for his re-election bid from Wall Street investors and show-business elite. The two men teamed up for the first time since Clinton put Obama’s campaign on the defensive last week when he became the most prominent Democrat to disavow attacks on Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s record as a private equity executive. But there was no sign of discord as Obama and Clinton put on a show of unity for a night of fundraising that included a reception with big-money donors, a gala at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, and a star-studded “Barack on Broadway” concert. The events raised more than $3.5 million. READ MORE: Obama, Clinton court New York elite to raise millions
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President Barack Obama enlisted Bill Clinton to campaign alongside him in New York on Monday, tapping the popular ex-president’s star power to rake in cash for his re-election bid from Wall Street investors and show-business elite.

The two men teamed up for the first time since Clinton put Obama’s campaign on the defensive last week when he became the most prominent Democrat to disavow attacks on Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s record as a private equity executive.

But there was no sign of discord as Obama and Clinton put on a show of unity for a night of fundraising that included a reception with big-money donors, a gala at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, and a star-studded “Barack on Broadway” concert.

The events raised more than $3.5 million.

READ MORE: Obama, Clinton court New York elite to raise millions

reuterspolitics:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dances with members of her delegation in the Cafe Havana salsa bar, during a break from the Americas Summit in Cartagena April 15, 2012. [REUTERS/Raul Palacios-Colprensa]

READ MORE: Clinton dances after midnight at Cafe Havana