North Korea and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have launched a war of words. In a speech in Thailand, where she is attending a regional summit, Secretary Clinton urged North Korea to renounce nuclear weapons; North Korea's official media responded by calling Clinton "an unintelligent funny lady." North Korea also announced that the six-party talks on disarmament were dead. Jill McGivering, the BBC's Asia correspondent, joins The Takeaway to explain what's at stake.

Here is more on Secretary Clinton's trip to the ASEAN summit and her call for changes in Myanmar and North Korea:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is getting tough on Iran. Speaking from Thailand today she announced that the U.S. is prepared to defend its allies in the Persian Gulf against any threats from Iran, which appears to be moving ahead with its nuclear program. To help us parse what the tough talk means is Jon Leyne, the BBC's Iran correspondent, who has been kicked out of the country and joins The Takeaway from London.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in India today. Joining The Takeaway to talk about Clinton's trip and Washington's challenges in the subcontinent are Linda Blake, Wall Street Journal contributor in Delhi, India, Professor Brahma Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies at the Center for Policy Research in Delhi and Richard Wolffe, Daily Beast Columnist and political analyst for MSNBC.

Read Linda Blake's blog Global Reporter

Watch a clip of Secretary of State Clinton's speech to India on July 15, 2009 below.

For this Monday's agenda segment, we talk about the Senate Finance Committee's bipartisan plan and President Obama's health care reform. The Takeaway also talks about Hillary Clinton's trip to India, the Taliban video of the captured U.S. soldier and how some banks are making big money again. The Takeway is joined by Marcus Mabry, International Business Editor for The New York Times and Jill McGivering, Asia Editor for the BBC.

In his address last night, President Obama mentioned the need to forge a new strategy in Pakistan. This statement came while the foreign ministers of both Pakistan and Afghanistan are in Washington this week to meet with officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says that his country and Afghanistan have achieved a new level of trust that will help them work together to combat cross-border attacks. For what this might mean for the U.S. role in Pakistan and Afghanistan we turn to Owen Bennett-Jones, host of BBC Newshour and former Islamabad correspondent.

Just a few hours ago, New York Governor David Paterson picked Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. for Hillary Clinton's now-vacant Senate seat. The governor will formally announce his pick today at noon in Albany. According to the New York Times an aide to Rep. Gillibrand confirmed that she had accepted the appointment. Here to tell us more about the Senate's newest member is Liz Benjamin, a reporter for the New York Daily News.

For more on the vacant U.S. Senate seat, WNYC's Brian Lehrer joins us in the studio for his take on Caroline Kennedy's withdrawal and what it means for New York and for Ms. Kennedy. Was it political blow-back that made her change her name? Or was it the possibility that she flubbed her job interview? Todd Zwillich, from Capitol News Connection, contributes his thoughts on the replacement process from Washington, D.C.

Now that Caroline Kennedy has officially withdrawn from consideration for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton as she became Secretary of State, all eyes turn to New York Governor David Patterson. Who will he pick to fill the seat now that the frontrunner is a non-runner? For insight into this suddenly wide open field, we are joined by Liz Benjamin a reporter for the New York Daily News who has been following this story from the beginning.

After an evening of conflicting reports on whether Caroline Kennedy was in or out of the race to fill Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate seat, late last night she officially withdrew her name citing personal reasons in her brief statement. It's a startling development for the political world and leaves many questions as to who New York Governor Paterson might ultimately choose for the Senate seat. We are joined by WNYC's state politics reporter, Elaine Rivera, who has been watching these events closely.

Senator Hillary Clinton goes before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today for confirmation hearings in the hopes of becoming Secretary of State in the Obama administration. Some analysts predict that Clinton will face tough questions regarding a potential conflict of interest linked to her husband. President Bill Clinton’s charitable foundation has accepted donations from governments in the Middle East and wealthy businessmen in India and Nigeria. Will his fundraising activities affect Senator Clinton’s confirmation? The Takeaway talks to Gail Sheehy author of the biography, Hillary's Choice, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair.

I've sipped the Kool-Aid. Not the Obama brand, or the McCain for that matter. It was labeled true democracy — flavored red, white and blue. I didn't drink it all mind you, just a sip. The first time I was able to vote was as an undergraduate in school in Atlanta — Clinton vs. Bush 41 in 1992. It was simple enough. I rolled out of bed, probably went to a class or two and strolled to the poll set up in Archer Hall, our auditorium at Morehouse College. No big deal, but a big deal — people died for me to vote, so it was my responsibility to show up. It was the same with Clinton vs. Dole in 1996. This time I was in graduate school in Washington, D.C. Clinton won, again. Whatever. And it was downhill from there.