American Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been detained in North Korea since March, after they were accused of illegally crossing the border from China. Their trial was supposed to begin yesterday. If convicted, they could face 10 years of hard labor. The women’s families remained silent for the first two months of their captivity, but this week family members were on the Today Show, Larry King Live, and other programs, appealing for the journalists' release.

Steve Romano, a Former Chief Negotiator for the FBI and now a Senior Advisor with the Center for Personal Protection and Safety, joins The Takeaway to talk about how experts advise families what to say to the press when a loved one is held captive.

Here is some footage of vigils being held for the captive journalists.

South Korean newspapers have reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il appointed his youngest son Kim Jong Un as successor. The reports say that the North Korean leader instructed the country's diplomats to pledge allegiance to his son, who is reported to be in his 20's. To find out what this means for the future of U.S. relations with Korea The Takeaway talks to BBC’s Chris Hogg who is following this closely from Seoul, South Korea.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports that North Korea test fired yet another short range missile today. This would be the sixth missile launch since the North's nuclear test on Monday. Our partner, The New York Times, is reporting this morning that the U.S. may push China to ban North Korean flights through its air space to prevent the transfer and proliferation of nuclear materials. New York Times correspondent David Sanger joins us with a look at the U.S. response to North Korea's rogue behavior. He's also the author of The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power.

For more of The Takeaway's coverage of North Korea, click here. For a look at Kim Jung Il, click here.

Yesterday, North Korea's official news agency warned of a “powerful military strike” on South Korea if it searched the North’s ships. This came the same day that the North said that it no longer considers itself bound by the terms of the armistice that ended war between the Koreas five decades ago. New York Times reporter Martin Fackler wrote about a dramatic shift in how South Koreans are viewing their northern neighbors. He joins The Takeaway from Seoul.

For more, read Martin Fackler's article, S. Koreans Express Fatigue With a Recalcitrant North, in today's New York Times.

North Korea continues to raise the stakes in its game of nuclear poker, conducting a second nuclear test in as many days on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a South Korean newspaper has reported that U.S. spy satellites have detected signs that North Korea has started up its nuclear plant again. The international community has condemned Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. But the only country with real clout over North Korea is China: the nation is North Korea’s neighbor and main trading partner. To find out China's take on the North Korea situation, The Takeaway talks to John Pomfret, author of Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China. He writes the blog Pomfret’s China on the Newsweek/Washington Post website.

Just hours after the U.N. Security Council condemned North Korea's nuclear tests, Pyongyang tested more missiles. President Obama criticized the tests, prompting North Korea to respond that its "army and people are fully ready for battle... against any reckless U.S. attempt for a pre-emptive attack."

An American attack is extremely unlikely. But what clout does the U.S. or the international community have? The Takeaway turns to John Bolton: he served as the Permanent U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 and is currently a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Click through for transcript

In case you missed the President's remarks on North Korea, here they are:

North Korea is one of the world's most secretive societies. Curtis Melvin, a PhD student at George Mason University visited the communist nation in 2004 and '05 and was determined to learn even more about the closed kingdom. So he started a hobby, mapping North Korea with the help of Google Earth.

The U.S. and the United Nations now have to calibrate their reaction to North Korea's recent missile test, while also worrying about Iran's nuclear ambition and fears of proliferation on the subcontinent. The International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is the international regulatory agency charged with monitoring the use and development of nuclear energy. But the agency is in the middle of electing a new general director. There are five candidates vying for the job and they are officially announcing their candidacies today. How much can the agency do?

Hans Blix knows something about those nuclear politics. He served as Director General of the IAEA from 1981 to 1997 before he was tapped to lead the U.N. committee that was eventually charged with searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He joins The Takeaway to discuss North Korea and the new era of nuclear politics.

North Korea says it carried out an underground nuclear test, prompting widespread international concern. Pyongyang says the device that it detonated was more powerful than a previous one tested in 2006. Meanwhile, a news agency in South Korea says the country also test-fired a total of three short-range missiles. The Takeaway is joined by Dr. Jim Walsh, a specialist in international security and a research associate at the M.I.T's Securities Studies Program.

North Korea is claiming it test fired a trio of nuclear missiles yesterday. Such claims haven't always turned out to be true, but there are indeed reports of seismic activity in the area. The official North Korea news agency said these explosions were more powerful than the previous tests in October 2006. The claimed tests are raising tensions in the region and Japan has already called for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss the situation. For more we turn to the BBC's Jonathan Marcus.

To protest the United Nation Security Council's condemnation of its missile, er...satellite launch, North Korea has withdrawn from six-party talks over the nation's use of nuclear power. Pyongyang has also vowed to start up the nuclear weapons program, er...power plant, it was supposed to be dismantling. We turn now to the BBC's Jonathan Marcus for an overview of of North Korea's actions and the international response.

For more of The Takeaway's coverage of North Korea, click here.

The North Koreans have launched what they say is a “communications satellite’ into orbit. America and its allies suspect the state’s “satellite” is in fact a long-range ballistic missile, which North Korea was testing. North Korea and their leader Kim Jong-Il remain defiant in the face of global protest and strong warnings from North Korea's neighbors. After the launch, the U.S. and its allies denounced the move and called an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to . The BBC's John Sudworth and Brian Myers of Dongseo University join The Takeaway to discuss the implications of this launch.


Our partners at the New York Times are reporting that the North Korean Missile Launch Was a Failure, Experts Say.

It's Monday and that means its time for us to gaze into our crystal ball for a look at the week ahead. We’ve got predictions on some key foreign and domestic policy issues and the latest on President Obama’s globetrotting. And we’ll tell you which economic numbers you’ll need to keep your eyes on. The Takeaway is talking to Marcus Mabry, international business editor at our partner the New York Times, and Cynthia Gordy, Washington correspondent for Essence.

North Korea has announced that it's preparing to launch a long-range rocket. While North Korea swears it is just carrying a communications satellite, the launch is raising fears that the long-range rocket technology, with a theoretical range of over four thousand miles, could eventually be used to target Alaska. For more, the BBC's Jon Sudworth joins us from Seoul, South Korea.

For more coverage of North Korea, click here.

Who knew North Korean leader for life Kim Jong Il and Barbie shared a birthday? Well we didn't want him to get jealous of our Barbie tribute, so we threw one together for him, too.
Here's his ad on eHarmony
Here's a news report on his approval rating
Here's his video with P. Diddy
And let's not forget his appearance on the Silver Screen or his musical turn.
So happy birthday, dear leader, we didn't forget you.