NEW YORK - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has warned North Korea not to take any "provocative" actions that could undermine peace efforts.
Amid press reports that North Korea might be preparing a long-range missile test, Clinton pledged to hold the communist regime to its commitments to give up its nuclear programs.
It has said it will do that in return for international aid and political concessions.
Clinton spoke to New York's Asia Society on the eve of a trip to visit China, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea -- her first as secretary of state.
She also noted that their major economies and huge populations will be critical to turning around the global financial crisis.
Clinton says President Barack Obama's administration is ready to work with leaders in Asia to resolve the economic crisis that threatens the Pacific as much as any other region.
She also sought to reassure Japan, the top U.S. ally in the region, on one of its top concerns, promising to meet with the families of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.
"I will assure our allies in Japan that we have not forgotten the families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea and I will meet with some of those families in Tokyo next week," she said.
Climate change will be another diplomatic priority, Clinton said, especially because of China's fast-growing industries.
"Climate change is not just an environmental nor an energy issue, but also has implications for our health, our economies and our security," she said.
On North Korea, Clinton said the Obama administration is committed to working with the reclusive country through the framework of six-nation talks that produced the nuclear agreement.
"We believe we have an opportunity to move these discussions forward," she said. "But it is incumbent on North Korea to avoid any provocative action and unhelpful rhetoric toward South Korea."
The U.S. is willing to "normalize" relations with North Korea, Clinton said, but only if the regime in Pyongyang agrees to abandon its nuclear weapons programs and accept a program of verification.
