Visitors look at replicas of North and South Korean missiles at the Korea War Memorial

North Korea might stage a second atomic test to raise the stakes in nuclear disarmament negotiations next year but the new US administration is unlikely to yield, a South Korean think-tank said Monday.

It warned it could not rule out the possibility the North may threaten to suspend denuclearisation, boycott six-party disarmament talks and fire missiles or even a nuclear weapon "to tame the new Obama administration or increase its leverage in the nuclear negotiations."

"North Korea may become less reasonable in the face of growing challenges from instability of its regime and rumours of leader Kim Jong-Il 's ill health," said the report from the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, which is under the foreign ministry.

But incoming President Barack Obama, it forecast, would be tougher than his predecessor in dealing with what it called Pyongyang's brinkmanship.

The communist state staged its first nuclear test in October 2006 while the six-party negotiations were at a stalemate.

The latest round of talks this month ended without agreement on the next step -- procedures to verify the North's declaration of nuclear activities.

The institute noted that Obama has expressed willingness in principle to talk to leaders of hostile nations, such as the North's Kim.

But it said his engagement policy, given no results, may also switch to a tougher stance.

"Particularly on the verification issue, the Obama administration is likely to adopt a tougher stance than the Bush administration, which implies the Pyongyang-Washington relations won't be very smooth," Yonhap news agency quoted the report as saying.

North Korea in any case would not be a diplomatic priority for Obama given the economic crisis, the Iraq war and Iran's nuclear drive among other issues, it went on.

Should the nuclear stalemate continue, North Korea could soften its current hostility and turn to South Korea as its last source of assistance.

The institute said the global economic crisis would weigh heavily on the North as mineral export prices fall and outside aid decreases, and Pyongyang may face another food shortage crisis similar to the 1990s.

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President-elect Barack Obama greets onlookers after working out at the Semper Fit Center at Marine Corp Base Hawaii in Kailua, Hawaii

President-elect Barack Obama returned Monday to a military gym where he has spent all but one morning since beginning a 12-day vacation in his native Hawaii.

Obama, his wife, Michelle, and family friend Martin Nesbitt visited Marine Corps Base Hawaii's Semper Fit Center. He did not speak with reporters but greeted about two dozen visitors after his workout.

The president-elect, who skipped the gym on Christmas, also posed for pictures.

Obama has sought to stay out of the public eye while here, opting for private meals at his $9 million rented vacation home or at a friend's house.

On Sunday, the family took a two-hour scenic drive north up Oahu's windward coast to the Mokuleia residence of Bobby Titcomb, a high school buddy, where they spent nearly seven hours.

Obama has no public schedule during his stay. Aides say he has been receiving national security briefings and speaking with transition officials.

Obama, his wife and daughters left Chicago on Dec. 20. They are due to return on Jan. 1.

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President-elect Barack Obama selected former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack as his choice for secretary of agriculture, announcing the decision Dec. 17 in Chicago.

At the same time, Obama also named Colorado Senator Ken Salazar as his choice for Secretary of the Interior.

During the announcement, President-elect Obama made clear he considers both secretaries-designate to be key members of his energy and environment team.

“Tom understands that the solution to our energy crisis will be found not in oil fields abroad, but in our farm fields here at home,” Obama said.

He also said his cabinet appointments are “the team we need to make the rural agenda America’s agenda.”

About Vilsack

Vilsack, 58, was elected governor of Iowa in 1998, the first Democrat elected to that position in 32 years. After winning re-election in 2002, he chose not to seek a third term. Prior to serving as governor, he served six years as a state senator.

He holds a law degree from Albany Law School in Albany, N.Y., and practiced law in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, early in his career. He was the first Democrat to formally announce his candidacy for U.S. president in the 2008 election, but left the race in early 2007 and joined the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney, consulting clients in the fields of energy conservation, renewable energy and agribusiness development.

In September 2007, he was named a Distinguished Fellow at Iowa State University’s Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products and began to work quarter-time for the institute.

Born in Pittsburgh, Vilsack was orphaned at birth and later adopted. He met his future wife while attending Hamilton College in New York, and they settled in her home town of Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

At the Obama announcement, secretary-designate Vilsack spoke of his commitment to “promote American leadership in response to global climate change,” and declared his intent to “place nutrition at the center of all food programs administered by the Department.” read more

A poll shows 71 percent of Americans approve of Barack Obama picking Hillary Clinton for secretary of state.

What's made up of five women, four African-Americans, three Latinos, two Republicans and two Asians, including a Nobel Prize winner?

The answer: President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet.

Obama is taking the big-tent approach to governing and wanted a Cabinet that stretches the tent wide.

"I think people will feel that we followed through on our commitment to make sure that this is not only an administration that is diverse ethnically, but it's also diverse politically and it's diverse in terms of people's life experience," Obama said December 16.

It might be diverse, but not everyone is happy. Some women's groups are disappointed. Among Obama's strongest backers during the election, they now say they don't have enough seats at the table.

That's because of Obama's 20 announced Cabinet-level posts, five went to women: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary, Sen. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, Rep. Hilda Solis as labor secretary, Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador and Lisa Jackson as Environmental Protection Agency chief. Video Watch more on what it takes to get a job with the Obama administration »

"When you are looking at a Cabinet and you have such a small number of women in the room when the big decisions are being made, there need to be a lot more women's voices in this administration," said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women.

Bill Clinton and President Bush each had a comparable number of women in their first Cabinets, but women's groups say they hoped they'd make progress. read more