2010 top story 4

North Korea — The world’s bogeyman, Kim Jong Il, was in fading health and prepared a successor, a previously little-known son, Kim Jong Un. But to take over the reins he had to show the world he is as frightening a wild card as his father. The sinking of a South Korean warship and the shelling of a border island followed. North Korea's nuclear program worried neighbors and distant countries alike. North Korea looked belligerent and unstable. South Korea and the United States scrambled to find a strategy to contain North Korea, without much luck. China appeared not to know what to do with its loose cannon ally.