Citing US diplomacy regarding North Korea as an exercise in smart power she said: 'the short-term results were two unanimous Security Council resolutions with real teeth and consequences for North Korea, and then the follow-on active involvement of China, Russia, and India with us in persuading others to comply with the resolutions.'

Later this month, she and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will jointly lead a new strategic and economic dialogue with China and in autumn she would travel to Russia, Clinton said.

'The fact of these and other meetings does not guarantee results, but they set in motion processes and relationships that will widen our avenues of cooperation and narrow the areas of disagreement without illusion.'

'We know that progress will not likely come quickly, or without bumps in the road, but we are determined to begin and stay on this path,' she said.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)