U.S. Spy Chief Nominee Clapper Sees Danger Ahead From N. Korea

The U.S. may be entering “a dangerous new period” with North Korea marked by military provocations designed to advance the Stalinist state’s political goals, President Barack Obama’s nominee for intelligence chief said.

That threat is the “most important lesson” for the U.S. intelligence community to take from North Korea’s sinking of a South Korean warship, James Clapper told the Senate Intelligence Committee in written testimony for his confirmation hearing yesterday. A retired Air Force lieutenant general, Clapper has held the Pentagon’s top intelligence job since 2007.