On her first diplomatic foray abroad, Hillary Clinton is casting aside normal diplomatic caution. And for journalists, that’s newsy development.

In the last few hours, Clinton has waded into a public discussion about who will lead North Korea after ailing Kim Jong Il, known as the Dear Leader, leaves power. Normally, diplomats would shun such a discussion, fearing that it might rile Pyongyang.

But Clinton has gone at it with gusto, saying rumors about the reclusive Kim’s health have added to uncertainty that already swirls around nuclear-armed North Korea.

I’m in Seoul, South Korea, which is the third stop in Clinton’s four-nation Asia trip, and I’ve just come back from a news conference she held with Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, seen in the photo, where the matter came up again. She broached it hours earlier on her plane flight from Indonesia yesterday (I wasn’t aboard).

Asked if she thought her candid discussion about the topic might provoke North Korea, Clinton said this morning:

“No I do not because I think that all one has to do is read the press, and the open press is filled with such conversations. This is not some kind of a classified matter that is not being discussed in many circles. But for me, as we look at planning and contingency planning, we are taking everything into account.”

Earlier in the press conference, Clinton said Washington will deal with the Kim regime still in power in Pyongyang, but that the future holds uncertainty over who will rule North Korea.

“It’s very clear that as Minister Yu said, when you are thinking about future dealings with a government that doesn’t have any clear succession – they don’t have a president, they don’t have a prime minister – that is something you have to think about,” she said.

According to news wire accounts here and here, Clinton brought up the succession issue earlier.

"Everybody is trying to sort of read the tea leaves as to what is happening and what is likely to occur, and there is a lot of guessing going on," Clinton said on her plane flight to Seoul, referring to talks between Chinese, South Korean, Japanese and U.S. officials about Pyongyang.

"But there is also an increasing amount of pressure because if there is a succession, even if it's a peaceful succession, that creates more uncertainty and it may also encourage behaviors that are even more provocative as a way to consolidate power within the society," she said.

She said the succession question is muddying the waters, as it were, in already tense diplomatic negotiations with the north.

"You add to the already difficult challenge of working with the North Koreans the uncertainties that come from questions about potential succession, this is a difficult undertaking," she said.

Kim Jong Il is believed to have at least three sons: Kim Jong Nam, in his late 30s; Kim Jong Chul, in his late 20s; and Kim Jong Un, a son in his mid-20s by another companion. A few weeks ago, Yonhap, the semi-official news agency in South Korea, said the youngest son was named as Kim’s heir apparent, and this week the son registered his candidacy for March 8 parliamentary elections, a sign he is on the way up.

Whether Clinton should be discussing all this in public is anybody’s guess. But for us journalists, it’s a welcome way to provide a little news.