WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is warning that North Korea's new young leader must transform his impoverished country for the better or face a backlash from its oppressed people.

Clinton issued a direct appeal to Kim Jong Un, saying, quote: "Rather than invest in implements of war, feed your people."

She was speaking after top diplomats and defense chiefs of the U.S. and South Korea decided Thursday to respond decisively to military provocations from North Korea.

Clinton said Kim, who rose to power after his father's death in December, could go down in history as a transformative leader.

She said if he continued the model of the past, eventually North Korea will change because at some point people cannot live under such oppressive conditions.