He has appointed a new defence minister, Kim Kwan-jin, a veteran field commander.

ECONOMIST: North Korea��s belligerence stiffens the South��s spine

Abdel Hakim Belhaj, Tripoli's new military commander, a veteran of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group denounced by Western governments for having links to al-Qaeda, is widely respected.

ECONOMIST: Libya

George Joulwan, a former NATO commander in Europe, Stapleton Roy, a retired veteran diplomat, and Eric Boswell, a former State Department and intelligence official.

NPR: U.S. Embassy Security Practices in Iraq Overhauled

Rounding out the crew is two-flight veteran astronaut Ellen Ochoa (robotic arm operator and flight engineer), rookie pilot Rick Husband and the commander, Kent Rominger, flying his fourth mission and his first in the left seat.

CNN: liftoff