US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday left for Europe and Asia largely to consult with US partners on curbing North Korea's and Iran's nuclear ambitions as well as on stabilizing Afghanistan.

A plane carrying Clinton and her aides took off from Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington at about 00:15 am (0515 GMT).

The chief US diplomat was to give a speech in Berlin on Sunday before joining German Chancelor Angela Merkel and other world leaders in celebrations on Monday to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In a preview of her visit, Clinton told a Washington audience on Friday that the wall's fall marked the end of a Cold War era in which the world was divided into clear blocs.