welcome to newsday. the headlines. inside the world of kim jon—un. a former official tells us they will never give up their nuclear powers. denuclearisation will never be achieved. north korea's nuclear deterrent is tied to kim jong—un�*s survival. taiwan says it will not bow to beijing's pressure to reunite with china. warnings in the uk that

factories could be shutdown as high energy costs bite. australia's biggest city begins to open up. new research once the loss of biodiversity could tip the world into ecological meltdown. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it is newsday.

for decades, one family has maintained a brutal grip on north korea. but occasionally, some slip through their grasp and reveal their secrets. translation: north korea's intelligence agency _ is the eyes, ears and brains of the supreme leader. colonel kim kuk—song spent 30 years in pyongyang's spy agencies. he defected in 2014 but has now, for the first time, decided to speak out. translation: there are many

cases where i directed spies to | go to south korea on missions. many cases. he claims kimjong—un gave an order to kill off one of the leader's main critics. the target was this man, hwang jang—yop. back in 2009, he was a high—profile defector in south korea. translation: it was a gift i to demonstrate kim jong-un's loyalty to his father. that's why this act of terror was organised. the attempt failed. pyongyang always denied it was involved. although some were caught, along with all their kit, the kernel claims agents infiltrated many areas of south korean society, including, in the early 90s, the presidential office. this level of starvation is unprecedented... that same decade, as thousands of north koreans starved in a disastrous famine, the colonel said the cash—strapped leader ordered him to produce and sell illegal drugs.

that same decade, as thousands of north koreans starved in a disastrous famine, the colonel said the cash—strapped leader ordered him to produce and sell illegal drugs. i brought three foreigners into north korea and built a base to produce crystal meth. all the money into north korea belongs to kim jong—il and kim jong—un. with that money, he built villas, bought cars, bought food, get clothes, enjoy the luxuries. as pyongyang stepped up its weapons programme, it too became a way to raise funds. i know that the operations department made arms deals with iran. as for the types, special midget submarines, semisubmersibles. north korea was very good at building cutting—edge weapons like this. north korea continues to build and test new weapons and missiles. it's been accused of selling arms and technology to a number of countries, which it denies. efforts to encourage the regime to disarm have repeatedly failed. the international community was excited when kim jong—un and trump met, saying it was for denuclearisation. but i didn't view it that way. in the end, denuclearisation cannot be achieved. why?

north korea's nuclear deterrent is tied to kim jong—un�*s survival. as the young dictator executed many of his political rivals, the colonel realised he too was at risk. i was the reddest of the red and to abandon my country and to escape to south korea was the worst grief—stricken decision, made in utter distress. while the colonel�*s account is impossible to verify, it serves as a timely reminder that the young leader has proved to be an adept dictator, with only one goal in mind. the survival of his regime. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. she explained the motivation behind this timing of this

interview. well, i think when it comes to that it is a question i have asked him on several occasions. i think when he answers, he talks about trying to free his northern brethren, but i also sense some frustration. he believes that he has all of this political knowledge, insight and knowledge that he would like to impart to others. i think also when it comes to really alerting our viewers, remember he defected in 2014. much of what he alleges is historical. but it does give us an insight into the inside of the regime just as a new, young kim jong—un came to power. indeed, and this revelation that kim jong—un would never give up nuclear weapons, what kind of message does it send to the biden administration as well as north korea's neighbours like south korea and japan? i don't think i've met a north korean dictator who have said that north korea

would ever be willing to give up its nuclear—weapons and i think it serves as a timely reminder to those who may be willing to negotiate and are looking to negotiate with north korea, remember within the last few weeks kimjong—un has indicated that he may be willing to talk to seoul if conditions are met and when it comes to that, i think seoul are looking and desperately hoping that the north will start to engage with them as well. when it comes to disarmament, that may be a separate conversation. certainly, north korea is under huge strict international sanctions to try to get them to give up their nuclear weapons, but within the last month alone they have tested four new weapons systems, which shows that even under dire economic conditions, which they are at the moment, they are able to continue to build weapons. it shows also the kind of activity the regime is willing to go to to survive, whether it comes to selling weapons or perhaps producing counterfeit money as he also

alleges. when comes to making drugs, as they have been in the past. these are allegations that have come from not just this colonel but other north korean defectors in the past. it is an open secret within the north korea watching community but it shows that when it comes to this regime they are prepared to survive at all costs so that is something which when it comes to making calculations with regard to negotiations that perhaps negotiators may need to take into account. china has accused taiwan's president of inciting tension as tensions mount over the island's future. beijing says that taiwan's president distorted facts marking the island's national day.

the president had responded defiantly to a warning by the chinese leader that taiwan would have to unify with china. she said the country would continue to bolster its defences. china's leaders consider the island are part of their territory. last week, china sent an unprecedented number of military aircraft into taiwan's air defence zone. we will continue to bolster our national defence and demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves so that nobody can force taiwan to take the path that china has laid out for us. this is because the path that china has laid out offers neither a free and democratic way of life for taiwan nor sovereignty for our 23,000,000 people. and here is the latest from our china correspondent, who is in taiwan. i think it is unlikely that the address today was a direct response with what the chinese leader said yesterday. her remarks were planned long in advance. as you say, china has reacted. this clearly is china pushing back.

it shows just how far we have come from the era just a decade or so ago when the two sides looked to find a compromise, putting aside their differences, essentially kicking the vexed question of exactly what taiwan was down the line and just strengthening business ties. the president of taiwan today made it clear that that era is over because of the direction that china is taking. it is growing increasingly authoritarian. she cited what has happened in hong kong as a warning to the people of taiwan and she is saying that it is taiwan's democracy, its unique identity that needs to be emphasised and this was really an appeal to allies in the region like japan but also further afield and in particularan appeal to washington. let's now take a look at some other stories making headlines.

16 people have died in a plane crash near moscow. nearly 60 people were rescued with serious injuries and has been taken to hospital. the plane owned by localflying taken to hospital. the plane owned by local flying club crashed soon after takeoff. most of those on board where members of a parachute team. ireland's foreign minister has said that the uk's demands for changes to the northern ireland protocol could cause a breakdown in relations the eu. the brexit minister lord frost has said that he wants the european court ofjustice removed from oversight of the deal. tens of thousands of people have protested in the belgian capital, brussels, for ambitious action to tackle global warming. ambitious action to tackle globalwarming. it ambitious action to tackle global warming. it comes 3 weeks before the start of a major united nations climate summit which is to be held in scotland. the issue gained greater political traction in belgium in the wake of deadly floods that hit the country and

the wider region injuly. a team of young female afghan footballers who fled the country after the taliban took control has been told that they can live in the uk with their families. 35 members of the afghan�*s women's developmental afg han�*s women's developmental team afghan�*s women's developmental team who are aged between 13 and 19 escape from kabul to pakistan. the british government says it is finalising visas for the team. fbi agents have arrested a couple in west virginia on suspect of selling secrets to what the pair believed was a foreign power. they say that data cards were delivered to an undercover fbi agent in return for about $100,000. with me to explain more on this is our reporter. i hear something to do with the sandwich, but explain to me how they were caught. that is right. to find

out how the fbi cut them, we need to understand the curious case of a peanut butter sandwich and a data card and how it was stuck inside like that. this came to pass the nuclear engineer from the us navy, jonathan toby, basically sent a letter to an unnamed foreign country in april last year, and that letter read, i apologise for the poor organisation into your language. please forward this letter to your military intelligence agency. i believe this information will be of great value to your nation. that is not a hoax. well, indeed it wasn't. someone pass it to the fbi in december last year and they used encrypt e—mails and e—mailed jonathan pretending to be the foreign spy. jonathan was not sure at 1st so they sent him $100,000 in crypto currency and also sent a signalfrom in crypto currency and also sent a signal from the unnamed country's embassy in washington. they won his trust and they organised these dead drops. this is where somebody leave something in unknown locations lycopene at butter

sandwich and they then pick it up sandwich and they then pick it up later. they used peanut butter sandwiches and band aid rappers and they also used other things like chewing gum wrappers. and what happened is on a 3rd of these drops, the fbi finally cutjonathan and fbi finally cut jonathan and his fbi finally cutjonathan and his wife, diane, a teacher, who teaches humanities, who was apparently in charge of the lookout for these operations. i can't believe he actually prepared a sandwich, but what exactly were the secrets they thought they were selling? there were thousands of documents they were selling about these virginia class nuclear submarine reactors. they are the ones that carry cruise missiles. they cost $3,000,000,000 to make so these were very serious secrets and they are also good for stealth intelligence gathering. the person selling had been a member of the navy from 2012 up to 2017. he had a very fantastic pass and he could get access to all of the secrets and he was also in charge of the proportion of these

submarines and that is something that the americans have just sold to australia in that deal that angered france. he did write allegedly that he was ready to be extracted, should he be discovered, he had cash and his passport ready, but in fact the fbi cut what they consider to be their man and woman. he will now be charged in court on tuesday under the atomic in act and those secrets are now safely in the hands of the fbi. i hope you get to eat that sandwich instead of wasting it. thank you so much for that update. you are watching the bbc. still to come on the programme. scientists warn that the increasing loss of our precious biodiversity is risking the foundation of global supply chains.

parts of san francisco least affected by the earthquake are returning to life. in the marina area they are more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. he has gone from being a little known revolutionary to an experienced diplomatic operator. it was a 20 pound bomb that ripped open the hotel. this government will not weaken. | democracy will prevail. it filled me with humility to know that i have been chosen as the recipient of this award. this catholic nation held its breath for the man they called the 33. and then bells tolled nationwide to announce the first

rescue and chile let out an almighty roar. welcome back. you are watching newsday on the bbc. 0ur headlines. a former top spy for north korea tells the bbc pyongyang will never give up its weapons. the president of taiwan uses the island's national day to insist it will not bow to china's pressure to reunify. the people of new south wales will enjoy new freedoms from monday as the state begins its path to opening up, with 70% of the adult population double jabbed, the loosening of restrictions will be enjoyed only by those who have had the vaccine. those who have not will have to wait until the 1st of december. residents of greater sydney have been on stay—at—home orders for three and a half months but the premier of new south wales cautioned against being too relaxed and encouraged

people to be responsible. if we take personal responsibility, we will get through this difficult time. it is a time of optimism and hope and we know that business confidence is crucial in getting our economy through, but importantly we need to do it in a safe way. it is an exciting day for our state, but i do want to reiterate, we need to do this in a safe way and please treat everybody with respect and kindness and that will be key as we move through this period of time. lets cross over to our australia correspondent, who is in sydney for us. it is a very exciting day for sydney people and people of new south wales in general because after more than 100 days in lockdown, today fully vaccinated residents can go to pubs, restaurants, cafes. i got my morning coffee this morning and the cafes were open.

the tables and chairs are ready, albeit with a limited capacity. indoors, people have to be wearing masks and there will be social distancing, but shops will open and hairdressers and schools. families will be sending children to school next week. businesses are responsible to ask for proof of vaccination. there has been talk about vaccination passports. as of now, you can show on your phone a certificate of a double vaccination, but generally life will look very different for those who are fully vaccinated than it did 100 or so days ago. how nice that you can get a cup of coffee now. this only applies to people who have been vaccinated, so is there much resentment about people who have not had their jabs?

yes and i think this is really a big point of contention, especially for those who have had their 1stjab but are not fully vaccinated. there has been a big delay for those under 40, who would say that we have been waiting for weeks if not months for a vaccination appointment. it has been a long wait for so many people. people will say that it is not their fault. we have put ourselves forward and we haven't gotten it. i think this week will be interesting in testing how this will work and how businesses will enforce this vaccination and whether or not they will deny people who have not been vaccinated services but also people who have not been vaccinated, how they will react because with all of these new freedoms and this is the 1st step into

the new road map of freedom, until new south wales gets to 80% vaccination, this is only limited to those who are double jabbed to be able to enjoy these freedoms. the father of pakistan's nuclear weapons program and later accused of smuggling technology to iran, north korea and libya has died at the age of 85. the atomic scientist, who spent the last years of his life under heavy guard, died in the capital, islamabad, where he had recently been hospitalised with segment. this report begins with flashing images. the father of pakistan's nuclear program was given a heroic farewell. he was laid to rest with full state honour in islamabad. wrapped in a pakistani flag, his coffin was carried by a contingent of the pakistan military. despite heavy rain, his funeral prayers were attended by cabinet ministers, high—ranking civil and military officials

and a large number of people. a great man loyal to pakistan has died. he is the only pakistani to be loyalty to be honoured twice with the highest civil award. is considered as a hero for giving the islamic world its only nuclear bomb but his legacy was also marred by allegations of smuggling the technology to countries like iran, north korea and libya. he was put under house arrest in 2004 after he confessed on state television of selling nuclear secrets. i take full responsibility for my actions and seek your pardon. international contamination did nothing to dent his popularity among the masses. today the whole nation is saddened. he was loyal to the country and made pakistan

a nuclear power. the doctor was widely respected in pakistan for his contribution to the country's security, especially for bringing pakistan to the level of india. his house arrest was ended in february, 2009, but his movements were strictly guarded until his death. new research suggests that the loss of biodiversity risks tipping the world into ecological meltdown. the data suggests that the uk is one of the most nature depleted places in the world, ranking in the bottom 10% of all countries. 0livia richwold has been to a nature reserve in northern england. just outside the busy city of york is this bog, created by a retreating glacier 15,000 years ago. it's brimming with biodiversity. that's the name for all living things and how they fit together.

but the uk is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. a new report says thatjust 53% of our biodiversity is left — that is compared to a global average of 75%. that matters because biodiversity affects the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. biodiversity is more than something that is beautiful to look at and we love. it is also what provides us with so many of our basic needs. it is the foundation of our society. we have seen recently how disruptive it can be when supply chains break down. nature is at the base of our supply chains. the uk's lack of biodiversity is linked to the industrial revolution. intensive farming also plays its part. so what more can be done to protect special places like this? last year, the secretary

of state turned down a plan to build 500 homes next door to this nature reserve. it is an extraordinary place, it holds between five and 10% of all the species in britain, and yet if we don't do anything at all we will lose more species than we already have from a place like this. if we get it right, if we allow the wider countryside to become nature rich again, this is the place from which the surrounding land will be colonised, and that is true of all the other nature reserves across the country. tomorrow a week—long un biodiversity conference will begin virtually, hosted by china. negotiators will thrash out plans for protecting nature over the next ten years. a decade ago, 20 targets were set, but none of them were met. scientists say this is our best chance for a sustainable future. 0livia richwold, bbc news, near york. that is all we have time for.

thank you so much for watching. hello. last week brought us some heavy rain followed by some particularly warm weather. the week ahead, well things will be much drier. rain mainly confined to the north of scotland. but it will be also cooler. temperatures should be around average, but there will be incursions of chilly air towards the north and the east at times. all running around the eastern edge of an area of high pressure which will dominate through this week. that's what's happening into monday, but we are on the edge of it so going to have rather chilly start. certainly compared with the morning commutes we saw the end of last week, much cooler out there. temperatures down into the mid—single figures as we start the day. but there will be a lot of dry weather for england, wales and northern ireland. a bit of patchy mist and fog but some good sunny spells. the sunshine will be a bit hazy and that's because we've got

a weather front pushing in. mainly across the north and west of scotland where the rain will be persistent in the highlands and western isles. some of that rain willjust extend directly to parts of southern scotland, maybe the far northeast of england but most places will stay dry. still breezy but not as breezy as it has been across northern scotland. still pleasantly warm with the heat and sunshine in the south, up to 16 or 17. above where we should be for this stage of october. as we go into monday night that weather front is still there bringing rain and drizzle across parts of scotland, also down across the eastern parts of england. but it does mean more cloud around and temperatures shouldn't drop too much, there will be clearer skies in the south, some mist and fog and a chilly start to tuesday. could also see some of aurora hopefully on monday night. but cloud amounts will be crucial. and that's because we do have that weather front draped in across the eastern edge of our high—pressure system for tuesday. the exact position could change a little bit, but certainly across parts of scotland, maybe into the north and east of england the chance for some light rain or drizzle. 0n the eastern edge of it we

will drag in some colder air. temperatures around ten to 12 degrees in scotland and parts of eastern england. whereas to the west of that weather front 18 degrees possible with some sunshine breaking through the cloud. bit more sunshine and dry on wednesday, more of a westerly drift so those eastern areas should warm up a little bit once again. back into the mid—teens and only a few showers across the far north and northwest of scotland. as we go into thursday heavy rain pushes its way southwards across scotland. that's going to bring some colder conditions into the north as we go through the latter stage of the week and potentially some overnight frost. further south it does get colder but stays dry.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines in all the main new stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continue straight after our talk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. from covid to climate change, governments around the world face challenges which demand modifications of human behaviour.