hello, welcome to bbc news. i'm ben boulos. our top stories: inside the world of kim jong—un, a former north korean spy tells us pyongyang will never give up its weapons. translation: in the end, denuclearisation cannot be achieved. why? north korea's nuclear deterrent is tied to kim jong—un�*s survival. british police are dropping a review of sexual assault allegations by an american woman, virginia giuffre, against prince andrew. the spy who fed me. the fbi says it has uncovered a plot to sell a national secret concealed in a sandwich. it looks just like the red

planet, where are these would—be martians? kim jong—un will never give up his nuclear weapons according to a former agent and the spy agency. kim kuk—song defected in 2014, saying he was involved in 2014, saying he was involved in targeted attacks and assassinations, and even was involved in drug dealing for the leader. in an exclusive interview he has been speaking to our correspondent in seoul. for decades, one to our correspondent in seoul. for decades, one family retains a brutal grip but occasionally,

some slip through 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 i to go to south korea on missions. many cases. he claims kimjong—un gave an order to kill off one of the leaders�*s main critics. the target was this man, hwang jang—yop. back in 2009, he was a high—profile defender 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 colonel claims agents infiltrated many areas of south korean society, including in the early 1990s, the presidential office.

this level of starvation is unprecedented... that same decade, as thousands of north koreans staffed in a disastrous famine, the colonel said the cash—strapped leader ordered him to produce and sell illegal drugs. translation: 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. translation: | 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. translation: the international community was excited - when kimjong—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. translation: 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. police in the uk are dropping a review of sexual assault allegations against prince andrew, duke of york. his accuser has brought a civil lawsuit from the united states, she was trafficked to jeffrey epstein, and she was forced to have sex with prince andrew. the royal has consistently denied all of her allegations.

with me as our reporter. graeme, what reasons did the british police give for dropping this case and the review into it? the met police have investigated the allegations into prince andrew a number of times over the years, and consistently what they have said is that these investigations into human trafficking are largely focused on activities and relationships outside of the uk. so they are saying, nfa, if there is something going on it isn't a jurisdiction. this is, innovate, a question for the american authorities, so they say that they don't think they are the appropriate authority to conduct into the circumstances. that, in a large extent, is why they say they are no longer taking any further action. the reason they have reviewed it at this time is because there is a civil case going on in america at the moment. virginia giuffre alleges that she was trafficked to london and sexually assaulted by prince andrew, and thatis assaulted by prince andrew, and that is the substance of the

civil case now happening in america. the metropolitan police yes all those core documents, were given them, saw the evidence and decided to review them. but, today they have said they won't take further action. throughout all of this, prince andrew has denied all of the allegations against him, and as far as the uk process goes, it is suggesting police aren't going to take further action but, because, as you alluded to, the process continues in the united states. it does, what this is today is that in the immediate future there is no prospect of a criminal investigation into prints andrew here in the uk, but the metropolitan police are clear to say that they continue to liaise with other agencies, which must include forces in america, so they are still all talking to each other and, as you say, this civil case will continue. prince andrew has consistently denied these allegations that happened, or are alleged to have happened, some 20 years ago when virginia giuffre was a minor atjust i7.

giuffre was a minor atjust 17. we have seen the prince has stepped back from all public duties and that is still the case, is it? that's right, he has a sort of officially retired from oil duties and is very rarely seen in public. the last time i think was at his father's funeral some months ago. yes, this has been a very, very difficult time not only for prints and you but for the whole royal family. prints and you but for the whole royalfamily. i think today's news will be some really, i think, today's news will be some really, ithink, to today's news will be some really, i think, to prince andrew knowing that metropolitan police are not taking any further action at the moment. but there is no doubt that this will continue for the prince because the american case is ongoing and they will be developments in that in coming weeks. graeme, thank you for the update. fbi agents have arrested a couple on suspicion of selling nuclear war secrets to what the bad believe was a foreign power. they sayjonathan tobin delivered data cards do an undercover fbi agent in return

for about $100,000 in cryptocurrency. earlier, our reporter explained how the alleged spy was caught. jonathan toebbe was lord into a trap by the fbi that involved half a peanut butter stanage and one of these, a small data card that was slept on top of the sandwich with a plastic bag was actually squeezed inside of the sandwich. let me explain how we got to this point where this caught him out. let me take you back to april 2020. jonathan toebbe with access to lots of secrets of the us navy wrote a letter in april 2020. this is it. indeed it wasn't a hoax, with restricted information, but it was passed onto the fbi in country. they used encrypted

e—mails to try and get the secrets, and eventually paid $10,000 on cryptocurrency is to get him to trust them as well as sending signals from an embassy in washington related to that unnamed country. we do not know what those signals were but essentially they agreed to do drop—offs of this information where they wouldn't be present, they would leave them in items such as a peanut butter salvage, for which you got $20,000 in return so that he would give the password to the fbi. they did a second one and a chewing gum wrapper. the third one was on saturday, they caught him and his wife. she is a teacher in america, teaching humanities, and she was acting as a lookout for these drop—offs, allegedly. $20,000 for smh, | drop—offs, allegedly. $20,000 for smh, i thought my $20,000 for smh, i thought my lunch was extravagant. and what were the secrets that they managed to get out, if any? they were under way to finding out about the designs of nuclear powered warships. these other types of warships that can go silently in the water and propel themselves so fast that not even, for example,

trendy submarine could catch them. of course, you will remember these were the types of secrets recently to australia by america that so enraged the french. jonathan toebbe had been working in the navy between 2012 and was active until 2017. he thought he might get caught doing this so he did have his passport and some cash ready in order to be extracted, but in fact he was caught by the fbi before he could escape for attempted espionage, detained under the atomic energy act. so of course he is innocent until proven guilty and he will appear in court with his wife for the first time on tuesday. let's now take a look at some other stories in the headlines. 16 people have died in a plane crash in russia nearly 1000 kilometres east of moscow. a further six people who were on board the light aircraft were rescued, with serious injuries, and have been taken to hospital. the plane, owned by a local flying club, crashed soon after take—off. most of those on board were members of a parachute team. state media in yemen say that six people have been killed in a car bomb attack

in the city of aden. it's understood that a convoy accompanying the local governor and a government minister was targeted. both men are reported to have survived but a press secretary and a photographer died. tens of thousands of people have protested in the belgium capital, brussels, for ambitious action to tackle global warming. it comes three weeks before the start of a major united nations climate summit, which is to be held in scotland. the issue gained a greater political traction in belgium in the wake of deadly floods that hit the country and the wider region injuly. ireland's foreign minister has said that the uk's demand for changes to the northern ireland protocol could cause a breakdown in relations with the eu. the brexit minister, lord frost, has said he wants the european court ofjustice removed from oversight of the deal. syd ney sydney is welcoming back fully

vaccinated customers after nearly four months of lockdown. 70% of the adult population has received two doses of the covid vaccine. those who haven't will have to wait until december to be released from stay—at—home orders. earlier, ispoke be released from stay—at—home orders. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent in sydney to find out more about australia's opening up ryde. this is the first step in returning to normal, three major phases, and it all has to do with a number of vaccination on the vaccination rates. because new south wales has had 70% double—dose, this is why it is now starting to ease the lockdown. it will look quite different from those who are double vaccinated in new south wales. for example, restau ra nts, hairdressers wales. for example, restaurants, hairdressers and gyms are all open, children will start to go to school from next week. there are rules in place though. inside venues,

only 20 people can gather. social distancing rules, masks apply. and the big one is that now it is down to business owners to make sure that customers provide proof of vaccination, and they have to be double vaccinated for them to be able to enjoy the easing of restrictions. we had the premier mr perrottet say it is a step forward but it is going to be challenging. i think there are two major things to look at four — one is the spike or the increase in covid—i9 cases, but also the application of this group of vaccination rules. right now you are supposed to show your certificate, there have been talks about vaccination passports. they haven't materialised yet but many people who haven't been double vaccinated because i'm not happy with this, especially those who have been waiting a long time for theirjabs. it will be interesting to see how businesses apply that. i think

the whole of australia is really looking to new south wales because this is the first part of the country to shift from going to zero covid—i9 cases to actually living with the virus, if you will, opening up, risking that increase in the number of cases but also ramping up their vaccination numbers. and how is the vaccination campaign going? it has picked up quite a bit new south wales. we are inching towards an 80% fully vaccinated population here in new south wales. i think once you have had that there will be a number of easing of restrictions as well, including being able to travel within a new south wales itself. people will be able to travel freely in the sydney and surrounding areas right now, but you will not be able to go to regional areas. you are going to see that big change, and the other big change when you reach 80% and above is the

opening of international borders. we are yet to hear about that, so i think a lot of the new freedoms, a lot of how life is going to look into the coming months is going to directly have to deal with the number of those vaccination rates. and as they go up, more freedoms, and more back to normal and still to come: scientists warn 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, but in the marina area where most of the damage was done, they are more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. in the 19 years since he was last here, he has gone from being a little—known revolutionary to an experienced and successful diplomatic operator. it was a 20—pound bomb which exploded on the fifth

floor of the grand hotel, ripping a hole in the front of the building. this government will not - weaken, democracy will prevail. it fills me with humility and gratitude to know that i have been chosen as the recipient of this foremost of earthly honours. this catholic nation held its breath for the men they called the 33. and then, bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue and chile let out an almighty roar. this is bbc news. the headlines: a former top spy for north korea tells the bbc that pyongyang will never give up its weapons.

police have completed a review of sexual assault accusations against prince andrew and say no further action will be taken. existing government support to energy is being looked into. steelmakers have been warned they may stop production because of the rise in prices. cooking up a classic sunday brunch for hungry punters, but plating up in this leeds cafe is getting more expensive. as energy bills rise, they can'tjust turn off the coffee machine. i mainly worry that in the long—term the prices won't change and there will be that this idea that because we dealt with the current situation, it will be normalised to keep those prices the same. we might have to change our prices in the future if prices don't go down, which could have a knock—on effect on the people who feel like they can come in. the business secretary this morning would not commit to extra support for energy bills for companies

like this one. i think it is a critical situation. i'm speaking to industry, as you said, all the time, and high gas prices, they quadrupled this year, are making an impact, and that is why i am, as you say, speaking to people and listening and trying to work out a way forward. those industries that use a lot of energy for manufacturing say the time for working out a way forward has long gone. if the situation is critical which i certainly know it is, then why isn't government acting now, today, to address this problem for energy intensive sectors such as the steel industry? because without that help now, today, in the next week or so, we are going to see a significant, permanent damage to the uk steel sector. here is how dramatic price rises have been over the past year. households are protected by the energy price cap. that was set when prices were 65p. they are now almost four times that. businesses would like to see

something similar put in place for them in order to protect them from the worst spikes in the global market. but will it happen? to cushion businesses through this period, the business secretary says he has asked for help from the treasury, something a treasury source denies. labour says the government needs to act. businesses are tremendously worried, as are families, everything is getting more expensive, fuel, energy costs, the weekly shop, and while all that is going on, we have got a government that is in chaos, isn't getting a grip on what is needed and is not taking action to protect businesses and support families at this time. here, though, it is not the political ping—pong that matters, rather what the cost of energy might do to the price of a cup of tea. katie prescott, bbc news. a team of young female afghan footballers who fled after the taliban took control have been told they can settle in the uk with families.

35 members of the afghan women's development team, aged 13—19, escaped from kabul to pakistan last month. the british home office says it is finalising visas for the group. new research suggests the loss of biodiversity risks tipping the world into ecological meltdown. the data suggests the united kingdom is one of the most nature—depleted places in the world, ranking in the bottom 10% of all countries. we have been to a nature reserve in the north of england. just outside the busy city of york is askham bog, created by a retreating glacier 15,000 years ago. it is 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

the 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 that 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 places like this? last year, the secretary of state turned down a plan to build 500 homes next door to this nature reserve. askham bog is an extraordinary place. it holds between 5% and 10% of all 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 and if we don't 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's 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 richwald, bbc news, near york. sending humans to mars have been a long held dream. while rovers are already glancing at the red planet, a manned mission is believed to be more than a decade away.

bounding on the red planet, a captivating dream that has long mesmerised us but this is not mars, this is the israeli desert. mars, this is the israeli desert-— mars, this is the israeli desert. ., , ., . , desert. we have researchers from 25 nations _ desert. we have researchers from 25 nations gathering i desert. we have researchers l from 25 nations gathering here to simulate the first human mission on mars so we have a carefully selected crew of six astronauts from various countries, mimicking society on the red planet. for countries, mimicking society on the red planet.— the red planet. for the next month, the red planet. for the next month. the _ the red planet. for the next month, the ramon - the red planet. for the next month, the ramon crater, i month, the ramon crater, selected for its unique geological features, will be selected to research future mars missions. a series of experiments in fields ranging from biology to geology will be undertaken by the crew, along with a team of engineers it will be looking at improving autonomous navigation on the planet where gps is not an

option. it. planet where gps is not an 0 tion. , ., , planet where gps is not an otion. , .,, ., ~' planet where gps is not an otion. , .,, ., ~ ., planet where gps is not an otion. , ., ~ ., ., option. x people working and a lot of tests _ option. x people working and a lot of tests and _ option. x people working and a lot of tests and bound - option. x people working and a lot of tests and bound to - option. x people working and a lot of tests and bound to be . lot of tests and bound to be challenges but i trust my crew that we can overcome the challenges.— that we can overcome the challenues. ~ ., ., ., ., ., challenges. we have a motto of fail fast, found _ challenges. we have a motto of fail fast, found cheap _ challenges. we have a motto of fail fast, found cheap and - fail fast, found cheap and hopefully we will not repeated on mars — hopefully we will not repeated on mars because we have done it before _ on mars because we have done it before. .,, , before. those behind the earthly simulation - before. those behind the l earthly simulation mission believe that people who would take those historic first steps on mars are already born and this is a dream inching closer to reality. tenured injury north, bbc news. an update of the volcano eruption and that has been happening on la palma since the middle of september and the last 24 hours, boulders the size of three story buildings have flown down the side of the volcano, after a string of violent tremors. a research

centre on the canary islands theyit centre on the canary islands they it has destroyed 1000 homes. i'm on social media. thank you 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 will actually be around average but there will be incursions of chilly air towards the north and 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're on the edge of it, so we're going to have a rather chilly start — certainly compared with the morning commutes we saw at the end of last week. much cooler out there — temperatures down into mid—single figures as we start the day. but there'll be a lot of dry weather to begin with for england, wales and northern ireland. a bit of patchy mist and fog with 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 the western isles. some of that rain willjust extend erratically to parts of southern scotland, maybe the far north—east of england, but most places away from the north will stay dry. still breezy, but not as busy as it has been across northern scotland. lerwick in the colder air at nine degrees. still pleasantly warm with the heavy sunshine further south, i6 ori7, a bit above where we should be for this stage in october. as we go into monday night that weather front is still there, bringing rain and drizzle across parts of scotland, also down across some eastern parts of england. but it does mean more cloud around. the temperatures shouldn't drop too much, and there'll be clear skies in the south. some mist and fog initially to start tuesday. we could also see some aurora hopefully on monday night, but cloud amounts will be crucial. that's because we do have that weather front draped in across the eastern edge of a 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 of some

light rain and drizzle. 0n the eastern edge of it, we'll drag in some colder air. temperatures around ten to 12 degrees for scotland and parts of eastern england, whereas to the west of that weather front 18 degrees possible with some sunshine breaking through the cloud. a bit more sunshine and dry on wednesday. more of a westerly drift, so those eastern areas should warm a little bit once again, back into the mid—teens. only a few showers across the far north and north—west of scotland, but as we going to 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 it stays dry.

hello.

this is bbc news. the headlines: in an exclusive interview, a former senior military officer in north korea's intelligence agency has told the bbc doesn't believe kim jong—un will ever give up the country's nuclear weapons. kim kuk—song, who achieved the rank of colonel in north korea's powerful spy agencies, defected to seoul in 2014. police in britain are dropping a review of sexual assault allegations by an american woman, virginia giuffre, against prince andrew. london's metropolitan police say they have completed that review and no further action will be taken. the prince has consistently denied all allegations. fully vaccinated residents in australia's most populous state, new south wales, are enjoying new freedoms is lockdown begins to be lifted. people in greater sydney have been on stay—at—home orders for three and a half months, but some social distancing measures and limits on public gatherings remain.

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.