>> this is not a bus. it's a movement. we're going to go from neighborhood to neighborhood and keep making a difference. u.s. troops in the region or are on alert. we have the details emerging right now on how the war might start for tens of thousands of americans in danger. and is someone calling kim jung-un's strings? two people with considerable

power could influence them. >> and north korea right now we're told to back muscles are in their launchers, they're loaded and ready to go. the white house says it won't be surprised if kim jung-un orders those muscles to be fired in a new test of military power. the communist leaders and all sorts of signals about his next move and when it might happen including an ominous new warning to foreign diplomats in the north korean capital. our correspondents are standing by with all the latest developments in the region and here in the united states. and christiane amanpour and fareed zakaria are here to give us the global view of this unfolding story. but first let's go to our correspondent, barbara starr, with the very latest. >> there were some initial thoughts today that things could be cooling off with the north koreans. but then again, maybe not.

a new warning from kim jung-un to them to p'yongyang. after april 10th the regime may not be able to protect them in the event of war. sweden, which oversees entrance into north korea cautiously acknowledge the morning. we're very much concerned over the escalation of intentions. we ask them whether this is a proposal or a requirement. we were told this is only a proposal. >> reporter: one u.s. official called it weird. no one is sure what they're trying to do. >> comes as the u.s. now believes north korea has loaded two muscles into mobile launchers and could be ready to fire them at any time from its eastern coastline. those missiles with a 2500-mile range it theoretically could hit targets as far away as guam and

even alaska's west coast. >> we would not be surprised to see them take such an action. no one can say when and if they launch what happened here watching two critical dates on the calendar. april 15th, the 101st birthday of kim ill song, and april 30th, when the military exercise ends. the regime could then feel free to launch a small-scale attack, perhaps at sea or across the border. but it's hard to really know what the north koreans have in mind. after days of broadcasts with talk of war, for now, it's new stores, farms and medicine on state tv. why is all of this so important, wolf? well, it missile movement is so far the only substantive military movement by the north korean regime. that's why everyone is watching it so closely.

if they were to test fire these missiles, and if it these missiles went over japan, this will rattle the asian region, the economic powerhouse of the region that the world has come to depend on. wolf? >> it certainly would. barbara starr at the pentagon, thank you. as the crisis in north korea plays out, chuck hagel said the units cannot afford to underestimate kim jong-un. he said all it takes is being wrong once for something disastrous to happen. cnn's tom foreman is in our virtual studio with a closer look at how a war could start. >> wolf, all eyes remain on the east coast of north korea, and on these, these mobile launch musudan missiles. if one of these takes off, everything changes very, very quickly. general, come on over here and let's bring if the map and talk about this some. if there is a launch, you say the very first thing would be some ak son by a satellite. why? >> tom, this satellite is going to pick up the infrastructure, the i.r. signature coming off

the mobile launcher. instantaneously, it will send messages to the tracking system. so we can track the telemetry of that missile. >> it involves units at sea, on land, in the air, everywhere, to hone in on this thing, right? >> exactly correct. from the ground, from the sea, from the air. totally integrated. tracking the missile. and the key objective there is to make sure it's not threatening a u.s. or allied resource in the region. >> it's worth noting this is not an easy task. a missile like this would be traveling at thousands of miles an hour. it's nothing at all like an airplane. >> no, it's not. this technology has been exceptionally highly refind. it's totally automated. >> if we see this moving toward a target, something we care about, that we want to protect, if the computers see that happening, they will automatically do what? >> they will take that missile out, but that's just the start. >> how will they take it out? >> it will be launched from one of the platforms, either from the sea or on the ground, that

will be able to track it, it will be a -- >> a countermissile, blow it apart in the air. >> right. >> then there is the human equation. because humans have to say, how do we respond to the fact that they tried to hit an asset, or maybe didn't. >> this is a political, strategic decision. and those that are acting most closely to all of this is the united nations command, which is in south korea. and the objective there is to maintain the armistice. we might in fact go after the exact launch location, where that missile came from. but the objective is to maintain the armistice. that is a cease-fire that we signed in 1953. >> maintain a north korea, south korea and south. >> could be tense moments along the way to maintaining that objective. wolf is this. >> guys, thanks very much. let's bring in fareed zakaria, also joining us our chief international correspondent christiane amanpour. they're loading missiles,

christiane. what is going on over here? >> can i just take a deep breath and step back? we don't actually know if they are for sure loading their missiles on their launchers. we have not been told that has actually been spotted. what we do know is the united states is saying the prudent thing, probably the obvious thing is we won't be surprised if there is some kind of launch. this will not be the first launch from north korea. they've done this stuff before. the south koreans are saying, that they do not know whether this -- if it happens -- will be an act of aggression, in other words, targeting something or will it be a test. they have not seen, despite they're deploying defensive warships, et cetera, they have not seen any mass movement of any troops, nor are they mass moving their own troops. the embassies, the governments, the foreign ministers, you just heard the russian, who have had the advisory from north korea, to perhaps move out their people, and would they like help in doing that. they are not doing that yet. neither britain nor the russians are deciding to evacuate their embassies.

so i think everybody is really trying to take a step back, perhaps being prepared for the inevitable which might be some kind of launch, but they're not saying they think this will be a hostile thing or trigger a wider war. >> the actual decision they made to ask for in diplomats, you might want to lead, that seems more ominous than maybe launching -- than putting these two missiles on these launchers, which they've done before. as christiane points out. >> much more ominous, wolf, you're exactly right. the russian foreign minister said, are you demanding we do that or some kind of a plan? then they were told, it's a proposal. what the hell does that mean. i think so far, christiane is absolutely right, everybody has tended to be quite restrained in responding to south korea. the u.s. has the most difficult role where we have to reassure the japanese and south koreans so they don't overreact, that we will take care of things. yet no one wants to overreact,

because there's a real danger here that if you overreact and you do something, this regime is probably pretty fragile and it could collapse and that produces a whole set of problems that nobody wants to deal with. not the south koreans who don't want to unify, not the chinese, in some ways not even us. >> why would the white house, jay carney the white house press secretary would say publicly, the u.s. would not be surprised that north korea took this -- >> well, i think they're realizing this is following a pattern that has been evident for the last 35 years. provocation, accommodation, provocation, accommodation. and i've been looking at the timeline, often when they've threatened these things, they've done it. it happened in february, it happened with the nuclear test in february, with the satellite launch in december. so these things have happened, and they have warned it. i think the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general dempsey, traveling in germany today said it correctly, look, we are not trying to be

provocative, we're trying to be defensive. they understand that some of their moves have obviously rattled the north koreans and have contributed to this constant ratcheting up of tit for tat. he's been saying also that one of the things we really find very difficult right now is that we just don't know what motivates this new young leader. you know, we had a relationship of sorts with the founder, kim song il. with kim jong-un we had some relationship of his life. but this is new. >> this raises an important issue, fareed, because the u.s. has terrific technical information, satellite, intercepts, that kind of stuff, but not necessarily good insight into what is going on with the 28 or 29 or 30-year-old young leader in north korea. >> wolf, when you talk to senior u.s. officials, te really know nothing about what's going on in north korea. it's a black box. we haven't had diplomats this, of course, we haven't had much of a presence in terms of the cia. we don't understand the society. the this is true not just of

north korea, it's true of iran. the u.s. has real difficulty understanding these rogue regimes, because we don't talk to them. >> hold on, guys, we have more to talk about amongst ourselves. up next, kim jong-un's leadership has been questioned. is someone else really running the show behind the scenes? new information coming in. a closer look at north korea's arsenal reveals it may not be the weapons that pose the biggest danger. this engine's got some juice. how far do you want to take it? up to you. chevy cruze's six-speed transmission allows for lower shift points, offering an e.p.a.-estimated 36 mpg highway. okay, then. [ laughs ] what a test-drive. yeah. it's really more of a road trip at this point. yeah. [ male announcer ] chevy. mpg ingenuity. now get this great sign & drive lease on a 2013 chevy cruze ls for around $199 a month.

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[ sighs ] [ flo speaking japanese ] [ shouting in japanese ] we work wherever you work. now, that's progressive. call or click today. the north korean leader kim jong-un's threats and bluster may be getting the world's attention, but many suspect he's little more than a puppet. the public face of a more mysterious and powerful hierarchy that's really in control. our pentagon correspondent chris lawrence has more on who may be pulling kim's strings. what are you learning over there, chris? >> reporter: make no mistake, wolf, i mean, there is a power behind this throne. it's really a family affair, with one woman in particular sitting right next to the throne. north korean video show us how kim jong-un wants the world to see him. but they barely give us a peek into kim's inner circle.

what are we not seeing in this video? >> the people whispering to him in the ear, his key advisers. >> reporter: joseph is a retired intelligence official who focused on korea. >> here we see a row of male officials, and one woman. who is she? >> this is the aunt. this is the sister of kim jong-il. >> reporter: she holds powerful positions in north korea's cabinet. they made her a four-star general in 2010 and she helped transfer power from her brother to her nephew. >> she is someone who is an operator behind the scenes. >> reporter: and the most powerful woman in north korea. >> but it's her husband who is the rainmaker of the kim regime. >> reporter: he led north korea's attempt to revive the economy, and has extensive ties to china of the he's now kim's key policy adviser. >> he's come very far, in a very short period of time.

from number 19th to number 2. >> reporter: he may be the closest north korea has to a reformer. >> anyone who deviates, even slightly from the path. >> reporter: outside the first family, the inner circle is small. are these kim's military elite? >> no, they're gone. most of these people are gone now. >> reporter: kim purged the military veterans his father relied on and installed his own men. this is a party man, the first bureaucrat to run the military in the arms sales business. >> he is someone who is considered to be the kim jong-un's inner circle man when it comes to the military. >> make no mistake, kim rules with an iron fist, but it's not an isolated one. and after sweeping aside a lot of the folks who were in power with his father, he's even more reliant now than ever on his aunt and uncle, wolf. >> chris lawrence, with good information from the pentagon. thanks very much.

let's bring in fareed zakaria, also our chief international correspondent christiane amanpour. this notion of he's a puppet, that there are these people pulling the strings behind the scenes, what do you make of that? >> i think, look, he's a 29-year-old boy, he's barely in office for much time. clearly he is not alone in exercising power. clearly this is a military dictatorship and that means the military part is very important. i think he does have -- it's a family dynasty, wedded to military power, so both sides have an important play. the key adviser is the liaison to chin amplt the reason north korea is able to survive is the chinese government provides 80% of its food and fuel. the man who negotiates with china is probably the lifeline of the regime. >> it's so weird, i mean, you can't make this kind of stuff up, christiane, one day he's going to a basketball game with dennis rodman, and inviting dennis rodman over for dinner,

partying it up, whatever they were doing, and the next day he's threatening south korea, japan, the united states. >> it's more than weird, it's actually very troubling that the united states of america, the super power does not have any personal relationship or personal insight into this very troubled adversary, north korea. there's no diplomacy, no face-to-face engagement, no nl. when you hear the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff saying that this is what makes it so difficult and difficult to read, because we don't have -- >> what should the obama administration be doing? >> there should be more diplomacy. >> like what is this. >> engagement. whoever thought, you know that the united states relies mostly on china. in other words, the united states currently is outsourcing its most critical issues, let's say iran on one hand but also north korea. right now to china. i've spoken to you as officials whose job it is to deal with

this, and they are hoping beyond hope, fingers crossed, that china will use its leverage to bring kim jong-un into control and into line. and also, china has been saying they're very troubled by this. they regret various moves. but you know, what are they going to do? >> is the u.s. outsourcing its diplomacy to china? >> yes. >> it is the chinese -- >> that's not true. the chinese is the super power of the world. >> christiane, we could nuke them. >> no, there's diplomacy. nobody's going to nuke anybody. >> guff me a second. they are one of the most isolated countries in the world. you talk about understanding them. because we -- >> not understanding. i'm talking about engagement and diplomacy. >> the chinese speak the language and they are the same people. they are more baffled by the north koreans than we are. the reason this regime is difficult to understand is it is a brutal dictatorship. it has starved 2 million of its own people.

can you explain the rationale behind that? no, we can't comprehend the way in which they do these things. >> the united states engage with the soviet union, a military nuclear power. >> you find when regimes are isolated, it is very difficult for us, particularly, to have much control over them, because we don't trade with them. we don't do anything -- we can't sanction north korea. because they don't do any business with us anyway. the one country that does business with them is china. it's not that we're outsourcing, we're going to the country that has influence. >> because we have no connections. >> they do business with iran. they sell stuff to iran. they do some business with syria. they've sold some stuff -- they do business with other countries. and that presumably brings in a little bit of foreign currency for them. >> you're going to ask mr. assad to help us with the north koreans? >> i want to bring this up, because all of us remember how the u.s. indeed -- i think the whole world miscalculated saddam hussein in 1990, on the eve of his invasion of kuwait when he

moved 100,000 u.s. -- or iraqi troops from the iranian border to the kuwaiti border, and all the top u.s. officials were telling me, i assume they were telling you, he's bluffing, he's not going to go in and invade a fellow arab country, maybe he wants the kuwaitis to raise the price of oil a little bit. he would never do that. maybe a little border skirmish. it's really a bluff. and it wasn't a bluff, and he went in and went like a knife through butter into kuwait. i think of that now when i see people saying kim jong-un is bluffing. >> he may have called everybody's bluff, but the united states assembled, with a coalition, 500,000 troops. >> over six months. >> yes. and did the job of getting rid of him. they would thought appease what happened. and he went back. the real bluff was saddam hussein thinking the world was bluffing in 2003. he didn't think the united states was going to invade. and he was busy telling people he didn't have any nuclear -- that he had nuclear weapons when

he didn't. now the north koreans do. >> but the question i'm asking is, if all of these analysts right now are suggesting, fareed, he's bluffing, he's got his own initiative, he's not going to do nag crazy, suicidal, should we believe that? >> what we have to do is some mixture of deterrence. i agree that there has to be a better way to understand them. tess regimes are inherently unpredictable because they rest on very narrow bases of power. one guy. the saddam case is a perfect one. it wasn't just u.s. analysts saying this, it was the king of jordan saying this, the president of egypt. all the arabs who spoke his language, who met him several times, they thought he was bluffing. so when we look at north korea, when the south koreans don't understand it, let's not get too deeply soo the psycho analysis of one human being. what we have to do is protect our interests, reassure our allies and put in place a structure that speaks peace.

>> we have more to discuss. a lot more coming up on our special report. up next, north korea's missile force -- missiles may force global powers to pay serious attention. we have live reports from the international capitals in the region, where war fears are building right now. and a rare and remarkable look at the tense korean border. from the communist north side. stay with us. [ male announcer ] how can power consumption in china, impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing.

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happening now, north korea's military threats leave the region on edge. but is kim jong-un's arsenal as dangerous as he makes it seem? the north korean leader, mocked,

and his government's website hacked. part of another korean war, a cyber war. the communist's regime most unlikely target. the texas governor responds to the threat of attack in texas. i'm wolf blitzer, and this is "the situation room" special report, the north korean crisis. the ripple effects of the korean crisis are being felt far beyond the korean peninsula, thanks to the worldwide reach of cnn, we're monitoring this crieses from capital around the globe. let's start with cnn's kim leh joining us now in seoul. what's going on there now? >> caller: well, wolf, this is a country with the biggest bull's-eye on it. seoul is only about an hour's drive south of the dmz. and there is growing concern about these incremental steps that appear to be leading to a

possible, we stress possible conflict. there continues to be tough talk from the south korean government, and among the older generation, people who truly remember the 1950 to 1953 korean conflict, a bloody conflict that also claimed many american lives. there is concern about that possibility. but overwhelmingly, there is numbness in this city. they have seen these missile launches before. so for the place with the biggest target on it, it is praying this will also, if there is a missile launch, only be a test. now, for the view from china, my colleague, david mckenzie? david? >> that's right, kim. here in beijing, north korea has had few friends for a long time, but china has always been one of them. western diplomats believe china could hold the leverage point to solve the situation diplomatically. because china could literally cut the taps off to north korea, with fuel and food supplies.

but on the chinese side, they face this balancing act, because china wants the status quo to remain. they believe the dictatorship in north korea could help them here, and provide a buffer against u.s. troops in the korean peninsula. so while china should be the leverage point, they don't want to push too hard. let's hear from moscow and phil black. >> thank you, david. the russian government said its representative and all other foreign ambassadors in pyongyang have been advised by a north korean official to consider packing up their embassies and pulling out their people. this has seemed to taken russia by surprise. the foreign minister here said what is this exactly? is it a direct order from the north korean leader subpoena or just a suggestion? we're told for the moment it is only a suggestion. the british government says its ambassador was also among those who were washed they could not be protected in the event of a military conflict. and now have all just been given four days to let the north

korean government know if they need any help to evacuate. for the moment, both britain and russia say they have no immediate plans to withdraw their people. but they are considering their options. back to you, wolf. >> for the moment, that was our key words. guys, thanks very much. reporting from around the world. let's bring back cnn's fareed zakaria, and christiane amanpour. christiane, you were there in the good old days when the north koreans blew up one of their nuclear reactors. >> i was, indeed, that was in 2008. they invited a selective group of journalists in the winter of that year to accompany the new york philharmonic orchestra to pyongyang as one of these unprecedented cultural events between pyongyang and washington, d.c. it marked an agreement of some sorts between pyongyang and washington. we saw them do that. we saw them do.

they disabled it. we saw them do it. well, that was several months later when they then blew it up, as a further show of good faith. well, afterwards, kim jong-il fell ill. and after that, these talks basically went nowhere. and then the gradual ratcheting up of these tensions. let's just go back to before 2007, and it was the bush administration's decision not to engage with north korea. in fact, to cut off all previous engagement with north korea. to dismiss south korea's sunshine policy, this was the policy of president george w. bush, after that north korea pulled out of the nonproliferation treaty and then kicked out the iaea, the u.n. atomic agencies from pyongyang and they went ahead and did several tests. that's where we are now. there are americans who continue to go to north korea. not all the time, but they do

still go. some of them are very highly based scientists, one was the director of the los alamos laboratory, and many others, former secretaries of defense, william perry, and others have been there. and they do have this two-track, or track 2 policy going on. there are people who can have this dialogue. but they're not empowered to have official dialogue. >> they're very sensitive, the north koreans. when i was there in december 2010, christiane speaks about the visit which was well received in pyongyang of the new york philharmonic. the north koreans wanted to send their philharmonic to perform in new york at carnegie. they were told that that was going to happen, reciprocal visit. i don't think that has happened. they're very sensitive, relatively small things like that. the. >> they are. you know, i'm all for people-to-people diplomacy, all for more information about that. let's keep in mind the blunt

facts, which is the clinton administration tried to engage with them, signed an agreement with them, they broke it. it wasn't that the talks went nowhere, they cheated on it, consistently and by all accounts, all international authorities. the bush administration, after the first term, as happens off with bush, the second term here, he did engage and signed an agreement with the north koreans, they cheated on those, too. we've watched this movie before. they threaten, they kind of try to get attention, they lure united states into negotiations and get goodies and then break the agreement. i think it would be a wonderful thing to find a path, let's keep in mind this is a regime that has used this tactic twice it the last two decades. who knows what is going on. it's certainly possible that this is a third attempt to do exactly the same thing. and i think to a certain extent, the obama administration is being wise not to rush if there and say, oh, my goodness, we'll send diplomats immediately, we need to understand you, feel your pain.

let's just figure out what's going on. we've been sold this brooklyn bridge twice before. >> i think feeling your pain is not quite what i would, you know, advocate. i think most people who talk about engagement, again, go back to the fact that diplomacy is a centuries-old tool that is used to deal with precisely these kinds of i with your adversaries. it doesn't mean you have to love each other. it doesn't mean you're appeasing them. the united states is the world's super power. it has more than enough to be able to defend itself and its allies. it is not physically threatened. it can defend itself. it has to figure out how to get beyond this, which is completely and utterly tied in a knot. as fareed said, as we've all said, this is one of the most sanctioned regimes in the world. and yet they continue, not just to be blustery and belligerent, but to make advances in their missile tech nol and perhaps even in their nuclear technology. ta thing that they blew up, they can, according to the scientists, put back together, the entire plant within six months to a year.

they only have a certain amount of bomb's worth of plutonium. they may have uranium enrichment but don't have the where withall -- >> they have two or three crude nuclear weapons. their real power is that the chinese are so scared that if they were to put some pressure on them, the whole regime would collapse. it's the kind of power that you have because you're so screwed up and so disfunctional, that everyone is walking around gingerly. they sank a south korean ship a few years ago. the south koreans were extraordinarily restrained. i talked to the south korean foreign minister at the time. how come you guys didn't do something? he said because we all live in fear of the fact if we do too much, the whole thing will collapse and then we, like west germany, will have to absorb -- >> i've been saying for days, that the south korean president is a tough, tough lady. i think if a similar incident like that were to happen, she would respond militarily. god knows what would happen as a result of that.

guys, excellent discussion. our coverage is going to continue on this. so you will be back. thanks to both of you for joining us. please be sure to watch fareed zakaria gps that airs sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m., also at 1:00 p.m. every sunday here on cnn. you can also see christiane amanpour weekdays at both 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. eastern around the world. two of the very, very best. we're fortunate to have them with us here on cnn. north korea has one of the biggest militaries in the world. but we're finding some surprising flaws in the country's stockpile of weapons. stay with us. [ male announcer ] the 2013 chevy silverado 1500

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u.s. officials fear north korea will conduct a provocative missile test and will conduct it soon. there's no doubt the regime is dangerously unpredictable, but are its weapons any match for the most powerful military in the world. tom foreman is back. tom, you've been looking at north korea's arsenal. what are you seeing? >> wolf, almost all of the experts say that barring something really unforeseen, this is not a case of north korea likely going fu clear. they don't really expect that. the fear beyond that, though, is that somehow, through a series of unforeseen events, we stumble into what is a more conventional war, and we see more of their traditional military power. in those massive parades of

north korean military might, the display may seem impressive. more than 1 million troops under arms, row after row of missiles, tanks and other weaponry. at global city.org, john pike, a skilled military analyst, sees something else. >> it would look pretty good to people who didn't know anything about military equipment. you know, i mean, all the rockets are the same. but if you look at it closely, you basically see, this is a lot of old clunky stuff. >> reporter: when we asked pike's team to look over some photos of north korea's military, they quickly pointed out problems. old soviet style tanks still using technology from the 1980s or even further back. antiaircraft guns that lack any connected radar or computer targeting. boats not suitable for the high seas. almost antique equipment for communications. much of it appears to have been updated, but just look at a north korean war room compared to one in the south. >> we're talking about very simple, very rudimentary systems.

>> reporter: there is, however, that greatest asset of the north, the massive number of troops, both active and reserve, they run into the millions. retired army general spider marks. >> they train every winter for weeks and weeks, in terms of maneuvering their forces. with great ak rasy. >> reporter: they believe in full battle with the south, the north could face critical shortages and rations, ammunition. >> and at some point any north korean offensive is going to stall simply by virtue of not having fuel to run the tanks. >> reporter: it all means that even though north korea's military may roar loudly enough to strike fear in any extended battle, analysts think it could prove a paper tiger. although, the word extended, wolf, the simple truth is many think that it would be very bloody and very difficult, because they would be expected to fight very fiercely with what

they do have. wolf? >> they have thousands of artillery shells that would be launched from north korea into south korea. and there are millions of south koreans right in harm's way, not very far away. it would be a disaster. tom, thanks very much. i know from personal experience, if you do manage to get into north korea, they keep a very close control over what you're allowed to see. but some people are trying to show everyone what's really happening. cnn's mary snow is here. she's got this part of the story. what are you seeing, mary? >> wolf, as you know, because trips into north korea are so scarce, any glimpse into the country is closely watched of the now, dennis rodman's surreal visit is part of a documentary that's being made for our sister network, hbo. but there are other trips that give an insight and look into how tightly controlled things are. this is what the demilitarized zone looks from the north korean side. >> we're in the demilitarized zone where the armistice was

signed between the dprk and u.n. >> reporter: the footage was taken by media that produced dennis rodman's controversial trip to north korea in february. while that trip made the most headlines, vice made other trips, getting rare access into a country the world rarely sees. and there's the choreographed displays north korea wants the world to see. >> it's a history of the korean revolution as portrayed by 120,000 people doing a simultaneous pantomime. >> reporter: on a tour of the great people's library, even a reading desk is linked to the supreme leader. a tour guide said kim jong-il invented it. >> really, in this bubble in

which all you see around you is the state media, and the information that the regime wants you to see. there's no place in the world that has that kind of informational control. >> reporter: charles armstrong is the director of korean studies at columbia university. with no direct lines of communication, unconventional exchanges like rodman's face time with kim jong-un, took on more significance. rodman and the crew took heat for rodman fawning over the dictator and handing him an opportunity for propaganda. but armstrong says, in the end, it could prove useful. >> the fact that dennis rodman is the first american to actually meet kim jong-un is pretty amazing. and we can learn a lot through that visit. >> such as? >> well, what kind of a person kim jong-un is. what is he like, what's his personality like. what's the way to reach him. >> if nothing else, we found out

kim jong-un likes basketball. and worth noting that he did meet with other americans, including google ceo when he went to visit ceo. >> and bill richardson, the former sufficient ambassador to the united nations when he was there in january. fascinating material. let's see what happens. mary, thanks very much. kim jong-un has been targeted by hackers. we're taking a closer look at another big threat in the region, cyber war. bny mellon has the vision and experience to help. we look at the full picture... to uncover risk, find opportunities, and create a plan that's best suited for you. bny mellon.

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poster showing kim jong un dressed as an obese pig with a mickey mouse tattoo on his gut. it blared the word hacked and showed an image of a mask that is the favorite symbol of the hacking group anonymous. that sounds totally like the north korean announcer. you can't help but laugh says this information security expert but this is latest shot in an on going and very serious cyber war between the two koreas that goes far beyond just the humiliation of a leader. which is the bigger threat, conventional war, nuclear war or this cyber war? >> cyber war. >> translator: the purpose of the cyber war is to enable the ability to fight. if the cyber war continues, there's a high possibility it could lead to a conventional war. in a country that claims to be the most wired in the world,

south korea has been under increasing attack. just last month a major cyber assault knocked south korean television networks offline and throws business at banks. that's why seoul is building a cyber army. these are the soldiers learning to break code and understand what they call north korean cyber terrorism. we can't show you their faces because many of them will eventually work with the south korean milton the cyber front lines where they'll face off with cyber soldiers from the north. as amusing as this is, there is growing concern among security experts in seoul that because this was so successful and so funny that north korea may become enraged and launch a massive counter cyber attack against south korea. cnn, seoul. here at cnn, we've gotten to visit places inside north korea that few people ever get to see. a very personal take on the country. that's just ahead.

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certainly a rare opportunity to visit north korea. those of us who have agree it's an unforgettable experience. cnn's alaina cho went there twice. >> reporter: your eyes are not deceiving you, this is communist north korea. look at this western style amusement park. it's packed.

there's a ride called power surge. and take a look inside the food court. you'll find western fare. on the menu, hotdogs and waffles on a stick. this family comes often to unwind. >> translator: at the time, he said, words cannot explain the excitement after working so hard general kim jong-il has given thus park to relax. we really love it. if north korea is stalin's last playground, this is its version of disneyland. not far at this outdoor food market, they're serving up more traditional fare like soy bean pancakes and people are paying, like their enemy neighbors in south korea, north korean currency is also called the won but this features a hammer and sickle, in the years since i last visited north korea, i did notice some changes.

for one, more average north koreans speak english. do you like coming here? >> yes, very much. >> reporter: for the first time, there are street lights installed just before i arrived. most notably in a country closed off to the rest of the world, north koreans are now talking on cell phones. this girl says everyone in her family has one. but international calls are forbidden. word is, punishable by death. in that way, and others, time stands still. we can only see what our government minders want us to see and undeniably it is north korea's best face. many north koreans live in poverty, one in three young children is said to be malnourished and the average salary, a few dollars a month. there are still very few cars. in this city, there is no such thing as a traffic jam. this is pyongyang's subway station, one of two main hubs.

and one of the main forms of transportation for average north koreans. many don't own bikes let alone cars, so this is how they get from point a to point b. and today, the trains appear to be running on time. many travel by foot. on the streets, there are no ads, only propaganda billboards. and listen -- ♪ they not only see the message, they hear it. north korean propaganda songs blaring across pyongyang. look at what we happened upon here. we're in the middle of week long celebrations here in north korea commemorating the 65th anniversary of the worker's party of north korea. this is how people are celebrating. they're literally dancing in the streets. railroad foul the small changes we've seen, the larger question remains, is the new young leader the son of the last any different? for now, it doesn't appear so.