the big day is almost here. anthony bourdain takes you to parts unknown this sunday night at 9:00 eastern and pacific only on cnn. that does it for "the lead" today. i'm jake tapper. next week catch us at our regular time. also, at 10:00 p.m. eastern. i leave you now in the incomparable hands of wolf blitzer in "the situation room." >> thanks very much. happening now, what once seemed very far fetched suddenly becoming very worrisome. u.s. officials grappling right now with the possibility that north korea may be able to actually fire a nuclear tip missile. he bills himself as america's toughest sheriff but he is almost becoming the victim of a very dangerous package rigged to blow. you'll hear how controversial lawman joe arpaio is now reacting. could a hacker with a smart phone manage to gain control of an airliner? we have a fact check. i'm wolf blitzer here in "the situation room."

all of a sudden north korea may be a lot scarier than most americans thought. the day after we learned of a pentagon assessment that the north may have developed the ability to fire a nuclear missile pyongyang is now threatening to set japan ablaze. officials are wrangling over just what the north can or cannot do. that comes as the secretary of state john kerry is visiting seoul, south korea, warning north korea against making what he calls a huge mistake. let's go straight to our white house correspondent brianna keilar. >> reporter: they are downplaying this intelligence assessment there is modest confidence north korea could fit a weapon on a ballistics missile and fire it. officials are saying this is just a snap shot not an assessment widely accepted by the intelligence community. today here at the white house press secretary jay carney

wouldn't say if president obama was surprised by this assessment as so many people were. he walked a very fine line between saying the administration is concerned about north korea's recent bluster and also downplaying it saying it is part of a pattern of behavior that has become familiar to the u.s. he also downplayed north korea's potential nuclear weapons capabilities. where does the administration think they are in the process of being able to -- >> they have clearly developed nuclear weapons -- >> reporter: what is the concern, the accuracy, the aim? >> i'm not going to get into, it would not be appropriate for me nor -- >> if the cat's out of the bag here -- >> i'm just simply echoing what the director of national intelligence said which is that it is our assessment they have not demonstrated this capability. >> reporter: now administration officials expect that north korea may test launch a ballistic missile at any point now, wolf. but officials say there is

nothing to suggest that it would have nuclear capabilities and, furthermore, officials are skeptical that north korea would be able to hit a mark with a ballistic missile, you know, even if it wouldn't have nuclear capabilities, wolf. >> the latest assessment from the white house. thank you, brianna. just what is north korea up to? the stakes are incredibly high and the risks enormous. i spoke with the chairman of the house intelligence committee republican congressman mike rogers of michigan. mr. chairman, thanks very much for coming in. >> wolf, it's great to be here. thanks for having me. >> do you have a good sense of what this north korean leader kim jong un, what his end game is? >> well, i'm not sure anybody really has a good sense what his end game is. you know, when the flowers come out in north korea, normally every year the sabre rattling begins. but it had a pattern with a beginning and an end. what we're seeing -- that was his father -- we're seeing in the son a very unpredictable pattern when it comes to this

aggressive, belicose behavior. everyone is on edge and concerned because he has ramped it up quicker and faster than his father ever did and we're not sure he has a strategy to get out of it. >> is the u.s. and the south korean allies, the japanese, are they still bracing for north korea to launch a missile or a series of missiles within the next few hours or days? what is the latest assessment? >> well, at any time somebody like this who has capabilities to launch a missile makes those threats you have to take them seriously. so yes. i think u.s. forces are on posture to deal with that. same with the japanese. same with the south koreans. and the unpredictable part of this is you see a little bit of a different behavior with the chinese. they've got this on again/off again relationship with the north koreans over time but they're the biggest benefactor. about 65% of all their foreign goods come through china. they are taking a little bit of

a different turn here which is a positive thing against north korea. so you have the japanese on edge, the u.s., the south koreans, and now you see the chinese taking a little bit of a different posture, wolf. i look at that as a good sign to start trying to unwind this thing. >> mike rogers the chairman of the house intelligence committee. we'll have much more. a situation with a special report on the north korean crisis that comes up right at the top of the hour. 6:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. meanwhile, the big push for a bipartisan immigration deal beginning this weekend with a tv marathon by senator marco rubio of florida. you may be seeing a whole lot of this republican senator. our national political correspondent jim acosta is coming into "the situation room" right now to explain all of a sudden he is going to be all over the place. >> that's right. this weekend florida senator marco rubio will be following in the foot steps of monica alexandria's attorney williams ginsberg who once appeared on all five sunday talk shows on the same morning. that bit of tv history was

dubbed the full ginsberg and whether you call this sunday the full marco or rubio round robin the subject won't be interns. it will be immigration. go ahead and touch that dial this weekend. it might not matter anyway as florida's republican senator marco rubio will be on five, count them shall five sunday talk shows. plus the two spanish language networks. during the rubio round robin the senator's aides say he'll be making an opening argument for comprehensive immigration reform. rubio's partners in the so-called gang of eight democratic and republican senators who are crafting the bill have already been touting its chances for passage. >> the key to this on support, you can see almost a 20-point swing, is they have to learn english, pay back taxes, get in line behind everybody else. that's the fairness part of it that appeals to people. >> the compromise is expected to create a 13-year pathway to citizenship and require the undocumented to pay fines, back taxes, and undergo a background check. but undocumented workers would

not be eligible for citizenship until the border is considered secure. rubio, potential presidential contender in 2016 is viewed as the key to selling the package to conservatives who have rejected immigration reform before. >> there are 11 million human beings in this country today that are undocumented. that's not something that anyone is happy about. >> reporter: rubio's chief of staff made an appeal to elected republicans on twitter this week tweeting the bill freezes illegal population. no special pathway. no amnesty. and no access to obama care. do you think senator rubio is doing a disservice to your party? >> i think senator rubio's heart is right. >> reporter: it will be a hard sell to many house conservatives like iowa congressman steve king, who says republicans are just out to win latino votes. he believes the bill offers amnesty to people he calls undocumented democrats. is that an appropriate term to use do you think? >> i think that's how democrats view this and it is their

cynical political endeavor and that people on the republican side that think they can reverse that, they should also understand that 92% of african-americans when barack obama is not on the ballot still vote for democrats for the national election. >> reporter: rubio aides caution while the senator will be making the case for immigration reform he is not planning any big announcements this sunday. the senate judiciary committee is expected to hold its first hearing on the legislation on wednesday. wolf, things are moving fast. >> they're moving dramatically fast. we'll see if a deal is done or not done and how quickly it takes. jim acosta, thanks very, very much. this programming note for our viewers. senator rubio will be candy crowley's guest on "state of the union" this sunday morning, 9:00 a.m. eastern only here on cnn. marco rubio with candy crowley. state of the union. joining us now are chief political analysts gloria borger. as we just saw, in jim acosta's

piece, republicans are trying to figure out how to do this comprehensive immigration reform without overly alienating their base if you will. what's their strategy? >> well, i think on immigration reform at least they're nearing some kind of consensus although as jim points out there is going to be some controversy over that path to citizenship and how you get there and securing the borders. but generally, wolf, as you look at all of these issues we've been dealing with -- gun control, the budget, immigration, you see a republican party that looks to me like the democratic party of about 20 years ago after michael dekakis lost the election. they're looking for new stars, that cohesive voice, looking for new policy. because they understand, and talking to lots of republicans today, they understand they cannot be a party that just stands for austerity. but even when it comes to the budget, wolf, they do have disagreements. one of them you highlighted the other day when the president released his budget.

you spoke with the man in charge of electing republicans to the house and he reacted very strongly to the president's proposals to cut some entitlements and then the speaker took him down. take a look. >> the budget really lays out kind of a shocking attack on seniors. i think you're crossing that line very quickly here in terms of denying access to seniors for health care in districts like mine certainly and around the country. >> i've made it clear that i disagree with what the chairman said and he and i have had a conversation about it, and i expect -- this is the least we must do to begin to solve the problems in social security. >> so it's clear that the speaker took him to the wood shed and said, wait a minute. we've got to agree that we're for entitlement reform. even on that basic point, republicans are really having a tough time finding this cohesive

voice they're searching for. >> they're also having a tough time finding a cohesive voice on expanding background checks for gun purchases in the united states. 9 of 10 according to the polls of americans they want expanded background checks but the republicans seem to have different voices on that. >> when you look at the republican constituencies, not just sort of the overall poll, when you look at the republican constituency, you see that 7 out of 10 republicans do not favor stricter gun laws. 8 out of 10 democrats do favor stricter gun laws. so it's easier in this particular instance, although not for all democrats, but it's easier for democrats to be a little bit more united on this unless you are running for re-election in an antigun control state. but here's the crux of the problem for republicans. nationally they want to be seen as more flexible. they want to make their brand be seen as more flexible, not extreme, so the national polls are for some sort of gun

control. on the individual state levels it's a problem for them. when you're trying to broaden your base, wolf, and you want to get, for example, women to vote for you, two-thirds of women in this country favor stricter gun control laws. the republicans have had some problems with women in the last election. how do you do that and also keep your conservative base happy? that's the struggle they're having right now. >> not an easy answer to that question. >> no. very difficult. hard when you don't have a president also. >> thank you. coming up next -- >> had someone opened that package, it would have caused a major explosion. >> the man who calls himself america's toughest sheriff almost becomes a crime victim. you'll hear joe arpaio's reaction. also coming up, you've heard that florida has a problem with really big pythons. wait until you see what these guys do about it. zap technology. departure. hertz gold plus rewards also offers ereturn--

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you need to create an explosion was discovered on its way to his office. a day after a suspicious package was discovered addressed to him, sheriff joe arpaio appeared before the cameras defiant. >> i will continue being the sheriff. i am not going to be intimidated by anyone and that is a promise and a fact. >> reporter: arpaio is a magnet for controversy. the so-called toughest sheriff in america. the face of hard line immigration enforcement in arizona. aides to arpaio said the package had gun powder, wires, a battery, all the components for an explosion. >> had someone opened that package, it would have caused a major explosion and caused serious physical injury, burns, and maybe death. >> reporter: it was intercepted before it got anywhere near his office. >> an alert postal employee

noticed what they thought was gun powder residue coming from outside that package. >> reporter: the postal service was taking no chances. arpaio's staff said it was mailed outside flagstaff and that authorities were pursuing a person of interest in the case. known for stunts like parading inmates in pink underwear, the controversial arpaio has been subject to at least nine threats that were credible enough to be investigated. he was re-elected last year despite questions whether his department violated the civil rights of hispanics and remains a popular conservative standard bearer. >> run for president. >> that's a demotion isn't it? >> reporter: arpaio suggested his controversial profile and his run-ins with the federal justice department drug cartels or others might have helped create the atmosphere that led to the latest threat. >> i'm not going to get into who these groups are, whether it's the department of justice. the tempo out there about this sheriff does cause people to do

bad things. >> arpaio's office was not opening mail today but going back to see if anything suspicious had gotten through the system. arpaio already has tight security but his office says it will have to augment either with more personnel or additional electronic security. wolf? >> thanks for that. the republican party has just officially restated its opposition to same sex marriage. lisa sylvester is monitoring that. some of the other top stories in "the situation room" right now. what's going on? >> hi, wolf. that word comes from the republican national committee meeting in los angeles. it passed two resolutions today. one reaffirms the party's position that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. the other implores the supreme court to, quote, uphold the sanctity of marriage. check out this dramatic video of a shrimp boat that caught fire this morning near galveston, texas. cnn affiliate kprc reports a good samaritan on a nearby boat saw the fire and rescued the three people who were on that burning boat. dramatic pictures there.

a pair of vps had lunch today at the white house. we got this photo of actress julia louise dreyfus with vice president joe biden. she won for her role in the hbo series which starts its second season this weekend. you've heard they had a problem with pythons in florida. now we've got the proof. take a look. okay. yeah. this wrestling match happened tuesday during a tour of the florida everglades. the guide tells cnn he grabbed the python under water and let it coil around him but he had to use the martial arts to make it uncoil so he wouldn't pass out before his partner could cut off the snake's head. i don't know about you, wolf. but you couldn't pay me to get in that water. why in the world would you be in the water when you know there is a python there? >> that's their job.

pretty good at wrestling that thing. it's a living, right? >> thank you. it's been an annual tradition for decades. thousands of u.s. sailors coming ashore for fleet week in new york. guess what? it won't happen this year. we have the story right here in "the situation room." my mantra? trust your instincts to make the call. to treat my low testosterone, my doctor and i went with axiron, the only underarm low t treatment. axiron can restore t levels to normal in about 2 weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer.

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oh, wow. we've just spotted our first sailors. fleet week has begun. >> the ladies of "sex in the city" aren't the only ones who noticed fleet week when scores of sailors get shore leave in new york city. it is both a rite of passage and part of america's cultural heritage but is also, guess

what, also in jeopardy right now because of the forced budget cuts. mary snow is in new york and is here to explain. >> wolf, just earlier this week the navy indicated that new york city's fleet week would go on as usual. but then came an abrupt change in plans for an event that's been around for 29 years in new york. normally 3,000 sailors, marines, and members of the coast guard stream into the city along with several naval ships sailing into new york harbor. but because of across-the-board, forced government spending cuts, celebrations are being scaled back. the navy spokeswoman cited defense department guidance that, quote, no branch of the armed forces may participate in community relations or outreach events that come at additional cost to the government or rely on anything other than local assets and personnel. that means fleet weeks in other cities are also being cut. they're not the only casualties. naval air shows like the blue angels are being canceled around

the country as a result of the forced cuts. now the prime sponsor of new york city's fleet week calls the news distressing. the mayor's office calls it a great event and both the city and the navy are working now on alternative plans. the navy is saying it can only use local personnel. certainly it won't be the same. >> it certainly wouldn't be. and it would be a huge disappointment to a lot of sailors and marines and also a lot of new yorkers. stay on top of the story for us. thank you. up next, they were on opposing niktickets in the 2012 race but now paul ryan has positive words about president obama. you'll hear what he has to say, next.

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liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? happening now. new details about how much money president obama made last year and the surprising amount he gave to charity. we're also fact checking claims someone is trying to develop a way to hijack a plane with a smart phone. at the top of the hour don't forget our special report on the north korean crisis. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." president obama may have disappointed some liberals out there this week with a budget blueprint that would essentially mean cutting social security benefits for seniors. not necessarily everyone out there is upset. let's talk about what is going on in our strategy session. joining us our cnn contributors.

when i say some aren't disappointed here is the republican chairman of the house budget committee paul ryan. >> what i see this year that's different from the last four years is the president put a budget with some olive branch proposals. this is the first time in -- in -- in this presidency that i've seen a chance at a bipartisan budget agreement, so i am cautiously optimistic about that. >> all right, paul. what do you say? >> i say i wish i could say the same thing about paul ryan's budget. the house republican budget that mr. ryan put together is a joke, not a serious effort. it pretends to eliminate obama care. give me a break. barack obama is not going to sign that. it's still essentially ending medicare as we know it. at least paul ryan can recognize a real budget when he sees one. the problem is he can't write one. all the action right now, i still, because if you're a liberal democrat from texas you have to be an optimist. i am optimistic more about the senate side than the house side. i think paul ryan has poisoned

the well in the house and maybe is trying to make up for that now. on the senate side you have mark warner the senator from virginia putting together a gang that's working on a bipartisan budget deal. there's already real progress and hope on guns and immigration. so maybe as a congressman paul ryan is looking across the other chamber and saying, hey, the senate is trying to get things done. maybe i can legislate for once. >> ari, the president says he wouldn't be willing to go ahead and make some of those painful cuts in social security, medicare benefits that his liberal base hates but only if republicans are willing to go ahead and meet him at least halfway further increasing tax revenue for the wealthiest americans for the biggest corporation eliminating some of those tax loopholes and deductions. >> well, a couple things, wolf. first on the substance of it the president proposed no painful reductions in social security spending. what he has proposed and this is an olive branch, is to increase social security spending at a slower rate. it is important that people understand the distinction. nobody is talking about cutting

social security. it is an olive branch because for the president to even talk about increasing social security at a slower rate is a major change from any democrat president before. and i think that is very constructive and i think it is going to become the bipartisan template to get anything done on the issue of social security going forward and he has angered a lot of liberal democrats by proposing it. the fundamental problem in the president's budget is it still taxes too much. it spends too much. it has all kinds of new spending. there is a new entitlement program in it and it still never gets the balance because he increases spending so much. the house republican budget does get us to balance, relieves the crushing debt that we're imposing on our children and that is the real problem with it. and paul's half right. the senate did a good thing. they passed their first budget in four years. and that is constructive. you know, at the end of the day their job, all of them, is to talk and try to figure things out. and even though the president's budget was two months late and he sent it up after the house and the senate passed theirs, they should talk.

>> well, they are going to be doing a lot of talking. we'll see if they got any results. paul, let me play part of an ad that has aired in kentucky going after mitch mcconnell. it raises the issue of guns. listen to this. >> most kentucky residents want comprehensive background checks for gun sales but republican leader mitch mcconnell is against them. who does agree with mitch? >> you can go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with a fully automatic assault rifle without a background check. >> that's adam gudan the former american who is now with al qaeda out there saying, you know what? buy guns in the united states. you can use it for terrorism if you want. paul, is that ad appropriate? >> you know, i hate using images of terrorists. the republicans defeated a triple amputee from vietnam, a war hero using images of osama

bin laden and images of saddam hussein. this was just months after 9/11. it was the scumiest thing i've ever seen in politics. this is nowhere near that bad but it factually i have to say they essentially have their facts right. senator mcconnell did filibuster the background checks which would have extended to gun shows. and there are clearly some terrorists at least who believe terrorists should go to gun shows to exploit the loophole. in that sense it's right. i just hate seeing the imagery. i'd have made the case without the image in the picture of that taliban terrorist or whoever he is. >> ari, go ahead. >> yeah. it's vile. there is no defending it on the substance or is somebody going to say because somebody believes in the second amendment they are equated with a terrorist? those ads are counterproductive. they're foolish to run those ads. they never work. this one is vile. >> ari fleischer, paul, guys, thanks for coming in. coming up could a hacker on the ground with a phone app manage to gain control of an airliner? we have a fact check for you. does president obama

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stunning revelation about u.s. drone strikes against militants in pakistan's rugged border areas. after years and years of firm and official denials, pakistan's former leader president pervez musharraf now admitting to cnn's senior international correspondent nic robertson that he did in fact allow some of those controversial cia drone

strikes and that his civilian successors continue to authorize them. those revelations about the secret drone war may double the risk that pervez musharraf took when he returned to pakistan last month after years of self-imposed exile. also shedding new light on u.s. drone strikes, a new book by pulitzer prize winning reporter mark mazzetti of the "new york times." "the way of the knife." he looks at the shadow war being fought by the cia and america's special operations forces. mark mazzetti is here right now. thanks very much for coming in. how much of a risk do you think pervez musharraf takes by now acknowledging that he was in at least on some of those cia drone strikes in pakistan? >> it's amazing. not only a physical but a political risk because he wants to be president and as nic said they are -- drone strikes are so wildly unpopular. for him to say there were these secret arrangements was quite

surprising to me. there's been so many denials over the years of the pakistani government about the role they have played. now to their -- in their defense, the cia in 2008, the last months of the bush administration, basically took this war unilateral and they said we're no longer going to consult you in advance of each drone strike. >> i know you have some estimates. how many alleged terrorists, suspected terrorists, militants, were killed by the united states in these drone strikes? >> the estimates are varied. there are estimates of around 3,000 total people killed in pakistan in the tribal areas. how many were militants, how many were civilians, it's hard to really differentiate at this point. it is certainly true that they have had an effect on killing off senior al qaeda leaders in the tribal areas. but what we've also seen, some further reporting this week about the bar has been lowered and they're not just striking al qaeda. they're striking pakistani

taliban, haqqani network, sort of the war in afghanistan being waged from the other side of the border. >> these targeted killings by the cia have intensified in the obama administration as opposed to the bush administration, right? >> that's right. they were -- they started to ramp up in the last few months of the bush administration, but then in 2009 and especially in 2010 the obama administration dramatically escalated them. not only in pakistan when you started seeing strikes in yemen as well so they sort of reopened this war in the -- this other front in yemen. you've seen them in parts of africa. so this is -- this is one of the really defining legacies of the obama administration so far. >> and the theory supposedly is kill these people. don't arrest them. don't bring them to trial. that's too complicated. just go out there and kill them. >> it's riskier, complicated. there's a lot of reasons why the administration seems to have pursued much more of a kill versus capture strategy. but if you look at the last four years, you can probably count on one hand the senior people who

have been captured and been brought to trial. >> if you capture them you can interrogate them. if you kill them you can't interrogate them. that's the balance that is the balance. some in the bush administration have come out and said, well, we took a lot of heat for interrogations. but you at least get intelligence. the same time, you know, there are different calculations about whether, you know, the risk of an operation whether someone is in an area for instance the tribal areas of pakistan where pakistani cops could go in, pakistani troops could go in and arrest someone. so these are the things that the administration is wrestling with. >> the president's personal role in authorizing these targeted killings, what is it? >> the president, when he came in, wanted to at least have the authority to sign off on strikes outside of pakistan. the drones had already been given to the cia under covert

activity. if you're talking yemen and somalia this was discussed at the white house brought to the president by john brennan who was the counterterrorism adviser for president obama and now is the cia director. >> he wants the pentagon to take over this responsibility and move it out of the cia? >> he has hinted he wants to move some of the paramilitary functions out of the cia to the pentagon. there's been reports that there's proposals being floated to do that. i personally believe that the cia will not give it up entirely, that they will take key aspects of the drone war and this is something that probably takes months, even years as opposed to a short period of time. the book is entitled "the way of the knife." the author mark mazzetti the sub tooilt the cia, a secret army and a war at the ends of the earth. thanks for coming in. >> thanks for having me. could a hacker on the ground with a smart phone manage to gain control of a manned aircraft? what about an airliner? there is now a lot of speculation about that online. lisa sylvester is coming into

the situation room right now. she has been doing a fact check for us. what are you learning? it could be frightening. >> this is a story that is generating a lot of buzz online. the headlines of a man hacking into an aircraft flight system. we looked into this a little further to find out if this is a real concern to our nation's aviation system. imagine your plane taking off but suddenly the onboard computer is now under the control of someone on the ground. using a smart phone app. that scenario of an aircraft hacking was laid out by german security consultant hugo teso at a conference in amsterdam. in his presentation he shows how he bought some of the hardware and equipment he needed on ebay and through private vendors. he created an app he is calling plane sploit in which he was able to on a flight simulator take over some of the plane's operations. we reached tesso via skype. does the operator of this app need to be onboard the plane? >> one of the things in my

research is that it needs no physical contact with the target airplane at any moment. everything can be done without having to access the airplane. >> reporter: so this is what the inside of a 747 looks like. what teso says he can do is control the plane remotely. that means changing the display. what a pilot sees as well as changing the altitude of the plane. what would be the worst case scenario? >> it would be as far as i know that somebody may try to do this in order to attempt against the life of persons onboard the airplane. >> reporter: before you panic there are a few things you should know. teso hacked into an on-the-ground flight simulator not a real airplane. security experts say to affect a real plane would be much tougher to do. >> so far all he has done is hacked into a pc. so the question now is, would there be some chance that somebody could emit a signal from the ground to an aircraft

and somehow get into the software of how the aircraft, itself runs? that's a big leap between what this guy has done and actually controlling a plane in flight. >> reporter: the federal aviation administration is strongly pushing back in a statement saying a hacker cannot obtain full control of an aircraft as the technology consultant has claimed. teso himself also acknowledges a pilot onboard could always override the auto pilot computer and regain control of the plane. but, still, his hacking presentation is getting attention. >> it's a yellow flag that says, hey. i've done something to your system. why don't you go take a look at that and see if it can take it the next step to see if it's a real threat. >> so, bottom line for now, you can rest easy if you have to get on an airplane and a reminder this was done in a simulated setting that is far from a real aircraft. but it does raise the question do airlines need to rethink security in these terms? because after all with modern aircraft what is usually flying

the plane for most of the flight and we all know this is usually auto pilot and that is essentially one big gigantic computer. >> if a good, smart hacker wants to try it that is pretty scary stuff. >> yeah. >> thanks for that report. president obama's income last year took a hit. we have a closer look at his tax returns which have just been released by the white house. and in our special report at the top of the hour north korea now expanding its war threats. who they say they'll attack first. [ male announcer ] with wells fargo advisors envision planning process,

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have you done your taxes yet? monday the deadline.

both president obama and vice president biden, their families, they have now filed their taxes in time. our white house correspondent brianna keilar is getting a look at how much money they made last year, how much they gave to the government in taxes and a whole lot more. what are you finding out, brianna? >> wolf, the obamas, as you can see, filed jointly for their 2012 tax year. they made about $608,000, most of that from the president's $400,000 a year salary. and a lot of it as well from his book earnings. they paid $112,000 in taxes total. that's state and federal, making their effective tax rate 18.4%. and they donated quite a bit of that, wolf, about $150,000. and i should also say, this was all prepared by a cpa in chicago. >> they donated -- to 23

different charities, i think. but most of it went to one charity, fisher foundation. explain why that is. >> that's right, wolf. the amount of money that went to the fisher house foundation was over $100,000, by far the largest donation. that is proceeds from the president's children's book "of thee i sing." this has gone to this foundation in recent years as well. it provides free housing of the family members of wounded service members of the military. so when they're at a military or va hospitals and receiving treatment or recovering, their family members can be with them during that time period. there's also other interesting charities that the president and first lady donated to. $2,000 to a charity called cure. citizens united for research in epilepsy. a charity founded by the wife of president obama's top aid, david axelrod. there's a perm connection to

that. $5,000 to the palm beach organization. there was a motorcycle police officer in palm beach county who was actually hit by a car, as he was participating in president obama's motorcade for a campaign event that president obama was with. the white house, once they learned that, it was made in connection with that, perhaps in honor of him. there's also a $5,000 donation to the school of the obamas' daughters. $5,000 to sidwell friends here in washington, d.c. >> if you want more information on the president's tax returns, the vice president's tax returns, go to cnn.com. brianna, thanks very, very much. jeanne moos is coming up next. don't forget at the top of the hour, our special "situation room" report, the north korean crisis. we'll have the very latest from seoul, south korea. we're also going inside the propaganda machine that tries to brainwash young north korean

kids. how it works. and a lot more. that's coming up at the top of the hour. d auto insurance together. i'll just press this, and you'll save on both. [bell dings] ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, llllet's get ready to bundlllllle... [ holding final syllable ] oh, yeah, sorry! let's get ready to bundle and save. now, that's progressive. oh, i think i broke my spleen! how sharp is your business security?o! can it help protect your people and property, while keeping out threats to your operations? it's not working! yes it is. welcome to tyco integrated security. with world-class monitoring centers and thousands of qualified technicians. we've got a personal passion to help your business run safer, smarter, and sharper. we are tyco integrated security.

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cnn's jeanne moos shows us why. >> reporter: it's a bridge over troubled traffic, bridge too low, or trucks too tall. for the past five years, watch your back has been using cameras to record the results, and posting them on his website 1'18", which happens to be the official clearance of the railroad trestle in durham, north carolina, affectionately known as the can opener bridge. some vehicles just get a shave. others get stopped cold. for nearby businesses it can be -- >> almost earth shattering. people jump out of their chairs. >> reporter: some get off easy. an rv loses its ac. a pod gets left behind. trestle was a working railroad

bridge and sometimes trucks hit as a train passes by. the railroad norfolk southern installed a crash beam to protect the century-old bridge so the bridge always wins. not only has he uploaded about 60 crashes, he also collects pieces of debris and sometimes gets drivers to sign them. >> just a hobby. to have some fun. >> reporter: not so much fun for the drivers. authorities know of no serious injuries. signs start warning of the low clearance several blocks away, and vehicles too tall trigger the flashing lights which drivers manage not to see. don't even think of trying to slowly sneak up on the can opener. so you say, why doesn't someone fix it? raise the bridge, lower the road. but the sewer main runs right under the highway and the bridge would cost millions to raise.

so the can opener keeps racking up hits that youtube enjoys putting to music like "rocky." the good, the bad and some ugly crashes. it's enough to make you want to burn your bridges, before the bridge burns you. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com sgrrks i'm wolf blitzer. this is t"the situation room" special report, north korean crisis happening now. kim jong-un unleashes a new threat of nuclear war amid startling revelations about his ability to launch a nuclear attack. secretary of state john kerry, he's in the renl right now, and he's warning north korea not to make what he calls a huge mistake. we're tracking the missiles that could fire at any time.

and the frightening power of propaganda. how north koreans are brainwashed from birth to worship their leaders. emotions that linger until they die. right now, north korea is expanding its threats of war, warning it may target japan first. and in their words, swallow tokyo in nuclear flames. here in the united states, there's a heated discussion about new intelligence suggesting the regime has made advances in its nuclear weapons program. but the most urgent concern right now, kim jong-un's missiles in position for a possible test launch in the coming days, maybe even the next few hours. our correspondents are covering the crisis in the region. they're covering it here in washington, and indeed, around the globe. christiane amanpour and fareed zakaria are both standing by. they will join us for every new development. let's go to our pentagon

correspondent, chris lawrence, right now for the very latest. chris? >> wolf, the latest and newest round of concern about north korea's nuclear threat comes from a report from the defense intelligence agency, and tonight we're learning that their concern goes back years. north korea's trips could be seen practicing assaults friday. it's not parachutes falling from the sky that has the united states worried. >> north korea has not demonstrated the capability to deploy a nuclear armed missile. >> reporter: u.s. officials say that capability refers to fally developed system. u.s. officials don't believe north korea has made a warhead small enough to fit its missiles and done the testing to accurately aim it. >> obviously they have conducted a fu clear test. >> reporter: in fact, three tests, and recently launched a satellite into orbit. u.s. officials do not dispute

north korea has the components to build a nuclear missile. >> i think the delivery on the korean peninsula is something we would expect to see first. i think it's possible they may be able to do that already, and maybe reach japan. >> reporter: officials say north korea has successfully tested at a range of 800 miles. because they use basic scud rocket technology, miniaturizing a warhead wouldn't be as big of an issue. >> you could potentially have a larger warhead on a delivery system, if it doesn't have to go nearly as far. >> reporter: but long-range ballistic missiles are another story. to reach the u.s., north korea would have to perfect an icbm like its taepodong ii. it's estimated that missile could travel 4,200 miles, which means it would still be short of hitting mainland cities like seattle and los angeles. >> we do not operate on the presumption that they have that fully tested and available

capacity. >> reporter: a former obama administration official says fully tested doesn't mean launching a missile with a nuke attached. the test involves matching the weight of an actual warhead. but all the components in it except for the nuclear material, then being able to control its trajectory without the warhead disintegrating. cnn has learned the dia's concerns go back years. the concerns that were raised in that report. in fact, we learned that about two years ago, the head of the dia testified that north korea could have plutonium based missiles that could be used, plutonium based warheads, i should say, on missiles or planes. basically they say this is the same language essentially that's in this latest report. she called it a lower level report, and officials are telling us it is just one

version of the thinking in the intelligence community. other intelligence agencies within the u.s. government have not reached that same conclusion. wolf? >> good point, chris lawrence, thanks very much. let's take a closer look right now, what it takes to put a nuclear weapon a ballistic missile and launch what would be a potentially horrific attack. tom foreman is over at the magic wall with the demonstration. tom? >> wolf, it largely is that size is a big difference. one of the first bombs dropped in the united states called little boy. that was the nickname. but it was huge. look at that. four-plus tons of weight that had to be dropped there. this is the challenge that is facing the north koreans. we largely believe that if they have developed a nuclear weapon up to this point, it's probably a crude one like this and it will weigh a lot. this is the big challenge, because the musudan missile, that we're talking about on the east coast there, only has a payload of about 2.5 tons. it simply cannot carry one of

these nuclear weapons. the challenge then becomes somehow making it smaller. so let's talk a little bit about the nature, the architecture of nuclear weapons and how they would do that. the core of a nuclear bomb, like the one we talked about in world war ii, is not very big. about the size of a shot putt, maybe 10, 15 pounds of plutonium. but to make it blow up, you have to compress it suddenly and powerfully. that's what starts a reaction. you do that by surrounding it with high explosives which are inside a container. we're not giving away any secrets, because it's on the internet of the when you make something this big, this is where the weight comes, not from the nuclear material, but from everything else. if you want to make it smaller, you have to improve the efficiency of this material. you might do that by putting better igniters all around here, so that all of this material goes off at precisely the same moment, blasting inward, and producing your explosion.

if you do that really, really well, then you may not need so much out here. you might do it by hardening this better. so that it contains the blast and gets more power going in all at once. that would also allow you to use less material out here. and there's one other option out here which is often considered which is that you can actually make the air pocket between this and the core bigger, so this gets a running start at it, and hits it. if you do all of this right, you do wind up with a small nuke, smaller than before. and that would weigh under 2,200 pounds, and that, wolf, could be carried by one of their missiles. >> so far, tom, their nuclear tests have produced relatively small explosions. there's a question, doesn't that suggest they're having some problems with even basic nuclear technology? >> you know, a lot of us have thought that, wolf. but now, one idea raised by a researcher i talked to today, is maybe what they've been trying to do all along is making a

small nuke, which would have a smaller explosion. they might say, we don't have the capability of carrying something really heavy anywhere. we need to start with something small, and more efficient of the and here's the trick of all of that. to do that, you need expertise. we had to develop that all on our own. the russians developed it all on their own. but now that information is out there. so the question is, to what degree is north korea getting expertise and guidance from places like iran and russia, where they have a lot more information, a lot more experience and a lot more scientists who have done this before. if they're getting enough information, that could spur concerns that they may be further down this road to that very process i just described, wolf, and they might in fact be able to have a small nuke on top of a missile going somewhere, not to the united states at this point, but somewhere, and toward a target. wolf? >> that's scary indeed. thanks very much, tom foreman. the secretary of state john kerry, he's on the korean

peninsula right now, delivering a verbal shot across the border directed right at kim jong-un. let's bring in our chief international correspondent, christiane amanpour, she's the anchor of amanpour on cnn international. also joining us, fareed zakaria, the anchor of cnn's fareed zakaria gps. guys, listen to what secretary kerry said in seoul earlier today. >> we will defend our allies. we will stand with south korea, japan and others against these threats, and we will defend ourselves. and kim jong-un needs to understand, as i think he probably does, what the outcome of a conflict would be. >> kerry certainly spoke tough. but president obama has actually ordered that some of the military exercise scheduled in the region be canceled. so christiane, what is the message that the obama administration is trying to send right now, and will it work?

>> well, listen, they've been sending this message from the beginning of this conflict. it all starts around the joint exercises that the united states and south korean military have been having throughout this month of april. when things started to get really heated, sort of mid last week, we saw that the white house, the pentagon, the u.s. administration wanted, and sent very clear signals from both the white house and the pentagon and the state department, that they wanted to move things into a more sort of diplomatic, sort of off-ramp kind of situation. because, it turned out, that one provocation from north korea was met with sort of, you know, here we can do this. the overflights, all the things the military was doing late last week. they decided to ratchet that down a bit, not wanting to provoke north korea into doing something unwise. so yes, some of those military exercises have either been canceled or are not being done in full public view. on the other hand, the united

states has said, and admiral locklear said it very, very clearly, in congressional testimony, they have total plans to defend if necessary, not just the homeland which they do not believe will be attacked, but also the all yigs. and beyond that, as everybody tries to figure out if there's any missile launch should it be responded to, locklear was clear in recommending not shooting down any missile if it was not, you know, targeted towards either an ally or u.s. bases in guam. >> i'm anxious to get your assessment, fareed. secretary kerry is not making one of those high-profile visits to the dmz between north and south korea. it's usually a tradition for american dignitaries visiting the area, especially on a first trip as a secretary of state, to south korea, what does this say to you? >> i think that very clearly, wolf, you picked up on the two things, the canceling of the military exercises, or the

camouflage of the military exercises, and kerry not going to the dmz. the signal is, we are not going to do anything that either inadvertently escalates this crisis. we're going to try to stay calm. we're not going to back down, but we're not going to step forward. it's a very delicate balancing act. because ultimately this is an exercise in extortion. this is what north korea has done several times over the past decade. this is what it's trying to do now. remember, this is a bankrupt regime. they have -- you know, they have essentially a war economy. the entire society is marshalled around producing for this war machine and for the palace, for the court of the kim family, and the military running the place. but that doesn't tend to be enough, so they then try to extort foreign exchange in various ways by these kinds of threats. so you can't quite give in to them, and at the same time you have to take them seriously

enough to reassure south korea, to reassure japan, and to demonstrate to the north that this is not going to work. it's a balancing act. and i think the obama administration is playing it reasonably well. they are trying to stay firm, but they're trying not to do anything that could needlessly, and i say perhaps most importantly, inadvertently do something. secretary kerry said something interesting, he said, i think he knows what the outcome of this conflict would be. meaning if we were to begin a war, the next korean war would be the last korean war, because there would be no north korea at the end of it. the regime would almost certainly collapse. we think he's deterred, but you just want to be sure that no miscalculations occur. >> please stand by. we're going to come back to you in just a moment. up next, some dramatic evidence of the power of propaganda. a defector from north korea still gets emotional when she sees images touting the country's leaders as gods.

and north korea's mysterious first lady. the rumors and her role in her husband's regime. all that, and a lot more coming up this hour.st ng with issues related to mental health. by earning a degree in the field of counseling or psychology from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to make a difference in the lives of others. let's get started at capella.edu. blast of cold feels nice. why don't you use bengay zero degrees? it's the one you store in the freezer. same medicated pain reliever used by physical therapists. that's chilly! [ male announcer ] bengay zero degrees. freeze and move on. how old is the oldest person you've known? we gave people a sticker and had them show us. we learned a lot of us have known someone who's lived well into their 90s. and that's a great thing. but even though we're living longer, one thing that hasn't changed: the official retirement age. ♪ the question is how do you make sure you have the money you need to enjoy all of these years.

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as it gets to work. ♪ cisco. tomorrow starts here. all eyes right now on north korea. inside a window for a possible missile launch that could come at any time. the country survives on a cult of devotion to the kim dynasty fueled by a massive propaganda

machine. one defector tells us that the brainwashing begins at birth. kyung lah is in the capital of seoul right now. you had a chance to speak to one north korean defector about this brainwashing. what does she tell you? >> reporter: it wasn't so much what she told us, wolf, it's what she showed us. she had not seen north korean propaganda in ten years. see for yourself what happened. bizarre, over the top. welcome to the one and only television channel available in north korea. korean central television. to the outside world, the state-run images run from the weird and ridiculous, to unbelievable, and outlandish

propaganda. but look what happens as this woman watches kc tv. they're god, she says, referring to north korea's trinity kim jong-un, his father and grandfather. but how can people think of him as a god? that's what you're taught since birth, says this defector, who escaped north korea ten years ago fleeing the brutal regime. they says it's been a long time since i last saw this, and i feel i'm getting emotional. i don't know how to express this. this is not a lie. this is not an act. it's real. if anything happens, north koreans will give up their lives. they will even jump into a fire. this is very powerful. even though you left ten years ago, this still has power over you.

we watch a children's show that she final hi remembers, a good north korean cat defeating the south korean rat. and a war film that depicts the north koreans defeating americans. but if there's a revelation for this woman who fled north korea so long ago, it's this. you didn't know kim jong-un. do you feel the same love and devotion to him that you felt to kim jong-il, just by watching this television? yes, i feel the same. he looks like kim il-sung, exactly like his grandfather. he's the same. he's doing exactly what his grandfather and his father did. the power of propaganda on a people, the power of a regime. remember, this is a woman who risked her life to get out of north korea, to escape this regime. and she's still having this response.

wolf, it is certainly a window into us understanding how north korea can continue to exist. >> it really is amazing when you think about it. kyung lah if seoul, thank you for that report. let's bring back our chief international correspondent christiane amanpour, and fareed zakaria. christiane, you see this love supposedly that even this defector still has for the kim dynasty. what does it tell you about that power, that that family wields over the north korean people? >> well, i think that it's infatuation. i've been there. i was in pyongyang twice, and i went up to where the big gold statue of kim il-sung the founder is. and people go there on special occasions. that is their pilgrimage venue. and i watched this unbelievable devotion. people prostrating themselves in front of a statue, insisting that those of us who are not north korean, who were visitors, act very respectfully around there. and i've watched all those

television programs and seen some of the performances. what i can say is that it's almost like a nation that has been infantalized. she said it very clearly, that defector, that from birth you're fed this diet of the cult personality. in north korea, the kims are gods. they're not just maybe or pretending, they are considered gods. the day of the son, kim song un's birthday is the most important day of the year. and this is what they're fed all the time. unless you're in a prison camp and you know what the reality is, or you're the elite and have access to outside, by and large mosht of the people are cut off and they're told that the rest of the world is against them, and they're brought up in this way. you know what, i remember going to china, having the opportunity to visit china in the 1970s, 1978, when it was still very communist, and i went to the young children training centers, table tennis, violin,

unbelievable things, and they, too, were full of the power of chairman mao who had recently died, you saw the emotion on their faces, the crying, the exertion, we'll die for the homeland, all of that. to them, it's real. >> fareed, at this point, in this crisis, this current crisis, do you believe kim jong-un really has to fire, at least fire a missile to keep legitimacy with his people after this buildup? >> i don't think he needs to do it for his people. his people are living in a vast prison camp. i think he has to do it for his international bargaining position, because he is, as i say, trying to run an extortion racket. i wouldn't worry too much about the brainwashing. we heard about the same thing about soviet citizens worshipping stalin. it fades very quickly once the totalitarian state is dismantled. you would be surprised how these people who seem as though they

are obedient sheep become individuals very, very quickly. and as christiane says, once they get to learn and know about the outside world. the challenge we face really is what to do about a regime that is trying to essentially extract resources for itself. edward ludwig, the strategic analyst, he says we should tell even the south koreans to stop subsidizing the regime. the south subsidizes the regime in all kinds of ways. it sends food and fuel, employs workers in the joint park. all the money paid to the workers goes straight to the regime. because if we can't get an actual nonproliferation deal, if we can't get them to stop this kind of thing, you are in a sense feeding the beast. and at some point we may want to ask ourselves, we can't influence the chinese. what we can do is influence ourselves, the south koreans, the japanese, and we say to this dictatorship, either you get rid of your nuclear weapons, or no

money of any kind, no goodies, no fuel, nothing, the extortion racket is over. >> fareed zakaria, christiane amanpour, guys, thanks very much. an important note to our viewers, watch christiane on her show, amanpour airing on cnn international. weekdays 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. eastern. and tune in to fareed zakaria gps sundays. still ahead, north korea's first lady rarely seen, or heard from, if ever. we're pulling back the kurt tape on her secretive life and her influence. we've reduced taxes and lowered costs to save businesses more than two billion dollars to grow jobs, cut middle class income taxes to the lowest rate in sixty years, and we're creating tax free zones for business startups. the new new york is working creating tens of thousands of new businesses,

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information about the nuclear threat from north korea's military intelligence insider gives us his assessment. how north korea's children are taught to hate americans and why they say they must kill them. and even goes on in math class. the woman behind north korea's unpredictable young leader, her role, her secrets, and speculation she's given him an heir. i'm wolf blitzer, and this is "the situation room" special report, the north korean crisis. the secretary of state, john kerry, is in the crisis zone

right now, hoping to stop north korea from goinging ahead with a provocative missile test. our foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty is traveling with the secretary. >> wolf, there's drama in this visit by secretary kerry and driving home a two-pronged message to kim jong-un. secretary of state john kerry landed in seoul, the south korean capital, just 30 miles south of the demilitarized zone with north korea. warning the north's leader, kim jong-un, not to even think of launching a missile. >> it is a huge mistake for him to choose to do that. >> reporter: in meetings with south korea's new president and the foreign minister, the u.s. south korea alliance was on full display. >> we are all united in the fact that north korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power. the united states will, if

needed, defend our allies and defend ourselves. >> reporter: but even in the midst of a blistering barrage of threats from kim jong-un, kerry said relations between north and south can improve, and quickly, if north korea makes the right decisions. the u.s., he said, would engage in bilateral talks with the north if pyongyang lives up to its international obligations, and moves toward negotiations on getting rid of its nuclear weapons. >> i think we have lowered our rhetoric significantly, and we are attempting to find a way for reasonableness to prevail here. >> reporter: john kerry also singled out china, a country he said with an enormous ability to make a difference with north korea. >> no country in the world has as close a relationship, or as significant an impact on the dprk than china.

>> reporter: saturday kerry takes that message directly to beijing, laying out a path to the chinese leadership, he says, on how to defuse tension. wolf? >> congressman of maryland top democratic in the permanent select intelligence committee. congressman thanks for coming in. >> good to be here. >> what can you tell us about this latest assessment apparently from the defense intelligence agency, that the north koreans have apparently been able to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to put it on a missile. >> that's not the asmt of the entire committee. we have many different committees, cia, nsa, military. that assessment was by one agency. even in that assessment, the fact that there was a moderate assessment this could occur. >> moderate likelihood. >> moderate likelihood. >> what i hear you saying is that the cia, or other agencies, there are --

>> 16 intelligence agencies. >> they may have different assessments. >> all the intelligence comes together and it's analyzed. >> is there a national intelligence estimate on this specific sensitive issue? >> there have been assessments it the past. i can't get into the classified information. what i can say, as a result, all the intelligence comes together, and then the director of national intelligence coordinates that, general clapper, and he clearly made the statement yesterday that was one assessment. that is not the assessment of the intelligence committee. the secretary of state kerry said that. but whatever it is, it's a serious situation. >> how close are they, the north koreans, to having this kind of nuclear military capability? >> they have nuclear capability. >> we know they have the military capability, we know they have nuclear capability, the question is, can they marry a fu clear warhead on a missile? >> at this time our intelligence assessment is they cannot. it's very difficult to have that ballistic missile, which is really what allows them to shoot a missile somewhere, whether it's south korea or the united

states. >> if they were to launch a missile in the next few hours, or the next few days, should the u.s. shoot it down? >> of course, we need to make -- depending where it's going. >> let's just say it's going anywhere. >> you have to look at the situation as it occurs. we're standing behind south korea 100%. we'll do whatever we can do to protect their citizens. if they're testing it, that's one assessment. >> they just launch it, and let's say it's going into the pacific ocean. >> one reasons secretary kerry is over there now to try to tone down the situation. you have a very young leader, who really does not have a lot of experience. his father made him a general two years ago, in the military. and now he is attempting to show to the world, and also to his own people, that i'm a tough hard leader. he doesn't realize how serious the situation is. you don't threaten the united states of america or south korea or our ally or anyone in that region. if you're going to threaten, we have to be ready for anything.

the biggest difference here is his father used to threaten a lot and pull back, threaten and pull back. because we don't know enough about him or who he is or how he will react to certain situations, i can say this, we know that he is being advised by the same people that were advising his father. and i would hope that they understand, it's time for him to back off on what he's doing at this time. because it's very, very serious, the consequences could be very severe. >> if he tests a missile in the next few days, should the u.s. shoot it down or not? >> it all depends on where the test is, and whether it's going to affect people. but the issue here -- >> what other criteria for actually intercepting and destroying -- >> it would be the assessment from the military and defense. you've got to look at the facts. >> in other words, only shoot it down if it's heading to a populated -- >> i'm not making that decision. that's the assessment -- >> let it go into the water. >> if it's not affecting people's lives and doesn't have anything to do with our ally

right next door, the biggest problem is you have south korea with millions of people right next to the north korean border. so every day, those people are right now very concerned about this. it's like washington, d.c., is threatening to attack virginia or the state of maryland. that's what they're dealing with right now. >> because they have said their number one enemy is japan. there's a lot of nervousness on japan right now. you know the history between japan and the korean peninsula during world war ii. >> japan is another ally. and because of what north korea's threatening to do right now, i'm worried that japan, south korea, will attempt to also protect themselves by developing nuclear capabilities. >> do you think they're seriously thinking of doing that? >> i think they think they need to do that to protect their people. but we need to get china more involved. i think -- i hope secretary of state kerry who is over in south korea now will bring china to the table. this is not in china's best interests. that's what china's looking at. >> do you have a good sense what

kim jong-un, this young leader of north korea, what his end game is? >> that's the problem. we know what his father was like and his grandfather. right now we're not sure where he is, who -- we think we know who is advising him. but whether or not he is a very immature person who is showing off and make veiled threats. that's the problem. we had a pattern before with the father and grandfather. but we don't know this immature person. the first american he really reached out to was rodman. the basketball player. >> dennis rodman. >> that's right. >> that's a strange situation. >> he loves jordan, too. >> i think michael jordan declined that invitation. >> i think he was wise to decline it. >> the ranking democrat on the intelligence committee, thanks for coming. >> it's good to be with you. >> coming up on the special report, she's sometimes seen, but she's never heard from. north korea's mysterious first lady. plus, a closer look at indoctrinating north korean children, lessons about killing

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open and north korea's kim jong-un could give the order at any time to carry out a missile test launch. his country is one of the most secretive on earth, but even by that standard, north korea's first lady is shrouded in mystery. cnn's anna has what information we do know. >> reporter: sometimes seen, never heard. the lady in red is comrade ri sol-ju. introduced to the north korean people as kim jong-un's wife last july. and seen here touring a new pleasure center, always a differential step behind the great leader. >> very little publicly now. i know there was some reports that he had been married in 2009. there's speculation he might even have a child. >> reporter: analysts say introducing ri sol-ju serves several purposes for the regime. it shows that the kim dynasty is already thinking about its next generation. and it helps kim jong-un come

across as more personable and connected to the people. the couple toured a preschool. but at the same time it gives the 28 or 29-year-old leader an aura of maturity. >> i think that announcement is sort of just for consolidating the fact that he is really a person who is of substance. and an adult who can handle whatever it is north korea has coming at it in the future. >> reporter: ri sol-ju's background, little is known. though some reports say she is the daughter of an academic. the south korean media has been arrive with rumors that she is now a mother. especially after she and kim attended a concert at which the johnny mathis song "a child is born" was played. she has no shortage of designer outfits. she's been seen clutching what appears to be a dior handbag at outings. a brand selling for more than

$1,000 south of the demilitarized zone. unattainable to nearly every citizen in her own country. cnn, seoul. trs. a chilling culture of indoctrination. how north korean school children are taught to hate america and are taught to hate america and worship the kim dynasty. expres, you can rent a car without a reservation... and without a line. now that's a fast car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. if you're looking to go to school, you deserve more than just flexibility and convenience. so here's a few reasons to choose university of phoenix. our average class size is only 14 students. our financial tools help you make smart choices about how to pay for school. our faculty have, on average, over 16 years of field experiene. we'll help you build a personal career plan. we build programs based on what employers are looking for. our football team, is always undefeated. and leading companies are interested in our graduates. we'll even help you decorate your new office. ok. let's get to work.

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indoctrine eighting children into the cult of the kim dynasty. disturbing details of how north korea's children are brainwashed. and then treats day after day... block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

some of king jong-un's most passionate supporters are children. you had a chance to speak with a man who went through all of this as a child. what did you learn? >> he said indoctrination was

such a huge part of their lives as children, they thought it was normal. the children march in military style uniforms from very early ages. and the key to getting into college and getting ahead is to be part of the propaganda machine. a captivating sight in pyongyang friday. a rally staged by the korean children's union. they pledge allegiance to the state and get their red scarves. at another similar event, a young lady could barely get her words out. >> translator: my heart is pounding. it's my first time seeing kim jong-un and i'm deeply touched by his love and care. >> look familiar to you? >> yes. it's what i did all the time when i was in north korea. >> reporter: daniel choi grew up in the child indoctrination, and now 24, says from as early as he can remember, he had to sing songs at school singing homage

to kim jong-un and his father. he often had to visit monuments it in their honor and bow before them. marching military style was routine. kids who failed to toe the line saw this happen to their families. line saw this happens to their families. >> they sent to farm or very cold place. >> an official tells us that north korean children are taught to monitor each other. even math class involved propaganda. >> there is five americans, american soldier in north korea. and brave north koreans kill them all, kill them all the americans. how many lived like that? >> reporter: in school, choi says, stones were used to simulate hand grenades. >> they practice. and throw how far or how little. >> reporter: and that's for gym class? >> gym class. and there are targets. they make targets for american soldier. >> reporter: north korean children are in effect brainwashed from the

first cognizant. government agencies, farms, analysts fled in 1996. >> they brought all the kids out to greet us. and they came out, again with, that kind of well rehearsed, kind of glassy eyed stare saying hello. hello in korean. and, again in, a remarkable way that there is a degree of indoctrination. >> getting the red scarf means you're in the young pioneer corps. >> the can make the comparison. it's obvious. this is clearly highly indoctrinated state where the children are tools of the state. just like it was in hitler. just like it was in stalin and soviet union. >> designed to get children to follow their leaders to the very end. choi was lucky. he was smuggled out at age 14. >> until i escaped to -- from north korea, i could die for

them. >> so what does daniel choi think of kim jong-un and his family now? nothing special. they're ordinary men. >> thanks very much for that report. stand by. we have a moving story, a very moving story of a korean war veteran, that's next. thank you orville and wilbur... ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything from the best experiences below... to the finest comforts above. we're not simply saluting history... we're making it.

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but one retired usairman found a way to iease some of the pain b tracking down a young korean girl he saved many tedecades ag. >> aircraft is tracing. >> 60 years is a lifetime ago for most of us. >> my guess was it would have been right over there. >> reporter: but not for korean veteran richard ted waliter that spent every day of the past six decades thinking about this airfield. >> unbelievable. >> reporter: ted was 22 years old in 1953, enlisted airman who landed in the final year of the korean war at a remote base on the yellow sea. a bloody war with heavy american casualties. now 82, to this day he can't talk about what he saw except the story of this 10-year-old girl. >> we found she was burned very badly. from her waist all the way up to

the neck. and right to the bottom chin. in fact, even her ear lobes appeared to be burned off. >> the girl's mother carried her five miles on foot in the brutal winter to his base. >> she stood on her feet in front of the medic during that two hours and was remarkable as she never shed a tear or made a sound. >> reporter: ted waluter begged the highest ranking officer to airlift her to a burn unit before she died of her infections. that saved her life. >> you didn't even know her name. >> i didn't know her name. hardly even knew where she lived. >> reporter: but he never forgot that brave little girl. repeating the story again and again for 60 years, a story that made its way here to korea. earlier this year the government put out this flyer nationwide hoping to find that little girl. they found her. before national korean media,

the elderly woman met the american veteran once again. her name is kim yung sun. she married and raised three children. she bears the scars of her childhood wounds and since that day she was hurt carried the memory of the american who saved her. >> you call him your american father? >> translator: he's the hero who saved me. he healed me. wouldn't you call him that, too? arms length with ted and his wife, they remember the war that never truly ended, a divided nation still in conflict today. but for this veteran being here closed some old wounds we can't see. >> the time spent over here was worth it. >> reporter: the korean war is often called the for gotten war. but it's good to know that even in war, some things are worth remembering. cnn, south korea. what a wonderful story, the way they reunited after