what's next? north koreans greet the passing of their leader as the world awaits the next moves of the recluse i have country. they are embracing the future as they mourn. past. state run media announced the death of kim john-il yesterday. they are now broadcasting the merits of his son, kim john-un.

the media has been showing images of people grieving. the central news agency posted an article titled kim jong-il's philosophy and achievements will last forever. it also praises kim jong-un as an outstanding philosophical theorist who wins 100 victories in 100 battles in leading the country's revolution and construction. it says the young kim has made the north into an invincible global military power. the article adds that his philosophy embodies his father's ideas and will, and that he stands at the forefront of the socialist revolution. this is the first time that north korea state media has directly given tribute to kim jong-un. kim jong-il's body will lay in

state at kumsusan memorial palace on tuesday. visitors can visit until december 27th. for more insight nhk spoke with former japanese deputy foreign minister tanaka. he was involved in negotiations with north korea for many years. tanaka met kim jong-il during japan/north korea summit talks. >> translator: i was surprised at the news of kim's death. there's no reason to believe that they've solidified their transition of power. we have to keep a close watch on the situation for the time being. i negotiated with north korea behind the scenes for one year. during the negotiations the country made decisions through talks among officials. north korea is under dictatorship, but it seems to allow a group of officials around the leader to make decisions.

north korea is not an ordinary society. for example, people are starving because of a food crisis. in a normal country it wouldn't be surprising if people staged strong protests. but the north korean government used the threat of military power to stop demonstrations from even breaking out. this means whether the north's next regime can be solid or not depends on the next leader's ability to control the military in a firm manner. this time could represent a big opportunity or the beginning of a major crisis for north korea. it is kim jong-il who had the final say in making tough decisions on issues such as the country's nuclear program and abductions of foreign nationals. what matters most is the leader's ability to silence opposing elements in the military. it's necessary for other nations to take action on north korea to ensure the country makes positive shifts in its policies. >> the foreign ministers of japan and the united states say

peace and stability in the korean peninsula should be the priority after the death of north korea's leader. koichiro gemba and hillary clinton gave a news conference at the state department in washington on monday. >> we both share a common interest in a peaceful and stable transition in north korea as well as in ensuring regional peace and stability. we have been in close touch with our partners in the six-party talks today. >> translator: we agreed that the death of kim jong-il should not negatively affect the peace and stability on the peninsula. for that reason, japan, the u.s. and south korea must monitor the north's political transition and liaise closely with each other.

>> gemba also said the members of the six-party talks must work closely to ensure the north takes concrete steps toward denuclearization. now south korea is on high alert as it awaiting the repercussions of the death of north korea's leader. our correspondent in seoul has more on that. >> reporter: the south will hold a parliamentary committee meeting on tuesday to ponder the impact of kim jong-il's death. the director of the national intelligence service will take part in that meeting. it collects information on the north. the power succession to kim jong-un, the third son, will be done smoothly. they will also analyze if the north korea military will show any signs of provocation against the south. on monday, news that north korea test-fired short range missiles

off the eastern coast made south koreans nervous. the incident occurred several hours prior to the announcement of kim's death. the south korean defense ministry says the tests have nothing to do with his death as it was scheduled beforehand, but the ministry has put the army, navy and the air force on high alert. it has also asked the u.s. military to step up its monitoring activities of the north. south koreans are divide over whether the government should send condolences to the north. lawmakers will also hold a full parliamentary session on wednesday to deliberate on future actions. the government is likely to take precautionary steps to avoid a split in public opinion on how to deal with kim jong-il's

death. reporting for nhk world, seoul. next we go beijing where our reporter has spent the day gathering reaction. >> reporter: the north korean embassy in beijing has its flag at half-staff. the north koreans going in and out of the embassy said they couldn't believe kim jong-il was dead. chinese police are keeping a close watch on reporters around the embassy. china's state media have reported kim's death without commentary. >> translator: north korea is a poor country. i hope kim's death will turn things around for the better. >> translator: i want north korea to be more open. the nation should organize itself in terms of democracy. north korea will be able to improve the situation if it puts priority on its economy over its military. >> reporter: china's foreign ministry's spokesperson met with reporters on monday afternoon.

he expressed his deep condolences to the north korean people on the death of their leader. >> translator: kim was north korea's leader and china's close friend. china hopes to play an active role in achieving peace and stability on the korean peninsula in continued cooperation with north korea. >> reporter: diplomatic sources in beijing say the only change in the north korean government will be kim jong-un taking over as leader. they expect him to be supported by the man who is married to kim jong-il's younger sister. the chinese government appears to be planning to step up security around the border to prevent north koreans from fleeing into china. reporting for nhk world, beijing.

and more on they are reacting to the death of the northorean leader. >> the main concern for japan is whether there is smooth transfer of power to kim's third son, kim jong-un. he tried to hoe the public and world that he was his successor. the world is watching for signs of instability in the nation. there's been no official statement from the korean workers party on the country's official succession plan, but there has been -- there have been clear indications that kim jong-un will be in charge. japan and other neighboring countries hope for a smooth succession, because they don't want to see any turmoil in north korea that would affect northeast asia. prime minister noda has ordered his government agencies and

ministries to find out what is really going on in the country. the japanese police and self defense forces are on the alert in case. one possibility is that the north korean military could make some kind of move to take power. kim jong-un made his first official public appearance last year, but still lacks authority. controlling the powerful military won't be an easy job. another possibility is some kind of citizen revolt. they have low standard of living. people around the country aren't happy. if any revolt happens in the country, north korean refugees could flee to china, south korea and even japan. so far, there have been no such reports of confusion. one of the biggest security issues is north korea's nuclear

program. japan, south korea, united states, china, russia, north korea have held so-called six party talks on this issue. the discussions have been on hold three years because of acts of provocation and for the mission. the japanese government is watching how his death will effect this issue. if the transfer of power is smooth, there will be no big change in north korea's status at the six party talks, because kim jong-un has been faithful to his father's vision. japan is closely watching who will be supporting him and giving him strategic advice. it's also waiting to see how kim's death and transfer of power will effect the issue of

japanese nationals, adopted by north korea. at one point, north korea agreed to reinvestigation. japan hopes working with china, south korea and united states it can persuade north korea's new leadership to be more cooperative member of the society. investors bought the dollar immediately following the news of kim's death. for more recent levels, let's talk to ai. >> good morning. the announcement of his death had an impact on the markets monday, but on the new york foreign exchange, dollar moved within a tight range against the yen. the dollar rose slightly against the yen and euro in asian markets shortly after news of kim's death broke earlier monday. the south korean fell, but in new york, dollar yen traded back

at the lower 78 yen level after they sold the u.s. currency. analysts say market par 'tis pants are refraining from active trading as they want to see how the situation unfolds. as for stocks, the dow-jones rose on fresh concerns of down grades in european economies and jitters in global stocks following the announcement of the death of the north korean leader. for more how stocks are trading this morning, ramin mellegard is at the tokyo stock exchange. we saw the effect on the nikkei and asian stocks yesterday following news of the death of kim john-il, but how is the follow through this morning? >> good morning, ai. it is looking a little positive. yesterday, we saw shipping and trading companies trading lower, pushing the nikkei lower, that was due to drop in the price of

oil, and jitters about transfer of power in north korea with the u.s., japan, south korea looking on closely indeed. let's look at the opening levels this tuesday morning. we can see the reaction is relatively positively. nikkei up 34 points, topix up two points. focus and concentration this morning will be on companies in the shipping sector, which was down 5% yesterday. oil related stocks like oil and gas field developer impex and trading houses like mitsubishi who were lower yesterday. we saw also some key asian forces trading lower. let's keep an eye on banking stocks and there's continued concern about credit rating down grades for eurozone economies which pulled the financial stocks lower, the likes of bank

of america, merrill lynch, which was down around 4% morgan stanley and citigroup trading lower. a lot of focus there on the euro and you mentioned some levels earlier. let's have another look at the currency levels this tuesday morning in japan. you can see they're 77.99-04. holding steady there. we will see how it develops through the day. >> ramin, we have a holiday shortened week in japan. what should we watch for after markets close thursday. >> a lot on the agenda. bank of japan has a two day policy meeting, and trade balance figures for japan for november. and let's not forget, in october, dipped into the red first time in two months. thursday, ai, auto production numbers for november, and that flooding in thailand.

we will see if those effects come into the numbers as well. still quite a lot for investors to take in, despite the paramount news out of north korea and of course the eurozone debt issues. back to you. >> thanks a lot, ramin. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. olympus is planning to raise about $1.3 billion to boost its capital. sources say possible private investors may include fuji film holdings and sony. the camera scope business is drawing the attention of subscribers. they released the earnings report last week. they posted a net loss over $400 million. financial statements showed that olympus's net assets fell by $1.3 billion. that makes the net asset figure now about $590 million.

the revision reflects the huge losses the firm kept off its books for many years. the focus now is how olympus will proceed with the capital boost. tokyo stock exchange put their stock on the watch list and is considering whether to keep olympus as a listed company or not. that's the latest for business. the japanese government will pay to decontaminate 100 municipalities, but the plan causes concern in the communities. the environment ministry will clean up to 102 municipalities in eight prefectures with radiation levels above 1 millisievert per year. cattle formers say they're worried that consumers will avoid all beef produced from those designated areas.

they are concerned that the tourism industry will be hurt if it is labeled as a contaminated area. on the other hand, residents in areas with less than 1 millisievert per year say it is unfair they can't receive funds for decontamination work. now let's look at the latest in sports. welcome in to the sports report. in 2011 i had the opportunity to travel around the country east to west watching athletes do what they do best. some of them even let me in on the action. now that the year's drawing to a close, i've been thinking again about those people and places. here are a few that i found especially memorable.

japan has all kinds of sporting events throughout the year, but this one back in february was in a league of its own. the name of the game is snow baseball. the rules are completely different than ordinary baseball. a tennis ball is used so that it stands out in the snow. and the team uniforms are garbage bags because players always slide into base. it is baseball of sorts, but the rules aren't quite the same. for example, the leadoff man of the inning can run for third base instead of first. we're going to win and we're going to be the champions! i suited up and managed to hit the ball, but i couldn't generate much speed.

maybe that's part of the reason our team didn't win the championship. the event took place in tohoku region in northeastern japan at a time when fun was still easy to come by. all that changed within days. the major earthquake and tsunami descended on the region, causing disruption far and wide. athletes had their share of difficulties, too. the miyagi max wheelchair basketball team from miyagi prefecture has been going for 20 years. it's produced national team members. after march 11th, gymnasiums were turned into emergency shelters and volunteer centers.

as a result training sessions were relocated to a place an hour away by car. >> translator: we want to turn the disaster into a source of motivation and compete against the world. >> where there's a will, there's a way. that's what i see in these wheelchair basketball players. i'm so impressed with their determination to overcome the adversity. look out, london, here they come. this is someone who is always happy to be looking up even if it means pedaling her mountain bike up a steep road. she's won the national championships eight times in a row and hopes to compete in london. i tried to follow her training regimen. but i don't see any medals in my future. it is a lot tougher than i thought. you need a lot of skills to ride it with balance and create some speed.

>> translator: i want to make it into the top ten. no matter what happens, though, i think i'll still be riding a mountain bike when i'm up in years. >> pulling a six kilogram tire, this 88-year-old isn't ready to take thins easgs easy. he is a world record holder in the 100 meter and the 200 meter races. she attributes her strength to what she eats starting with four slices of pork for breakfast and small fish as snacks. she intends to break the world record in 2013 when she'll be 90. what do you get from running?

>> translator: it's something that keeps me going, the joy of life. >> despite all the upheaval in 2011, it was a year in which athletes continued to show what commitment and persistence can produce. with the london olympics coming up, we'll expect no less from 2012. >> definitely not. hiro morita there with the year in review. it's a sunny but chilly tuesday morning here in tokyo, and i hear the u.s. is struggling with some severe weather. let's go to saki ochi who has details in her global weather forecast. and welcome back to your weather update. let's get a look at conditions in east asia, and we're talking about largely dry conditions that extend across china even

through the indochina peninsula as well as for the korean peninsula and japan, too, not looking too bad here, especially for southern areas as well as pacific side. fairly dry conditions continue with quite a bit of sunshine as well. now, for the western flank of the country, again, we're still looking at more moisture coming in off the sea of japan, so there is a lot of wintry precipitation to be found, a lot more snow in the works and it is being accompanied by gusty conditions. so we are talking about blizzard-like conditions for some of the areas especially towards hokkaido and the tohoku area. down towards the south we do continue to see scattered showers across areas like taiwan. then we do have a tropical depression in the south china sea, that will be the remnants of tropical storm washi that worked its way across the philippines over the weekend. it is continuing to dissipate but we still look at a little bit more moisture for areas like vietnam then across areas to the south, malaysia and indonesia will be looking at more showers. for the philippines, the

northeast monsoon continues to move in bringing in a little bit more moisture, it is mostly heaviest towards the north right now. and we are starting to see heavy rain amounts being reported here. looks like you'll see more especially along this eastern side of the country and even across mindanao, showers not out of the question today. grounds are very saturated. you want to be on the watch for that. tuesday highs look like this. ' highs look like this highs lo. 22 in taipei. expecting to get up to 11 in shanghai. now over towards the americas, the midsection here looking at the clouds. we do have active systems in place that has been bringing snow to the southwest. then on the southern side of this areas like texas, then into the lower mississippi valley, we're talking about heavier rains. that is now on the move. looks like rain will be spreading in towards the midwest as well as right along the mississippi valley. for tonight you do want to watch

out for wintry conditions here. for areas of colorado in towards kansas and oklahoma. monday's highs will be -- tuesday, rather, highs will be looking like this. it is getting to be looking cold for oklahoma city. highs at just two degrees. 4 also in chicago. also single digits, 9 in d.c. and 7 degrees in new york. lastly, a look at europe. we'll be talking about largely unsettled weather all around. for the southeast corner here we'll be talking about showers and thunderstorms. then as this frontal system pulls on in, wintry weather both rain and snow will be spreading across the british isles as well as western and central sections of europe. for the alpine region, those mountain areas, you want to watch out for the potential for heavy snowfall. highs for tuesday will be looking at zero in moscow and also the same in warsaw. looking cold in vienna, too, highs remain at 2 degrees. a little milder for athens, highs getting up to 16 degrees. all right.

that's a look at your weather conditions for now. here is your three-day outlook.

that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com