in command and in control. we'll tell you how north korea's media have been promoting the country's new leader, kim jong-un. kim jong-un has been added for more than a month now, working to cement his grip on the country his father handed down to him. his challenge, he's young and considered inexperienced, but a new study suggests state-run

media is working overtime in an effort to gloss over his short comings. tokyo-based news agency radio press said north korea ran 15 news reports about kim jong-un in january. this marks a sharp contrast with coverage given to his late father. kim jong-il was not seen in official news reports for nearly three months after his father died in 1994. kim jong-un's frequent appearances address the fact he is experienced despite his age. 9 of the 15 media reports, or 60 60%, were about his military activities. he officially became supreme military commander a day earlier. kim jong-un has made it clear he will press forward with the

military first policy promoted by his father. state-run media is also suggesting kim jong-un will follow in his father's footsteps in the international front. an egyptian executive with close ties to north korea is now in pyongyang. he is chairman of telecon, which launches cell phones in the north. the firm is also building towering hotels in pyongyang. he met kim jong-il and was welcomed in pyongyang last year. kim jong-un's guardian and uncle was also at the banquet. there's speculation efforts to attract more foreign investment in the country. a senior u.s. diplomat says north korea's new leaders must

take steps to halt the nuclear program before the u.s. will agree to hold direct talks. the comment was made in seoul after meeting with senior south korean diplomats. >> we're still waiting to see if the new government in north korea is prepared to take the necessary steps. >> the u.s. has called on the north to halt its uranium enrichment program. reports china offered food aid to north korea last month. he said the aid was part of china's efforts to stabilize the north. >> we want to continue a close dialogue with china. we want them to share with us more their perspectives and their plans. >> he also said the u.s. hopes to use chinese vice president later this month to urge china to help promote talks on china's

nuclear program. running through exercises aimed at protecting japan from an invasion or a disaster. the annual bilateral drill is a computer simulation. the purpose is to enhance the abilities of the u.s. army and japan's ground self defense force. about 6,000 personnel from both sides are taking part. the commander of the u.s. army pacific spoke about the drill and the current security concerns in this region. >> reporter: lieutenant general has been the u.s. army's top solder in the asia pacific region for nearly a year. he's now leading his troops through one of their most important annual exercises. >> what's important about it is making sure that we have the process right, making sure that we have the systems right, and

then we can operate across a wide variety and a wide spectrum of military operations. and that goes anywhere from humanitarian disaster relief like we saw in march of '11, the tragedy, or defense of japan. >> reporter: the main objective of the exercise is to build better working relations between u.s. and japanese soldiers, but this year's drill reflects the obama administration's defense plan for the asia pacific. the president announced earlier last month the america military will strengthen its presence in the region. the u.s. and japan invited members of the military to observe their exercise for the first time. the drill is based on the assumption of fictitious country invades japan. the lessons could be used in the face of some of the region's real threats. north korea, with its nuclear

development program and long-range missiles, remains a major concern. >> first let me mention the fact of the transition of power between kim jong-il and kim jong-un. we hope that transfer of leadership will lead to more peace, prosperity, and security for the north korean people. that's our hope. we always hope for more communications to ensure, again, no miscalculations of intent, but we willared. we have forces on the korean peninsula, we have had forces on the korean peninsula since the ar my cyst has been signed and will continue to be prepared. >> reporter: another sensitive issue in the asia pacific, china's growing power and influence. >> i think we've all seen a recent growth and modernization

of the chinese army. i think we all should incorporate more communication so that we understand the transparency and the intent of that modernization and that growth, because no one wants miscalculation and no one wants to make any miscues, so i think communication is the most important thing. i think china wants the same thing we do, strength and stability and peace, because nothing good can come of conflict, and we all want that. we just want to make sure that with open communications we can have better understanding and china can pass on its intent more clearly so that no mistakes can happen. >> reporter: peace is the goal, but soldiers are always supposed to prepare for the worst. american and japanese troops will continue their joint drill until sunday. nhk world, japan.

well, the biggest internet ipo is about to take place. from the business team with those details, ai, good morning. >> good morning, catherine. facebook is the world's biggest social networking service. it's set to join the u.s. stock market in a bit to expand its business. facebook's total market value is expected to reach $100 billion, making it the largest initial public offering for an i.t. company. the company has more than 800 million active users worldwide. registered members create personal profiles and other users as friends and exchange messages. an application submitted to the u.s. securities and exchange commission on wednesday shows that facebook intends to raise up to $5 billion. facebook has not yet announced when or on what exchange it will start selling its stock. the european commission has

blocked the planned merger of the new york and frankfort stock exchanges. it took the step out of concern the move to create the alliance would hinder fair competition. the european union's executive body decided not to approve the merger on wednesday. it's said the combined exchange would dominate 90% of trade in europe, making it harder for others to compete. they also own in paris, brussels, and amsterdam in addition to new york. the two agreed to the merger last february as more financial markets are seeking to realign in the face of increased competition. and now let's get a check on the markets. u.s. stocks ended higher, backed by strong manufacturing data. to see how stocks here are opening this thursday morning, we go to the tokyo stock

exchange. looks like poised for higher. >> yes, we had pmi manufacturing data out of china yesterday, which came out better than economists had expected. also data in europe and u.s. boosted sentiment there as well providing new orders, higher production levels and also more hiring, but let's have a look at the opening levels here for the nikkei and topix. another factor is going to be auto sales numbers that we got out of the u.s. for january yesterday which showed a surprise boost for a lot of japanese auto makers. toyota said year on year sales rose 7.5%. honda came out and said sales rose 8.8%, and 10% rise for nissan. japanese auto makers had a tough year for 2011 with the march 11 disaster and the flooding in

thailand, we'll watch closely auto shares. also, here at the tse, over 200 shares running into slight technical problems on the board behind me, but we'll keep track of that. now, moving on to currencies, let's have a look at currency levels, because another factor which may boost exporters is that slightly stronger euro against the yen. it's trading along the 100 level now on the offered side compared to 99 yen this time yesterday. there's still questions going on about the deal to restructure greece's debt repayments, so that's ongoing. however, bond yields in italy, portug portugal, and spain and germany yesterday gave a little bit of positive sentiment. ai? >> we still have key earnings out today for major japanese companies, don't we? >> definitely. the focus is going to be squarely on sony.

they are going to be releasing earnings after the bell today and that follows the announcement yesterday stringer will be stepping down after seven years, and that's after we've seen sony shares drop by about a third, increased competition in their game console division and tv division. it's also going to be seeing its earnings for the last three months of the last year, so that's going to be a major focus there and we're going to be keeping track of that. ai? >> a lot of focus on japanese earnings, of course, but auto sales looking encouraging heading into 2012. >> definitely. we still have nissan and honda and toyota to look out for. they are coming up next, but yeah, been a very tough year for 2011 for japanese auto makers. we'll keep track of all of that, back to you. >> thank you for all of that from the tokyo stock exchange. japan's sole maker of d-ram

chips forecasted a net loss of about $1.5 billion in the current business year through march. they say the strong yen is the main cause. the world's third largest chip maker was created through a merger. to rebuild its business, the firm is considering a tie-up with leading u.s. chip maker micron technology and also plans to move part of its production in japan to taiwan. the japanese government injected public funds into the company three years ago. that was when its business got worse following the collapse of lehman brothers. the chips are essential for digital equipment. japan's government is gearing up for negotiations with the united states on joining the transpacific partnership free trade agreement. negotiations with tpp members began in january. japan has secured support for 4

out of the 9 countries involved. japan will send officials from ministries and agencies to washington for the u.s. negotiations, which start next tuesday. they'll start preparing for preliminary talks on the conditions for japan's participation in the tpp free trade negotiations. the u.s. government is likely to push for a further opening of japan's agricultural and automobile industries with precise requests. japan will decide whether to join the negotiations after assessing how the tpp will affect domestic markets. discussions will likely be a major focus on the final decision. time for a recap of the latest market figures.

all right, that is the latest from business. back to catherine now. >> thanks very much, ai. major japanese milk producers announced screening tests for radiation will begin at 180 dairy factories in response from growing concerns from consumers. municipalities have been conducting checks before raw milk goes to dairies, but only a few have been checking the milk afterward. ever since the health and welfare ministry decided to strengthen food safety standards, there has been a growing call from consumers for more screening. milk will be allowed to contain 50 bekerels per kilogram. the japan dairy industry

association says the screening will be conducted in tokyo and 16 prefectures in eastern japan. it will announce the results by the end of this month. the head of a team of nuclear inspectors says they plan to visit iran again to further investigate its suspected nuclear arms program. the team led by herman makertz, deputy director general ended a three-day mission on tuesday and returned to the agency's headquarters in vienna. he said he had intensive discussions with the iranian side but declined to give details, including whether they visited nuclear facilities. he said there's a lot of work to be done and the team plans another trip in the very near future. the results of the mission are scheduled to be presented at a regular board meeting in march. china has defended its drilling activities at a gas

field in the east china sea. japan says the action contradicts an agreement to discuss joint development of the resource. nhk last week filmed flames on a drilling rig in a gas field. the gas field lies near the median line, separating the exclusive economic zones of japan and china. the countries agreed in 2008 to discuss joint development of areas in the east china sea, including the kashi gas field. unilateral development is unacceptable and demanded a resumption of negotiations for a treaty on gas field development. in a written response sent to nhk on wednesday, china's foreign ministry said there's no dispute the field is in chinese-controlled waters. it said the drilling is a legitimate activity. they said china is talking with

japan about implementing the 2008 agreement. the japanese government is getting closer to signing an international treaty on cross-border child custody disputes. currently, japan's system favors mothers when marriages break up. hundreds of foreign fathers say that's allowed their former japanese spouses to abduct the children they share. nhk has the story. >> stop the abductions now! >> reporter: at the end of last year, there were 193 unresolved cases of children reportedly abducted to japan. the united states, britain, canada, are among the countries launching the complaints. those countries have urged japan to ratify the convention.

a court concluded in 1980 that bans parents from taking children across borders when international marriages break up. 87 countries have signed the convention. the u.s. has taken a particularly hard-lined stance. >> we are actively engaging foreign governments to go ahead and -- go ahead and join the conventions. >> japan announced last may that it would join the treaty. it's the only country yet to sign. late last month, a government panel drafted legislation to implement the convention. >> an earlier details on that proposed legislation and explained why japan has stood apart from other countries on the convention. >> one of the reasons is a gap

in the family law system between japan and other countries. like in the u.s., parents can have joint custody of a child. in 1989, a united nations convention on children's rights says that it's best for children to be looked after by both parents, even if they are separated. but in japanese law, custody is only given to one parent, and that's typically the mother. why experts say the idea dates back to 1960s when the japanese economy started to boom, the fathers rule was to bring in the money. mothers were the caregivers who stayed at home. and even half a century later, it's still conventional for a japanese mother to look after a child after divorce. one article in the draft legislation is caused concern, the convention states that if a

child is taken from a country without one parent's permission, the other parent can demand legal help to bring the child back. but japan's draft legislation says a mother can refuse to return a child when in case of that domestic violence. a japanese family law expert says most abduction cases in japan stem from violence. he says the parent often has good reason for not returning the child. >> translator: in any country, domestic violence in the presence of a child will damage the child psychologically. the child will suffer greatly. >> this canadian father says that could provide a loophole in the law. he moved to japan in order to claim custody of his daughters.

he claimed his partner took them from canada without his permission. he says the relationship between husband and wife should be considered separately from that of parent and child. >> in the case of child abuse, perhaps, yes, you will remove a parent from a child or vice versa, but not in a case of spousal abuse. it's not a reason to not return the child. this is not acceptable. a child has a basic right to see and know both of its parents. >> both sides say it's unclear what level of violence would warrant the parent refusing to return a child. they say they need more precise criteria. >> the foreign ministry says the draft legislation will be shown next month. if it passes the government plans to sign the treaty as soon as possible. >> commuters are experiencing a

cold morning, joining us with the details in the world weather forecast. hello, welcome to your weather update. we have been focusing on heavy snow on the western side of japan. a lot of snow has been piling up, reaching over 4 meters in certain areas. yesterday, a deadly avalanche occurred. however, we are still anticipating an additional 40 to 80 centimeters of snow in the next 24 hours. very strong winds as well as high waves will accompany the heavy snow and the peak of the snow is going to be today. from friday, parts of the western side will get drier, however, the rest of the area will continue to see intermittent snow showers. as we pull back, light snow in

the central section of china is gradually diminishing, but the southern section will continue to see rain into the weekend. today's highs are looking like this, lots of frigid temperatures can be found in the north. minus 22 and minus 1 in beijing. tokyo will be coming in at 5 degrees, but temperatures rebound to normal saturday. heading over to the americas, heavy rain showers through the southeastern corner of the u.s. the lower mississippi valley will continue to see some risks of thunderstorms, large hail, damaging winds, and even tornados, but most of the precipitation will move out to sea on thursday. across the west, a separate system that is bringing winter storm conditions in the northern rockies is moving southeastward and bringing thunder showers. so, on thursday we're expecting

8 degrees in vancouver and 9 degrees in seattle and across the east, much cooler than yesterday in new york with 9 degrees. but still warmer than average, and we are anticipating 20 degrees in atlanta. finally, let's go over to europe. a large high pressure system that continues to pull arctic chill is still blanketing much of the european countries. lots of warnings for extreme low temperatures have been issued widely, and this cold air is colliding with very warm air from africa, producing unsettled conditions to the south. in italy, heavy snow in the northern sections and thunderstorms in the southern area will continue throughout thursday, and we've got very active low pressure system coming into the area and that will produce blizzard conditions to the balkan peninsula in the next 24 hours, and some of it will move into western turkey.

so expected highs on thursday are looking like this, lots of cold temperatures, minus 15 degrees in moscow and minus 20 degrees in kiev and minus 6 in vienna. in paris, temperatures dip into the freezing mark with minus 1 degrees and 2 degrees expected in london. those frigid conditions will continue into the weekend. all right, here's your extended forecast.

and before we leave you this hour, we've got some breaking news from the tokyo stock exchange. the tse stopped trading on 241 issues. it stopped trading on 241 issues. it says some glitches occurred in its data distribution system. investigators are looking into the problem and trying to fix things. now, the tse stopped trading on 241 issues. officials are trying to figure out what the problem is and how to fix those glitches in its data distribution system. officials are looking into it and we'll get you the full update at the top of the next hour, so do stay with us on

"newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.