the international atomic watchdog assesses north korean pledges for its nuclear program. board members of the international atomic energy agency are urging north korean leaders to follow through on their promises. the new leadership announced last week they would take steps towards denuclearization in return for food aid. american negotiators are pushing

the north koreans to honor their commitments by allowing early monitoring by iaea inspectors. the u.s. member of the board outlined the details of the agreement at a meeting in vienna. north korean officials agreed to halt uranium enrichment temporarily at their nuclear facility and say they'll allow iaea inspectors to visit the site. japanese and chinese board members welcomed the agreement. the south korean delegate said the u.n. agency should wait to see if pyongyang will do what they said they would. the nuclear director said he will send a senior official to north korea as soon as officials agree to meet. analysts with a u.s. think tank think north korea may be pressing ahead with its nuclear program. they say recent satellite imagery suggests engineers have been developing the nuclear city. and lists with the institute for

science and international securities say the photo shows a newly completed turbine building. they have been analyzing satellite images of the facility since 2010. north korean officials declared at the time that they were building a light water reactor. a photo shown in september shows the building's framework. the new image was taken in early february. north korean officials claim they're using the plant to generate electricity for peaceful purposes. they say enriching uranium to fuel the reactor constitutes a peaceful use of nuclear energy. north korean officials expect tons of food in return for their concessions. a u.s. envoy says negotiators hope to reach an agreement soon on how to move forward with the aid. >> we'll finish the conversations and discussions we've had on the administrative issues relating to providing humanitarian assistance to north

korea. >> he will meet during the day with a north korean official in beijing. they'll meet again thursday if necessary. u.s. officials are offering to send 20 thousand tons of nutritional supplements a month mainly for infants and pregnant women. they want a monitoring system to ensure supplies reach those in need. they want the north koreans to allow u.s. representatives to meet with organizations receiving the shipments. north korean officials are getting nervous about some other food. south korean companies make chocolate pies, then ship them to the north. consumers there love them, and that's caused some problems few could have foreseen. our reporter explains. >> reporter: trucks carry all kinds of goods across the demilitarized zone that sen rates north and south korea. the shipments include chocolate pies, 200,000 a day.

they are headed to kaesong's complex in south korea. the area has been jointly developed by the south and north. there, more than 100 south korean factories employ 50,000 north koreans. this man hires about 1500 north koreans to make clothing. this company started treating workers to the pies. each employee gets five a day. but this had an effect no one foresaw. >> everyone was working hard, so as a reward, we decided to give them the chocolate pies. then they worked harder and produced more clothing. >> north korean defector is an expert on the north's economy.

she says when she took her pie, she was shocked. >> when i was in north korea, i had never eaten one. i didn't know it was sweet. at first i had no idea what it was. >> the story how it increased productivity spread. now almost all the companies give their workers pies. but the pies are causing unexpected problem. they put a high value on this. many workers don't eat their pies. they trade them for other goods. they can get a whole kilogram of rice for just one pie. >> they have started making

money by selling pies on the black market, so the pies are quickly spreading across the country. >> some north korean supervisors started to ask south korean employers to give cash rewards instead of pies. government also said pies reached other areas. >> north koreans might start wondering why such a wonderful product can be made in the south. the authorities don't think the pies will transform people's thinking, but they worry the pies could cause trouble. >> as it is a good source of cheap labor, south korean officials are taking note of the issue. >> translator: i don't think it is a huge problem right now. the industrial complex is important to the north and the south.

both sides have to work together to develop the area. >> no one foresaw how this could cause such complications. but now both countries are watchful. military tensions between the koreas are never far away. north korean soldiers carried out drills in an apparent show of anger. they shot at piece of paper bearing the name of the south korean president during the live fire drill. political analysts say it is the latest effort by north korean leaders to tighten their grip. south korean and u.s. military personnel are carrying out exercises of their own. north koreans are angry about a poster found at a barracks. it had slogans threatening kim

jong-un and his late father. thousands protested the posters. tokyo markets just opened. ai uchida joins me. what's behind the drop in new york? >> uncertainty in one word. we have greece and the slow down in china worrying investors. in fact, that was what was behind the dow-jones industrial average registering the biggest daily loss this year. let's see what's going on here in the tokyo markets. for that, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, markets are seeing a bit of a correction. how is the nikkei acting this morning. >> very good morning, ai. let's go and have a look at the nikkei and topix. quite clearly, nikkei down over 100 points. 9,532. topix down 9 points. nikkei and asian indexes were in fact the first to react to

china's lowered growth estimates as we've seen, asian indexes and nikkei down two days in a row, nikkei might be down three days in a row judging by opening levels. the main concern on global markets is greece not being able to follow through on the latest debt deal. investors are taking a little money off the table until there are clearer sides. u.s. jobs data is also due out friday. may give investors an excuse to take a step back. domestically, looking at key sectors here. the auto sector, we had sales figures showing hybrid car sales increased for february for the big three manufacturers and toyota's prius showing a rise of almost 88%. so a lot of interest for hybrid cars. also with sanctions of oil imports against iran, the tanker shipping sector in japan also feeling a little heat there as

actual insurance premiums have skyrocketed. we'll keep track of tankers and the shipping sector as well. let's look at the currency levels. that tells a bit of a story with the yen strengthening against both dollar and euro. you can see there against the dollar 80.65-66. euro 105.76-81. it was 109 a few days ago. overseas, yen gained ground against both currencies, reviving concerns there about europe's debt deal issues. ai? >> and ramin, here in japan, the telecom sector seeing a bit of activity. >> definitely. we've been keeping track of that, soft bank was given a new wave length spectrum to compete against the other two telecom shares, companies. that will give it a little advantage. also soft bank opening a new

store in tokyo. let's not forget soft bank was the first telecom here to sell the iphone, and then that followed with kddi. so some competition heating up in that sector as well. ai? >> all right, thanks for that update. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. tokyo prosecutors plan to serve new arrest warrants on former executives of olympus during the day. the executives are alleged to have kept hiding losses after 2009. prosecutors previously arrested the former president of the equipment maker, with vice president and the auditor who have all resigned. the ex-management is accused of inflating the firm's assets by over 100 billion yen in 2007 and 2008 to cover up huge investment losses. the sum is worth $1.2 billion at

current exchange rates. sources say the president largely admitted to the charge. he said after he became president he intended to disclose the faulty accounting and other board members convinced him not to. china may expand property tax in two major cities in an effort to slow down overheating housing market. the government launched taxes on fixed assets in shanghai to stem real estate buying. >> translator: the tax is helping to stabilize the housing markets, so we want to expand the area adopting the system after further consideration and amendment. >> the number of real estate deals plunged recently after the

government tightened money policy and regulations on mortgage loans. the action triggered a slew of bankruptcy among real estate brokers. analysts warn, however, that widening the property tax will cause real estate prices to nose dive. some fear the housing bubble bill burst. let's look at other markets. more business news next hour.

back to catherine. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says iran must quit its nuclear program. he says time is running out and all options are on the table, including military action. netanyahu spoke in washington at a pro-israel conference. his country has threatened to launch a pre-emptive strike on iran's nuclear facilities. >> we've waited for diplomacy to work. we've waited for sanctions to work. none of us can afford to wait much longer. >> netanyahu referred to concerns an attack on iran would result in a more unstable situation in the middle east and higher oil prices. he said it's time to start talking about the danger of not stopping the country's nuclear program. >> for the sake of our prosperity, for the sake of our security, for the sake of our children, iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.

the european union is asking iran to resume negotiations with western countries on the nation's nuclear program. eu foreign policy chief catherine ashton said he made the offer on tuesday. >> i have offered to resume talks with iran. we hope that we will be able to now pursue with iran constructive engagement with the purpose of addressing the international community's concerns about the nuclear program. >> ashton says she replied to a letter last month sent by iran ease chief negotiator. eu has been coordinating talks 2009 iran and six nations including united states, russia, germany. observers say the eu hopes to build confidence between the two sides to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough. iran will allow the international atomic energy agency to enter a key military site.

they were denied access last month. it is suspected the site is being used to develop nuclear weapons. iran's envoy to iaea said inspectors were granted access to the parchon military complex last night. it required various procedures as it is not a nuclear related facility. he added entry to the complex would be allowed after the iaea board meeting ends this week, but it remains uncertain to what extent iran will allow the iaea to inspect the site. iranian officials didn't specify a date or any details for the visit. an earthquake that jolted a nation. a tsunami that swallowed a coastline. a nuclear plant that spiralled out of control. japan marks the first anniversary of the march 11th disaster. what lessons have been learned?

find out on our special program, lessons of march 11th, one year on, sunday, 2:00 p.m. japan time, only on nhk world. a u.s. nuclear expert sis japan could have predicted the impact of last year's tsunami on the fukushima daiichi plant. >> responsible people from around the world, referring to the accident as unthinkable and unforeseen, and so on. my view is that it was not unthinkable and it was not unforeseen. as we heard earlier, the tsunami hazard was underestimated. >> nuclear regulatory commissioner made the remark at a symposium in washington on tuesday. nearly one year has passed since that march 11th earthquake and tsunami crippled the nuclear plant. he said the japan's government and the plant's operator tokyo power compute could counter --

for total power loss. he said operators of u.s. nuclear plants are taking additional steps to deal with blackouts. the commission hopes to come up with further safety measures by this summer. the carnegie endowment for international peace organized the the symposium and released a report on tuesday. the paper says past analysis was insufficient. it says japan did not adequately prepare for the possibility of power failures at nuclear plants. now to our series lessons of march 11th, one year on. we're looking back on japan's magnitude 9 earthquake that triggered a tsunami and nuclear crisis. more than 15,000 people died. about 3300 others are still counted as missing. we'll be bringing you reports all week from the hardest-hit prefectures, iwate, miyagi, and

fukushima. today we're going to ofunato in iwate. business owners there like many others across the northeast face hurdle after hurdle. a number had debt before the disaster and need more loans if they want to rebuild. >> reporter: the tsunami pulled and swept away almost everything that used to stand here. it washed away factories, shops, homes. now prefabricated huts are popping up on this rural end. >> my restaurant was over there, and this place was our neighbor's electric store. >> reporter: satoru sakai used to run a restaurant here and wants to again. but he is dealing with hundreds

of thousands of dollars of debt. >> paying for daily expenses like rice and electricity has become difficult, so we cancelled our insurance a few days ago. >> reporter: sakai and thousands of others struggle with something called overlapping debt. they've got to repay the loans on their old businesses, and they need more to rebuild. the balance of loans across tohoku amount to more than $200 billion, according to the bank of japan. sakai's home on the hilltop suffered some damage, though it is liveable. but down in the town, the tsunami left nothing. sakai was left with more than $200,000 in debt. he lost his income and got no financial support. he thought of giving up. then a volunteer group that

helps businesses get going again arrived with what sakai needed to rebuild. >> this makes me feel like okay, i'm ready. >> sakai took his first step forward in this makeshift stand. he started to sell frozen chinese dumplings. he is making 20 to $30 a day, but has to feed a family of five, and he'll need to rebuild his restaurant if he wants to get back on his feet. he'll have to take out another loan almost as big as his first. his overlapping debt, more than $400,000. he'll have to repay more than 3,000 every month. that's about twice as much as

before the disaster. >> translator: i must restart no matter how good or bad it will be, it's like a gamble. >> government leaders established a cooperation that will buy business loans from financial institutions. the hope is that it will reduce part of the loan or extend the grace period for business owners. >> financial institutions have helped, but the disaster made it impossible for us to rely on the existing formula. >> sakai plans to apply. he called a counselor with the government cooperation to find out if he's even got a chance.

he learned the government is still working out details of how the cooperation will work. >> translator: i want them to make it clear. they took our hardships into consideration when they thought of this scheme. >> sakai hopes this new government program will work. he is 48 years old and dreams of retiring someday. his overlapping debt, the legacy of march 11th, 2011, will likely put those dreams on hold. >> just one of many in northeastern japan taking a step at a time to get back on their feet. let's go to the world

weather forecast. >> it will be okay today. expected high in tokyo, 14 degrees, warmer than average. but we are expecting temperatures to drop tomorrow, so get your winter coats handy, you know changing weather is a sign of spring, so we're definitely getting closer to spring. staying dry, both sides of japan dealing with rain and snow. this is bringing blowing snow in hokkaido that could be accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds. across the south, heavy thundershowers are continuing in the southern islands, up to 100 millimeters is possible in the next 24 hours. and rain continues in the coast of southern china. towards the indochina peninsula, rain in southern vietnam and cambodia will move towards the northeast on your thursday. temperature wise, getting up to 35 degrees in bangkok, 23

degrees in hong kong, with some rain patches. cooling down to 8 degrees in shanghai. tokyo, again, 14 degrees, but it will drop to 9 degrees tomorrow. heading over to the american express, it's mostly dry and warm in the east. however, stormy and very cool in the west, and in between these areas, very strong winds are blowing and red flag warnings have been posted for much of the southern half of the u.s., particularly dry in parts of texas and new mexico. the risk of wildfires are dangerously high here. meanwhile, a low pressure system continues to track eastward over the u.s., canada border, spreading widespread snow showers here. up to 20 centimeters in manitoba in the next 24 hours. a system is moving over the rockies producing winter storm conditions. behind the storm, there's very cold air, that will continue to

move southeastward, pushing down temperatures. so on your wednesday, cooling down to 2 degrees in denver, which is about 18 degrees lower than what we saw on tuesday. but still warm in the east. getting up to 16 degrees in chicago, 13 in toronto, and 17 degrees in d.c. and atlanta. finally to europe. we see big rotating clouds over the atlantic. these are powerful low pressure system and a couple of fronts producing blustery winds inch of the british isles and very heavy rain as well. as this system moves to the east, much of the scandinavian peninsula and central europe turn wet, snow is possible across norway in the next 24 hours. down towards the south, thundershowers are gradually diminishing over southern italy and the southern balkan

peninsula. temperatures as follows. lots of double digits in mediterranean countries. 9 in paris, 11 in london, 7 in berlin. and to the east, cooler than average in moscow, minus 7, despite the sunshine and minus 3 in kiev with cloudy skies. i will leave you now with your extended forecast.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tokyo. do join us again. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com