welcome to nhk world "newsline." south korean authorities have a warning for their neighbor to the north, don't do it. they're again urging the regime of kim jong-un to refrain from carrying out another nuclear test. they say the result will only hurt north korea's international standing. >> translator: the north has made significant preparations to conduct the test. all that remains now is its political decision. >> south korean intelligence authorities confirm this month that workers in the north have been digging a new tunnel. in the region of pyooongkye-ri.

they believe that will be a test site. a senior government official says north korean leaders will further isolate their country if they carry out another nuclear test. the official points out it will also make it harder for them to develop their failed economy. the north korean government made a rare public admission recently. state media reported an attempt to launch a satellite into space failed. many nations consider it a long range missile test. still, south korean officials say this admission could signify a change of political style under kim jong-un. a group of activists have released balloons carrying pamphlets and food across the border with north korea. they say the initiative is meant to denounce north korea's launch of a missile earlier this month. while the population continues to starve. nhk world reports. >> reporter: here near the north korean border, the members are now preparing for launching balloons with leaflets and chocolate to north korea.

the ngo is composed of citizens who fled north korea. they released ten huge balloons carrying 2,000 packages. the leaflets explain the budget for the missile launch equals the cost of 19 million people for two years. >> translator: we're sending these chocolate cakes with our prayers for the happiness of the north korean people. >> reporter: those korean authorities have responded with harsh criticism, saying the balloons are an insult against their leader, kim jong-un. south korea's armed forces have deployed vehicles to track the balloons by satellite and to observe any retaliation by north korea. the group says this action is

meant to support the north civilian population in the wake of the recent leadership transition. another group is preparing to launch more balloons next weekend. this time they will be loaded with pamphlets and radios capable of receiving broadcasts from south korea. nhk world, south korea. a political standoff in myanmar may be nearing resolution. pro democracy leader aung san suu kyi and other members of the national league for democracy had refused to take their seats in parliament. objecting to the wording of the lawmakers' oath. but the speaker of the country's lower house of parliament said says he's willing to work with them to solve the problem. >> house spur thura shwe mann spoke to nhk on tuesday.

he indicated that he is considering revising the wording of the oath to make it acceptable for the nld members. it's the first time that the government or parliament has shown signs of concession over the issue. the nld members boycotted monday's opening session, saying that the pledging to safeguard the constitution would be tantamount to an approval of military superiority defined by the constitution. myanmar's authorities apparently want to demonstrate to the west that the democraticized process is proceeding. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon is going to the country to see that firsthand. he heads there sunday to meet aung san suu kyi for the first time. he'll also meet with president thein sein. >> myanmar is only at the beginning of its transition. many challenges lie ahead. many concerns have yet to be addressed. yet i am convinced that we have an unprecedented opportunity to help the country advance toward a better future.

>> ban says the president invited him to make his third visit to myanmar since he's been u.n. secretary-general. he'll meet thein sein and spend time with aung san suu kyi. ban says he hopes to work with both of them to explore ways that the u.n. can promote democratic change. japan's leaders are also taking action to encourage change in myanmar. foreign minister koichiro gemba spoke about a plan to forgive nearly $4 billion in loans to the country and room aid. he says the move will support myanmar's democratic and economic reforms and will help japan too. prime minister yoshihiko noda told president thein sein last week his government would forgive about 60% of myanmar's debt, which totals more than $6 billion. japan will also start offering development loans to the country for the first time in 25 years. foreign minister gemba spoke about the importance of the agreement. >> translator: the write-off

will help japanese companies that want to invest in this geopolitically important country. and building a win/win business relationship between myanmar and japan will be profitable for japan. >> gemba says these measures are a way for japan to support myanmar's national reconciliation and reforms. less pointed out prime minister noda asked thein sein to keep talking with with opposition leader aung san suu kyi as the country continues with its transformation. u.s. state department spokesperson victoria nuland issued another warning to syria's leader. she says the united states will call for more sanctions if the u.n. observer mission to the country fails. the u.n. security council authorized the deployment of hundreds of observers saturday to monitor the cease-fire between government troops and opposition forces. an advanced team is already in the country. but violence hasn't stopped.

nuland says the observer mission will test how serious the regime of bashar al assad is about implementing the cease-fire plan mediated by u.n. and kofi annan. >> if this monitoring mission fails, we'll be back in the security council, we'll be looking at chapter 7 and looking at other ways to increase the pressure. >> u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton has also called for sanctions that would place limits on travels, financial deals and arms. residents of syria are seeing more of what they have seen over the past year, despite promises of a cease-fire. the united nations brokered a truce between government and opposition forces. it didn't hold. and residents are still running from the fighting. many have taken refuge over the border in turkey. freelance journalist has the view from there. >> a man points to the border to

his home. he spent much of the past year with the free syrian army fighting against government forces. then soldiers attacked his hometown. about half of the 15,000 residents left syria. he crossed over just a few weeks ago. >> translator: the government forces attacked us after cordoning off the town. i saw children's bodies buried in the ruins of a collapsed building. >> reporter: the turkish government and the turkish red crescent set up this camp in march of last year. the refugees started trickling in. now 250 of them arrive every day. more than 12,000 people now call this their temporary home.

>> reporter: he used to run a shop, selling mobile phones. he used his to document what happened there over the past year. >> translator: this is when people staged a demonstration. >> reporter: several hundred residents staged a protest against the administration of president bashar al assad. government troops arrived soon after.

he says a soldier who defected left this video. he says it shows troops tied the hands of 25 people behind their backs. then murdered them. >> translator: seeing the footage, what comes to your mind? nothing but a tragedy. the government forces are murdering innocent people. >> reporter: he also kept video, he says, shows civilians being tortured.

>> reporter: he says the soldier tortured him too. >> translator: they forced me to lie facedown on the ground. then they beat me. my legs and my head. >> reporter: refugees feel safe to protest with the border between them and the soldiers. he feels there is a limit to what opposition forces can do to counter the government without outside help. he says all he can now hope that one day that will change. kenji goto reporting for nhk world.

>> experts at the nuclear and industrial safety agency say the possibility that powerful earthquake could rattle japan has increased since last year's march 11th disaster. so they're telling operators of some of the country's nuclear plants to re-examine how resistant their facilities are to tremors. agency members want to reassessments of one plant in northern japan, two in central japan and one in the west. their experts say the risk has increased faults more than 5 kilometers apart shifting multily. they say such movements would cause a earthquake stronger than the ones for which current levels were set. such a scenario would have little effect on their plant in hokkaido. they say buildings would hold up to the tremors. the utilities have agreed to re-examine their plans. the results could force changes to resistant standards and

schedules for restarting idled plants. the people who run japan's fastest trains want to be better prepared for strong earthquakes. executives at the central japan railway company say they're going to improve early detection systems to avoid derailments. they say they'll upgrade graid the system on bullet trains so operators will be able to apply emergency brakes up to two seconds faster. the change takes into account the possibility of an inland quake happening just below train lines. the company's current early detection system is designed mainly to respond to offshore tremers. officials expect the upgrade will also help in the event of powerful quakes strikes far from the tracks. such a quake could possibly set off other tremors closer to high speed lines. spokespersons say work starts next month and will cost about $4.5 million. one of the more colorful

events on the washington calendar is the annual cherry blossom festival. this year was a special occasion, 100 years since japan sent cherry trees to the u.s. capital as a symbol of friendship between the two countries. thanks to a group from fukushima, the anniversary had a strong back beat loud and hopeful. nhk world's yoka chiba has more. >> reporter: the blossoms have fall , but the festival just reached its climax. a magnificent parade down constitution avenue. one float gets an especially loud cheer, a group of young people who came all the way from fukushima. they are here to give a performance of traditional japanese drumming.

>> this is the district of the troops hometown. residents were evacuated after the nuclear accident. all the drummers continue to live in temporary housing. but the disaster hasn't stopped them from drumming. they have carried on performing to help lift the spirits of the local people as they're trying to rebuild their lives. they received an invitation to perform at the cherry festival in washington. it was sent by some people with close ties. two people who used to teach english in the town, they asked the companies and organizations to sponsor the visit as a way to encourage the people. >> they were so wonderful to us so we wanted to do something to them to raise their spirits. >> reporter: this 23-year-old is the leader of the group. some members were nervous about

performing in america and he encouraged them and told them to remember why they were here. >> translator: we want to convey the power of however music to people in america through our drums. >> reporter: those drums are bringing people together. the troupe was introduced to a group of young americans. they spoke about how the disaster had affected their lives and expressed their gratitude for all the support from abroad. >> translator: we received a lot of support after the disaster. now we want to give back the energy and smiles through our performance. >> reporter: time to show the energy in a way that only they can. ♪ for over an hour, they put their hearts and souls into their performance.

>> it was great to see folks came here all the way from japan and considering all the difficult year that it's been, it's a real symbol of hope for the future. >> i think the energy they put out is probably reflective of the energy they're putting in to rebuild. >> translator: it was a very powerful performance. we were all caught in the moment. we were able to convey the feelings from fukushima and at the same time could sense the empathy of the american people. ♪ >> reporter: the drums beat out a strong message, fukushima will never give up and will always look ahead to a brighter future. yuko chiba, nhk world, washington. defense chiefs from japan and the united states are getting ready to announce details of a long awaited plan it realign american military forces in this country. it could happen as early as wednesday.

confirmation comes from defense minister naoki tanaka and secretary of defense leon panetta. the agreement covers two issues, one is transferring u.s. marine stations in okinawa prefecture to locations outside of japan. the other is relocating the u.s. marine corps futenma air station. there has been strong opposition over the new site. the marines will move from o okinawa to other areas including guam. the chinese government has indicated a local company has a right to use the ipad trademark in china. both apple and pro view technology, a chinese i.t. equipment maker are claiming the right to the use of the tablet computer's trademark. apple says it bought the ipad trademark in china from a pro

view group company in taiwan. but a high ranking official at china's state administration for industry and commerce said that apple failed to take the steps necessary for the registration of the trademark under chinese law. the official made the comment as a second trial in a higher court is in progress. last year apple lost its case in a lower court in shen zen and filed an appeal. the officials comment is considered as likely to influence the outcome of the latest trial. japan has agreed to continue technical cooperation with venezuela state run oil company in drilling and refining crude oil in the south american country. the japanese government took the step in response to rising domestic demand for fuels. the move is in line with its pledge to cut down on the use of nuclear power after last year's fukushima daiichi accident. the agreement was reached on tuesday between japan's industry minister yukio edano and visiting venezuelan energy minister rafael ramirez.

japan is trying to diversify its oil import sources. the bulk of oil comes from the middle east. following the meeting, japan, oil, gas and metals corporation and venezuela's state run oil company signed a contract to extend the agreement for another three years. japan wants to increase crude oil supplies from venezuela, which last year accounted for only 0.1% of all its crude imports. here are the latest market figures.

now a look at some of the other stories we're following this hour. sudan's military has renewed its attack against south sudan as the violence escalates between the two african nations over a disputed oil producing border region. sudanese forces launched a wave of attacks on markets and other places in south sudan's border towns on monday, killing at least two people and injuring nine others. violence between the two countries began early this month when troops from south sudan took control of some oil fields. sudan's president omar hassan al bashir told his military he would not negotiate with south sudan and that the only exchanges with the south would be with guns and bullets. a spokesperson for iran's government says the country's oil ministry and state run oil company were the target of a cyberattack. the spokesperson says the computer virus didn't cause any major damage to important data. another computer virus hit

iran's nuclear facilities two years ago. it reportedly disrupted some of the country's centrifuges for uranium enrichment. the first look at doping laboratory for this year's london olympics. organizers will test athletes for banned substances during the olympic and paralympic games. the lab will operate 24 hours a day. it commandle a record number of samples, more than 6,000. rain off and on in tokyo today. robert speta is in the studio with the weather forecast for here and elsewhere. robert? >> yes, for the most part across japan we have been seeing some dry weather throughout the area due to a high pressure dominating the entire country of japan. some pop-up thunderstorms did develop this evening, but those will continue to dissipate into the overnight hours in tokyo. but the fair weather will not be lasting for very long, because look at this, large cloud mass out here in eastern china.

it is now pushing off towards the east, expected to impact the korean peninsula on wednesday morning, before moving off towards japan. and wednesday afternoon, bringing some rainfall, thunderstorm activity, and look at some of the totals actually possibly adding up here in northeastern china. you could be seeing up to 60 to 80 millimeters of rainfall here. down towards here, some rainfall could be adding up to 50 millimeters at time and this could be accompanied by rumbles of thund area cross the island chain towards the south. let's look at temperatures and pull back here. beijing, 19 for your wednesday high. ulan batur, a pair of 1s for your high temperature. on the opposite end of the scale here, bangkok, all the way up to 38 for your wednesday high. and similar out here in manila, dry weather with a high of 36. now, moving into the americas, we are continuing to watch this central u.s., bringing that fair weather, but the big topic out

here is this large nor'easter. see this big band of cloud cover extending all the way up towards quebec. this is accounting for about 60,000 reports of power outages here due to the heavy snowfall that fell over here the past several days. it brought down tree limbs, falling on power lines here and also just creating a messy traveling conditions out across parts of western europe, western pennsylvania. you saw up to about 46 centimeters of snowfall there. although good news, this is finally work its way off towards the northeast, leaving behind it cooler but fairer weather. although, look here in the rockies, this system has already been bringing some rough weather. it is working its way off towards the east and by wednesday afternoon, the midwest could be seeing some thunderstorms triggered up by that. temperatures in houston at 28. oklahoma city, you're looking at a high of 30. winnipeg, soaring all the way up to 22. los angeles, only at 21 there for your high on tuesday.

now, into europe, we're continuing to watch a series of systems here. first, let's talk about this one in central europe. it is already brought heavy snowfall there in the alpine regions. thunderstorm activity across the italian peninsula, now moving off towards eastern europe, bringing all that foul weather with it. not really much of a break here and along the iberian peninsula. look at this deep system, moving on shore, expected to impact the british isles. the western portions of france and spain, you could be seeing some high surf. gusty winds and heavy rainfall with this next system coming through. so just an overall foul weather situation out there across the west. temperatures are shaping up like this. london at 12. paris, looking at a high of 14. off towards the east, very warm out here in kiev, about 8 degrees above your normal average here at 22. and also very warm here in moscow at 20. now, here is a look at your extended outlook.

our lead story, south korean authorities are washing north korea's leaders not to go through with a nuclear test. they say the result will only further damage the reclusive nation's international standing. >> translator: the north made significant preparations to

conduct the test. ail awl that remains now is its political decision. >> south korean intelligence authorities confirm this month that workers in the north have been digging a new tunnel in the region of poongkye-ri. they believe that will be a test site. the senior government officials says north korean leaders will further isolate their country if they carry out another nuclear test. the official points out it will also make it harder for them to develop their failed economy. the north korean government made a rare public admission recently, state media reported an attempt to launch a satellite into space failed. many nations consider it a long range missile test. still, south korean officials say this admission could signal a change in the political style under new leader kim jong-un. we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

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