welcome to nhk world "newsline." military commanders from south korea and the united states are trying to show they're ready for anything. they're holding a joint drill on the heels of north korea's underground nuclear test. both countries are warning authorities in pyongyang against further provocations. south korean defense officials say air force troops from the two countries are conducting a drill using f-16 fighter jets. the pilots are preparing for possible aerial combat and air raids on north korea. south korean navy commanders say

they are holding a maritime mobility exercise involving 20 naval ships. army officers say they are also planning to conduct a shelling drill this week. defense officials in seoul have showed off a key part of their military's fire power. they released video of the newly deployed cruise missile. the 50-second clip shows the weapons hit targets after being fired from a destroyer and a submarine. >> translator: the military is releasing the footage to ease public anxiety by showing south korea is fully equipped to deal with the north's nuclear missile threats. >> general ryu young-jeo said the cruise missiles could hit targets in north korea, even small ones. the weapons could strike the country quickly if launched by submarines near the coast. while the military stays on alert, members of south korea's national assembly are showing their political resolve. they adopted a resolution strongly condemning north korea's nuclear tests.

they called the action a serious provocation that threatens the lives and safety of south koreans. japanese prime minister shinzo abe and u.s. president barack obama are trying to figure out how to punish north korea. they spoke on the phone and agreed to push for additional sanctions through the united nations security council. abe told obama that the nuclear tests severely damages peace and security not only in northeast asia but around the globe. he said he wants officials in both administrations to work together to bring in financial sanctions. abe cited a previous u.s. sanction as a good example. in 2005 officials at the treasury department imposed penalties on u.s. financial institutions that dealt with north korea. obama said u.s. officials too

want to cooperate. he said world leaders need to agree on a firm response. north korean scientists conducted a nuclear test on tuesday in violation of previous u.n. resolutions. abe is set to visit washington later this month to meet with obama in person. obama's new secretary of state gave world leaders a push of his own. john kerry said they need to show they are serious about containing nuclear arms. >> north korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program are a threat now to the united states of america because of what they are pursuing specifically as well as to global security and peace. >> kerry says the international community must react to the test with what he called a swift, clear and strong response. he says he's also concerned about the nuclear program in iran. he says iranian and north korean officials have cooperated on nuclear development. north korea's state-run newspaper is defending the nuclear test saying it has reinforced the country's status as a military and nuclear power. the front page editorial in the

"rodong sinmun" quotes leader kim jong un calling the test legitimate and refers to it as the people's great work. the newspaper claims the nation's nuclear deterrent is capable of destroying enemy strongholds. it says leaders in pyongyang won't bend to pressure from the u.s. government and adds north koreans are ready for new sanctions and even war. japan's self-defense force personnel were transported aboard an osprey aircraft in a joint drill with u.s. marines. it's the first time the sdf used the tilt rotor aircraft. about 280 sdf members are engaged in a landing exercise in california along with 500 u.s. marines. 50 of them flew in aircraft from a u.s. navy vessel to shore.

they disembarked with the marines in advance of checking the route. japanese defense ministry officials say they will examine the possibility of introducing the osprey for use by the sdf. they deployed 12 osprey last year in okinawa last year but local communities continue to protest about the aircraft's safety. asian delegates met in tokyo on thursday to discuss financial assistance for palestine. nhk world's tomoko kamata has more. >> reporter: through the gathering, japanese foreign ministry officials want to show the international community that not only the west but also asia wants to contribute to the middle east peace process. representatives from asean countries including south korea, thailand, indonesia and malaysia participated in the conference on cooperation among east asian countries for palestinian development. palestinian prime minister salam

fayyad co-chaired the meeting. >> we will continue to pursue this endeavor with the greatest political process, one that takes care of all the requirements that i mentioned before and one that includes, importantly, negotiations between us and israel and in order for us to be able to bring this conflict to an end. >> reporter: in november of last year the u.n. general assembly approved a resolution recognizing palestine as a non-member observer state. this led israel to step up its embargoes in protest. the participants agreed that the severe financial and economic situation in palestine is one of the main obstacles to stability in the middle east. >> translator: the whole middle east region has been destabilizing. peace efforts in the area are now considered even more important. >> reporter: they also agreed that continuous aid to palestine

is essential to its development. the members adopted a joint statement pledging to share their experience in economic development to back up an independent palestine. meeting co-host japan and palestine held a joint news conference afterwards. they said they will step up bilateral ties through the promotion of private sector exchanges. >> translator: we also agreed to hold a seminar for business leaders in east asia, palestine and relevant countries in the middle east. >> we wanted to say that how much such aid is trying to help the palestinians in this important transitional period. >> reporter: the participants agreed to hold the next meeting in indonesia.

tomoko kamata, nhk world, tokyo. the eurozone is still struggling. as the region continues to slow down. the economy has shrunk for a third straight quarter. the european union's data office has announced gross domestic product for october to december 2012 contracted 0.6% from the previous quarter. that follows a negative growth of 0.1% for the july to september period. by country, portugal saw a 1.8% negative growth, spain minus 0.7% and italy minus 0.9%. the eurozone's leading economies also shrank. germany contracted by 0.6% and france by 0.3%. greece's economy shrank 6.0% compared to a year earlier. for the whole of 2012, the eurozone economy contracted by 0.5% as a whole. in 2011, the single currency area grew by 1.4%.

japan's gross domestic product for the final quarter of 2012 shrank slightly, that's for the october to december period. it marks the third straight quarter of contraction. cabinet office officials say it fell to a decline of 0.4% in annual terms. the base of decline was more moderate than the previous period when it was minus 3.8%. weak global demand was dragging down the economy. exports shrank 3.7%. capital spending at companies went down 2.6%. meanwhile, government spending grew 1.5% due to strong reconstruction demand in the areas hit by the 2011 disaster. housing investment also showed growth of 3.5%. consumer spending was up 0.4% due to strong sales of winter clothing. overall gdp for 2012 rose 1.9% from the previous year.

that's the first growth in two years. . policymaker will ease the -- bank members were in unanimous agreement. they say the economy appears to have stopped weakening. officials say concerns are easing over the european debt crisis and u.s. fiscal problems. they noted overseas economies have shown some signs of picking up. the officials said the pace of decline in japan exports is slowing. they cited continued strength in personal consumption. these factors led them to keep the credit easing measures devised in the previous two meetings, including a 2% inflation target. bank of japan governor masaaki shirakawa spoke to reporters after the policy

meeting. he responded to concerns expressed by some nations that japan's central bank is guiding its currency lower through excessive monetary easing. >> translator: the boj does not intend to manipulate exchange rates or influence the market. our monetary policy focuses on stabilizing the nation's economy. the aim is to pull japan out of deflation and sustain economic growth. >> he said he will make the policy clear at this weekend's g-20 meeting in moscow. he also talked about what he believes as general qualifications for a successor. shirakawa will step down on february 19th. he said the governor should be modest enough to heed different opinions and have a global perspective. here are the market figures. >> oscar pistorius, the olympic athlete is charged with murder after his girlfriend died in his home. investigators say the 30-year-old was found dead early thursday after being shot in the head and arm. police arrested a 26-year-old

man. they did not identify the -- democratic reforms created a more open attitude and now an effort has begun to search for the remains of japanese soldiers, many of whom died during a fierce battle with british forces. nhk world has more. >> reporter: the former japanese army invaded india in 1944. 137,000 japanese soldiers died in myanmar during world war ii. the remains of more than 45,000 of them have yet to be retrieved. finding the remains have been complicated. myanmar was under isolated from

the rest of the world under military rule. conflict between the government and ethnic minorities kept a large areas --. but the transfer to civilians have led to the lifting of many restrictions. on wednesday, organizes held meetings in thailand with a united nationalities council, a

body that represents myanmar's main ethnic groups. >> translator: the search for the remains of the japanese soldiers should proceed as soon as possible. japanese people should take the initiative. >> translator: we would like to cooperate fully for the sake of every japanese who wishes to have the remains of their loved ones retrieved. >> reporter: myanmar has indicated a more open attitude from issues of world war ii. last year, they had permission to look for spitfire fighter jets they believed were buried by the british army. myanmar has also joined forces with the japanese army. many prisoners of war and laborers are believed to have died during construction. democratization in myanmar is having an expected consequence,

giving access that was seared off for nearly 70 years. nhk world, thailand. women's rights activists in india and afghanistan have taken part in a worldwide campaign timed for valentine's day. in new delhi, students and activists sang and danced and enacted street plays. hundreds of students took part in the 1 billion rising campaign event. the movement was started by an american playwright to combat sexual crimes against women. the new delhi bus rain incident highlighted the inability of law enforcement officials to protect women in india. massive protests have followed, along with a nationwide debate

about the treatment of women. >> translator: all this violence against women, discrimination between men and women must be stopped. every woman has a right to live, to live with dignity. >> no more violence! >> in afghanistan, dozens of activists marched in kabul as part of the same campaign. human rights organizations say afghan women frequently become victims of violence. the problem is ongoing despite laws that protect women and increase prosecution of abusers. past demonstrations were not by stone throwing and insults but thursday's march passed off peacefully. a special group of young musicians from afghanistan is taking to the stage in new york city on their landmark american tour. the performance is a milestone

on the long journey of recovery for afghan music which was banned by the former taliban regime as unislamic. ♪ >> students from the afghanistan national institute of music performed traditional afghan tunes. in new york's prestigious carnegie hall on tuesday. the school was established in 2010 under the afghan administration of education with hefty financial support from abroad. half the school's 140 students are orphans or street children. one-third of them are girls. musicians ranging in age from 10 to 22 also enjoyed the rare opportunity to perform alongside a local american high school orchestra. >> because they're in afghanistan, no girls play music and i'm happy, i'm lucky. >> translator: my goal is that one day i'll be a good musician, a good music player. then i can show other people around the world that afghans are good at playing music. ♪ >> the orchestra's tour schedule also includes performances in boston as well as at the kennedy center in washington, d.c.

and that's going to wrap up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. emerging economic powers still struggling with poverty. embolden citizens still demanding democracy. the threat of violence. the push for peace. the shadow of conflict. get news and insight on south and southeast asia every week day live from bangkok only on nhk world "news liline." >> oscar pistorius, the olympic athlete is charged with murder after his girlfriend died in his home. investigators say the 30-year-old was found dead early thursday after being shot in the head and arm. police arrested a 26-year-old man. they did not identify the suspect.

reuters say pistorius had been dating the model. it's suggested the athlete mistook his girlfriend for a burglar but eyewitness news in south africa quote police saying they are investigating allegations of a domestic disturbance. pistorius is expected to appear in court on thursday. doctors amputated his legs below the knees after he was born without calf bones. he became the first double amputee to run in the olympics. pistorius won two gold medals and a silver during the paraolympics. the u.s. ambassador to japan is asking officials in tokyo to take action on an issue that's dividing families. john ruse is calling on the country to join the hague convention on child abduction.

japanese parents have abducted 16 born children to japan since 2011 when the government decided to start working toward joining the convention. bilateral relations will suffer if the diet fails to pass the necessary legislation to make it official. everything in my power to have the related domestic laws enacted before the g-8 summit in june. >> the hague convention on international child abduction addresses cases where a parent takes a child back to his or her country of birth without the other parent's consent. nations that have signed a treaty must help return abducted children to their country of residence where disputes can be resolved. prime minister abe is expected to tell president obama at a meeting next week he's in favor of joining the convention. the former president of the maldives has taken refuge.

he is on the run from police. he stepped down a year ago after weeks of political turmoil. protesters hit the streets. they forced him to resign. before he left he ordered the detention of judge. he said the judge's rulings were politically tainted. he refused to appear in court. he said he was ousted in a coup. the court ordered his arrest early. authorities in maldive plan to arrest him. indian officials are willing to shelter him. they say political parties should adhere to democratic principles and the rule of law. wet weather is in store across japan for the end of the work week. meteorologist robert speta is here for the forecast for here and elsewhere. robert? >> yes, gene, especially on friday. you will want an umbrella on friday in japan. it's going to be wet. if it's not raining it will be snowing. it's coming from a storm system moving out of china. this is looking at friday

morning, that storm system just to the south really widespread rain showers but even in tokyo going into the noon hours could see a flurry or two inland. nothing accumulating on the ground but goes to show how cold this will be as it does push overhead. higher elevations will see snowfall not just from this system as it pushes by. that snow effect machine will be turning back up. 30 centimeters of snowfall expected around tohoku. if you're a skier you'll be very happy because that will bring fresh powder for you. high pressure dominating northern china. air stagnation a main issue in the beijing. farther towards the south warm air is moving in. hong kong 23 here for your high on your friday. not that warm actually across most of the u.s. and canada here those. we were talking about a few storm systems one here across florida. that's keeping things rather wet for the time being, some

thunderstorms flaring up but nothing too severe. further towards the north watching an alberta clipper moving through bringing heavy snowfall across the great lakes, on to ontario. 15 centimeters will be falling. and higher than that in a few areas due to lake enhanced snowfall. ahead of this it's moving in warm air from the south. along the east coast you'll see a short warm up and farther towards the north you'll see a cool down so that front is separating these two air masses. take a look at new york. going up to 9 degrees on your friday. once that system pushes by down 3. atlanta very similar. not so much the case in toronto. just north of that alberta clipper. temperatures will be going down

not seeing the warm up at least not until next week. so i'll watch out for this weekend, really looks rather cold across most of the u.s. and canada. now over towards europe, we're talking about this system that pushed through the british isles. much clearer. looks like it's winding down, losing a lot of fuel and with that said the low country will see rain showers, snow but not too much rough weather going on here. next system is coming in into the iberian peninsula and british isles on monday. still some time to watch out for this but will bring heavy showers here and even towards italy and the balkans you've been watching this system all week and now finally starting to weaken. some thunderstorms there in greece but slowly pushing off towards the east. over the weekend a weak storm towards the west of italy but nothing compared to the stubbornness this has been showing all week. temperatures in london at 9, paris at 8, madrid and lisbon up into the high teens and snowfall

in moscow and warsaw, should be temperatures hovering right around freezing on your friday. that's a look at your world weather, here's your extended forecast.

valentine's day is a day to offer greeting cards, candies and flowers to a special someone. at one place in japan, some animals offer a little romantic

help. they take up formation in a heart shape around a lucky couple. ranchers position bits of feed on the ground to get the animals to cooperate. and an aquarium, sea otters receive ice shaped like a heart. the keepers give ice to the three otters every day to strengthen their teeth. on valentine's day, they colored the ice pink for the occasion. >> translator: they looked happy and that made me happy, too. they were so cute. >> another visitor said she wanted to give a gift as someone as sweet as the otters. we're back in 30 minutes

with more of the latest. i'm gene otani in tokyo.