pressure on the peninsula, north korean leaders respond to u.n. sanctions prompting north korean commanders to put their forces on high alert. welcome to nhk world "newsline". north korean officials have unilaterally to scrap all non-aggression agreements with south korea. their announcement follows the u.n. security council's approval of tougher sanctions against the north.

council members made the move to punish the reclusive nation for carrying out a nuclear test last month. ♪ >> translator: the united states and south korea went as far as adopting a u.n. security council resolution to impose more sanctions on our country while trying to set off a newark war. >> a statement by the committee in charge of interkorean dialogue says north korea will scrap non-aggression pacts with the south starting monday. the statement says the country will close the north-south hotline at the demilitarized zone. authorities at pyongyang said they would cancel the 1953 armistice. they justified that decision by saying they were responding to u.s.-south korea military exercises that start ad week ago and will continue into april. north korea's announcement has sparked strong reactions in seoul. south korean defense officials say they are ready to strike back against anything that the north throws at them. >> translator: north korea is conducting military drills with

unprecedented intensity. they mobilized submarines, fighter jets, and special forces for the maneuvers. a defense ministry spokesperson has warned south korean force will retaliate against any provocation. he dismissed the threat of preemptive nuclear strike saying such an attack would mark the end of kim jong-un's regime. south korean president park geun-hye issued a stern warning. >> reporter: any country that focuses exclusively on strengthening its military power while people are starving is bound to face self-destruction. china is north korea's biggest ally but it too supports the latest u.n. sanction. james tengan is in beijing covering our series china, change and challenge. james, how is the story on the korean peninsula playing occupant there? >> reporter: yes, gene. li keqiang and xi jinping are expected to be confirmed as vice premier and president at next week's national people congress. chinese government officials are trying to show they are doing what they can to keep the peace. a foreign ministry spokesperson

appealed to leaders in north and south korea to let cooler heads china is north korea's biggest ally but it too supports the latest u.n. sanction. the country is in the process of a leadership transition. james tengan is in beijing covering developments as part of our series, "china, change and challenge." james, how is the story on the korean peninsula playing out there? >> reporter: yes, gene. xi jinping and li keqiang are expected to be confirmed as china's president and vice premier next week at the national people's congress. it looks like the situation on the korean peninsula will be their first major foreign policy challenge. chinese government officials are trying to show they are doing what they can to keep the peace. a foreign ministry spokesperson appealed to leaders in north and south korea to let cooler heads prevail. >> translator: the relevant countries should show calm and restraint so we can avoid any further escalation of the situation. >> reporter: li keqiang says china is carrying out u.n. resolution consistently and fulfilling its international obligations. north korea's response to the latest round of u.n. sanctions has put china on edge. officials in beijing want to avoid driving authorities in

pyongyang into a corner which could result in the regime's collapse. they fear that would prompt north koreans to flee across the border and into chinese territory. china is north korea's biggest aid provider and trading partner. its incoming leaders have not made any public comments about this latest tension on the korean peninsula. so it's not clear how they'll follow up on the new sanctions and what kind of relationship and influence their administration will have with the north korean regime. north korea is just one of a long list of issues the next generation of leaders will have to face head on. we wanted to get a snapshot of the challenges they face at home and abroad. so we spoke with experts from two of china's leading universities. one focuses on internal affairs, the other specializes in foreign policy. >> thank you very much for your

time. >> welcome. >> nice to meet you. >> this professor teaches law at peking university. he led a group of 70 experts who signed a series of proposals submitted to the government in december. shortly after xi jinping became communist party chief. they described chinese people as frustrated with corruption, abuse of power and growing wage gap between rich and poor. they said this frustration would reach a critical point if political reform didn't move ahead. they warned chinese society could face a violent revolution and fall into chaos. he posted proposals on his website but he said it was erased within 24 hours. >> why chinese society is so unstable today? precisely because of a lack of credible reform. it's because of this lack the government or the government

policies, government actions are not responsible to people. so that's why our air is so dirty. our underground waters got into trouble. so many people, especially the peasants, lost their land. we need a reform to start with. because the government has only emphasized economic reform. they only pay lip service to judiciary reform. >> reporter: in january, a demonstration in the province made international headlines. journalists and citizens took to the streets have chinese censors rewrote an editorial in the local newspaper. the protesters called for media freedom but four days later local police shut down their rallies. >> what do you think the xi administration's stance will be on media control? >> i think this is success for media freedom.

at least the government did not take any unnecessarily harsh measures, but the government would be very nervous on too much negative reports, which would tarnish the image of the government. i don't think the current government can successfully resolve these problems, including the environmental and ecological destruction without basic political reform and the

improvement of the rule of law. >> do you think in five years the government would be more lenient to the media? >> that will only happen if we have enough social pressure and we will have enough social pressure only when enough people stand up. i think a big problem with our society is that everybody is too timid to express our ideas for fear mostly. i'm not a radical person, you know. as you can see, i'm very moderate but even moderate voices can be taken as offense by the government. without these voices, our society will become more radical. >> that was the professor from peking university. over at another university, another professor is regarded as an academic who has influence over chinese government officials. he's the dean of the institute of modern international relations. our conversation about foreign policy started with the military and his argument in favor of the increase in china's defense budget to about $120 billion. >> we need stronger ability to protect security, people's security and thus security of

society. people should not be shocked by china and build a strong military power because that's what we need for the new security problems we're facing in the future. xi jinping call for the so-called restoration of the chinese people last november when he took charge of the communist party. the former leader used the expression after the 1989 tiananmen square incident. >> this is called international national revoov nation. people looking for historical international positions like in the dine sis. we believe china should be the strongest power in the world with the largest population in

the world. they should enjoy that equivalent respect from the rest of the world. >> that approach is reflected to some extent in the territorial dispute between china and japan. japan controls the senkaku islands in the east china sea. china claims them and calls them the daiwu islands. chinese protested across the country after the japanese government nationalized the islands last september. the demonstrations have died down but chinese vessels remain active in an area just outside japanese waters near the islands. >> the abe administration deny there's a dispute over the islands, deny there are conflicts between the two countries. that's really a strain. i think admitted disputes is pre-condition for improvement in china's and japan's relation. if the abe administration adopt a positive approach and are looking for a way to settle the disputes over the island, i think that kind of initiative or action would definitely get a very positive response from xi jinping's government. >> professor yan, in your eyes, what are the biggest differences between the old leadership and the upcoming administration? >> china's international status

has already changed. no matter what their personal orientation they prefer and they have to adopt a china foreign policy according to the china's new international status. the conflict between china and u.s. will become deepen and widened. so from my understanding china's policy try to work on these potential conflicts first. during the cold war and there's no social contact, no social, economic contact between the u.s. and soviet yet union. so from my understanding the chinese government will carry out policy and based on the people's contact to be continued and also preventing military confrontation between china and the u.s. so there you have it. two different chinese academics with two different views of china's new leadership. professor jong is critical of the government. i was quite surprised how outspoken he was. he blasted government officials for liberally spending public

money on expensive meals and travel. and he accused leaders of using the dispute over senkaku islands to divert the public's attention away from domestic issues. on the other hand, professor yan is supportive of xi jinping's leadership. he believes xi is the right person to lead china because he lived in the country side during the cultural revolution and lived there through the 1980s. he believes xi will do everything to avoid a repeat of that domestic chaos. that wraps up our special coverage, "china, change and

challenge." "newsline" will continue to keep you updated on the leadership transition here in the world's second largest economy. but for now, it's back to our studio in tokyo. i'm james tengan in beijing. shares on the new york stock exchange climbed to a historic high this week showing signs of a recovery of the u.s. economy. policymakers and market players are also seeing encouraging data on the labor front. the unemployment rate fell to 7.7% from 7.9% in previous month. it's the lowest rate in four years. the rate stayed below 8% for six straight months. 236,000 jobs were added in the nonfarm sector. employment increased in

professional and business services as well as in construction and the health care industry. people in northeastern japan have spent nearly two years trying to get back on their feet. next monday marks the second anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor accident. survivors have been moving forward on a path to recovery. most all of the 120,000 companies in areas devastated by the tsunami were small and medium sized firms. many were already feeling the weight of their loans after a long economic slump. they had to decide whether to take on additional debt to restart operations. government officials say only two-thirds of those companies are back in business. people in the city of kesennuma

faced many of those challenges. millioners of firms in fish processing and noodle production are finding ways to start afresh. people across japan have invested in their future. they help the residents kind their way back. we have a report. >> reporter: this man was born and raised in this city. he cultivated sea wood aweed ans fish for a living. the tsunami two years ago destroyed his family business, his company, his boat, his home. >> translator: i was devastated. i didn't know what to think when i saw that everything was gone.

>> reporter: fujita suffered more than $1 million in financial damageme but he never gave up on his business. a few months after the disaster, he heard about a unique investment fund company. the firm manages funds for musicians. they bring together fans who want to make small lot investments and artists. they wanted to use the system for the devastated region. the system works like this. one unit of investment costs less than $120. of that, about half is invested while the other half is a donation. the fund company takes a small fee. in return, the investors receive the firm's products as a gift. if the firm makes a profit, investors are also paid

dividends. investors can freely choose which company to support with just one click of a mouse. >> translator: investors say they're happy because they can see how their money is being utilized by the devastated firms. they can feel they're part of the reconstruction process. >> reporter: fujita decided to take a chance. in just six months, he was able to raise more than $100,000. with the money, he bought a new boat and rebuilt his workplace. >> translator: i'm so glad we started this fund. i can't believe so many people are supporting us. >> reporter: this couple own a nood

noodle company. the tsunami destroyed their office and factory. the total damage was over $3 million. >> translator: the problem was my existing debts. we usually make about $1 million a year. to ask for more than a year's sales was out of the question. >> reporter: they also found salvation through the investment fund. they decided to raise $800,000. in order to receive the fund, he is reaching out to possible investors. she's promoting the company's potential growth at an event in tokyo. >> translator: people ranging in age from 20 to 70 came to the event organized by the fund company. they handed out samples of the

company's products. >> translator: when i heard that the company lost all its machinery and packages products with their own hands, i felt eager to help right away. >> reporter: with the funds' assistance, they were able to rebuild their noodle factory last november. they raised half of the money from the fund. >> translator: i have so much appreciation for our investors. we need to pay dividends based on our sales. we'll work very hard. i don't want to let our investors down. >> reporter: although the investments may be small, when added up, they become a driving force that allow the recipients to rebuild their businesses and restart their lives. nhk world, kesennuma. workers at a japanese

electronics company have high hopes for their newest robot. it's capable of removing radioactive substances from inside nuclear reactor plants. they want to send it into the damagedd fukushima daiichi towe this summer. it can remove radioactive materials from walls and floors using high powered water jets. the water travels at several hundred times the pressure of tap water. the removed substances are sucked up by a vacuum at the tip of the robot's arm. >> translator: we hope our robot will improve the environment of the nuclear power plant and help with the recovery process. >> workers from tokyo electric power company have been struggling to decommission reactors. they can enter the reactor building for short periods because of high levels of radiation.

>> people of northeastern japan are reminded daily of what they lost on march 11, 20 # 11. the earthquake and tsunami took away loved one, homes, entire communities. survivors are moving ahead but they still face obstacles at the damaged nuclear plant and all along the pacific coast. "newsline" will bring you their stories. don't miss path to recovery, two years on. it's unseasonably warm in japan. meteorologist robert speta is here with the forecast on how long this weather will last. robert? >> across most of japan here we have been seeing temperatures -- the warmest so far this year by far. actually record-breaking in tokyo upwards of 24 degrees here today due to winds from the south. 50 kilometers per hour winds in hoku. 90 kilometers per hour winds, strong southerly winds due to a front overhead brought

thunderstorms now pushing to the east. behind that another system will work it way in. fist across china, then into japan. that will bring cooler weather. the combination of the systems is doing several things. it's kicking up the dust out of the gobi desert, pushing it to the east and bringing in fire weather to western china. definitely the risk of forest fires here and suspending these particles into the atmosphere. that's increasing the air pollution aa cross much of northeastern china and areas in dark red including beijing. you will feel the effects of this across south korea into western japan. also remember this is pollen season across japan which means if you have respiratory issues watch for this especially in tokyo with the yellow sand overhead. let's get back to the storm system. pushing across northeastern china. into korea. that will clear up yellow sand and snow even in hokaido into sunday. this will be dropping down the temperatures though.

shanghai, 27 for the high. 19 on sunday. tokyo getting up to 23. dropping down to 11. now, remember, this is not so much of a cold snap because these temperatures will be looking more like average. time to get back to re-al a ti. into the southern hemisphere we have a tropical cyclone sandra. sandra is moving off to the east about 8 kilometers per hour. a very stagnant system to say the least. quite erratic. it does push off here. still everybody here at french polynesia across new caldonia, watch it closely. it could affect you here and even the east coast of queensland. very unlikely. around the system, keep a close eye on it. we'll keep you updated on norld about it. let's look at a europe. across central, western europe,

rainshowers on tap. even in italy, thunderstorms in france, aa cross spain. this is bringing gusty winds. 80 kilometers per hour winds. the wet warm air pushing on shore. there will be a change. dry cold air coming in. temperatures cooling to the freezing mark around the start of the week. quickly into the americas. the southwest, see the low spinning there? rainshowers actually across los angeles, even higher elevations snow. that will work toward the northeast bringing 34 centimeters of snow here into the southwest, the four corners regions across nebraska and severe weather into texas. anybody with flights out of the southwest, do call ahead of time to the airport and make sure you don't have cannes lags or delays. that's a look at world weather. here is the extended forecast. we're back in 30 minutes

with more of the latest.

once again, shares on the new york stock exchange climbed to a historic high this week showing signs of a recovery of the u.s. economy. policymakers and market players are also seeing encouraging data on the labor front. officials from u.s. labor department say the unemployment rate for february fell to 7.7% from 7.9% in the previous month. it's the lowest rate in four years. the rate has stayed below 8% for six straight months. u.s. employers added 236,000 jobs in the nonfarm sector. analysts expected 160,000 jobs. employment encreased in professional and business services and in construction and the health care industry. we're back in 30 minutes with more of the latest. i'm gene otani in tokyo. for all of us here at nhk world, thanks very much for joining us. have a great day wherever you are.