. welcome to "newsline." i'm keiko kitigawa in tokyo. leaders in tokyo, seoul and other capitals are waiting to see what u.s. authorities plan to do next. they are threatening to scrap all agreements with south korea from north korea. they are not happy with tougher sanctions in response to their nuclear test last month. >> the united states and south korea went as far as adopting a

resolution after the threat of nuclear war. >> north korea said it will unilaterally cancel pacts with the south starting monday. they said they will also close a hot line with the demilitarized zone. they announced earlier this week they will scrap the 1953 armistice that ended hostilities from the korean war. they said they were responding to u.s. and south korea military exercises that started last weekend and will continue into april. north korea's announcement has sparked strong reactions in seoul. they said they're ready to strike back again anything 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 forces will retaliate against any provocation. he dismissed the threat of a preemptive nuclear strike, saying such an attack would mark the end of kim jong un's regime. they also issued a strong warning to pyongyang. >> translator: any country that focuses exclusively on strengthening its military power while people are starving are bound to face self-destruction. >> prime minister shinzo abe says he'll deal with the situation in cooperation with the leaders of south korea and the united states. >> translator: the government has set up a crisis management system in the prime minister's office to deal with the situation. we'll work closely with the south koreans and americans. it goes without saying that we'll protect the lives and

properties of the people. chinese leaders voted in favor of the u.n. security council sanctions on north korea. they quoted an analyst as saying the chinese may have feared the north koreans were about to cross a red line. roman catholic cardinals will gather next week to take part in a centuries-old tradition. spokespersons for the vatican say the conclave to elect a new pope will begin on tuesday. the cardinals will hold a secret ballot to choose a successor to benedict xvi. he resigned last month citing poor health and old age. the vote will be held inside the vatican sistine chapel. 115 cardinals under the age of

80 from churches around the world will submit ballots. and when one man among them receives two-thirds of the votes. the cardinals held five days of discussions before the vatican set a date for the start of the conclave. they reportly talked about who would be best suited for the position and the job of carrying out church reforms. vatican spoexpersons say catholics would know the name of the new pope by the end of next week. the people of venezuela has said goodbye to the man who led them for 14 years. they gave hugo chavez a state funeral in the capital of caracus. about 30 foreign leaders joined venezuelans for the ceremony at a military academy. crowds of chavez' supporters gathered outside. vice president nicolas madura is due to take the oath of office.

he said people will be able to see chavez forever as a permanent body on display. they'll call a presidential election within 30 days, and they were on the opposing party's ticket. people of the united states have another reason to believe their economy is gaining traction. the share prices on the new york stock exchange hit a record high this week. now they're seeing encouraging data about jobs. officials at the labor department say the jobless rate fell to 7.7% last month from 7.9 the month before. unemployment is the lowest it's been in more than four years. it's been under 8% for six straight months. employers at a 236,000 jon-farm jobs, and as yet expected, 160,000. people found new professions in

business service and health care. people wonder what the joob could mean in local skpl what spending cuts will hit american workers. here's merrill lynch, global research. >> certainly improvements in the job market very ornt to confidence in the economy and spending. and we think that the recent improvement on the stack market chose to continue the the source is quite good and we certainly expect steady growth over the next cup. we've had significant tax increases in the united states, we also had the spending cuts,

which will kbat in the april rms may and june reports, we get very soft numbers including the $200,000 we experienced last month. japanese leaders want their u.s. counterparts to understand how they're trying to get their economy. finance mystery. the japanese are not waiting to weaken the yen. >> i explained that when not engaged in a currency war that our main goal is to get out of our deflationary slump. i made it clee that the renz.

>> eso said he and lrk iu. >> now for your weather forecast.

that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo.

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