welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. the governments of north and south korea agree to talk about divisive issues including a jointly run industrial complex that's currently closed. members of an advisory panel have come up with a proposal to chip away at japan's mountain of death. they plan to reduce the debt-to-gdp ratio from 20 to 1. delegates gather in myanmar

for the world economic forum on east asia. we'll take you there live to examine the geopolitical shifts under way in this region. officials in pyongyang and seoul have exchanged a flurry of messages throughout the day. as they work to reopen lines of communication. now south korean representatives have set a date and place for the first ministerial discussions between the neighbors in years. a number of issues will be on the table. including the reopening of the shared kaesong industrial complex. things started with an announcement on the state-run korean central news agency. the north koreans proposed the talks. they say they want to normalize operations at kaesong. work at the complex has been suspended since april. it's a key source of revenue for the north. authorities in pyongyang also offered to talk about restarting a shared tourism project at their resort which has been on hold since 2008. and they say representatives of

nations can talk about humanitarian issues as well. this would include reunions of families separated during the korean war. the north koreans agreed to let their neighbors set the time and place for the meeting. south korean unification ministry chose june 12 in seoul. he says the two sides will start working on finalizing the meeting date and details as of friday. the north korean regime hasn't made provocative actions or statements for nearly a month now. it has been showing a willingness to engage in dialogue with other nations. japan's cabinet advisory visited the north in mid-may. a close aide to north korean leader kim jong-un went to china later in the month. turkish prime minister erdogan is heading home from a foreign tour where citizens are demanding he step down. the issue that sparked the protest was a plan to redevelop a park in istanbul's taxin square.

police used tear gas on activists demonstrating this the park. young people and supporters of secular opposition groups joined in, accusing government leaders of trying to impose conservative islamic values on a secular state. the deputy prime minister apologized on tuesday for excessive use of force by police who tried to quell demonstrations. the representative protest groups on wednesday tried to calm the situation. still government leaders have not responded to demands to scrap the redevelopment project. nor have they given in to demands to dismiss the police officers responsible for the crackdown. protesters built barricades from rubble and wrecked buses on all roads leading to thaksin square. they're sleeping nearby in tents. prime minister erdogan has called the protesters extremists. he's due home later in the day.

members of an advisory panel to the japanese government have unveiled a proposal that will curb the country's mounting debt. they aim to reduce the ratio of debt to gross domestic product starting in 2021. members of the council on economic and fiscal policy have drafted japan's long-term economic and fiscal policies to restore the country's fiscal health. they're urging a reduction to half in the primary balance deficit by fiscal 2015, then they aim to turn the balance into a surplus by fiscal 2020. starting from fiscal 2021, the government should start to reduce the ratio of debt to gross domestic product, one of the worst among industrialized nations. under the measures, government must make deep cuts in spending by placing priorities. the plan stresses that even social security benefits will not be exempt from the cuts.

the panel encourages the government to have a senior citizens pay more for their medical care and considering lowering benefits for people on welfare. the government plans to give a formal approval for the plan next week. the european central bank is keeping it's key interest rate at a record low. aimed at supporting the ailing eurozone economy. policy makers of the central bank have decided to keep the rate unchanged at .5% at a meeting on thursday at its headquarters in frankfurt, germany. last month the policy board had cut the rate by 0 .25 percentage points. the unemployment rate across the region is at over 12%, the worst figure on record. here are the latest market figures.

myanmar has been dominating the business headlines for months as the hothest investment destination. this week it hosts it's first major international business event. >> translator: delegates are

here discussing issues that affect not only this country in transition, but also the entire region. with vast potential and complex challenges. it's the first time they have hosted an international event of this scale since the former military regime moved the capitol here seven years ago. they hope it will encourage more foreign investment in myanmar. >> i promise you that we will not -- but help and support from your investment and knowledge will be critical for us to fully succeed. >> translator: until recently, foreigners were banned from visiting, so i took advantage of this rare opportunity to take a look around. driving some 320 kilometers to

this isolated capitol. the former military regime build the new place. the name translates to the bode of kings. it may be the quietest capitol city in the world. everything is very big, and very empty. i'm standing here in the middle of this main road. as you can see it's huge. it has ten lanes in each direction. and supposedly it can also double up as a airport runway in case of an emergency. >> it's a functional place designed for the business of government. it lacks the hustle and bustle. the front of a huge parliament, it's rare to even see a human

being. i'm standing here at a massive housing complex for civil servants that account for much of the city's population. >> construction of this once secret capital continues as they plan to host a series of international meetings including last year's summits that myanmar will chair. but it seems the city is not yet ready to welcome large numbers of foreign guests. at this brand new hotel, they were apparently working through the night to be ready for the world economic forum. finally i was able to meet some people as fountains and dance music were going on for a city so lacking in entertainment. >> i'm a civil servant, i have

no choice but to live here, but i'm getting use todd it. >> i'm old, so i don't need city life. to many cars and people there. >> reforms are bringing rapid changes to myanmar. perhaps one day this city will grow into a lively capital. for now, it's quiet. rising foreign investment is one of the reasons people here are increasingly optimistic. they were quoted for saying investment last fiscal year was five times higher than the year before. most of that money comes from china. people have built massive infrastructure, but not everyone

approves. nhk reports. >> on this border, from fruits to every day items, almost everything on sale at the market is imported from china. western nations impose tensions. but china spent much of the last decade forging ties with the country. and the large scale infrastructure was briuilt from china. securing natural resources is the main aim of china's investment. one example is this piping for transporting natural gas and

oil. construction began two years ago at an estimated cost of $2 billion. a number of chinese firms have launched products here. the natural gas is expected to stop flowing, but it will all go straight to china. it will not be used to improve the lives of the people of myanmar. many residents are not happy with the situation. the chinese firm are working to built a facility for the

pipeline. the company promised compensation. but it has bade only half what it owes. now the family barely makes ends meet with what they learned from the store. >> this only benefits chooi that. >> people are protesting ie cheese firms for similar developments. this is why they're seeking investment from other countries. it's working hard to make ties with other nations trying to distance themselves from china. but they have invested $4.5

billion in myanmar. it's no easy task to reduce the influence of a neighbor who is also its largest investor. but myanmar needs investment from a range of countries to fuel its drive toward democracy. and the government appears aware of that need and seems to make changes to reach that goal. jun kobayashi, nhk world, yangon. >> for more insight into myanmar's complex relationship with china, i spoke earlier with a member of the president's national economic and social advisory council. a grandson of former u.n. secretary-general, he has written a book called "where china meets india, burma, and new crossroads of asia." i asked him how the people have reacted to investment from china. >> chinese goods being sold were of bad quality.

so rightly or wrongly, people have a bad impression or image of the impact of economic relations with china over the last 20 years. but i think the government understands that it has to balance these things. that it should have the best possible relationship with the united states, with japan, with the europeans. but it cannot do this in a way that would antagonize china. it needs to manage this relationship with china. because it's going to be incredibly important for the country not for the next ten years but the next 100 years as well. two pipelines. one is a gas pipeline for natural gas to go to china. oil pipeline for oil coming from the middle east or africa to china. this is important for the development of the southwest but it's important strategically as well. from the chinese side, it's also been like a dead end for a long time. if that dead end suddenly becomes a crossroads, then the potential not just for economic

development but also for much greater relations between people on either side, cultural relations, everything else, it will change the whole map of asia. the country's going to become or is becoming much less isolated and it's going to achieve this real position as a cross roads between southeast asia, china and india. that is probably more important than anything else in terms of myanmar's future. >> that was presidential adviser feng mun u. it's amazing to think just a couple years ago myanmar was cut off from the international community. now the astonishing pace of reform means the whole world is watching what's happening here. change brings massive opportunity but huge challenges too. tomorrow we'll report on the simmering violence that threatens to derail progress towards democracy. please join us for that. i'm practice reporting from myanmar. for many people, the typi l

japanese officials have worried about the decreasing birthrate. they say it's not enough to signal a turn around. it's a development that other parts of asia are experiencing. they say they news to help young people if they want to grow their populations. >> officials with japan's health ministry said a birthrate hit a 16 year high in 2012. women have an average of 1.41 children. the rate rose among women in their 30s and 40s but declined for those in their 20s. japan's birthrate has been in free fall since the 1970s. it hit it's lowest point 1.26,

in 2005. the government is working to reverse the trend. prime minister abe is trying to solve a problem many potential parents worry about. a lack of day care spaces. he said he wants no child to be on a waiting list by fiscal 2017. but experts suggest leaders should be paying attention to another issue. this professor said they should help improve the employment situation for young people, especially those in their 20s. >> translator: young people are not able to earn as much money compared to decades ago. their income does not rise if they become full-fledged employed. that makes them hold off on getting married. >> reporter: leaders across east asia are dealing with a similar problem. those in south korea, singapore and taiwan have watched birth

rates decline. government officials have responded by promoting marriage and having children. another factor directing down the birth rate is the cost of education. more parents want their children to go to university. but the bills can be steep. professor yamada says they're forced to do more with less. because asian financial crisis in 1997 widened the economic gap. >> translator: i think government officials should improve the employment situation for young people. i'm sure this will narrow the gap between the rich and poor. i also thing that the system, whereby parents shoulder the financial burden for their children's educations, should change. >> reporter: united nations

researchers say the number of people living in industrialized countries is expected to drop in the coming years. they say a birth rate of 2.1 is needed to maintain these populations. in japan, experts say the number of women of child bearing age will decline by nearly half by 2050. making increasing the birth rate that much harder. nhk world, tokyo. it experts say their investigations on cyber attacks point to china. they contain traces o -- of the chinese language. researchers analyzed 114 infected e-mails.

they found that viruss in at least p 1 of them were created with computers that use chinese. they also examined three affected e-mails sent to people in the defense sector. they say they all contain traces of chinese as well. >> some of them may be disguised as originating from china. >> the u.s. definite department representatives say some of them can be traced back to military authorities. >> it's a feature of modern warfa warfare, and is emphasizing information technology and operations. >> officials in beijing deny any involvement. >> translator: china does not tolerate cyber attack under any

circumstances. >> barack obama is expected to raise the weekend when he meets over the weekend with x jinping. japanese police say hackers carried out 1,000 cyber attacks last year in this country. they set up special task forces in police headquarters to address the problem. a japanese man showed that age is no barrier to reaching your dreams. muri m murda became the oldest person to make it to the top of the highest mountain. he said his encouragements have encouraged japanese people. he said the award will be given

to those who push their endure rans and follow their hearts and dreams. i'm very honored and happy. i want to to take on challenging, fulfill their dreams, and win worldwide acclaim. some hazy skies in tokyo today, but it's nothing compared to the first tropical storm heading toward florida. >> tropical storm andrea, and it's moving across the florida be innocenpeninsula here. you don't get the massive runs that you see out here. now as we go through the day on thursday, tb will be causing a mess.

the last day of school out here for many of the schools here in the florida pe nibs la. hopefully every is doing the safe and cautious because it's bringing gusty winds and heavy rains. it does move through. the bulk of the precipitation on the right side of the storm system, really dry towards the west. look at the accumulations. heaviest here around 100 to 150 millimeters expected. it is around jacksonville, up towards the carolinas. so we still want to watch andrea here, still a risk of more severe weather here. you saw reports about 350 millimeters of rainfall. it's following behind this low pressure rainfall here. with that, you're seeing scat r

scattescatte scattered showers. with that said, it could be a bad situation getting even worse. tlook at -- take a look at some of these temperatures. let's look at europe, central europe, you have been suffering from these floods. now, this one brought up where it was about three times higher than it typically does. it causes havoc out here. let's look at the map. we can just see some of the precipitation stretching here. still about 30 millimeters in your forecast. see the break there other towards the british isles, a new

low there is starting to spin up and that's going to bring up cool temperatures and rain showers. in london london you're getting into the high teens and low 20s. the rainy season front, across the pacific coast of japan, rain showers in tokyo. even by friday evening you could be seeing a pop up number or two. that will start to push off there. that is bringing heavy rainfall out there. it is bringing some reports there. west of shanghai, you're seeing about 250 millimeters. take a look at that area. that is the potential for a new tropical area developing.

across the philippines we'll see flow. it could extend down there. that's a look at your temperatures, and here is your extended forecast. >> that's "newsline" for this

hour, i'm gene otani in tokyo.