hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's friday, july 12th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. north korea has postponed new discussions with south korea one day after proposing them. the new discussions were supposed to be about reuniting families separated by the korean war and resuming a joint tourism project at mount kungen. pyongyang informed seoul of the decision on thursday. north korean officials said they

prefer to focus on restarting the jointly run kaesong industrial complex. officials from south korea's unification ministry suggested on wednesday that the nations should concentrate on getting kaesong back up and running. but they accepted a separate proposal to talk about family reunions, saying it is a humanitarian issue. the south suggested the talks on family reunions occur in the truce village of panmunjom in the borderline demilitarized zone. south korean officials say they will study their counterpart's intentions at the next round of talks on kaesong scheduled for monday. top diplomats from japan and south korea have reaffirmed that their countries will work closely with the united states when dealing with north korea. japan's vice foreign minister met with south korea's first vis foreign minister. the two officials held a one hour meeting on thursday. relations between japan and south korea have been strained

over historical and territorial issues. the foreign ministers met on july 1st for the first time in about nine months. he told reporters that they exchanged views on bilateral ties in a friendly and constructive manner. a south korean foreign officials said that kim said that improving relations will require that japan make sincere efforts to resolve historical issues. senior officials from the united states and china have spent two days meeting face-to-face, but they didn't always see eye-to-eye. they just wrapped up their annual strategic and annual dialogue in washington. they got into trouble over the issue of cyber attacks. two ministers from each country attended the closing ceremony. u.s. president barack obama and chinese lead er xi jinping. they tried to build on that and invited business leaders to join in the discussions.

u.s. deputy secretary of state william burns took time to discuss strategy with chinese state counselor. burns said u.s. and chinese officials will keep talking to address accusations both sides have made about cyber attacks. >> we are pursuing issues such as cyber related theft through the working group which was formed under the auspices of the security dialogue. >> yang said officials from the united nations should mediate. he said they should help set up the rules for international cyber security to prevent any unnecessary disturbances. a u.s. report says china has the world's most active and diverse ballistic missile program. it says the chinese military is expanding its nuclear war heads that can reach the u.s. experts at the national air center has compiled the intense.

the missile has a range of more than 11,000 kilometers putting the u.s. mainland within reach. china is beginning to deploy anti-ship missiles. they want to prevent u.s. aircraft carriers from getting near chinese waters. china is expected to deploy a new submarine-launched jl-2 ballistic missile that will let chinese submarines target parts of the u.s. the report says china could raise the number of nuclear warheads capable of hitting the u.s. to well over 100 within the next 15 years. egyptians are looking ahead to the weekend and worrying more turmoil will engulf their communities. members of ousted president mohamed morsi's power base the muslim brotherhood are calling for a mass rally on friday in cairo. they're protesting against the military for forcing morsi out of office and rounding up their leaders. prosecutors ordered the arrest of ten senior figures of the brotherhood including leader

mohammed badie. he's accused of inciting violence monday in the capital. more than 50 people were killed in a clash between demonstrators and security forces. members of the muslim brotherhood release an online message. they want morsi supporters to gather in cairo for a rally after friday prarps they say they'll reject the military coup and restore the peaceful resolution of 2011. they pledge they're ready to sacrifice their lives to regain their deg in it pep the military deposed morsi a week ago. the interim prime minister called on the political wing of the brotherhood, the freedom and justice party, to join a caretaker government, but the party rejected the invitation saying it won't cooperate with a coup. investigators are looking into the crash of asiana airline flight 214 are focusing on the plane's speed control device. they're trying to figure out whether the pilots fully understood the settings of the automatic throttles. the crash killed two people and

injured more than 180 others. the national transportation safety board's investigation suggests a significant loss of speed led to the failed landing on saturday at san francisco international airport. the captain told ntsb officials that the plane's autothrottles were not working as the crew expected. the system automatically provides thrust to the plane when its speed falls below a preset level. this helps the pilot to focus on the controls. ntsb chair deborah hersman says data on the flight recorder show multiple autothrottle and autopilot modes in the 2 1/2 minutes before the crash. >> we need to understand what those modes were, if they were commanded by the pilots, if they were activated inadvertently, and if the pilots understood what the mode was doing.

>> a spokesperson for south korea's transport ministry says investigators removed the wreckage from the runway to another location at the airport. he says the team will conduct a detailed examination along with experts from the manufacturer boeing. a severe summer heat wave is hitting middle eastern nations. the scorching temperatures are affecting work and religious events during the muslim holy month of ramadan. the coastal city of dubai in the united arab emirates has seen its daytime highs exceed 40 degrees celsius recently. inland the mercury topped 50 degrees on tuesday. starting this month, uae officials have banned construction firms from any outdoor work in the afternoon to protect workers' health. violators may be fined up to 30,000 durhams, about $8,100 u.s. dollars. working conditions for laborers

are especially tough during ramadan. muslims north supposed to eat from sun up to sun down for an entire month. >> translator: it's really hot. this summer is even harsher because you can't drink water during the daytime. >> it's very hot, but i have to work regardless of the sweltering heat. otherwise, i can't make money for my family. >> reporter: the temperature in kuwait has also exceeded 40 degrees in recent days. whether officials forecast that next week the mercury will surge past 50 degrees. torrential rain is causing havoc across a wide area of china. landlieds have crushed homes and stranded dozens of people. officials say 37 people have died. storms are lashing sichuan and hunan province, inner mongolia and the capital of beijing. the state-run xin hewn news agency reports 18 people are confirmed dead after a landslide

in dujiangyan city in sichuan province. searchers are looking for 100 people. the rain could get heavier on friday. weather experts from around the world are in japan to work on new predictions. they're hoping new technology can limit the impact of extreme climate conditions. officials from 18 institutions in the u.s., russia and europe have conveneded this week near tokyo. they're talking about improving satellite observations of weather phenomena. it could help minimize damage. japanese developers have created a next-generation satellite. they plan to launch it next year. the developers say it can track typhoons and take detailed readings every 30 seconds. >> translator: the satellite could be very helpful in monitoring the environment as well as giving better meteorological data on

disasters. with technological development and international cooperation, we can effectively use this next generation satellite. >> the participants will conclude their annual meeting on friday. prime minister shinzo abe has worked to reshape japan's economy and get back to growth. now he's setting his sights on amending the constitution, but his party must make a strong showing in this month's upper house election so it can push its policy forward. less than a year after putting abe in power japanese voters have a chance to judge him on his record. don't miss our special coverage leading up to the july 2 19s election right here on "newsline." a twin bomb attack in afghanistan has killed security officers and civilians. we're following the story. >> reporter: members of an elite police force were among five people killed in the double attack. thursday's killings highlight

the fragile security situation as international troops prepare to withdraw from afghanistan. the incident took place in helmand province. ap reports three civilians were killed when their car struck a roadside bomb. police arriving at the scene were hit by a second explosion and two officers were killed. a provincial government spokesperson says the officers were members of the afghan national civil order police, a unit that receives special training from nato forces. no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. taliban insurgents often use improvised explosive devices or ieds to target afghan and international security forces. u.s. defense officials say 70% of ieds contain chemicals smuggled into the country from pakistan. a crackdown by the pakistani military announced in may has so far failed to stop the smugglers. a series of industrial accidents in bangladesh has

highlighted dangerous conditions for factory workers in the country. several north american retailers have now agreed a five-year plan to improve safety at their bangladeshi suppliers. in april, a building in a suburb of dacha collapsed killing 1,000 people. most of the victims were workers at garment factories. another garment factory leaving 112 employees dead. consumers around the world were shocked by the tragedies. retailers are under increased pressure to protect the workers who make their merchandise. a group of 17 north american retailers including walmart and the gan wednesday announced a five-year plan to improve conditions at their suppliers in bangladesh. the group plans to carry out safety inspections and train workers at about 500 factories. a similar plan was announced on monday by another group of

retailer mostly from europe. bangladesh has more than 4,000 garment factories employing a total of about 4 million workers. cheap labor costs have attracted apparel retailers from around the world. the garment industry accounts for 80% of bangladeshi exports. a recent deal between the thai government and muslim separatists appears to be failing to reduce violence in three provinces. the two sides agreed last month to lower tension during the muslim holy month of ramadan, but on thursday an explosion injured eight thai soldiers. a thai army spokesperson said that the soldiers were traveling in a military vehicle that was hit by a roadside bomb. the soldiers were assigned to protect school teachers. they've become targets for militants who want children to receive an islamic education. the explosion came just one day after the beginning of ramadan despite an agreement that both sides should lower violence

during the muslim festival. separatists in three muslim dominated provinces in the buddhist country have been fighting for autonomy for almost a decade. 5,300 people have been killed over that time including at least 160 educators. and that will wrap up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. emerging economic powers still struggling with poverty. emboldened 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 weekday live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline." central bankers in indonesia have raised their key interest rate for the second consecutive month to curb inflation and bolster the embattled rupiah. bank indonesia policy members

met in jakarta. they decided to increase the benchmark policy rate by 0.5 percentage point to 6.5%. they built up on last month's hike of 0.25 percentage point from 5.75% that was in place since 2012. indonesian leaders paerd subsidies for fuel last month lifting gasoline prices by more than 40%. observers are concerned about inflation amid rising food prices during ramadan. traders are shifting funds from emerging nations on speculation the u.s. federal reserve will soon wind down its monetary easing policy. indonesians have seen the trend weaken the rupiah and shrink the country's foreign exchange reserves. policymakers at japan's central bank say the economic turnaround is official. they've upgraded their assessment for the seventh straight month and they've used the term "recovery" for the first time in 2 1/2 years. members of the bank of japan's

policy board have wrapped up their two-day meeting. they said japan's economy is starting to recover moderately, an upward revision from the previous assessment that it was picking up. the board members site cited a rise in exports and production as well as consumer spending. they said business sentiment is improving in a wide range of industries. they unanimously agreed to continue the monetary easing measures started in april. the goal is to target an inflation rate of 2%. inflation will reach 1.9% by 2016. haruhiko kuroda says that policymakers see a positive cycle under way in, for example, business investment. >> translator: companies have begun spending from their income, which in effect sets in motion a positive cycle of fund flows. >> he added the recovery has become evident not just in the upward trend in the financial markets but also the economy.

kuroda said the economy is moving in the direction the central bank had anticipated. when asked about anxiety surrounding china's economic slowdown, kuroda expressed concerns over the country's unsupervised capital transactions by nonbanking institutions. >> translator: i don't think significant uncertainties lie ahead for china's economy, but we need to closely watch developments in the country including shadow banking. >> now, let's take a look at the market figures.

more than 100 illustrators from around the world have teamed up for an exhibition they hope will preserve some important memories. the show from hand to hand was inspired by japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami. an exhibition featuring work from the book is currently running in tokyo. it features the art of 110 contributors to from hand to hand from seven countries. the artists were asked to think about the future in the context of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. the idea came from the organizer's concern about the future of the children of the world.

since march last year, exhibitions have been held in five european countries including italy, slovakia and the netherlands. this piece, called "what is the scariest thing on earth" is by japanese artist yoko furua. it features the nuclear power plant and an ogre's face. in contrast, dutch artist alex despp walz "for a clean future" depicts a girl watering a baby windmill. >> translator: i'm grateful for the understanding and support shown by people around the world. >> translator: i'm very sad that they lost their town and freedom in the earthquake. >> reporter: this is one of the

artists. her work "apple rabbit one" is based on the damage caused by the fukushima accident. people would be surprised if a lot of apples fell from the sky, so who could have imagined that radioactivity would fall from the sky? >> translator: as time passes, memories fade. i made this work to remind people of the problems we face. >> reporter: this is walter van rijk of the netherlands. his work, the mountain famous famous for 100 million solar cells depikts almost countless solar panels against a backdrop of mount fuji and cherry blossoms. his message -- japan as a land of the rising sun speaks about natural energy rather than nuclear power in japan. as well as taking part in the

exhibition, he ran a workshop for children when he was in japan. he asked children to draw pictures based on a big machine to improve the world. by putting the children's pictures together, he has created the machine through art. he hopes the experience will teach children that by connecting to others, they have the power to change the world. >> i think all the problems in the world will be solved by this machine. i tried to stimulate them to see that they can do something terrific, too and it's not -- you know, you get intimidated by all these ideas that come streaming at you, but there's something in you, too, and i want to make the children happy with their own drawing. >> reporter: by highlights the anxiety caused by the disaster,

these projects can help children walk hand in hand toward a brighter tomorrow. the organizers say they worry the lessons of two years ago are fading from people's minds. they plan to tour japan for the next 18 months. time now for a check on world weather with mai shoji. good morning. all right. you've been tracking a powerful storm heading towards southwestern japan and taiwan. what's the latest? >> good morning, catherine. yes. as you can see, the storm system is now tracking ever so closely towards the southwestern islands of japan. looks like it will be moving into taiwan in the next 72 hours. soulik is the very large typhoon we've been tracking. it already has waves up to 12 meters high. taiwan is already feeling those waves up to about 3 meters, but the stormy weather will be impacting right around the big

city of taipei. okinawa has already been seeing this very stormy weather. after it makes landfall, it looks like it will be decreasing its intensity and then moving towards southern parts of china over the weekend. already the gusts are 216 kilometers per hour. so as you can see, it's going to be a very gusty event as well as drenching downpours to talk about. talking about downpours, there is a ran band that's been bringing heavy amounts of rainfall across northern japan, north korea as well as parts of china, 100 millimeters have been found in the past 24 hours, even some more, 170 actually has been found here in north korea. into the next 72 hours we're likely to see about 200 millimeters of additional rainfall across the korean peninsula. 100 millimeters of additional rainfall here and in tohoku as well since tuesday tohoku has been finding 240 millimeters of

rainfall. accumulation is not at all welcomed. down towards the south, taipei will be in the bulk of that very heavy drenching significant amounts of rainfall that could cause significant travel disturbances in and around the big city here. talking about the rain, there's another factor to it. the tibetan high and the very strong pacific high combined are bringing heat yet again across southern china, the korean peninsula and central and western japan. temperatures are soaring into the 30s in of of these regions. shaj high 35 with plenty of sunshine. seoul 26, what a relief. tokyo yet again at 35 with sunshine. so do stay away from that heat if possible. now, let's move over to the americas where we have been talking about severe weather across the eastern seaboards. it's still here. this is capable of spawning tornadoes, large hail as well as damaging winds. down towards the south, we see

this remnant is a ghost of chantal that was a tropical storm, now over towards the bahamas. that is likely to bring significant amounts of rainfall. as you can see, we're seeing monsoonal showers here across the four corner, but there's also a phenomena here across the area. let me show you video coming up from phoenix. a huge dust storm blew through a suburb of phoenix on wednesday evening. visibility was several kilometers. this is called haboob. it is relatively common for the desert community. it disappears within minutes but very dangerous. if you are traveling in those vicinities, especially on your car, the low visibility could be quite hazardous. los angeles at 28 degrees today, but phoenix reaching up to 39 and oklahoma city's up to the mid-30s yet again. but cooling across the eastern seaboards due to that cooling passing through your area. i'll leave you now for your extended forecast.

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before we wrap up this edition of "newsline," we have one more story to share with you. many people love playing on water slides at pools and amusement parks to escape the summer heat. apparently animals like them, too. keepers at a zoo near tokyo made the slides with plastic pipes. river otters enjoy going up stream andstream. >> translator: it looks fun. they're so cute. >> translator: they look cool on such a hot day. i envy them. >> the keepers are upgrading the place by adding an extra lane and steps. and that is all for this edition of "newsline."

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.