welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. south korea has warned of a military response if north korea engages in further provocation after its artillery attack on tuesday. it was the first attack by the north on an inhabited area of south korea since the 1953 armistice to halt the korean war.

president lee myung-bak told top military leaders on tuesday that their country should resist the north with force. the south korean military and u.s. troops stationed in the country have raised the surveillance level on north korea to the second highest status, mobilizing satellites and reconnaissance planes. earlier on tuesday north korea fired dozens of shells at yeonpyeong island near the maritime border. two south korean soldiers were killed and 15 other servicemen were wounded. three residents were also injured. south korea's foreign minister, kim sung hwan, invited the ambassadors of japan, china, and russia to a briefing on the exchange of fire. kim stressed that the attack was a clear violation of the armistice. u.n. envoys are continuing unofficial discussions on how to address the north's attack on south korea.

some are hoping that the security council will take up the issue. japanese ambassador to the u.n.tsuneo nishida said on tuesday that japan strongly condemns the attack and stands by south korea. the british armts, the current president of the council, said no official request had been made for a meeting on matters concerning the korean peninsula. the chinese ambassador told nhk that it's necessary to obtain detailed information from the two koreas. south south korea's calling for international cooperation and is considering taking the issue to the security council. but china and russia, which both have close ties with north korea, are cautious about taking a tough stance toward the north. meanwhile, north korea's deputy ambassador to the united nations, pak tok hun, stressed

the legitimacy of the artillery attack saying it was a response to a south korean military shooting drill. >> south korean side fired tens of gunshot from the territorial water of my country. that's why we replied to that provocation in self-defense. >> pak added that north korea will respond decisively if there are further provocations. the u.s. government has condemned north korea's attack and urged the country to abide by the armistice agreement. >> north korea's behavior has been very, very bad, provocative, belligerent, and again, we're not going to get into buying into this cycle of rewarding that kind of behavior. >> president barack obama says the attack is outrageous and that north korea is not living up to the obligations in the armistice. obama intends to cooperate with japan, south korea, and china to

press north korea not to carry out any more provocative acts. >> we're going to continue to consult with the chinese through the six-party talks. we believe that it's important that we keep a unified and measured approach going forward. >> nhk world's yuko fukuyama reports from beijing on china's reaction. >> reporter: china's foreign minister spokesperson ho lei told reporters on tuesday that china is keeping an eye on the situation and urged all countries concerned to act calmly. >> translator: we are carefully monitoring the situation and trying to get information. we hope all countries concerned make efforts toward peace and security of the korean peninsula. >> reporter: some chinese media are quoting an expert on

diplomacy who says the purpose of north korea's shelling was to get the attention of the united states. the expert says north korea was not trying to worsen the situation on the peninsula. china is north korea's neighbor and a traditional ally and has urged the relevant parties to act with caution. yuko fukuyama, nhk world, beijing. russia has also criticized the artillery attack, but it didn't specifically name north korea. russian foreign minister sergei lavrov spoke to reporters on tuesday while visiting russia's neighbor, belarus. >> translator: anyone who launches an artillery attack on a south korean island should bear a heavy burden of responsibility. >> lavrov called for restrained

from both north and south korea. he said the russian government is calling for calm in the hope that future incidents will be preve prevented. japanese prrm naoto kan has told the defense forces to step up information gathering to prepare for any contingency following the artillery attack by the north. kan gave the instruction at a meeting with chief cabinet secretary yoshito sengoku, defense minister toshimi mitt za wa and five other bhirnss tuesday evening. he also told the ministers to keep collecting information on north korea and to closely cooperate with south korea and the united states. at a news conference later on tuesday sengoku strongly condemned the attack, calling it unforgivable. >> translator: the japanese government expresses condolences to the victims and support south korea. the provocation undermines peace and stability in northeast asia. we demand that north korea stop such acts immediately.

>> sengoku said he doesn't think the attack was accidental but he cannot say for sure until the government obtains more information and analyzes it. he added that the government will consider imposing additional sanctions on north korea. we spoke earlier about north korea's possible aims to attacking south korea. we also asked about the consequences for the region's security. >> north korea's to forcibly start talks with the united states, with the aim of signing a peace agreement. it has long thought to replace the 1953 armistice agreement with a peace treaty in order to legally put an end to its confrontation with the u.s. whenever north korea wants to talk about the peace agreement, it always raises tensions in the yellow sea. it happened in 1974, 1999, and

2009. the north koreans will argue the military tension on the korean peninsula is rising and the danger of war is looming large. they will contend the current armistice mechanism is not functioning and so the situation will only escalate. north korea will say in order to avoid another war u.s. must sign a peace agreement with it and establish a new mechanism to maintain peace. in the days and weeks to come north korea may be tempted to fly fighter aircraft across the northern limit line in the yellow sea to further raise the threat level. talks with the united states to talk about the peace agreement. the north koreans are escalating the situation in order to

convince the americans and the south koreans that refusing to have nuclear and peace talks with pyongyang will be costly. pyongyang is trying to force washington and seoul to change their course and come back to the negotiating table on terms favorable to north korea. policy makers in washington and seoul clearly understand north korea's intentions. now we are waiting to see how they will react. >> narushige michishita from the national graduate institute for policy studies in tokyo. meanwhile, new york stocks plunged overnight as the military skirmish between the two koreas dampened investor appetite for risk. the dow jones industrial average dropped over 180 points at one stage on tuesday. the key index ended the session

at 11,036, down 1.3%, or 142 points. share prices suffered a further blow from mounting concerns that ireland's fiscal problem may spread to other european countries. in currencies the european debt worries accelerated euro selling on the new york foreign exchange. the ewo fell to the 110 yen range at one point. the dollar briefly dropping to the 82 yen level. the united states says its economy grew at a faster pace in the third quarter than previously thought. the commerce department said on tuesday that the gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 2.5% in the july through september period. that's up half a percentage point from the preliminary figure released last month. the department says consumer spending, which accounts for more than 2/3 of gdp, expanded by 2.8% instead of 2.6%.

capital spending was revised upward from 9.7% to 10.3%. but investment and home building plunged by 27.5% due mainly to the end of mortgage tax breaks. the u.s. economy has expanded for five quarters in a row, but unemployment remains high. attention is focused on whether the federal reserve's additional monetary easing measures will keep the u.s. economy on a recovery track. the minutes of the u.s. federal reserve board's recent meeting reveal that some members expressed doubts over the additional monetary easing measures. the fed on tuesday released the minutes of its meeting on november 2nd and 3rd. the report says officials revised their outlook on the country's economic expansion from 2010 to 2.4% to 2.5%, down from the 3.3% to 3.5% projection in june. they also revised the economic growth outlook from 2011, 3.0% to 3.6%, down from june. that's down from the 3.5% to

4.2% projection in june. the policymakers made a downward revision for next year's jobless rate predicting the rate would remain around the 9% level in the worst case. most officials agreed measures should be taken to prop up the economy. however, their opinions were divided over the decision to buy $600 billion worth of treasuries. some officials were concerned that such a purchase could further weaken the dollar and raise commodity prices. the fed also revealed the content of its telephone conference held on october 15th. it showed that policymakers discussed additional monetary easing and the possible introduction of an inflation target to encourage an appropriate increase in commodity prices. here's the latest market figures. ♪

♪ the international atomic energy agency says iran is continuing its uranium enrichment program in defiance of international nuclear obligations. the iaea issued a report on iran's nuclear program on tuesday ahead of a board meeting due to start on november 2nd. it says iran produced about 11 kilograms of 20% ebb richard uranium between september and november at a complex in natanz. it now has a total of about 33 kilograms. the report says concerns persist that iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons and urges the country to explain its nuclear program to the international

community and cooperate with iaea inspections. the report indicates that iran is disregarding international calls to suspend its nuclear activities and ignoring a u.n. security council resolution that imposed sanctions in june. the united states and european countries are expected to take a firm stance with iran at the iaea board meeting next month. palestinian prime minister salaam fayad says an agreement could be reached on a border demarcation of a future palestinian state in a short period once peace talks with israel are resumed. fayyad made the remark in an interview with nhk on tuesday during his visit to japan. direct peace talks between the palestinian authority and israel have been suspended since the palestinians reacted sharply to israel's continued settlement construction in the occupied territories. as a mediator of the peace talks the united states is calling on israel to freeze settlement

building for at least three months. fayyad said a total suspension of israeli settlement construction is the prerequisite for resuming the talk. >> we definitely would not regard, would not regard the moratorium in the way that israel defines a moratorium as acceptable basis for considering. >> fayyad said once the talks are resumed they will center on the border demarcation of a future palestinian state. he said it's definitely and eminently possible for the border issue to be negotiated in three months. myanmar's prodemocracy leader aung san suu kyi has been reunited with her youngest son after a decade-long separation. aung san suu kyi greeted kim aris on tuesday at yangon airport. the reunion happened ten days after her release from more than seven years of house arrest. her 33-year-old son lives in britain and was granted a visa to visit myanmar on monday. he'd waited for weeks in

neighboring thailand. he last saw his mother in 2000. since then he has repeatedly been denied permission to enter myanmar. aung san suu kyi was first arrested by her country's military government in 1989. she has spent much of the past 21 years in detention. her british husband, michael aris, died of cancer in 1999. his repeated requests to get a visa to see his wife during the last three years of his life were denied. the british royal family has announced that prince william willy marry kate middleton on april 29th. to celebrate their vows the government has declared the date a public holiday. the ceremony will be held at london's westminster abbey. the gothic church in central london is a popular tourist destination, which shares a rich history with the royal family. queen elizabeth ii was married there in 1947. it was also the site of the 1997 funeral of prince william's

mother, princess diana. because of britain's fiscal crisis the royal family says it will cover wedding costs while the government will pay for security expenses. >> well, i think that's probably a good thing. most parents have to pay for their children's weddings, don't they? many have praised japanese fashion designs for their originality and style. but today the industry is in trouble. manufacturers have been changing their foothold to overseas, where labor is cheaper. factories that remain here find it difficult to survive. we bring you this report from gifu in central japan and the northern city of kuji. >> reporter: this fashion trade show takes place in gifu city. it used to be one of japan's largest shows. but after 50 years this is the

last time it's being held. during the last decade many garment factories in the city have closed down. these days only 40% still operate. overseas competitors forced many out of business because of their costs. the few remaining factories here can barely scrape by. most work at this factory is done by chinese, who are a part of japan's international trainee program. they receive about $720 a month. half of what the company would pay japanese workers. in this factory 9 of the 12 workers are chinese. but this july a new law went into effect. all foreign trainees must be paid the same minimum wage as japanese workers.

this means that the company must pay each foreign trainee about $700 more a year. as a result of the increased costs the factory must decide whether to stay in business. >> i'm debating whether to stick it out or get out of the business altogether. i just have to wait and see how it goes. >> reporter: clothing in this boutique is made by a company that tries to stay alive by offering high-quality designs and fabric. the boutique sells this suit for about $1,200. working women like them. here's where the suits are made. all the workers are japanese. orders from luxury brand

companies have doubled the factory's business in the last few years. at one point they hired a lot of lower paid chinese trainees. still price competition resulted in lower profits. this company came up with a strategy to avoid price-cutting wars. it makes something its competitors don't. high-quality products. when determining whether a suit is comfortable, it's important to examine the arms. normally, they are ironed once. but here they're ironed repeatedly as they're being stretched. this makes a natural curve that better fits a woman's shape. >> translator: when you take that extra step, the difference is huge. >> reporter: another strategy is hiring local high school graduates.

the company can improve their skills, resulting in the manufacture of high-quality products. >> translator: skill isn't something that people master overnight. it takes much longer than that. true skill is something you acquire gradually over the years. in my opinion if the garment factories in japan want to stay open, well, they need to work hard on developing their specialties. >> besides the garment industry, a growing number of auto and consumer electronic manufacturers are also moving their production lines overseas. here's the weather forecast with saki ochi. hi there. welcome back to your world weather update. now, east asia's looking quite settled again today. clear skies spreading across japan, the korean peninsula and the majority of china.

now, we do have this low in the north that's going to be dropping in toward northeastern china, producing some chilly precipitation. so cold rain and snow is expected across the region, affecting parts of the korean peninsula as well. now, southern china also began this patch of rain that kind of spreads today. but that doesn't last for too long and it shouldn't be too heavy either. as for highs, looking at 23 in hong kong, getting to 15 in chongqing, and 16 degrees for shanghai. now, over toward the americas, pretty wintry picture in store for you. we've been looking at the storm system trekking across the western united states. that's now heading into the intermountain west bringing you quite a bit of snow. snow's really going to be spreading across the mountains here. blizzard-like conditions are going to be possible for areas like utah and toward colorado tonight. so do watch out for that heavy blowing snow that could really affect visibility, make traveling quite treacherous. really tonight snow is going to be spreading across central canada as well and then ahead of that, too, eastern canada

looking at a pretty snowy picture. overall travel conditions are going to remain quite dangerous for many parts of the u.s. and canada. southern portions of the united states right along the mississippi valley we're looking at a lot of gulf moisture triggering a couple of thundershowers and looking at big contrasts in temperatures, too. wednesday's highs getting up to 28 degrees in houston but on the other hand, minus 1 for your high in seattle, minus 2 in vancouver, so some very chilly conditions moving in towards the pacific northwest. finally, getting a look at europe, and overall it's a pretty unsettled picture, a lot of scattered showers all around, for the baltic states and then all the way through the british isles, this northern tier is going to be looking at pretty chilly precipitation, so cold rain as well as upper elevation snow. meanwhile, for the areas like italy and the balkan peninsula it's going to be warmer, so looking at the threat of thundershowers for you here. a little bit more settled for

southern france and in towards the iberian peninsula but southern sections here for spain and portugal looking at some light showers in store for you today. wednesday's highs quite chilly, 4 in london and 7 degrees in paris. 3 degrees also only for berlin so chilly conditions starting to look at the wintry chill move on in, and in fact we have some wintry scenes also coming out of northern germany first off, a very snowy picture indeed, a pretty sight, plenty of snowfall falling in the mountains of northern germany, about 50 centimeters in fact falling on tuesday, accompanied by some very heavy blowing snow, too, so visibility affected but freezing conditions also producing a very frosty scene here. now, neighboring denmark too saw quite a bit of snowfall on tuesday, creating a lot of traffic problems here. several trucks had to be queued. also looking at bus delays and definitely some very dangerous traveling conditions. wintry scene also expected to last through parts of europe here, too, so we'll need to keep

an eye on that. so that's a look at your weather for now, and here is your three-day outlook. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ once again, the headlines this hour, south korea has warned of a military response if north korea engages in further provocation after its artillery attack on tuesday. it was the first attack by the north on an inhabited area of south korea since the 1953 armistice to halt the korean war.

president lee myung-bak told top military leaders on tuesday that their country should resist the north with force. the south korean military and u.s. troops stationed in the country have raised the surveillance level on north korea to the second highest status, mobilizing satellites and reconnaissance planes. earlier on tuesday north korea fired dozens of shells at yeonpyeong island near the maritime border. two south korean soldiers were killed and 15 other servicemen were wounded. three residents were also injured. south korea's president kim sung hwan invited china, japan, and russia on a briefing of the fire. kim stressed the attack was a clear violation of the armistice. that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. we'll be back in half an hour with the latest news and weather.