kim il-sung weightman daini.we' this hour. a team from the international atomic energy has visited the troubled nuclear power plant to inspect damage caused by the quake and tsunami in march. 18 experts from britain, france, and other countries have been in japan since tuesday to investigate the nuclear accident. on friday the ieae team visited the fukushima daini plant.

the team members were later briefed on how a series of problems developed at daiichi plant and how the operator tepco responded. a team then went to the daiichi plant to inspect number one, two, three, and four reactors. they were also told about the number six reactor's emergency diesel generator which operated normally. the iaea team plans to submit its inspection report to the japanese government on june 1st. g-8 leaders have called on the international atomic energy agency to establish new international standards for nuke power plants in the earthquake-prone areas. a declaration on nuclear safety was announced friday prior to the conclusion of the tuesday summit in the french city of deauville. in the joint declaration leaders urged the iaea to create new international standards for the construction and operation of nuclear power plants in areas with high risk of terror attack and earthquake. the document says major industrial countries will revise the existing treaty on nuclear

safety. it also announced the need to take into account locations when new plants are built to avoid a concentration of reactors which has caused the accident at the fukushima complex to worsen. they called on member countries to base trade and travel restrictions on scientific grounds. this was designed to address bans imposed on japanese products following the nuclear accident in fukushima. france is building an advanced european pressurized reactor or epr in its northwest. it is speeding up construction to bring nuclear power plant online in 2014. nhk world reports. >> reporter: as the world watches the nuclear disaster in japan, france is aiming to send epr energy worldwide. the plant has a power outlet

among the largest in the world but the most important attraction is the advanced safety features compared with conventional reactors. this is a promotion video for the power plant. >> the special area with the refractory layer would cool any part of the core escaping from the vessel. >> reporter: the containment vessel is a double layered structure. in addition, it features four cooling systems to cope with any kind of emergency including natural disasters. it's called a core catcher, a device to cope with meltdowns. >> translator: the epr will not leak radioactive substances even if a major accident occurs causing local residents to

evacuate. >> reporter: but the problem is the price. because o its enhanced safety measures, construction costs can run to 5 billion euro or about $6.9 billion. this is about 40% more than the price tag for a conventional nuclear plant. because of this, france has been fighting an uphill battle in an increasingly competitive market. two years ago the first power project was approved in an arabian country. south korea won the contract with a low cost design. china and emerging countries that are considered to be potential markets are being urged to make safety a priority.

>> translator: we must ensure 100% safety at our nuclear plants. >> reporter: this movement toward advanced safety features in nuclear power plants represents a great opportunity for france to win new contracts. president nicolas sarkozy observed some nuclear power plants and reiterated safety is the country's number one priority. [ chanting ] >> reporter: however, a sense of distrust is brewing among the french people as well. some experts point out that the safety of this next generation reactors is questionable. >> the problem is that it works on paper but no one knows how it would operate in the real accidental -- we have to change the way we think after fukushima. >> reporter: the g-8 summit started on thursday.

as a chair france is expected to call for measures to increase the safety of nuclear plants and easing the fears of the anti-nuclear movement. nhk world. >> now we have some perspective on how a nuclear issue is playing out at the g-8 summit. this became the hot topic because of the nuclear accident in fukushima. how is the japanese government approaching the discussions? >> prime minister naoto kan gave a speech at the first meeting on thursday titled solidarity of japan. it marked the first time in the summit's 36-year history that a known chair country made a speech at the beginning of the meeting. kan pledged to investigate the nuclear accident and swiftly provide results to the international community. he also proposed that japan host an international conference on nuclear safety next year.

>> having said that, some countries suspect japan is not worth coming about the nuclear crisis. are we seeing any negative impact here in japan because of that suspicion? >> over the past couple of months more than 60 countries have banned or put restrictions on imports from japan. the government says food exports decreased 22.8% compared to the same time last year. the head of the g-8 summit the chinese premier wen jiabao and the south korean president lee myung-bak visited japan. part of the trip was showing japanese agricultural products are safe. china and south korea are supporting japan because they are also promoting nuclear power. >> is prime minister kan making any specific move with regard to the nuclear issue? >> he had a meeting with the french president sarkozy on thursday. the leaders agreed their

countries' foreign ministers would hold strategic die logs to touch on energy policy. in france, 3/4 of its power comes from nuclear plants. president sarkozy emphasized it will continue to be a main energy resource. >> translator: while recognizing the need to develop alternative ener energy, many countries believe there is no alternative to nuclear power. >> france is helping japan deal with the aftermath of the fukushima daiichi accident. it will provide technical support to clean up radioactive contamination at the plant. one example is contaminated water. there are 87 tons of it on site at fukushima daiichi. japan will use french technology to decontaminate the radioactive water. >> these big international meeting often attract protesters. are we seeing any protests in

deauville so far? >> the main ones are focusing on the safety of nuclear power. the accidents at fukushima daiichi has given a boost to anti-nuclear campaigns around the world. in europe the feeling is different regarding this type of energy. germany and italy have decided to stop promoting nuclear power but as we heard from president sarkozy, france is standing by this force of energy. as for the united states, president barack obama has expressed his intention to promote nuclear power but his administration acknowledges their concerns about nuclear safety. it is looking at reviewing safety measures and making an international standard that would be followed by all country with nuclear power including developing countries. >> something has happened here. we need to learn from that experience. president obama asked the nuclear regulatory commission to take a review of the 104ing read

states. that's very much what was in his mind i'm sure. >> prime minister naoto kan says japan will promote renewable energy resources such as solar and wind but it also expressed his intention to maintain nuclear power. the fukushima daiichi accident has focused the world's attention on japan's nuclear policy. it needs to safely secure the nuclear plants by working with the other countries and at the same time invest in renewable energy resources. >> all right. thanks for the report. here are other news making headlines tonight. u.s. auditors say japan's financial burden for the realignment of american forces in the country will be much larger than initially thought.

the government accountability office submitted a report to congress on wednesday. it says the total cost of the realignment will top $29 billion. japan's share is expected to be nearly $16 billion, which is 2.6 times the previous estimate. the plan includes relocating the futenma air station in okinawa and transferring 8,000 marines from the prefecture to the u.s. territory of guam. the chairman of the state senate armed services committee said in a statement that report underscores his concern and those of two other senators. they believe the realignment plan is unrealistic and unworkable. the senators are calling on the u.s. government to integrate futenma's function with those of the air base also in okinawa. the chairman is asking the defense department to re-examine and adjust the plan to reflect fiscal and political realities. he said doing so would be in the best interests of the united states and its asian allies. north korean leader kim jong-il has returned home from a

week-long tour of china. his heir apparent reportedly greeted him at the border of the two countries. the state-run korean central news agency said kim's special train arrived in the northwestern city of sinuiju on friday morning. his third son kim jong un welcomed him there. the agency alsoeported kim wrote a a letter to the chinese president saying friendly ties will develop through generations. observers say kim went to china to win its support for the planned transfer of power to a third generation of his family. around thursday night state-run media in china and north korea reported on a meeting between kim and president hu. according to china central television kim said during his tour he agrees with china's reform and open door policies but north korea's central news agency did not report this comment. instead, it said china supports the korean people's struggle for the protection of socialism. the difference in tone could indicate that kim jong-il is being cautious about opening up

north korea's economy with chinese style policies. japan's transfer ministry has ordered the construction of the country's first magnetically levitated train system. the next generation of high speed rail service is now ontrack to begin service in 2027. on friday the ministry ordered the central japan railway company to construct a maglev train system between tokyo and nagoya. the trains boast a maximum operating speed of 500 kilometers per hour cutting travel time between the two cities to just 40 minutes. the ministry told jr to build the tracks on almost a straight route using underground tunnels to pass beneath a mountain range. the plan is to start an environmental assessment this year and begin construction in three years. maglev trains are scheduled to start operating between tokyo and nagoya in 2027 and between tokyo and osaka in 2045. the project is estimated to cost

nearly $110 billion. >> translator: the plan has moved into the practical phase. we want to implement it as early as possible with the cooperation of all concerned parties. >> next we go to our bureau in bangkok. we have the latest on what's going on in the region. >> hello from the thai capital. pakistan has received a surprise visit from u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton as the obama administration makes a high profile bid to mend relationships strained by its killing of osama bin laden. clinton met pakistani leaders including the prime minister. she is believed to have explained the u.s. position on the attack and conveyed her country's concerns about the deteriorating relationship. >> our very strong support for the relationship and our commitment to working with and

supporting pakistan and the recognition of the sacrifice that is made every single day by the men and women of your military and the citizens of your country. >> many people in pakistan have condemned the u.s. raid as a violation of sovereignty and some in america have questioned how bin laden managed to live there for so long. attacks by islamic militant groups targeting americans and pakistani security forces continue. a car bomb exploded on thursday. the bst destroyed a police building and nearby shops. at least 25 people including civilians were killed and more than 40 others were wounded. thailand is beefing up security to prevent election-related violence ahead of the nationwide poll on july 3rd.

local police are keeping a close eye out for hired guns. thai police on thursday released a list of 75 gunmen currently on the official most wanted list. authorities say the hit men are believed to be active in central and southern parts of the country and have a history of attacking politicians and other serious crimes. a nationwide crackdown on illegal weapons is also under way. on thursday a large number of ammunition and assault rifles were confiscated in eastern thailand. in the northeast police arrested 47 suspects on firearms and ammunition offenses. there have already been reports of attacks against political activists as the election campaign intensifies. police say additional officers will be assigned to protect candidates in the most hotly

contested constituencies. staying in thailand the tastes of thai consumers are changing rapidly. a recent survey found the most popular foreign cuisine in the kingdom is japanese food. and now an entrepreneur with a hunger for new ideas has taken a traditional japanese snack and developed it into a fast food sensation. >> reporter: this new menu mixes thai and japanese food and is getting popular in thailand. hum, good. this is an a omlete, fried rice

covered with eggs, and is already popular among thais. but here it's the size of a tennis ball. these days more young thais are using convenient fast food over traditional cuisine. but this has met consumers' desires with its cute look and bite size. >> i tried it because it's unique. i think it will attract passersby. >> now i'm hungry. it looks yummy and it's easy to eat out of the box. >> reporter: this is the design behind the menu. he lost a lot of work during the financial crisis so he came up with a business idea to make a new sort of food targeting the

young. >> translator: young thai people seldom eat thai food and choose pizzas and hamburgers. it's like a light meal. customers can take it away or eat it while they're shopping. >> reporter: he took inspiration from a bar shaped japanese food which has been popular in thailand for sometime. he spent weeks trying to develop the best shape and flavor. five months later he finally had it. >> translator: we planned to expand this year, maybe to around 20 branches throughout thailand. i also have some leads abroad

such as malaysia and laos. >> reporter: as the thai economy continues to grow, so consumer tastes are developing, too. it's hard to imagine what we'll find on the menu next. nhk world, bangkok. >> a new creative snack ideal for those always on the go. we'll finish off in india where locals have been flocking to a a zoo to check out its newest member, a baby one horn rhino. the zoological park in india's eastern state of bihar welcomed a new born rhino on wednesday. climate change, poaching, and the destruction of habitats have depleted the rhino population. there are thought to be only 14,000 remaining in the wild. visitors gathered around the enclosure to watch the calf with

its mother. the zoo is home to one of the biggest groups of rhinos in the world. the new addition means there is now a total of 13 of the beautiful animals in its care. and despite being known for its single horn the calf will have to wait six years before it grows one of its own. that wraps up our bulletin. hello again. time for another look at the weather. let's go and check on our typhoon. you can see it right here in the clouds. there is the eye of the storm. these are the outer bounds just moving across the northern philippines as well as taiwan here. but it's not going to be making landfall. instead it looks like it is heading up toward the north and the east. it'll be heading across okinawa over the weekend later on into mainland japan. it is moving at 20 kilometers an

hour which is a fairly quick pace for a storm this strong. it has started to weaken off a little bit. the winds are now at 180 kilometers an hour with the gusts at 252. it is still a very strong and dangerous storm. as it moves over okinawa it is likely to produce waves up to 12 meters high and we could see as much as 200 millimeters of rain in just the space of 24 hours. that's for okinawa. now we have a look at the next three days and what's in store for japan. you're seeing in the red, you could see more than 300 mi millimeters of rain, very significant, reaching all the way up into the northeast here to the places of course affected by the tsunami and earthquake and are very prone to flooding. so those are all the things we have to look forward to into the next few days. i don't think we'll see the end of the storm until probably next tuesday so into next week. further in toward the west here across mainland china, very, very dry and hot.

in fact, all the heat you can see rising all the way up into beijing. 34 degrees and it's going to be a clear day so dangerous heat here and also in chong ching the same thing 34 degrees. make sure to stay in the shade as much as possible. we'll be seeing typhoon rain across taipei as well as manila and tokyo as well on saturday. all right. let's take a look into north america. another storm pushing in across the u.s./canada border here, significant rain in southern bc as well as alberta and then thunderstorms coming down the central plains reaching down into the south. it's going to be producing severe weather for the same places that have been hit all week and were hit the weekend as well by those devastating deadly tornadoes. we haven't even got rid of the last storm system yet. it's still clinging on to the eastern seaboard here. we'll see rain all along the coast and then more severe weather from the mid-atlantic up into southern new england and then we have that new area to watch as well. over the same area, arkansas,

missouri, oklahoma as well as kansas, tornadoes, damaging winds, and thunderstorms. large hail all in the forecast. let's take a look at what's happening with your temperatures then. you can see that heat all the way up into new york city as well as washington, d.c. 31 degrees, way above average. and then on the other side of the jet stream it's going to be the mid teens for toronto, chicago, winnipeg, vancouver, as well as seattle. let's head now to europe. more rain bands pushing across the british isles and up into scandinavia. that's going to be your weekend. very unsettled. thunderstorms moving across siberia as well. i think this is going to be the most severe area to watch. thunderstorms hitting the alpine region. heavy rain here as well spreading in towards the east and then we stay very unstable across the eastern mediterranean also. keeping the heat in the east, though, cooling down to the west but check out moscow. 25. 27 in kiev. 17 in london. here is your extended forecast.

once again the top stories at this hour. a team from the international atomic energy agency has visited the troubled fukushima daiichi nuclear facility to inspect damage caused by the march quake and tsunami. 18 experts from britain, france, and other countries have been in japan since tuesday to investigate the nuclear accident. on friday the iaea team headed by mike weightman visited the number two daini plant south of the daiichi plant. the team leaders were briefed on how the series of problems developed at the daiichi plant and how the operator tepco responded. a team then went to the daiichi plant to inspect the number one, two, three, and four reactors. they were also told about a number six reactor's emergency diesel generator, which operated normally. the iaea team plans to submit its inspection report to the japanese government on june 1st. g-8 leaders have called on the international atomic energy

agency to establish new international standards for nuclear power plants in earthquake prone areas. a declaration of nuclear safety was announced on friday prior to the conclusion of the number -- summit in the city of deauville. in the joint declaration leaders urged iaea to create new international standards for the construction and operation of nuclear power plants in areas of high risk of terror attack or earthquake. the document says major industrial countries will revise the existing treaty on nuclear safety. it also noted a need to take into account location when new plants are built to avoid a concentration of reactors which caused the accident at the fukushima complex to worsen. they called on member countries to base trade and travel restrictions on scientific grounds. this was designed to address import bans imposed on japanese products following the nuclear accident in fukushima. that's it for us now on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in

half an hour. thank you for watching. thank you for watching. bye-bye. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com