it is 9 a.m. in tokyo. a group of north korean defectors have been transferred

to southwest japan after they were found in a small boat in the sea of japan. the japan coast guard flew the defectors from central japan on wednesday. the group was three men, three women and three children. they were taken to a facility. the government is likely to send the nine defectors to a third country. they were spolted off the coast on tuesday. the group has told the japan coast guard it left north korea last thursday with the intention of heading for south korea. the group's leader said he belongs to the korean people's army. he says he catches octopus to raise money for the north korean military. now observers suggest there are various factors between korean boat people ending up off japan instead of sou korea, their intended destination. >> the members of the group, which includes three children,

are apparently all in good condition after eating breakfast served. >> translator: i thought to myself, isn't that a north korean boat? i thought i must report to the coast guard that i had seen a suspicious boat. when my fell why fisherman gave them water, they joined their hands together and bowed. >> the united nations estimates more than 100,000 north koreans defected from their country since the korean war. many of the defekors headed for south korea across the border where people speak the same language. but heavy security and mine fields at the border zone forced many of them to take the ocean route. the defectors told the japan

coast guard they left the north korea ports for south korea last thursday morning. but they have lead to a ride to japan after strong currents drew them away from their intended southbound route. among the factors driving people to defect from the north with believed to be the worsening food situation caused by massive floods damaging this year's crops. past cases of north korean defectors entering japan include a familiar live four spotted in a small boat in the sea of japan off the coast in june 2007. the four were sent to south korea as requested. j pan's chief cabinet secretary says the japanese government plans to follow these past presidents, respecting the defectors wishes and giving top priority to humanitarian considerations.

following their wishes, it is believed the nine defectors will end up heading for their destination, south korea. >> joined now with the latest in business news, ai good morning. >> very good morning to you catherine and good morning to you as well. leaders of france, germany and greece say france will stay in euro zone. french president and greek prime minister talked over the phone on wednesday. they reconfirmed the need to fulfill the additional support package for greece which was agreed on in july by euro zone nations. the greek prime minister pledged greece will implement a fiscal reconstruction plan to meet all on ily gagss agreed on with international lenders in exchange for a bailout. but financial sources say the phone talks are not enough to

head off skepticism in the market. greek government bonds have fallen in will have u, casting a shadow over commercial banks inside the euro zone. the governing parties of germany major lenders to the debt strapped nation have expressed their concern over a possible default by greece. meanwhile, law makers in italy approved on extra austerity package aimed at speeding up efforts to restore fiscal health. prices of italian government bonds have been declining on concerns over the country's mounting debts. law makers in the lower house of parliament gave final approval on wednesday to the austerity plan. this calls for cutting the budget deficit by around 54 billion euros on $74 billion by 2014. the plan will see the value added tax raised 1 percentage point to 21%. the rich will also have to pay more tax. the measures went through repeated revisions before final

approval. this is because the government of prime minister faced opposition even within his own party after it made the proposals last month. the world bank has warned the global economy will reach a dangerous level unless indust raelized countries take swift action it fix their economic problems. world bank president made the remark at a lecture in washington on wednesday. the global ecannot my entered a new danger zone with little running room as european countries face difficult truths about the common responsibilities of a common currency. >> zoellic said the countries are irresponsible as they have not been able to work together to resolve the credit crisis, the current credit crisis, triggered by the greek debt problem. he called on the common euro

zone currency to tackle the debt crises. japan resistd social reform while the united states is facing record peace time deficits with no approach in sight for cutting its debt. he warned the global's con my will be drugged down unless japan, u.s. and european countries face up to their responsibility and solve their problems. now it's time to get a check on the markets. u.s. market closed higher for a third day in a row boosted by reassurances from germany and france about support for greece and the euro. to see how stocks are kicking up here in japan this thursday morning, let's cross over to ram ramin who sat tokyo stock exchange. >> very good morning to you. we are seeing it higher following from the u.s. markets. i'm looking at most stocks here in most sectors trading higher. that follows the close that we

saw in the nikkei yesterday which was another fresh 2 1/2 year closing low. that is after we saw losses in banks, brokages, teches, auto and manufacturing sector. we are seeing a rebound as i said there. the markets saw what could be termed as relief rally in the sense the news wasn't as bad as a couple of days ago. that follows would words from leaders from germany and chance that they are committed to helping out greece. now that boosted the market sentiment despite the fact that moody's earlier in the day downgraded a couple of major french banks. and that was on the very basis of their exposure to greek debt. so markets really tied up in knots here as far as the you're why zone debt issue he is concerned. all of that volatile ilt yet again played into the currency markets and let's have a look at where the euro currently stands right now against the yen. now after the moodies news, the

euro fell back a touch, a little bit weaker. but gained again with currencies afterwards from french president sarkozy and merck el say be they were basically reassuring markets about further help for greece. we saw the euro gaining a touch. trading around the mid 105 yen level. so still the yen remain willing quite strong, which ever way you look at it. the issues on top, general negative economic data out of u.s. retail sales as well as price index numbers. which came out pretty flat yesterday in the u.s. that follows flat or zero growth jobs numbers we saw at the beginning of september. coming up, we have manufacturing data for new york and philadelphia. but for now, the topics are in the positive. back to you. >> ramin, thanks for that. that was our market reporter at the tokyo stock exchange.

let's also get a recap of other market figures. that is all for now in business news. back it catherine. >> thanks we much, ai. japan's prime minister noda and u.s. president barack obama will hold their first talks next wednesday in new york. noda will be in new york from tuesday to attend the general assembly session and the u.s. security and safety of atomic generation. they will confirm the importance of the japan-u.s. alliance and are expected to talk about deepening relations in various

fields. as to the location of the u.s. marines air station in okinawa, they are expected to confirm an existing agreement between the two nations on the issue should be achieved. the agreement reached in may last year stipulate that the functions of the base should be transferred to a new airfield to be constructed on the coast of nago city, also in okinawa. in a message to the world economic forum, noda said japan will contribute to the international comnity despite the march 11 disaster. the prime minister sent a message to the annual forum meeting in china's northeastern city on wednesday. noda first expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support from the international community. he said clear signs of reconstruction are pairing in disaster-stricken northeastern japan. [ speaking japanese ]

noda says his cabinet is doing everything possible to resolve the fukushima daiichi accident. he says the situation is improving in line with the schedule with help from other countries. noda said he wants to cooperate with skprerts pr experts from around the world to rebuild the area. civil engineers revised down the height of the highest tsunami to reach inland on march 11, which it says was 39.7 meters. the finding for the city was reported to a society meeting on wednesday. the society is examining the disaster and considering how to deal with few fewer tsunamis. the highest waves on land were thought to have been 40 meters

or o more. but after six months of research the society revised after factoring the height of the tide on march 11. they make break waters stronger to minimize future damage. a survey found that japan's march 11 tsunami triggered a least 130 fires destroying over 5 million square meters of the northeastern three prefectures. that's the worst case on record. fires were sparked when fuel from tanks and ships drifting after the tsunami were ignited by vehicle batteries or other sources. once lit, flames spread quickly as tsunami debris hindersers firefighters. nhk was told that 131 fires have been reported and a total area of around 5.65 million square meters have burned in four cities and towns. similar fires occurred when major earthquakes hit japan in

1964 and 1993. but damage in each incident was about a hundredth that of the march 11 disaster. the figure is likely to rise as the fire departments continue to survey the northeast. the operator fukushima daiichi plant started putting water into the spot where the melted fuel reactor is located. they have been spraying water continuously into the three reactors. as of 11 ram wednesday, the bottom of number two reactor was 114 degrees celsius compared to 85 degrees in reactor 1 and 101 degrees in reactor 3. engineers believe the injected water is not cooling the spot where the melted fuel has fallen. tepco is using pipes above the likely location of the fuel to spray water.

this method was used successfully in the number 3 reactor. utility hopes to achieve a cold shut down by january with the temperatures in the three reactors kept stable and below 100 degrees. >> newsline is the place it turn to for the latest on japan, post march 11. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. nuclear watch brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and the road ahead, examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss, "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline". >> life has still not returned to normal for some. residents in a stranded village have finally begun receiving supplies thanks no a makeshift ropeway.

11 people in walka y wakayama w washed away. there is a rope across a 100 meter wide valley. the deliver i rf goods began wednesday and included toilet paper, canned food, gasoline and other necessities. >> the rope way means we can deliver more compared with moving supplies manually. i hope it keeps the residents satisfied until the road reopens. >> 66 people were left dead and 30 others unaccounted for, mostly in wakayama prefecture. officials have exam ginned damage by the tropical storm to a shrine. the line to located in the town in a wakayama prefecture is a historical site p.

massive amounts of mud was after a a lan slides was trigger ped. workers had not been able to remove the mud for fear of damaging the shrine's buildings. the officials explained to them how it can be done. >> translator: the damage is more serious than we expected. it will take some time to restore the shrine. people are concerned that the shrine might be removed from the world heritage list. but i strongly believe this won't happen. the u.s. space agency unveiled plans to build a rocket that would carry astronauts to mars and other planets. nasa expects the first unmanned test flight will lift up in six years. nasa says a project will cost

$10 billion. the rock set likely to be about 100 meters long. though its actual size has not been revealed. sources say the technology of the main engine and external fuel tanks of the decommissioned space shuttles would be used in the new rocket. they say that would hold down costs and lead to the employment of engineers who worked on space shuttle projects. last year, president barack obama announced plans to send astronauts to mars in the 2030s despite severe fiscal conditions. time to check on some of stories we have badgered from broadcasters around asia. we begin with this item sent by rtm malaysia. malaysia's customs department has seized 183 kilograms of methamphetamine drugs worth about $15 million. this is the biggest haul of methamphetamine in the country's history. following a tip-off officials raided a house on tuesday. the drugs were flown in from

iran and quatar. they were in koodwooden crates marked flower pots. a 20-year-old iranian suspect has been arrested. if convicted he could face the death penalty. it followes a separate raid in the separate state late last month. the commander-in-chief of the thai army says he will seek cooperation from the military in myanmar to combat cross-border drug smuggling. it is one of the world's most notorious hot spots for drug trafficking. speaking in bangkok wednesday, we will make his first official visit to the neighboring countries since taking the army's top post. the two army commanders are expected to discuss various issues to related such thanks as border checkpoints and mutual

courtesy calls for the top brass of both countries. japan will proo provide about 32.5 million to bing la desh over five yrs to improve its primary education system and reduce the number of dropouts. at present, nearly half of bangladesh's students leave before finishing primary education. both sides inked an agreement on tuesday. the funds will be used to train science and mathematics teachers and to make primary education more attractive to students. japan will continue aid until 2016 providing about $6.5 million per year. welcome back to your weather update. we have been keeping an eye on the tropical storm system in the pacific. here it is. it is slowly growing in size and

gradually intensifying as well. it is moving at about 15 kilometers per hour. a pretty good pace but looking like it will be slowing down once it gets close to the southern island of japan, okinawa islands. once it does so, it looks like it will stall out over the area. really slo down. so we are talking about that stormy weather persisting for an extended amount of time. it will obtain severe tropical storm status by the time it gets there. we will be talking about rain or released on to impact. the area of the islands look pretty wet today and it will only intensify in coming days. showers will be impacting parts of the pacific side of southern japan as well. still dealing with seasonal rain front. it is in place looking like it'll intensify at times towards north korea, chinese border today. gradually heading out as it does so but still remains unsettled for a lot of central section of

china. as for highs on thursday, 32 again in tokyo. another hot day. gets up to 30 degrees in seoul as well. shanghai hitting 33. as for the americas, we are keeping an eye on tropical storm maria in the atlantic as well here to too. slowly pulling away from the caribbean islands. picking up its pace a little more. looks like it'll continue. of course that moves it right west of bermuda. it will likely miss the islands, at least not in direct impact. but still you will feel the winds, rain as well as the rough sea conditions. you do want to watch out for that. as it hits, it looks like it'll continue to weaken, become low by friday. that's for north america. dealing with this cold front that's been pretty active today, tonight it'll be bring a round of showers right through the eastern end of the united states producing scattered thundershowers. across this area, rockies ease

well as parts of the plain states, picking up precipitation and for upper elevations here especially in parts of colorado. we will be talking about snow falling here. as for highs on thursday, it is going to be on the cool side for a lot of areas. only 15 in winnipeg. chicago remains at 16 degrees. even bigger hit for oklahoma city at 17. 30 degrees thursday. you will see how big a dip we will see in temperatures here. finally a look at europe. still unsettled up toward the scandinavian region. it is on its way out. it is weakening and pulling 0u9 out and away. it will clear out as we head to the ports on thursday. it is a lot dryer for the scandinavian peninsula as least. there will be more rain heading your way later on. thursday coming in from the west. highs on thursday, looking at

21, 19 in warsaw, cooling off out east. athens coming in at 36 degrees. now up with next is your three day outlook.

our lead stories this hour, a group of north korean defectors has been transferred to southwestern japan. after they were found on a small boat in the sea of japan. the japan coast guard flew the defectors to nagasaki prefecture tuesday. the group consisted of three men, three women and three children. the group will likely be sent to south korea via a third country. the boat was spotted off the coast on tuesday. the group has told the japan

coast guard it left north korea last thursday with the intention of heading for south korea. the group's leader said he belongs to the korean people's army. he said he catches octopus to raise money for the north korean military. a former soldier in north korea's people's army spoke to nhk. >> translator: north korean soldiers are not provided enough food by the government. they must moonlight to keep alive. also, they are trying to earn foreign currency by ex porting marine products to china. >> an expert explained a source of money for the people's army. >> translator: it's not unusual for north korean soldiers to catch octopus. each army unit has to devise ways to earn money for fuel and

other needs. there are traders with special connectiones with the army. they receive farm and marine products from soldiers and then sell them to china. soldiers obtain north korean currency through these transactions. and they then spend the money on their units. >> leaders of france, germany and greece confirm that greece will stay in the euro zone with the collective goal that the country will rebuild its state finances. french president, german chancellor and greek prime minister talked over the telephone on wednesday. they reconfirmed the need to fulfill the additional support package for greece which was agreed on in july by euro zone nations. the greek prime minister said they will have a fiscal reconstruction plan to meet all

obligations with international lenders in exchange for bail yut. sources say the telephone talks are not enough to head off skepticism in the market. greek government bonds have fallen in value, casting shadow over government banks inside the euro zone. governing parties of germany, major lenders, have expressed their concerns over a possible default by greece. that wraps up this edition of newsline. i'm catherine in tokyo. do stay with us.