making contact. north korea leader kim jong-un's regime sends the first letter to south korea containing a long list of demands. kim jong-un has been in power for more than a month now. the issue is how he will deal with the southern neighbor. the regime send an open letter urging the country to respond to nine countries. north korea state run television is talking about the letter.

the document calls on the south to offer an apology for not spending a mission to north korea expressing the condolences of the death of kim jong-il. the drill is scheduled to start at the end of this month. now as we mentioned, the letter contains questions for the south. the north wants the neighbor to stop criticizing it for the sinking of the war ship in 2010. the south korean government has shown a more flexible attitude on the dialogue. it wants the north to apologize for recent incidents. it dropped that demand as a pre-condition for talks. the open letter is aimed at increasing pressure on south korea president bak before general elections in april. south korea' unification ministry said the government won't respond every time the

north tries to push through demands through sensitive times for korean relations. kim jong-un is showing interest in high-tech gadgets. he ordered an ipad 2 when the tablet became a hit. he spent several teenage years in switzerland is wants to modernize the country. the ipad 2 is popular among some officials. in the future, the tablet could be linked to the internet by a large mobile phone network. the number of possible users would likely be limited in north korea as the government might be afraid of the loss of social control. germany's angela merkel is in china. she is trying to reassure the

trading partner of the economic health. we have ai from the business team. merkel met with the leaders. how were the discussions? >> i can tell thank you wen jiabao chose his words carefully. he said the country may offer more assistance to europe to help resolve its debt problems. wen jiabao met angela merkel in beijing on thursday to discuss the financial crisis and other issues. at a joint news conference, wen said finding a solution is urgent and important. he said china supports efforts to stabilize the euro. however, he stopped short of making any explicit financial commitments. in the u.s., the federal reserve chairman ben bernancke said that cutting the country's

huge deficit is top priority. the fiscal deficit is expected to exceed $1 trillion. that is for the fourth year in a row. >> even the prospects has an increase of a sudden fiscal crisis. >> speaking before the house of representatives budget committee on thursday, bernancke indicated it will take time for the job and housing markets to improve significantly and that the u.s. economy could worsen due to spillover effects from the european debt crisis and other factors. bernancke stressed that the fed will try to improve the job situation and stabilize prices. he said these will be done by extending the low interest rates to at least late 2014 and by setting an inflation target of 2%. here is tokyo, stock prices are moving within a narrow range this friday morning. we take a look and you will see.

the nikkei index is trading lower by .25%. some investors are selling to lock and profit, but trading is thin ahead of data on u.s. jobs which is due out later in the day. the dollar is little changed against the yen this friday morning here in tokyo. the american currency is changing hands against the japanese krurn as i currency at. sources say that the japanese currency is still being favored as a safe haven due to the eurozone debt problems. many market players are on the sidelines ahead of the key jobs data in the u.s. a look at the interest rates. the yield on bench mark ten-year japanese government bond is bound by a percentage point. sony is expecting a net loss

of nearly $3 billion for the current fiscal year. in the tough situation, sony's ceo has announced his resolution. >> translator: i feel a sense of crisis. we're faced with a tough situation. if we don't act quickly, we'll be beaten by the competition. >> hari will take the head of the electronics maker on february 21st. he will cut costs by more outsourcing. they are set to make a loss for the eighth straight year. he aims to boost profitability by game consoles. let's get an update on market figures.

that's the latest in business. back to you. thank you. europeans are bracing for more snow. the eastern section has been gripped by a cold snap last week leaving at least 120 people dead. in ukraine and poland, it was responsible for 30 deaths on thursday. they have seen a total of 90 people die from temperatures minus 30 degrees celsius.

record snowfall has been observed in italy and greece, which usually have mild winters. in serbia, mountain snow blocked a road and left thousands stranded. a cold snap is forecast to continue this week. and weather officials in europe are urging caution. people in parts of japan have been snowed under this winter. this is what life has been like for folks living along the sea of japan coast. they are walking through whiteouts. all that snow is making driving difficult. the snow piled up more than three meters in some areas. that is double or triple the average. >> translator: we seldom have such heavy snow like this. it has been 40 years since i came here to the area and i have never been through anything like this. >> an avalanche killed three people at the hot spring resort

on thursday. the police and fire department said surface snow collapsed among a 20 meter high slope. the next day, all you could see were bits of plastic roofing indicating the huge hour of the avalanche. while parts of europe and japan are dealing with a winter wallop, things are mild on the eastern coast of the united states. you can see and feel the difference in the u.s. capital, washington d.c., that is because a jet stream is flowing farther north than usual bringing warm air out from the south. cherry trees have started blooming along the banks of the potomac river, several weeks earlier than usual. >> it i amazing. i have a wool coat and a scarf and a sweater. >> washington saw daytime high of 21 degrees celsius tuesday. 14 degrees above normal.

scientists in japan have figured out a possible new treatment for diseases such as alzheimer's and parkinson's. it all involving controlling certain immune cells. these are usually life savers for humans, but harmful if they enter the body. some of them can worsen the development of diseases when they enter the nervous system. scientists figured out how immune cells move from the blood and brain and spinal cord. professor masaaki murakami of osaka under led a team that conducted experiments on mice. the scientists discovered that stimulating nerves in the legs creates holes in the brain and spinal cord. the holes allow the cells to

enter. >> translator: we found a mechanism of how they can enter the body. we can control the immune cells by opening and closing the holes artificially. >> professor murakami added the development could lead to new cancer treatments in addition to helping slow the onset of disea diseases. japan will begin test drilling for methane off the pacific coast. it is the first offshore attempt to extract the substance widely seen as an energy source. methane is formed deep underground when methane gas is formed in crystals. it can be burned like natural gas once extracted. the metals national corporation says drilling will begin in mid-february kilometers off

the coast of japan. they will try to extract by next january to see if stable long-term drilling is possible. >> translator: extracting the methane is a really big challenge. if we can start production, methane will be one of the few produced energy resources. >> it is believed the test site could supply the equal of the natural gas consumption of 14 gallons. palestinians in the gaza strip have harassed a convoy carrying united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon. it is growing dissent over

creating peace in the region. this happened on thursday when the delegation tried to enter the area. the protesters pummeled placards at the convoy. the u.n. provides assistance and educational programs for palestinians. those are usually welcomed. >> it is not surprising when you come to gaza that people who live here and who have been so long deprived of elementary rights that come and demonstrate. syrian president bashar al-assad has kept power despite the protests for the last year. his grip might be slipping.

he says in contact with government insiders. obaida fares spoke to nhk world in london. he added that the government is still being propped up by the people who benefitted from 40 years of al-assad family rule. >> we can speak with officials in the regime. >> fares is criticized russia for standing in the way of the security council resolution on syria. he is urging other countries to push russia to put the peace plan to a vote. people in egypt are taking to the streets in protest. this time they are angry of the deadly conclusion to a soccer match. some blame the government for failing to prevent violence from breaking out between fans of

rival teams. here is how it unfolded on wednesday in the northern city of port said. home team supporters ran on the pitch and chasing and attacking players and fans of the visiting team. police officers appeared to be overwhelmed and did not intervene. panicked crowds left the stadium. the stampede left a number of people injured. the health ministries of egypt said more than 70 people died and hundreds were hurt. some blame the military and ministry for allowing fans to sneak weapons into the stadium. people criticized police for failing to prevent the riot. it is the worse case of soccer violence in egypt's history. the head of the ruling military council is promising a thorough investigation. next we go to bangkok to say what is making headlines in the

region. >> the pakistan supreme court will crime the leader with contempt. it is applying pressure from the judiciary as he faces strained ties with the military. the court said on thursday that the prime minister will be indicted on february 13th. it had ordered him to reopen a corruption investigation against president al-dal. he told the court last month that in his opinion, the president had immunity from prosecution. he did not comply with the order to reinvestigate the case. if he continues to refuse and is found guilty of contempt, he will be disqualified from parliament and ejected from power. his latest troubles come on top of tensions with the military after rumors surfaced in october

that president al-dari sent a memo to the united states asking for help to divert a possible military coup. in vietnam, a woman has died of bird flu. she was the second to succomb to the virus. health ministry officials say the 26-year-old in soc trang province died on saturday. the representative in ho chi minh city said she was infected with a lethal strain of the virus. the woman may have slaughtered and eaten infected chickens raised by her family. the health ministry is still trying to identify the infection route. officials say birds in her neighborhood have died of avian

flu. turning to papua new guinea with a ferry with 350 passengers on board sunk off the coast on thursday morning. about 200 people have been rescued, but many others are still missing. the ship, the "rv queen" was lost after the distress signal was sent. it is believed there were 350 people on board. it sunk on the way to newguinea. officials say rescue crews have so far plucked at least 193 survivors from the ocean. the prime minister peter o'neill says he is mobilizing crews for rescue. >> we have close to four vessels and a helicopter within the area

so they can rescue the survivors and also help those affected by the disaster. >> the area was experiencing bad weather at the time. and finally, an unusual horse racing festival in the central highlands of vietnam has taken place following the lunar new year. thousands watched the event which provided spectators with comedy. one horse was unable to stop. it galloped straight out of the course. another one moves backwards instead of forwards. unexpected accidents are actually the main draw of this horse racing festival. thousands of people braved the bad weather to see tuesday's event. the horses normally drag carts

for farmers who play jockeys on this day. the horses setoff. but one of them flings off the jockey and keeps running. another refuses to be mounted. the jockey has no choice but to walk alongside. some give up mid race. >> translator: i enjoyed the delightful atmosphere. they all did great. they were trying harder than in normal years. >> let's hope this lunar new year is off to a good start for everyone who took part. that wraps up our report from bangkok. all right. people in tokyo are dealing with sub zero temperatures this morning. many other parts of east asia

are seeing intense conditions. sayaka mori joins us for the weather forecast. >> time for the weather update. let's be begin with east asia. the most frigid air is still blanketing much of the northern sections. yesterday in seoul, the high was only minus nine degrees. that is ten degrees lower than average. meanwhile, the western side of japan has been dealing with tons of heavy snow. the peak is over, however, we are still expecting more snow throughout today. an additional 50 centimeters is possible in miyagi prefecture over the next 24 hours. ongoing snow could raise the risk of avalanches and create traffic disturbances. as we pull back, a high pressure system is bringing dry conditions to much of china as

well as the korean peninsula. light showers in southeastern china are diminishing, but redevelop starting saturday. today's highs are looking like this. very cold temperatures in seoul. 7 degrees in tokyo. temperatures will get back to normal starting saturday. that is good news. moving on to the americas. a winter storm is creating blizzard conditions through much of the central rockies. eastern colorado is experiencing the brunt of it. it will move slowly to the east and spread snow through the central plains on friday. down toward the southern u.s., thundershowers are developing in oklahoma and texas which will continue to see a threat of severe weather into friday. back behind it, a large high pressure system is bringing unsettled conditions through the western u.s. we are expecting 23 degrees in los angeles on friday and 20 in

oklahoma city. in d.c., much colder than what we saw on thursday, but still warmer than average with 11 degrees and 17 degrees expected in atlanta. finally, let's go over to europe. cold conditions have impacted much of the countries. a strong high pressure system continues to pull very cold air straight from siberia. bringing cold temperatures including the peninsula. things are changing in the southeastern corner of europe. over the weekend, a jet stream will move to the north bringing in very warm air from the south. so we are expecting seasonal temperatures over the weekend. here are the highs expected on friday. temperatures in athens are on the increase, but still slightly cooler than average. we are expecting 12 degrees in athens and 3 in ankara. for the rest of the areas, very

colder than average. minus 1 degree expected in paris and minus 7 in vienna. the cold conditions will continue into the weekend. so do bundle up. here is the extended forecast.

our lead story this hour, north korea has sent an open letter to the south urging the country to respond to nine questions. north korea state run media

spoke about the letter. the document calls on the south to offer an apology for not sending a mission to the north over the death of kim jong-un's father. the letter expresses the south to cancel joint exercises with the united states. the letter asks south korea to promise to stop criticizing the north for the sinking of the south korea war ship and shelling of island in 2010. it is asking for a dialogue for the apology for the north of pre-conditioned for dialogue. the letter's aimed at increasing pressure on the south korea president bak before the elections in april. south korea's unification ministry said the government won't respond every time the north tries to push through

demand at a critical phase of korean ties. kim jong-un is showing interest in high-tech gadgets. he ordered an ipad 2 when the computer became a hit last spring. kim jong-un spent several teenage years in switzerland and is said to be an advocate of the computer. the ipad 2 is gaining in popularity among the sons and daughters of the senior government officials. it could be linked to the internet by a large mobile phone network set up by a telecommunications company. the number of users would be limited as the government might be afraid of the loss of social control. and now that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.