nuclear breakthrough. north korea says it will suspend nuclear activities in return for food aid. the leadership of north korea has done an about-face that could ease tensions on korean peninsula. it's announced it will take steps toward denuclearization. western leaders hope the moves will end a diplomatic impasse over pyongyang's nuclear program. the u.s. state department and north korea's foreign ministry made the announcement almost simultaneously. follows talks last week in beijing on the

north's nuclear issues. the leadership announced it will suspend nuclear testing, firing long-range ballistic missiles, and enriching uranium at the nuclear complex. and it will allow the international atomic energy agency to inspect facilities. in return, the u.s. will supply the country with 240,000 tons of food with the prospect of more in the future. the u.s. stopped supplying the aid three years ago. north korean officials want to hand out food by mid-april. residents will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the country's founder kim il-sung. the officials say their u.s. counterparts have promised to drop their hostile stance and want to move forward on an equal footing. secretary of state hillary clinton says u.s. officials will move cautiously. she told a congressional panel that the administration still has profound concerns. nhk world reports from washington.

>> i said that it is our hope that the new leadership will choose to guide their nation onto the path of peace by living up to its obligations. today's announcement represents a modest first step in the right direction. >> reporter: clinton warned the u.s. will be watching north korea closely, and will be judging the country's new leaders by their actions. wary of progress on north korea's nuclear enrichment, the united states demanded concessions from the north in exchange for food assistance. the united states also aims to resume the six-party talks on north korea's nuclear development to further stem the country's nuclear ambitions. the talks have been stalled for more than three years. nhk world, washington. officials at the international atomic energy agency praised the agreement.

their monitoring work in north korea has been suspended since 2009. yukio amano said the iaea is ready to start its support. iaea inspectors were first dispatched in 1994. they were expelled in 2009. south koreans, of course, have a great eer stake in what happens on the peninsula they share with their northern neighbors. a foreign affairs and trade ministry statement expressed hope the north koreans will follow through on their promises. steps toward denuclearization are a precondition for resuming the six-party talks. the statement says south korea will cooperate with countries involved in the talks and said pyongyang's announcement

reflects the close work south korean and u.s. officials have done to resolve the nuclear standoff. japan, too, takes part in the six-party talks. foreign minister koichiro gemba says the announcement is an important step toward resolving a number of concerns. gemba said in a statement that he hopes north korea and the u.s. will be able to work out the details smoothly. he said japanese government leaders would like to see a resumption of the talks and increased dialogue between north korea and other countries. russia has also welcomed the efforts of all parties to revive talks. a source in the russian foreign ministry spoke to the interfax news agency soon after the agreement. the source said russia approves efforts by the u.s. and north korea of dialogue and ease tensions on the korean peninsula. an expert on these issues says u.s. officials believed they had to move now to curb

pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. an associate professor at the national graduate institute for policy studies -- >> i think there are two major intentions on the part of the united states. one is that north korea reviewed the fact that they have completed uranium enrichment facility toward the end of 2010. the u.s. thinks that north korea will start to produce uranium. enough for one to two nuclear devices every year. and also, too, in the u.s., a presidential election is scheduled in november this year. in order to create a favorable environment for president obama to be elected, a disagreement with north korea was

unnecessary. on the north korean part, there have been three major objectives. one was that now that kim jong-un has come into office and he would like to use his power. thirdly, north korea would like to see the re-election of obama, president obama. and they have known from past experiences that the second-term presidents tend to become very threatful diplomatically. >> we'll have more on the agreement and the reaction throughout the day. now onto some of the other stories we're following. iran has for the first time opened its space facility on the outskirts of tehran to the foreign media. the country used the occasion to show off its technology and send a message that its space development project is for peaceful purposes.

selected foreign journalists were given a tour of the center on wednesday. they were taken to a control room where they saw a screen showing the location of iran's domestic navid satellite in space. the iranian government says the satellite successfully entered orbit in february. the director in charge said the satellite is capable of sending images back to the space center. he also said the country will put another satellite into orbit within the next six months and that iranian space experts were able to design and build equipment despite sanctions being imposed by european countries and the u.s. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad earlier announced the country aims to launch its first manned space mission in 2020. but western nations are concerned that rocket technology can be applied to develop ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads.

the philippines' foreign minister has suggested that his country may allow u.s. marines to be deployed on one of its islands on a rotational basis. foreign secretary alberto tel rosario was referring to a u.s. proposal to deploy marines to an island, as part of a plan to reposition marines in the asia pacific region. he said their presence would boost joint military training that could enhance the country's defense capability. >> we have to be asking the united states to help us in terms of being able to achieve this minimum credible defense posture that we are seeking. >> but he ruled out u.s. forces building a base in the philippines. he cited its constitution which prohibits such a measure. the philippine government removed all u.s. troops stationed there 20 years ago. observers say allowing them back

could spark fresh controversy. the world's biggest automaker is about to get more powerful. ai uchida from the business desk is here to tell us more. >> that's right, catherine. general motors is tieing up with citron, the world's eighth biggest automaker. the u.s./french tie-up will create the world's largest alliance. annual sales are likely to exceed 12 million units. that's over 50% more than any other car maker in the world. the firms say gm will acquire a 7% stake in citroen, which coincides with the french car maker's pl to boost its capital. the automakers plan to share key components. they'll set up a joint venture to coordinate the procurement of parts and materials. that's to bolster their operations mainly in the sluggish european auto market. there u the brand alliance, the firms will develop small and mid-sized cars using a common framework. aaim to launch new models within

four years and eventually boost their profits to about $2 billion annually. general motors and citroen together sold over 12.5 million cars last year. that's far above the unit sales for the world's second largest auto worker, volkswagon. third biggest, toyota, sold nearly 8 million last year. s the head of the u.s. central bank has expressed caution about the recent rise in gasoline prices. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke spoke about the economic outlook on wednesday. this was at his semiannual testimony to the house of representatives financial services committee. >> gasoline prices have moved up, primarily reflecting higher global oil prices. a development that is likely to push up inflation temporarily. we will continue to monitor energy markets carefully. >> the fed chairman added that

the decline in the jobless rate over the past year has been somewhat more rapid than might have been expected. the unemployment rate dropped to a three-year low of 8.3% in january. but he denied that the rate would improve dramatically this year. bernanke stressed the current monetary measures need to be continued to support the country's economic recovery. the european central bank is providing another record amount of loans to european financial institutions. the total amount is higher than the previous round in december indicating commercial banks in the eurozone are still short of funds. the ecb awarded the institutions a total of 530 billion euros or about $710 billion. the central bank said 800 commercial banks in the region asked for the low interest rate three-year loans. market sources say that some banks that have overcome their difficulties are now buying government bonds from within the

region. eurozone market watchers will see whether the new round of low-interest loans will help improve financial markets across the eurozone. a weaker yen is lifting the tokyo stock market this thursday morning. the key index started the first session of march on an upbeat note, continuing on from last month's upward momentum. the nikkei is currently above 9,800 at 9,834. that's a gain of 1.1%. the broader topix at 843, a gain of 1%. exporters are leading the advance on the yen's retreat against the dollar. market sentiment is also receiving a boost from the european central bank's loans to financial institutions. larger than many analysts had expected. the dollar is rising against the yen to the lower 81 yen level. as market players took their cue from the fed chairman's testimony. investors are not expecting further easing measures from the

u.s. central bank any time soon. the dollar/yen now at 81.19-22. meanwhile, the euro is losing ground as the ecb's carrying out another round of low-interest loans. against the dollar, the euro is changing hands at 1.3337-3339. a look at the latest long term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark 10 year japanese government bond. let's also take a look at other figures.

>> back to the main news now with catherine. >> thanks very much, arks. next we go to cholaphansa narula in bangkok. >> india reported its slowest gdp growth in almost three years. as efforts to tackle inflation cool business activity. it may increase pressure on the government to do more to improve the country's economic performance. nhk world's thumio sagaya reports from new delhi. >> reporter: the indian government said on wednesday the country's gross domestic product expanded by 6.1% in october to december from a year earlier. that 0.8 of a percentage point lower than the previous quarter. india was one of the first countries to recover from the global financial crisis of 2008. the economy charged ahead growing 8.5% in the year ending march 2011.

but the central bank raised interest rates several times to counter spiraling inflation. loans became more expensive, and the sales of other big ticket items slowed. exports are also suffering amid the ongoing european debt crisis. the government projects economic growth for the year through march will be 6.9%. the reserve bank of india is expected to face mounting calls to lower interest rates to try and boost sagging growth. fumio sagaya, nhk world, new delhi. in east timor, campaigning has begun in the presidential election, ten years after its remarkable independence from indonesia, one of asia's poorest nations is still struggling to stand on its own.

nhk world reports. >> reporter: 13 candidates launched their campaigns on wednesday. the winner of the march 17th vote will lead this nation of 1.1 million people. he is seeking a second term he pledged to step up efforts to tackle poverty. >> translator: our country has serious problems. such as malnutrition or lack of education. and those problems are becoming more serious. >> reporter: another candidate is former army chief duyak. he told voters the country needs to stop depending on foreign aid. >> translator: we shouldn't rely on foreigners or the united

nations. we have to prove that we can stand on our own two feet. >> reporter: east timor will hold both presidential and general elections this year. over the last decade, the united nations has supported the reconstruction of the country, but it's likely to depart the country at the end of this year. east timor is still struggling to be economically independent. with no significant industry of its own, around 40% of the population still lives in poverty. whoever wins the presidential election will have a long and difficult road ahead. nhk world, delhi. now in pakistan, severe shortages of fuel are causing misery for consumers. as one solution, pakistan decided in early february to

press ahead with a controversial gas pipeline from iran, despite u.s. criticism. as the obama administration tries to isolate iran because of its nuclear program. as nhk world reports, the energy situation in pakistan is becoming increasingly desperate. >> reporter: a long line of vehicles in islamabad. the line stretches more than 4 kilometers. they are desperate to buy not gasoline, but natural gas. >> i've been waiting since this morning. i'm worried the situation may get even worse. >> reporter: about six out of ten vehicles in pakistan rely on natural gas.

so governments have built the nation's energy policy around the fuel. but supplies have become increasingly unreliable. militants have blown up pipelines and government finances are in disarray. [ chanting ] >> reporter: the situation has sparked public protests. gas prices have been rising about 10% a month. anger was fueled even more by an offshore policy of favoring government and industrial users over regular consumers. amid the shortages of natural gas, the shortage of the energy, gas is getting serious in pakistan now.

so the people's use for wood is increasing. but now there's another problem. increasing demand for wood has caused prices to surge by 50%. dasmat cooks for 15 members of her family. she has to burn wood in her garden, as there's no gas for her stove. >> translator: we want the government to restore gas supplies so we can send or kids to school and get back to our normal routines. >> reporter: with these chronic energy shortages, sustainable resources are slowly moving into the spotlight. this solar power plant is scheduled to be completed by the end of march and supply energy

to parts of islamabad. financed using a grant from japan, the plant is the first of its kind in the country. as they look to the future, the government has high hopes for renewable energy. >> almost all of the country is receiving sunshine for longer hours. i feel there is a lot more potential. >> translator: it makes me happy if pakistani people understand what sustainable energy is and how useful it is, by introducing this plant with japanese support. >> reporter: renewable energy could one day help solve pakistan's chronic energy situation. but for today people have little choice but to carry on waiting for things to improve. nhk world, islamabad.

and that wraps up our bulletin for today. i'm cholaphansa narula in bangkok. major storms have been hitting the u.s. midwest. rachel ferguson joins us with the world weather forecast. >> thank you. yes, some of those storms have just wreaked absolute destruction and i want to go to video to show you what the scene was like in illinois. on wednesday morning. this is harrisburg. the tornado ripped through at around 5:00 a.m. just causing absolute devastation as you can see here. cars, homes, stores as well. just completely torn apart. not only that, not only the structural damage, but unfortunately at least nine people have been reported dead from that storm. and also unfortunately i must

say we are not going to see the end of this storm from that system just yet. if we take a look at our weather map, you can see, this is low to the north and then along the front is where the severe weather has been erupting. now, on your wednesday night into thursday, the severe area is quite wide. anywhere you're seeing in the yellow is where the thunderstorms are expected. within the red area, the, of course, most at risk locations. flooding rains potentially a threat as well as damaging winds, hail, and also the prospect of further tornadoes. now, into the next 24 hours, a lot of that system is going to be heading out over the atlantic, but there will be a front left in the southeast and midwest. and anywhere you're seeing in the yellow, once again, thunderstorms with the potential for all of those things that we just went through there. and the hotspot is going to be from arkansas in toward tennessee and also southern illinois. potentially seeing some very severe weather on thursday as

well. temperature-wise, well, this is part of the problem. we have a surge of warmth coming up from the south. to give you an idea of the contrast, washington, d.c., on thursday, 19 degrees forecast for the high. just 7 a little bit further toward the north in new york city. when you get that clash of cold air and the warm air coming up from the south, it provides a lot of energy for those storms to occur. all right. we're going to head on into eastern asia here. across the northern continent, cold air is coming down. that's going to be helping to spread snow in around the beijing area. central locations coming in west of shanghai, that's going to be snow as well with rain down further toward the south. some of that is going to be a little bit on the heavy side. heavy rain also for northern myanmar and northeastern india. it's another day of downpours for you. as for japan, we're much drier day across central japan certainly. nothing of the snow that we saw yesterday. there will be showers down here toward the west, but temperatures will really be rising up to springlike

conditions. 14 degrees forecast for tokyo. 13 in seoul. we'll have a couple days of that and then into the weekend, once again, it's going to get a little bit chilly as the cold air spreads toward the east from northern china. all right. i'm going to leave you now with your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour. the leadership of north korea has done an about-face that could ease tensions on the korean peninsula. it's announced it will take steps toward denuclearization. western leaders hope the moves will end a diplomatic impasse over pyongyang's nuclear program. the u.s. state department and north korea's foreign ministry made the announcement almost simultaneously. the disclosure follows talks

last week in beijing on the north's nuclear issues. the leadership announced it will suspend nuclear testing, firing long range ballistic missiles and enriching year rain yum at the nuclear complex. it will allow the international atomic energy agency to inspect facilities. in return, the u.s. will supply the country with 240,000 tons of food with the prospect of more in the future. the u.s. stopped supplying the aid three years ago. north korean officials want to hand out food by mid-april. residents will celebrate president 100th anniversary of the birth of the country's founder kim il-sung. the officials say their u.s. counterparts have promised to drop their hostile stance and want to move forward on an equal footing. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thks very much for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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