chinese puzzle. the u.s. secretary of defense raises questions about north korea's missile program. north korea has long received diplomatic cover from its closest ally china. leon panetta says officials in pyongyang may be getting more than that. china may have provided north korea with mobile missile technology. >> i'm sure there's been help coming from china. i don't know the exact extent of that. we have to deal with it in another context in terms of the

sensitivity of that information. >> panetta said the potential threat from north korea would be increased if it had mobile capability for long-range ballistic missiles. north korean military leaders put what appeared to be a long-range ballistic missile on display. they say it's the same as a special purpose vehicle developed by a chinese company. an online version of the magazine says if the vehicle was chinese made, china may have violated u.n. sanctions. foreign ministry spokesperson said china strictly follows security council resolutions and says chinese leaders enforce laws to enforce laws against weapons of mass destructions. analysts reflected for a

week before putting a satellite into spate. north koreans say they finished analyzing the launch and are determined to press ahead with their aerospace program. >> north korea released a statement about the launch. the statement criticizes the united states, south korea and japan for what they call their rights to use space for people purposes.

south korea has unveiled new cruise mills that missiles that could strike north korea. defense ministry officials showed video of a test of the missile. the video showed the missile in flight and hitting its target a hut, hundreds of kilometers away. officials did not reveal the exact rage or missiles deployed. they said it could strike with precision across north korea. he said the military will retaliate against any provocation. it was developed in south korea and resembles the thome hawk missile used by the u.s. navy. it has a range of 1,000 kilometers.

g-20 leaders are coming together to discuss some common challenges. our business desk has more on that. >> reporter: common challenges, indeed. high oil prices taking center stage is the credit crisis over in the euro zone. the group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors began their meeting in washington on thursday. they are discussing steps to contain the european debt crisis. measures will include boosting the lending capacity of the international monetary fund. japan's finance minister and bank of japan governor are taking part in the two-day meeting. japan has pledged $60 billion to the imf. other european nations also agreed to contribute. the fund's base will increase by 320 billion. a key focus is how emerging economies will respond. but the united states has decided not to give any extra

financial support. the u.s. is the largest contributor to the imf. heads of the group of seven nations held talks before the meeting to iron out their differences. >> ahead of the g-0 meeting, the japan finance minister said he wants to make his views heard at every available opportunity. >> translator: the global economy may go back on to a stable path if a country outside the euro zone helps the imf boost its lending capacity. >> the g-20 meeting i also expected to discuss issues facing the global economy including surging crude oil prices. the finance chiefs are scheduled to issue a joint statement on friday. imf managing director lagarde sought contributions from all members. >> we are seeing light recovery blowing in a spring wind, but we

are also seeing some very dark clouds on the horizon. >> reporter: she said the recovery is due to receding worries about the debt crisis in europe. that is after euro zone countries agreed on an expansion of their own rescue fund. she did express concerns about some risks, these include another debt crisis and soaring crude oil prices. lagarde conveyed her gratitude for japan's pledge to the imf. >> let's see how the markets are reacting. the dow jones industrial average fell for a second day as concerns about u.s. jobs were overshadowing markets. let's see how stocks are kicking off here in tokyo this friday morning. for that we go to the tokyo stock exchange. good news on the earnings front, but economic data taking center stage. >> definitely. we did have weekly jobless claims which rose a little bit

more than economists had expected. more americans claiming unemployment benefits. also the previous week's jobless claims numbers was revised higher. that dampened a little bit of sentiment fo the jobs picture in the u.s. let's see how the markets are opening up here this friday morning with the nikkei and the topix trading lower. 9,564. we are below that 9,600 level on the nikkei. let's see if we can get back above that today, but so far a negative opening. today we could get a bit of a boost following on from microsoft's earnings after the bell, which posted higher than expected profits. we are going to look at related shares here in the pfrp c sectors and software makers. the big story in europe was the spanish ten-year bond auction following from the short-term

bond auction earlier in the week which went smoothly. the euro got a bit of a boost. let's have a look at the fx levels. 81.59 to 63 dollar yen. the dollar did fall back just a touch following the weekly jobless claims numbers, but it's still higher than where we were monday when it was trading at the upper 80 yen levels. >> what can you tell us about the g-20, the big focus about the imf and everyone's involvement? what can you tell us about japan's involvement? >> again, this is a major focus. you touched on it earlier, as well. boosting of the funds for the imf has been crucial and is top of the agenda for the meeting

right now. japan pledged around $60 billion. the goal is 400 billion. we are around $320 billion right now. still a ways to go. a lot of focus there. japan's finance minister, as well as the bank of japan governor have stressed that the funding for imf is a major topic at the g-20. that's going to be focus. and the bank of japan's 1% goal of inflation. the focus on the next policy meeting next week to see if it continues with that andes asset-buying program. policy moves will be a major focus next week. >> thank you for that update from the toke yoi stock exchange. more business stories next hour. for now, i will leave you with the latest market figures.

tokyo governor says he wants japan's government to take a firmer stance on territorial disputes. he says his plan to purchase three islands is designed to encourage a more clear-cut national policy. ishihara returned from the united states on thursday. while in washington he said the tokyo government intends to purchase the privately owned senkaku islands in the east china sea. >> translator: the japanese government should be more vocal about its sovereignty over the islands. if the government steps up and underscores its territorial rights, tokyo will withdraw its

offer. >> the senkaku islands are administered by japan and also claimed by china and taiwan. ishihara says it plans to purchase the islands next april, immediately after the expiration of a rental agreement between the central government and the island's owner. chinese officials are making efforts to boost their territorial claims over international waters. the state oceanic administration announced a plan to protect their environments and develop marine resources. they classified a special category of islands serving as markers being crucial for national defense. chinese officials will bolster their claims over the islands by installing navigational aids and weather observational facilities and will put up signs to display

the names in mandarin. the plan makes no direct mention of the disputed island in the east china sea. china claims sovereignty over the islands and it's included in the plan as being chinese territory. more than 1.3 billion consumers drive the second largest economy in the world. china grew by more than 8% in the last quarter. the engine of growth is slowing down. with all those people, the cause may surprise many. a shortage of labor. >> reporter:ing >> reporter: migrant workers.

low-cost workers, is having a serious impact on business. >> translator: even when we get orders, it's difficult to meet a deadline for delivery because of the labor shortage. >> reporter: to meet the needs of factories that are suffering from the worker shortfall, a new type of business has emerged. staffing agencies have workers on demand. they engage in relatively simple work such as packaging for several weeks. factories have to pay more than hiring migrant workers on their own but they emphasize they need the labor. >> translator: we've been trying to improve our employee welfare such as housing.

it's difficult to resolve the labor shortage by ourselves. >> reporter: the number of staffing at sis rapidly increased in china. an agency in southern china set up a large-scale worker site and keeps several thousand people at peak times. the agency hires migrant workers at wages higher than what they usually get. the agency receives more than 10% of the workers' wages from the factory. this is good for workers so they can avoid risk such as factory managers and the risk of disappearing before they pay them. >> generally our work increases. working through the agency is good, as we can get a stable income >> reporter: sales people at the

staffing agency visit factories suffering from a labor short yanl. they negotiate working conditions and staffing fees. >> translator: 50 workers ratio of men to women? >> translator: 50/50 will be nice. we need young workers under 35. >> reporter: the agency asks for a staffing fee several yuan higher than the factory manager proposed. the two sides fail to reach an agreement on this day. >> translator: firms beg us to dispatch workers at lower wages. they say they're suffering financially due to soaring raw material and labor costs. but we cannot lower our fees. >> reporter: the average monthly income of migrant workers rose over 20% last year from the pleef yus one.

wage increases continue and are becoming a burden for employers. china seems to have reached a turning point in its growth model. south korea is known as a super power in the field of cosmetic surgery. noses are bobbed, wrinkles eliminated and warts removed. south korean surgeons do it all and there's never a shortage of clients eager to change their appearance. nhk world's anna jung reports. >> reporter: i am now in a cosmetics surgery station in seoul. on display are products and technologies where plastic surgery is high. more than a hundred businesses took part in the exhibition. customers and members of the public checked out the latest technology. this machine scans faces and produces the results in 3d.

it can simulate the results of an operation. this ct machine scans heads to show bones and muscles. the pictures help surgeons with their operations. as well, visitors receive free laser surgery. >> korean women tend to believe that real beauty is what's left after you take off your makeup. >> reporter: cosmetic surgeons in south korea perform about 770,000 operations in 2010, about 1.2 times more than the year before. each year more people take an interest in this kind of surgery. more than half of seoul's plastic surgeons are in this area, it is called the beauty

belt. more than 200 government-certified clinics are packed into this city. 30-year-old sung is on her way for treatment. she's getting married next month and decided to improve her looks. she's undergoing laser treatment to get rid of wrinkles and spots on her face. five treatments cost almost $800. >> there's going to be a photo shoot, and i want to look as beautiful as i can. >> reporter: 27-year-old university student has also decided to enhance his looks. when he launched his i.t. business last e! he decided to remove pimple scars from his face. >> translator: i represent the company so i will make a lot of presentations to audiences.

if i can get rid of my facial imperfections i think i will be able to perform with more confidence. >> reporter: can is just one of the growing number of men who have had cosmetic surgery in recent years. as well, more people from outside the country are coming here for cosmetic surgery. today, a 27-year-old masters student arrives from china. this clinic has a section exclusively for foreign clients. interpreters help out. patients feel less stressed because they can communicate in their own language.

>> translator: there are a lot of plastic surgeons in china, but since most of them use korean doctors, i thought i might as well go to korea for the surgery. >> a clinic opened this hotel for non-korean patients. the doctors operated on more than 1,000 non-koreans last year, about 50% more than the year before. the clinic wants to attract even more business from non-koreans. >> translator: our research also focuses on sensibilities towards cosmetic surgery outside asia in places like europe or the united states. >> reporter: south korea's cosmetic surgeons aim to attract even more patients from home and abroad. with so many people concerned about their appearance, the

doctors' prospects look good. anna jung, nhk world, seoul. south korea sees cosmetic surgery as an important part of its strategy to attract medical tourists from abroad. the number of such visitors reached 110,000 in 2011 and the objective is to boost that figure to 300,000 by 2015. a special agency has been established to arbitrate cases of medical malpractice. let's take a look at the world weather forecast. >> good morning. the northern half of japan will stay dry into the weekend, but it's a different story for western japan. heavy rain is covering much of the area. thunderstorms and gusty winds are occurring in some locations, but as you can see, most of the precipitation should be gone by tonight. however, a stronger low pressure system will be moving into that area producing more intense showers and winds on saturday.

it's going to be particularly windy along the sea of japan side so waves could reach five meters along the coast. as for china, parts of the south east coast is staying respite from the rain this moment. strong storm system will be moving into that area. sunday some areas will see dry conditions, so that's good news. toward southeast asia, the eastern half of the indo china will see seasonal showers. northern half of the philippines will stay dry. 25 degrees in hong kong. more than it rain in taipei with 27. another warm day in seoul with 21 and about four degrees lower than average in tokyo with the high of 15 degrees. moving over to the americas.

a strong low pressure system is approaching british columbia and the pacific northwest starting to produce stormy conditions. as the system pushes through the east, it will dissipate quickly. we have a larger low pressure system over the central u.s. producing a mix of rain and snow in the lower great lakes and severe weather, the threat of severe weather from iowa into northern texas. as the system pushes through the east, snow is in the cards in southern ontario and quebec. severe weather in southern texas on your friday. the florida peninsula will see leftover showers into friday. the high is expected to be 28 degrees in miami on friday and reaching the upper 20s in washington, d.c. and new york city. cooling down to 14 degrees in toronto. 11 in chicago. out towards the west, summer-like, 30 degrees in l.a. moving over to europe, messy

picture again. multiple systems are still producing thunderstorms. gusty winds and heavy rain across the western continent and the central mediterranean countries. we have another low pressure system producing moderate rain in eastern europe. that's going to move towards the north. rain should change over to a mixture of rain and snow. out towards the west, still messy picture across much of the briti british isles. london will see lighter showers to date. heavy rain will return over the weekend that. could affect the london marathon coming up on your sunday. it's going to be tough conditions for the runners. as for temperatures for the rest of europe, getting up to 14 degrees in paris. warming up to 17 in madrid. out towards the east, very warm. 18 degrees in moscow. that's it for me now. here is your extended forecast.

u.s. secretary leon panetta says china may have provided north korea with mobile missile technology. >> i'm sure there is help coming from china. i don't know the exact extent of

that. i think we have to deal with it in another context in terms of the sensitivity of that information. >> panetta said the potential threat from north korea would be increased if it had mobile capability for long-range ballistic missiles. north korean military leaders put what appeared to be a long-range ballistic missile on public display for the first time last sunday at a parade in pyongyang. experts say the vehicle that carried is the same as a special-purpose vehicle developed by a chinese government. an online mergs of the magazine "james defense weekly" says if it was chinese made, china may have violated u.n. sanctions. foreign ministry spokesperson said china strictly follows security council resolutions. he said chinese leaders enforce laws to control exports of weapons of mass destruction. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.

thanks for joining us. y