hello. welcome back to nhk world "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. the south korean unification minister has advised he's telling business people in an industrial complex to leave the com flex in north korea. it is near the demilitarized zone, but it's been effectively closed since earlier this month and north korea is refusing to talk about reopening it. >> translator: our nationals remaining in the kaesong industrial zone are experiencing greater difficulties due to the north's unjust actions.

so the government has come to the unavoidable decision to bring back all remaining personnel in order to protect them. >> north korea stopped allowing south korean workers to enter the complex on april 3rd. nearly 180 of them stayed behind in the facility to maintain their facilities. and on april 9th, authorities in pyongyang pulled out the more than 50,000 north koreans who work at kaesong for south korean firms. the unification ministry proposed holding talks on resuming operations, but north korean leaders refused. >> the north korean government statement referred to the warning south korea made that it would take serious measures if the north failed to respond to

its request for talks. south korea's allies are joining hands to try to get the north koreans to show restraint. japan's prime minister and the u.s. military's top commander discussed what to do. they say the japanese and americans should work more closely with each other and the south koreans. prime minister shinzo abe sat down with the chairman of the u.s. joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempsey. they discussed the north korean provocations and how to respond. >> translator: the security environment is becoming more challenging. strengthening the alliance between japan and the united states is important for the peace and security of the region. >> they agreed the japanese and americans also need to work more closely with the south koreans. dempsey said u.s. military commanders will fulfill their responsibilities under their security pact with japan. dempsey has also been talking with leaders in china. he says the chinese consider

islands at the heart of a territorial dispute with japan a top priority. japan controls the senkaku islands in the east china sea. china and taiwan claim them. >> they did use the phrase core interests several times. i know that's really the -- their phraseology for issues of sovereign importance. >> a spokesperson for china's foreign ministry emphasized the chinese position using their name for the islands. >> translator: the islands are an issue of chinese sovereignty and integrity. of course, this matter pertains to china's core interests. >> chinese leaders have repeatedly used the term core interest to describe taiwan. they said they could not rule out the use of force to end taiwan's independence. diplomatic sources say the chinese may be describing the senkaku islands the same way to show how seriously they take the dispute. japanese officials say a meeting of finance ministers from japan, china, and south

korea has been cancelled. they say the chair country china made the decision because no major theme for this year's meeting had been chosen. the finance ministers of the three countries have met almost every year since 2000 on the sidelines of a meeting of the asian development bank. this year's ministerial gathering was scheduled for next friday in delhi, india. it would have been a meeting of the three countries for the first time since prime minister abe took office in december. observers cite several reasons for the abrupt cancellation. one of them is the dispute between tokyo and beijing over the senkaku islands in the east china sea. another is the recent visit by japanese ministers to a shrine that honors the country's war dead, including several convicted war criminals. the suspect for the boston marathon bombings is behind bars. officials took him out of hospital and put him in prison.

tsarnaev is recovering of throat wounds. he admitted he and his brother tamerlan set off two bombs near the finish line of the boston marathon and he's told investigators they planned to take explosives to new york and set them off in times square. health officials in boston say the bombings killed three people and wounded more than 260. consumers in the united states have helped speed up the growth of their economy, but analysts say the latest gdp figure falls short of their expectations. officials with the commerce department say the economy grew in the first quarter by an annualized 2.5%. analysts had expected 3. consumer spending grew 3.2%. personal consumption accounts for over two-thirds of u.s. gdp. investment in housing rose 12.6%. corporate spending on plant and equipment grew 2.1.

government spending shrank 4.1%, partly because of federal cuts. analysts are figuring out what the numbers mean for growth in the months ahead. we got the view from michelle meyer at bank of america merrill-lynch. >> gdp growth in the u.s. came in below expectations for the first quarter, showing growth of only 2.5% versus the consensus of 3%. this is an acceleration relative to q-4 growth where we had only seen 0.4% expansion, but much of the swing between q-4 and q-1 was due to an inventory cycle. looking past inventories, final sales, which is the underlying demand of the u.s. economy, actually slowed from 1.9% in q-4 to 1.5% in q-1. in reality, when you look at fundamentals of the economy, it shows a slow down of momentum at the beginning of the year.

that was driven, in part, by government spending contraction, particularly defense spending was down sharply, which potentially could have something to do with early cuts around the sequester. we also saw a slow down in business investment and a widening in the trade deficit. the bright spot of the report was consumer spending, where growth was up 3.2% driven by autos and other durables. also, services spending was stronger. looking ahead to the next few quarters, we think consumer spending is likely to slow as consumers react to declining take home pay from higher taxes and lower income growth as a result of the sequester. we also think that business investment should remain fairly sluggish with not much more inventory growth and only modest fixed investment as consumers and corporations become more cautious. the biggest concern we have when looking ahead to the next few

quarters is how the government cutbacks will play a role in gdp growth. we already know that government started cutting expenditures in q-1 and q-4 of last year, particularly in defense. as the sequester gets under way, we're going to see further cuts from the federal government. that's likely to serve as a drag to overall gdp growth. so we're forecasting only 1.3% gdp growth in q-2. 1.5% gdp growth in q-3 before the economy resumes to a healthier path of 2.5% in the fourth quarter of this year. policymakers at the bank of japan have upgraded their outlook for consumer prices. they project that the country's inflation will get close to the 2% target in fiscal 2015. the central bank held a policy board meeting on friday. the policymakers say consumer prices will rise 0.7% during the current fiscal year through march 2014. that's up 0.3% from their most recent forecast three months ago. they say prices will go up 1.4% during the next fiscal year.

that's up 0.5% from the previous estimate. the policymakers say the inflation rate will reach 1.9% in fiscal 2015, that ends in march 2016. they cite the impact of the boj's monetary easing measures and the yen's decline as reasons for their revisions. the boj governor is confident about achieving the 2% target in around two years. >> translator: each board member has his or her own inflation forecast. i think many members believe that the rate will reach 1.9% by the middle of fiscal 2015. >> the board members agreed to maintain the current monetary easing measures. kuroda said as a result there are encouraging signs in personal consumption,

employment, and wages. japan's transport ministry has informed two leading japanese airlines they can put their 787 dreamliners back into service. the decision follows an announcement from the u.s. federal aviation administration. the faa says the boeing plane can now resume operations once airlines carry out modifications. the announcement stated japan airlines and all nippon airways must repair the 787's batteries and take other safety precautions, including test flights. the carriers are expected to put the dreamliner back in the air as early as june. authorities grounded all 787s in january after incidents on jets operated by jal and ana raised concerns about the battery system. a smoking battery in an ana 787 forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in western japan.

and a fire broke out aboard a jal 787 on the tarmac at boston's logan airport. japan's transport safety board and the u.s. national transportation safety board are still investigating what caused the excess current. all nippon airways and japan airlines have a lot invested in the 787 dreamliner. they want to get the plane back on the arrival and departure board right away, but some experts say the airlines need to be cautious. nhk world's chie yamagishi reports. >> reporter: crews at ana and jal have already begun work to repair the airliner 787s. boeing has delivered a total of 50 dreamliners to companies worldwide, but nearly half are in japan.

ana owns 17 of them and jal has seven. spokespersons from both companies say it will take more than a month to repair the batteries and complete the repairs on all of those planes. boeing engineers maintain the aircraft will be safe once the necessary repairs are carried out. they say the overheating of batteries can be prevented by improving their heat resistance and insulation. but the exact cause of the malfunction hasn't been identified. some experts question the decision to let dreamliners fly again. >> it's really hard to demonstrate that the new design is robust enough to prevent fire from occurring under the conditions that occurred previously.

>> reporter: officials at japan's transport ministry are aware of this kind of criticism. they've added several revisions. ama and jal must test fly each plane after repairs are ma chec more frequently than before. some passengers say they're still worried. >> translator: many problems still remain, including that of the batteries. i won't feel secure until these problems are resolved. >> translator: it's a bit scary, but you cannot suspend the plane's operation for a long time. so i think it cannot be helped. >> reporter: ama and jal have cancel more than 4300 flights since january. they're expecting huge losses because of these battery problems. this analyst says the resumption of flights has its upside on downside. >> the airline companies will have to draw up response plans for possible emergency landings if more fires break out aboard

dreamliners. the relaunch of the dreamliner will give the two companies a lot to think about. >> reporter: the 787 dreamliner was only in the air for 14 months before it was grounded. that's a short time in the life span of a plane. when it takes off again, it will be under close watch. its future depends on the clean-flying record. chie yamagishi, nhk world, tokyo. authorities in bangladesh say more than 300 people are confirmed dead two days after a building that housed garment factories caved in. rescuers are still pulling survivors from the rubble and workers are demanding to know why the building was allowed to stay open. crews moved into a third day of searching through the wreckage of the building near the capital dhaka. rescuers have saved more than 2300 people since the collapse, but it's feared hundreds of

others are still unaccounted for under the debris. the ap news agency quoted a military official who says search operations will continue until at least saturday. garment workers took to the streets to protest saying the deaths could have been prevented. media reports say the factory's owner insisted that work continue even though cracks had been discovered in the building. the protesters want the owner, the government, and related agencies as well as factory customers to be held responsible. the building collapse is the worst ever loss of life in bangladesh's booming garment industry. a fire at a factory five months ago killed 112 people. officials in pakistan are looking into reports that north korean diplomats are illegally selling imported liquor. residents in the city of karachi said north koreans were selling alcohol to members of the

public. diplomats say they were bringing duty-free liquor into pakistan and selling it for a profit. a spokesperson for the foreign ministry says staff are looking into the complaints. officials at the north korean embassy in islamabad say their diplomats are innocent. populous, prosperous, pushing ahead. china's rise brought it wealth, power, and problems. an income gap divides its people. nhk world takes a look at their latest strategies. shanghai hosts china's international auto show every another year alternating with beijing. about 2,000 companies are taking part this year. >> the world's major automakers have unveiled new vehicles

developed exclusively for the chinese market. they are bringing various models in different segments to meet the diverse needs of today's consumers. one of the latest targets are consumers in china's provincial cities. makers are seeing better prospects in some places than in the big cities in beijing where they increase sales to ease traffic congestion, and as the incomes of people in provincial cities increase, demands for cars is not far behind. >> translator: cars will become indispensable for us here. i want a car that's cost-efficient and stylish. >> toyota motor has unveiled its first models designed exclusively for the chinese market. the prices are set at reasonable levels for consumers in the provinces by using more

chinese-made components. the cars are designed to be compact yet spacious, aiming at giving drivers a feeling of luxury. >> translator: we developed these cars in such a way that they'll suit the taste and lifestyles of young drivers and families in china. >> reporter: another target is young people, those in their 20s and 30s in cities across china have witnessed great economic growth since they were children. their consumer appetites are growing right along with their buying power. volkswagon's chinese brand has been among the top five selling cars in the country for three straight years.

they've introduced a model targeting young consumers. the car has a larger trunk to cater to people who like to shop as well as to families with small children. >> the best customized cars. that's why we listen closely to customers' demands and needs. and to ensure the quality and response of our customer service in the future. >> reporter: automakers are optimizing their lines to fit the latest trends in chinese society. they're trying to woo the expanding population of potential car owners and the competition continues to intensify. nhk world, shanghai. ♪ ♪ foet ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ engineers working at the heart of japan's nuclear

disaster know they've still got a lot of problems to solve. one of their most immediate concerns in cleaning up fukushima daiichi he eve increasing amount of contaminated water. earlier this month crews discovered several leaks in the plant's reservoirs. more than 120 tons of contaminated water got out. in this edition of "nuclear watch," we'll show you what engineers are doing to fix the problem. before that, here's a look at where things stand right now. >> reporter: people who work for tokyo electric power company face an endless series of challenges in decommissioning fukushima daiichi. workers need to keep nuclear fuel inside three reactors cool to prevent another crisis. they pump water into the plant. more than 100 tons for every reactor every day. the fuel contaminates the water. the liquid has been leaking into the basement ever since the

reactors melted down two years ago. engineers run the water through filters to remove radioactive cesium. then they reinject it into the reactors. and they've got another problem on their hands. ground water seeps through cracks in the buildings. 400 tons a day. it mixes with what's already there. engineers keep pumping the water out of the buildings. they store most of it in 1,000 tanks, but more than 80% of them are already full. so workers dug seven reservoirs, but now three of them have sprung leaks. >> translator: we will hold the use of the reservoirs.

we'll construct tanks to transfer all the contaminated water from the reservoirs as soon as possible. >> the engineers are fighting against something that never stops coming. nhk world's susumo kojima tells us the strategies they'll be working on in the coming months. >> reporter: tepco executives say their objective is to decommission fukushima daiichi's reactors within 40 years. in order to make this deadline, engineers need to solve the problem of contaminated water. they are developing three approaches. tepco engineers say they built more storage tanks to add an additional 400,000 tons of capacity within two years. that would solve their problem in the short term, but with 400 tons of water seeping in every day, those tanks would be full

within three years. engineers are also trying to decontaminate the water inside the tanks so it poses less of a threat to the environment. they are testing a device, they say, that will be capable of removing almost all kinds of radioactive particles. they say it will bring contamination levels within government and environmental standards. the third approach is to try to stop underground water from seeping into the facility. ultimately, it should decrease the amount of contaminated water in the buildings. engineers are digging farther inland in an effort to divert the underground water. they say initial tests haven't shown any traces of radioactive particles.

so they hope they'll be able to redirect that water towards the ocean. but their pumps can only remove 100 tons of water a day. only a quarter of the amount seeping in. the engineers are struggling to land on a solution that's sustainable over the long term. until they do, people in fukushima fear that contaminated water could find its way into the ocean. that was nhk world's susumu kojima with the report. hundreds of thousands of people living in fukushima have been screened for internal exposure to radiation. but tens of thousands of children are still waiting. health authorities say they didn't have the proper equipment to test them, but now that's about to change. a group led by a university of tokyo professor announced on friday they'll develop a special device to screen children under the age of 4.

>> it's presently possible to measure babies, so parents are really, really worried. by developing this device, the babies can. we can now measure -- we will be able to measure babies up to the age, say, 4, 5 or so. >> the device for measuring internal exposure to radiation is called a whole body counter. more than 300,000 residents in fukushima have already been screened using this device. during the tests, patients need to stay still for several minutes. that's easy for an adult, but quite difficult for a young child. that's why 70,000 children under the age of 4 have yet to be screened in the prefecture. professor hayano says his group willoin hands with a manufacturer to speed up the development of a child-friendly

device. a new model could be put to use in fukushima as early as september. and now here's a three-day outlook on the weather around the globe.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. from all of us at nhk world, thanks for watching and have a good d wherever you are.

>> "california's gold" is produced in association with kcet los angeles and is seen statewide on california public television. this series is endorsed by the california teachers association, the california school boards association, and the california library association. >> this program about the value of one phase of agricultural production in southern california was made possible by mcguire environmental consultants, helping communities like yours deliver safe drinking water since 1992. >> hello, everybody, i'm huell howser. and right now we've pulled off to the side of highway 76 here in north san diego county, and we're at the palo ray produce stand, and a nice little produce stand it is. we have come here in search of something, and here they are,