thank you for joining us on this edition of nhk "newsline." within the hour south korean prosecutors will finally have their chance to question the former president. it's a showdown months in the making. part of an investigation into the corruption scandal that shook the country and led to her downfall. looks like it's going to be another big day for south korea. >> reporter: that's right. it's been less than two weeks since park was officially removed from the presidential

office by the constitutional court. there's still a ton of interest in her fate. i'm at the prosecutors office. i am surrounded by a massive number of police force for extra security and police buses to block the protesters from coming here. also media trying to cover the story today. she's supposed to show up in lez than half an hour. it's been months since she said anything herself about her impeachment. park spothers have turned out and are not happy.

park's spokesperson said the truth will come out one day. whether that day will be today is unclear. some took it to mean park will deny all allegations against her. >> the investigation has been going on since october. a lot has happened. bring us through some of that process. >> reporter: she's been quite effect iive at avoiding it. there's been a continuous tug of war between the independent counsel and park's lawyers that stopped her from having to appear. now that she's been removed from office she has little choice. she faces various allegations including accepting over $30 million in bribes from samsung.

that abuse of power also allegedly includes demanding the vice chair of a company to step down. the government felt its content was full of anti-government sentiment. although park's attorneys have stated they will actively cooperate with the investigation. we'll have to see how far prosecutors get. so far they have pulled back from one of the public's hopes. >> thanks very much. the former leader of south korea will be arriving. we're expecting her to arrive at the prosecutor's office in central seoul within the hour. we'll keep you updated on this developing story as details come on.

onto other stories. we take you to europe where japan's prime minister is on a four-day visit in the region. >> translator: we have in favor of multilateralism and reject protectionism. >> the comments reflect concerns over rising protection sentiment fueled by the united states. on saturday g20 finance ministers dropped a pledge to resist protectionism. the move is being interpreted as a concession to america's first policies by donald trump. they agreed to work closely to maintain order in waters stretch frg the indian ocean to the

pacific. abe and his german counterpart doubled down on their support for free trade. the two agreed do pursue an economic partner agreement. it will serve as an important message. >> translator: countries should be able to trade freely without barriers. germany and japan are doing their utmost to create an economic partnership agreement. >> translator: i have agreed with chancellor merkle that within growing protectionism, a free and open international order is the basis for peace and prosperity. >> they share the view any attempt to change the status quo should shake up of international

order. they agreed to work together in dealing with clie th ining with. north korea is increasing its rocket capabilities. the test was a success. it took place in the country's northwest on saturday. the south korean defense ministry believes the engine has a main thruster and four boosters. >> translator: we see that the function of the engine has made meaningful progress, but further analysis is needed to assess his propulsion power. >> the test was the first in six months and appears to be a response to ongoing american/south korea military drills. the american president had some harsh words for north korea leaders following the test. donald trump made the comments on his way to washington. >> i had meetings on

north korea. he's acting very badly. he's acting very badly. >> white house officials say trump discussed north korea and other issues over the weekend with his officials including the national security adviser. his secretary of state was on his first visit to the region and set a possible new direction for american policy. in seoul he declared the end of what the obama administration called strategic patience with north korea and he didn't rule out the possibility of using force against it. the united kingdom will notify its intention to leave the bloc next week. c what changes does britain intend to make? >> the prime minister says she will restrict immigration from the eu. she will remove the uk from the single market while seeking a

free trade deal with the bloc. they have said he can expect the notice to leave march 29th. that will initiate exit negotiations that could last up to two years. it's been called the most important negotiations in a generation. britain's desire for a free trade deal with the bloc could prove to be a sticking point. eu president tweeted within 48 hours of the uk notifying its intention to leave, he will present draft brexit guidelines to the 27 eu members that exclude britain.

some 3,000 businesses and organizations are taking part in the world's largest high-tech trade show. companies from 70 countries are participate ing in the five-day trade show that kicked off inha. japan sent 118 firms, it's largest number to date. one japanese company showed off a robotic suit that uses brain signals to help users move. the medical device is being used in german hospitals rehabilitate people with paralysis from brain damage. they are expecting 200,000 visitors to the event which ends friday. stocks on wall street struggled for clear direction on monday as many investor digest

results. over on wall street, modest moves. the dow jones slipping a touch. nasdaq ended up just slightly. barely unchanged from the last close. markets here are playing ca ini up. let's see how things are joining. we'll go do ramin. good morning. we did have an eventful week last week. we had the federal reserve out of u.s. not sure how much direction we get from the u.s. this week. tell us what's going thereon and what you're seeing at the open. >> exactly. you really touched on it there. we had quite a few events last week. there were central bank meetings. a lot of geopolitical events as well. pretty down beat sessions for stocks both in the u.s. and in europe. on monday we're pretty much seeing a continuation of that negative sentiment here.

tuesday, march 2 11st, nikkei down. now, with a choppy trading on the dollar we may see continued selling of major exporters. as we also noted with the dip in crude oil prices and with energy stocks falling both on the u.s. and european stock exchanges we should keep track of that sector as well. a number of federal reserve officials are due to speak this week including fed chief janet yellen. the fed, let's not forget raise rates last week. the number of future rate hikes going forward were fewer than many had expected. that put a little bit of a break on the gains that we saw on the dollar. another factor was the g20 financial leaders, the meeting where the financial leaders pledged to drop their pledge for free trade and that's going to be a focus as well in wake of

the protectionist policies in the u.s. >> we saw a clear reaction by currency traders. choppy trading. we saw them sell the dollar by the yen. what's going on with markets today? >> exactly. as we have seen investors putting a bit of a brake on the gains in the dollar, if you will. right now 112.49 to 52. the dollar is at its lowest level since late february. the single currency has been supported by the poor shoring of the anti-eu. many are also shifting their gaze to the french elections as well as brexit which we've just been covering as well as the uk gets ready to trigger a full exit next week. let's get a look at some of the asian markets that are up and running so far. seoul's kospi is in the positive up a third of a percent.

china markets open in an hour and a half. for now, i hand it back to you in the studio. >> sounds good. thanks a lot. let's check our global economic calendar for this week. that's out of japan as well. on the same day, singapore officials give us the key inflation figure. that's the consumer price index for february and on friday we get the figures for u.s. durable goods. that's for the month of february. at the start of each week we do have specialists to share their perspective on what's ahead. trade figures from japan put in the spotlight by u.s. president trump will be under special scrutiny. he says february results will show an increasing surplus.

>> translator: imports will be the same level as lower clothing imports will set the level. the higher oil prices will begin to squeeze japan's trade surplus for march. >> he says there's no easy way to erase the trade surplus with the u.s., but he says imports of shale gas from america may help to hold it down. >> translator: as long as the u.s. economy stays on the recovery track, japanese exports to the country will keep growing to some extent. i think it's unlikely that japan's trade surplus with the u.s. will go down soon. japan began to import u.s. shale from january. if these imports grow, it could help curb the trade surplus.

as president trump appears to be positive about exporting resources, shale gas could serve as a factor to balance bilateral trade. >> he doubts that will be enough to satisfy the trump administration. he says the u.s. will likely demand japan open the door to more beef and other foreign produce. >> translator: the united states and australia are competitors in exporting beef to japan. japan imposes a 30.5% tariff on australian beef imports. in accord danance with the bilal economic agreement. i think it's highly likely the united states will demand that japan lower its tariff for its beef as well. >> that's the latest in business for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on

markets. >> the fate of the tokyo's new wholesale food market is still up in the air. the governor says she will consider various opinions after high level of toxic chemicals were found in the ground water around the site. >> translator: we must take seriously the findings that showed higher toxic levels than

the standards allow. >> the governor says it will be difficult now to persuade citizens to agree with the relocation plan. an expert panel received results from the government officials on the weekends. toxins exceeding government standards were detected at multiple locations. benzin was 100 times higher than the permissible limits. they were nearly 80 times higher than allowed. other toxins was also found. experts seem the new market safe enough that's because it won't use any underground water. the new location was built to replace the aging market but sits where a former gas processing plant once stood. now a key figure in the relocation plant that's explained his role during an inquiry of the tokyo metropolitan assembly. former tokyo governor said he was responsible for the decision but also criticized governor koike for delaying the relocation. the tokyo metropolitan assembly wrapped up its inquiry into the relocation process on mondays.

>> translator: at the time i was untop of the pyramid of the organization and i made the decision based on a consensus after i received the final report. i asked officials if they're certain about the soil problem and they said yes. it's fine with the modern technology, so i said i understand and i approved the plans. i admit my responsibilities. >> he criticized koike's decision to postpone the plan saying an expert on soil decontamination gave assurances that it would be safe. >> translator: governor koike is confused with concepts of safety and reassurance. the truth of science is overridden by false rumors. this is shameful as a civilized state. >> he said koike should proceed with the relocation without further delay. prosecutors in south korea are posed to question former

president park. a short while ago she left her home by car. she's expected to arrive soon at the seoul central prosecutors office where questioning is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. local time. that is in about ten minutes. she will be arriving soon at the central prosecutors office in seoul. the fight against islamic state militants in iraq rages on. the group has killed countless people. some aren't given the dignity of a proper one man who's providing some

comfort to the dead. >> the city of in north iraq lies 80 meters east of mosul one of the main bases for the islamic state militant group. he runs a small cell phone store in the city. but he also has another calling as a mortician. he has important responsibility of taking care of people who have died insuring that their buried appropriately, khara has performed this role on a voluntary basis for more than 20 years. >> the control of the islamic state so many people couldn't go back to their hometown. then they passed away. as you can see, there is no tomb stone because they were not identified. >> in muslim country, the rituals are conducted by the family and the local community.

khara and his team are called in when the deceased have no friends or relatives. >> translator: there's so many displaced people now who have no money. islam teaches us we must teach them with kindness. >> kawa also devotes time to recruiting more volunteers. many people have been inspired by his work. so he has begun holding workshops. islam has strict rules about how these rituals must be conducted. >> first we wash the head three times and close the mouth. then we wash the arms starting with the right.

>> there are specific ways of handling people who have died in battle. >> translator: if there's a wound to the arm, you must cover it with plastic wrap so that the blood does not stain the white cloth. >> translator: i would willingly work for kawa if he needs help. we live in tough times and i want to take pride in my work. >> kawa receives the phone call asking him to help with a funeral service. the deceased was a christian so he's in a church rather than a mosque. the regardless of the person's religion he accepts the job of transporting the coffin. >> translator: it doesn't matter if a person is a christian or a muslim, muhammad says all men are brothers. >> kawa is heart broken by the grim reality of the world he lives in. he prays that some day the his

people will be able to return home to live in peace and that life will return to normal. nhk "newsline." prosecutors in south korea are posed to question former president park. she faces 13 separate criminal offenses over a corruption scandal that cost her the presidency. a short while ago she left her home by car. you see her entering the car. she is expected to arrive soon at the seoul central prosecutors office where questioning is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. local time. that's in about six minutes. we will be going to live footage from our partners once the former president rooarrives at prosecutors office. we'll bring you more details. let's shift gears a little and take you to the weather. people are seeing a dark and wet tuesday morning. jonathan oh joining us with

more. >> we have to wait until wednesday until we see clear skies. we have wait a day. we did have an easy day on monday. we're seeing rain for tuesday. the rain will not last for very long. we go into wednesday. we'll see temperatures jumping up and sunny skies will be a part of the forecast. be on the look out for that. we did have a low pressure system that continues to move over japan. that's really contributing into the wet weather pattern. that's extended and moving through later on. we're interrupting programming to show you live footage. kbs is reporting the president has arrived for questioning. with me now in the studio is nhk

senior correspondent. can you give us context on just how big the moment is? >> it's a very critical moment for park. she's expected to speak there now. all kbleed in south krmedia in covering this event. let's listen in. >> i feel extremely sorry to the nation. i will fully cooperate with the prosecutor's investigation. >> the former president has entered the prosecutor's office. we just heard her speak. she said she was sorry. >> right. >> what do you make of this? >> she added that she's going to face -- she's going to receive the questions honestly. >> as you mentioned scandal has

been going on for months. we've been reporting this since last year. park is suspected of various offenses including colluding with a long time friend and elicit dealings with samsung group. what has it taken so long to be questioned? >> she was repeatedly asked to come in for questioning but kept delaying and refusing. now she no longer has the protection the office provided, she had no choice but to obey. >> since the scandal came to light, a lot has happened. what have prosecutors done to build their case up to this point. >> last october prosecutors began investigating the

corruption scandal involving then president park and her long time friend. they've indicted more than ten suspec suspects. they are also suspected of pressuring companies for bribes for two foundations in return for political favor. she's also accused of leaking state confidential documents. he indicted 30 people. he said park conspired in the bribery case. when the investigation was finished, he recommend the state

prosecutors indict her. prosecutors indict her. the prosecutors say park a

♪ >>hehello, and welcome to fokun europe. i'm michelle henery. one of the stories we covertoday is about what is thought to be the first victim ofeurope's new cyberwar -- ukraine. the hacking of criticalinfrastructure from the state treasury to the nation's powergrid herald an era of terrr and sabotage, but this time, it'sall taking place online. the national security councilsays that the attacks cae from russia.more on that is coming up later in the program.istanbul's location and architecture represents much ofwhat defines modern turkey. the metropolis straddles europeand asia. it is both rich with historicalmonuments and contemporary structures of glass and steel.simultaneously east and west,