[please stand by] ♪ ♪ brent: this is dw news, live from berlin. tonight political posturing and provocation on the eve of the winter olympics. america's vice president arrives in south korea for the games with promises of tougher sanctions on the north. pyeongchang -- pyongyang showcasing its military might for all the world to see. for some it is all about the spectacle. excitement builds in the host city as the olympic torch glides ever closer. all the buildup from our sports team. and germany's probable new government gets the european

stamp of approval, but closer to home, people are worried about the coalition's approach to the european union and immigration. ♪ brent: i'm brent goff, it is good to have you with us. tonight the feud over north korea's nuclear program is moving to center stage on the ease of the olympic games in south korea. u.s. vice president mike pence has arrived in seoul and is promising new, more aggressive sanctions against the north. he met with south korean president moon jn, following on his warning not to allow pyongyang to "hide behind the olympic banner." today kim jong-un presided over his own military parade, a show of force after sending athletes, performers, even cheerleaders

over the border. that move is seeing as a bid to thought relations with the south -- thaw relations with the south or provoke the united states. reporter: north korea and the united states are sending mixed messages before the 2018 olympic games. despite signaling it was ready to talk, north korea has not treated the sabr for the olive branch quite yet. pyongyang staged a massive military parade, marking the founding of its armed forces. addressing his troops, north korean leader him john kuhn called on his military to be ready to propel the invasive forces. further south they are try to put their best foot forward, sending the sister of the north korean leader as part of their olympic delegation. she will be the first member of the ruling family to cross the militarized zone. the u.s.'s response is also a

mixed bag. american vice president pence is meeting regional leaders ahead of the games. he has warned the u.s. is preparing more aggressive sanctions on the north, and he promised south korea's president the u.s. would not rest until pyongyang and its nuclear ambitions are over. mikeence: allow me to assure you and the south korean people that the united states of america will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder in our effort to bring maximum pressure to bear on north korea. until that time comes, when they finally and permanently and irreversibly abandon their nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions. reporter: the world may be coming together for the winter olympics, but the gulf between washington and north korea is as wide as ever. brent: joining me tonight is a familiar face. he has written about both koreas

for the past four decades and joins us from the university in england. it is good to see you. those pictures we just saw, that military parade in pyongyang, that is a move that i was expecting, considering the tit-for-tat me of seeing between the north korean leader and the u.s. president. can it be that north korea is that easy to project and to read? guest: would that it were so. i was actually a little surprised by that. they basically sort of invented this new holiday, or they reinvented it. everything is actually the anniversary of the korean people's army. the founder of the state, the grandfather of the present, changed it, so until now they have celebrated it in april.

kim was a guerrilla under chinese demand. so you suddenly decide, what can we do to get february 8 back? south korea as far as i know has not officially commented, but they must have been some sucking of teeth to say the least and america has fewer inhibitions about saying things. brent: we know the northern delegation is arriving saturday and will meet with the south korean president. how much is the north, south, crisis and conflict overshadowing these games? guest: it is really, it is quite complicated. in some ways it is unknown territory with kim jong-un sending his sister. until that, although welcome, it made a change after months of crisis, but cheerleaders, performers, a lot has happened before. so now the main conflict is not,

if you like, between north and south korea. the conflict was not addressed at all by anything at the olympics. the conflict is about north korea's relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. so the ambition is on hold for now but the how to handle this will be difficult. i wonder if there is a gap with the south korea and the u.s., but this south korean president has a background in the sunshine. vice president pence five his own account is trying to stop it. it will be interesting to see if who shakes hands with who, who sits with whom. it will be difficult. brent: it will be interesting to see how things stand once the olympic games are over as well. joining us from leeds university

in england. thank you for being on the show. guest: thank you. brent: a north korean orchestra has performed in the south to a sellout crowd. it is the first time in 18 years and artist from the north has performed there. 150,000 south koreans applied for the audience. but police clashed with protesters outside the venue. the protesters set off fireworks and accused north korea of hijacking the olympics for propaganda purposes. and what about the athletes? we will take you to the final preparations in pyeongchang, first the -- and the first competitions in this hour. here are other stories making headlines. rescuers in taiwan are coming through the rubble following tuesday's strong earthquake.

50 people are still unaccounted for. aftershocks combined with rain and low temperatures are hampering rescue efforts. nine people were killed, hundreds were injured in the 6.4 magnitude quake. the u.s. has backed out united nations call for a temporary cease-fire in syria's eastern area to allow for humanitarian aid and evacuations. this comes amid reports 200 civilians have been killed in recent days due to government airstrikes. there are allegations of chemical weapons being used. the ink is barely dry on the agreement between germany's main medical parties to form a new coalition government, but already critics and supporters alike are pouring over the documents' fine print. two issues are causing tension, refugee policy and germany's role in europe. reporter: you might have expected the new grand coalition

deal to open with policies directed at germany, but instead the opening pages look beyond germany's borders to europe, and that no doubt will be music to the ears of french president emmanuel macron who has been reaching out to germany for help in pushing through e.u. reforms. one person who certainly welcomes the agreement is the au commission representative in germany. >> when you read through the contracts, elements about europe act as a third source of inspiration for the europe we will lead in the coming months and decisions to be made. following from the speeches of the president younger and president macron, essential elements are included on how we can form a common future foundation in europe. reporter: the importance of germany's role in europe became evident in the handling of the refugee crisis.

back in 2015, images of asylum-seekers hewing down the street at this registration center and a birmingham -- queuing down the street the they just made headlines. immigration is still a challenge. the family reunification decision has drawn criticism. >> we are particularly critical of the family reunion for refugees with limited status. we are in contact with those affected on a daily basis. with children and families who want their wives and kids here, miners who have to have their parents here. for them, it is a great loss of trust in our institutions. reporter: a few hundred meters away, there are relief among many migrants after months of uncertainty. >> i am glad we are moving forward. they should make a decision altogether. >> just said the big powers of

our country cannot just say, ok, we will go it alone, even if they don't get a majority. >> i think it is good we are thinking ahead and not just negotiating but actually taking action. reporter: despite the deal, angela merkel is not out of the woods yet. the fate of a new grand coalition lies in the hands of the social democrats party members. all 460,000 of them will have a chance to vote on the deal by march 2. only if they vote in favor will it finally be signed and sealed. brent: we want to take this german government deal across the atlantic, to the united states. i am joined by a psychiatrist by training and a member of the german parliament with the green . she is visiting the u.s. with a delegation of german lawmakers at the invitation of the u.s. congress.

it is good to have you on the program tonight. this week, as you heard, germany moved closer to a new government , another grand coalition. what reactions to that have you heard in washington? guest: in fact i heard very little. the people weren't very alert that there is this coalition coming up and germany. i think there is a lot of other american issues to discuss. so there wasn't much reaction today. brent: you say there are a lot of issues in the united states. i am sure you got a good taste of that. you attended the national prayer breakfast this morning where the president, mr. trump, where he spoke. may i ask you for your thoughts, not as a psychiatrist, but as a lawmaker, what was your impression after he spoke?

guest: i thought before that his speech would not reach me very much. but in fact i wasn't very impressed. i thought there was very little he talked about, and he addressed only the americans which were in the room, although there were 100 -- people from 140 nations together. he only addressed the americans. that was very irritating for me. brent: it is interesting you said it was irritating. when you look at what politics means today in the united states , and you compare what is going on here, what do you see happening? i mean, do you see to partners that are similar, or do you see to partners that are drifting apart? guest: it would be very terrible if america and europe and america and the u.s. and germany would drift apart.

i don't think this will happen, but of course it is quite a bit difficult because your government issues a lot of different things that our government does right now. for example the whole issue of climate change. it is a big issue for us, and germany for me as a green person, i am very concerned that president trump does not believe in climate change and so doesn't do anything against it. brent: all right, member of the german bundestag with the greens, joining us from washington dc. thank you very much. over to daniel now. another audition day for investors. -- punishing day for investors. daniel: volatility has played markets -- plagued markets. the markets had a short rebound.

the dax was the worst affected, closing down 2.6%. in new york the dow has stayed in the ghettos territory since its opening, currently 2.5% down. analysts fighting higher treasury bond yields as the catalyst for thursday's roller coaster. markets have been under pressure on worries the fed may accelerate interest rate hikes if inflation rises suddenly. that could cut into corporate profit. to trade now, and some good news depending on whose side you are on. germany's trading partners complain about its high surplus. the company ships out a lot more than advice in, but exports have reached a record high yet again, hitting 1.3 trillion euros, worth of audi cars, beers. that is an increase of more than 6% compared to previous years,

which were also a record, but that is not even the whole story. imports increased to just over one trillion euros, narrowing germany's trade surplus to 245 billion euros, a step in the right direction for trading partners. but could it be the start of the erosion in the german economy? other countries are luxury that lowering taxes and spending on infrastructure is to stimulate demand. an economist telling bloomberg that -- telling us that this is not at the top of the wish list for the german industry. >> you are right, the corporate tax in germany is high. there have been high a couple of years ago. when i talked to our corporate clients, they do not primarily complain about high corporate taxes. they complain that new government will continue to put more bureaucratic burdens on

them, that they tighten regulation of the german labor market i think, and that the new government is not investing enough in better roads, bridges and infrastructure. i think these are the main problems of the viewpoint of german companies. daniel: tough talk on trade from justin trudeau, the canadian prime minister. saying no deal could be better than a bad deal on nafta. the country is renegotiating the decades-old deal, saying he will not accept anything that does not benefit the canadiens. he is striking the same tone as donald trump who has called for three trade -- free trade to be fair trade. both sides try to strike a new deal in just a few months. reporter: it has been 1.5 weeks since the latest round of nafta talks between canada, the united states, and mexico, concluding with negotiators say they are

moving forward but with slow progress. during a visit, the canadian prime minister trojan -- justin trudeau said they will compromise on the trade talks that donald trump told the worst trade deal in history. trudeau said there are limits. >> we know there are ways to modernize and improve nafta to create win-win-win when we include mexico. there is a path absolutely for that, but we will not take a win-loss for the sake of a deal. reporter: there are several sticking points for the talks like having more contact with american-made automobiles. that makes this deadline see more ambitious, but pressure is on to the negotiators to reach a resolution before the mexican general election in july and thn november. daniel: let's head over to

africa, burkina faso's main export is cotton. competition from asia is steep. textiles from burkina faso are more expensive because of the phased out genetically modified cotton which did not live up to quality standards. they are seeking markets abroad though. one has a website to sell traditional clothing, and orders are falling in from abroad. reporter: all the fabrics here are made by hand. every item is unique. seamstresses sewed suits, dresses and pillowcases. they have been so successful they sell as far away as europe. the fabrics are made of 100% organic cotton. >> what i am working on right now is intended for rome. people there are very interested in the material, where it comes from, how it is made, and the

aesthetics of the material as well. reporter: that makes her products more expensive than mass-produced clothing. the fabrics are woven untraditional looms. a single panel can take a day to produce. marketing the clothes might be difficult without the help of this person. he works together with 10 small workshops and offers their goods on his website. today he is picking up a few jackets. he tries them on himself on behalf of his online customers. he said the traditional craft is experiencing a revival. >> this is handwoven cloth. it is a very traditional activity here in burkina faso, and there are at least one million women who are involved in it. in villages and cities it has

become a new profession for women because they can learn a trade, and the fabric is very durable. more and more people here are buying it. reporter: his company is 10 kilometers away. he and the handful of employees have been running the platform for two years. the customers are a mixture of regular and business people. most sales or domestic. ministry employees order handmade suits from him rather than the tailors. >> if someone wants to order something for the equivalent of 800 euros to 1000 euros, the self-employed tailors, they don't have the papers. they don't have the tax or the license. the government cannot go to any seamstress and ordered something that they. that is where our platform is becoming interesting. reporter: his latest success is via whatsapp, which are

currently booming. this vest is heading to europe. it sells around 30 euros. daniel: back over to brent now, and europe gets tough with turkey. brent: that is right. the european parliament adopted a resolution expressing deep concern about the hip -- about the human rights situation in turkey. lawmakers are worried about this crackdown ordered by tight erdogan in the aftermath of the coup. this includes the arrests of journalists. turkey has been heavily criticized for its military assault on the kurdish on life -- kurdish enclave in northern syria. we spoke to our correspondent in istanbul. she gave us the turkish reaction to the european parliament resolution.

reporter: such criticism never goes down well with the turkish government for sure. the e.u. affairs minister specifically picked up on the comments made by the european parliament on turkey's military operation in syria. he said, the concerns of our allies are baseless. turkey is using its right to self-defense, and that is what the e.u. does not want to understand, and he accused the european parliament of showing sympathy with terrorists. he is referring to the syrian kurdish ypg melissa in syria. he has been -- melissa in -- militia in syria. turkey is now saying it fulfills all the necessary criteria for vi free travel to the e.u.. let's remember the e.u. gave turkey a list of 72 criteria or conditions, including freedom of speech and certain human rights

standards it needs to fulfill on the way to visa liberalization. they say we did our homework, we are submitting everything to brussels, but the european parliament and the member states have to decide on that, and after the resolution, i doubt the parliament will come up with a positive vote. brent: that was our reporter from istanbul. away from the political chaos, the athletes are ready to go. 13 russians lost their appeal to the court of arbitration for sport. they wanted to compete despite a doping ban on their country. friday, 47 additional russians will learn their fate just as the torch reaches the host city, pyeongchang. [shouting] reporter: the olympic torch's

journey is almost over. the flame took a spectacular ride on a zip wire on its way to pyeongchang. this stop is one of the more daring stages of its 2018 kilometer journey around south korea. not a feat for the fainthearted. at least the next leg was far easier for those watching to stomach. at the olympic village there was unexpected visitors, russian athletes who have been banned by the ioc are presenting their case to the court of arbitration for sport to have this decision overturned at the last minute. >> concluded we presented the arguments on behalf of the 15 athletes who were cleared last week. 32 other athletes were not invited. reporter: a final decision is expected friday with ours to spare before the games open, but the ioc are not the only ones with an eye on the close decision. the anti-doping agency is in south korea for the games.

the president made his views clear. >> from my point of view, what matters is the group operates at a process it has agreed, and that is to try to obtain the compliance and the improvement of the russian anti-doping agency. reporter: organizers are hoping the legal wranglings and other issues will fade into the background when the action is fully underway. the freezing host city is ready for its moment in the sun for the next two point five weeks. it will be at the center of the sporting world. brent: the olympic games have not officially opened yet, but some events have begun. mixed doubles, curling teams were in action as well or the top ski jumpers. in the normal hill qualifiers, this guy off a clean sweep win, put up a big jump that earned him several points, but it is

his rival from germany who will head into the competition round saturday in top spot. flight earned him a score of 133.5 and first place. when you see like that. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day, and that includes a trip to north and south korea. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

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