anchor: this is "dw news" live from berlin. donald trump and north korean leader kim jong-il agreed to hold the first ever u.s.-north korea summit. pyongyang offers to denuclearize if the right conditions are met. also on the program, president trump moves ahead with terrorists on steel and aluminum imports -- teriffs on steel and aluminum imports. germany's new government is taking shape. the social democrats reveal who is getting the top jobs in germany's new government. key among them a foreign minister largely untested on the international stage.

pressure grows on kenya's president to reopen the tv stations he closed down after his disputed election victory. i am phil gayle. welcome to the program. in the past, the men traded threats and insults. but now u.s. president donald trump and kim jong-un could be about to meet, the first-ever meeting of leaders of the two countries. the issue of denuclearization will be high on the agenda. the white house says it needs to see concrete signs before reacting positively to the message from the south korean delegation on thursday. >> this is the man doing the running between pyongyang and washington. he has finally reached a major milestone. >> i told president trump that

kim jong-un said he is committed to denuclearization. he pledged that north korea will refrain from any form of nuclear or missile tests. he is to meet president trump as soon as possible. reporter: it is a sentiment shared by the u.s. president who confirmed a meeting is being planned. the historic breakthrough comes after south korean negotiators held talks in pyongyang on monday. it was here they learned that denuclearization was on the menu. far from giving up their bombs in recent years, north korea has been resting up its missile program and the threats. -- ratcheting up its missile program and the threats.

president trump fired back. president trump: rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime. reporter: on the front lines of this conflict, the capitals of the korean peninsula, relief and distrust. >> it is good news. now everything is heading the right way. >> judging from kim jong-un's character, i don't think he will give up weapons easily. >> i cannot believe either of them. i don't know what is in trump's head and i'm doubtful he is serious about the meeting. reporter: details are still being worked out on where and when trump will come face-to-face with his avowed enemy. whether they see i try is another matter entirely. lee jae-yong let's get more -- phil: let's get more on this from the professor.

welcome. let's start on the point of whether each can trust the other and whether this will happen. do you think this meeting will happen? >> it is difficult to say. there could be a lot of different obstacles to them having the meeting. as of now, both leaders straightforwardly said they want to meet. trump said he will meet him. phil: in the last few minutes, it has been said from the u.s. that president trump will not meet him unless he sees some concrete action by pyongyang. >> of course, he has to say something like that because something before getting into dialogue has to be given from the north korean side. the north koreans have promised freezing the nuclear missiles tests or refraining from provocation.

this could be one thing i could think of. phil: what does each side want from the other? >> the north korean side wants to be recognized officially by the international community as a sovereign state. they want to have the guarantee of their regime's survival, and they want to have a peace treaty with the u.s. which is complete, verifiable, and irreversible. phil: in exchange for what? >> they want to have safety and security. maybe the u.s., trump, wants to have foreign-policy success. he has midterm elections at the end of the year. both will go into the talks quite motivated. phil: when the news broke, it was interesting to see the reactions.

china said it hopes these happen. clearly, china was out of the loop. u.s. secretary of state, rex tillerson, clearly out of the loop. this all happened very quickly, or certainly appeared to happen very quickly. what do you know? >> i'm confident south korea is talking to all the surrounding states, to all of its allies, in particular to china is a very important country to the matter. we don't think china is out of the loop. south korea and the involved parties are concentrating on the most important actors which are north korea, south korea, and the u.s. but china has always been there and is still there. sometimes, diplomacy has to be quite diplomatic. phil: what part did sanctions have to play in ringing the meeting about? >> we can guess recently

strengthening sanctions had an impact on north korea because within north korea domestically, north korea now tries to get the next step of economic development. if it was only for survival, they could have survived with the sanctions. but they want to develop economically. that is very important to the north koreans. that might have pushed them to reenter dialogue. phil: let's be optimistic and say the meeting happens. are there risks to it? >> there are always risks, of course. i think these can be reduced by the beforehand exchange of special envoys of the different parties. in this process, south korea will continue to play a very important role. phil: thank you. ♪

>> donald trump has made good on his threats, signing off on import tariffs. 25% on steel, 10% on aluminum. he blames other countries for america's massive trade deficit. steel only accounts for 2% of world trade. and yet, the tit-for-tat tariffs and penalties are dangerous. the ripple effects could escalate into a full on trade war. >> with just one signature, u.s. president donald trump has authorized plans to place import tariffs on steel and aluminum. witnessing the moment were steelworkers who hope it will keep their jobs safer in the future. president trump: today, i am defending america's national security by placing tariffs on foreign imports of steel and aluminum. >> the motion has been met with criticism worldwide.

german chancellor angela merkel voiced her concerns at the german economy summit in munich. >> we are also concerned about the imposition of tariffs on certain products. as a government, we have a clear commitment to multilateralism. we support the european commission as it seeks to work with the wto and the u.s. >> the european steel industry is also advocating countermeasures by the e.u. and warns the consequences of a trade war could also hurt the u.s. >> our estimations are that he will create job losses in the supply chain in the u.s., so it is not going to benefit the u.s. and it will knock off 20,000 direct jobs in the u.s. and perhaps as many as 150,000 jobs as well. >> trump's decision has triggered outrage in asia. south korea is considering filing a complaint with the world trade organization while china is considering

countermeasures if the tariffs go ahead. >> standing by in ottawa, the president of the canadian trade organization joins us. thank you for joining us. canada will get away without tariffs for now. you must be relieved. >> in the current climate, there is no guarantee for the rest of the day. we are relieved to find canada was not included in this round. what we have in front of us is a threat from the president that negotiations on nafta, he could choose to impose tariffs on canada later. >> i would like to bring in this tweet from donald trump. he says the u.s. has large deficits with mexico and canada. nafta has been a bad deal for the u.s. because of a massive location of companies and jobs, his words. what he is trying to say i think is imports are in outflow of money and with them go jobs. trump is right. canada is taking advantage of

the u.s.. >> i think all three countries are taking advantage of nafta. what we have seen is a dramatic increase in trade among canada, mexico, and the united states. and an increase in jobs. the most important factor in the loss of jobs has been the advent of technology more than anything else. >> new rules are needed to deal with this new technology. what you are backed into a corner when it comes to nafta because these exemptions are dependent on canada signing a deal. you're forced to do what the u.s. tells you? >> i don't think we are. i think canada's strategy has not changed overnight as a result of the announcement made. i think it is important to detach the two. this was allegedly decided on the basis of national security, that imports to the united states posed a threat to

national security. i am a former defense minister in canada. we have a deeply integrated industrial base with the u.s. the fact that both canada and the united states can supply aluminum and steel is beneficial to both our countries and helps sustain security. candidate is an ally to noun it states -- canada is an ally to the united states. we should look at nafta on its merits. canada is determined to negotiate in good faith. we want to see a modernization of nafta. we should not agree to just anything because we are told we should accept it under threat. >> it seems it could be a lose/lose situation. if you don't accept what donald trump is saying and you are a new potential nafta agreement, you're going to have trouble selling steel in the u.s. it will be more expensive to import it into the u.s.

staying part of this with the exemptions you are getting, steel prices will go up. is the average canadian business going to feel that impact in some way? >> i think the impact will be minimal with the exemption in place. a greater concern for canada is the diversion of product that would be going to the united states suddenly turning toward canada which could be a threat to our steel and aluminum producers? it will be important for us to watch and see if there is an attempt to divert into canada.ie will have to respond. the key thing is the americans will do what is in the best interest of the united states. that is not surprising. that is how negotiations take place. the message from the american business community is clear. with our deeply integrated bases in north america, we need to take down barriers and not put

them up. we are different from the trade relationsh with other countries. we do not simply sell things to each other. we make things together. our supply chains are deeply integrated. anything that drills a whole -- hole in one side of the boat, causes it to sink. >> let's hope there is a rising tide that will lift all boats. thank you for talking to us. back to phil as a latest on the dire situation in syria. phil: syrian state television is reporting fighters and the families have begun to leave ghouta. the fighters are from a group made up mostly from al qaeda affiliates. the news came on the day much-needed aid arrived after being delayed for days by fighting. the convoy unloaded food supplies for 12,000 people in

the largest town in the rebel held area. more than one million syrians have fled to lebanon since the civil war broke out seven years ago. many of the refugees are children. aid groups are helping them to deal with their trauma through creativity. the exhibition featuring artwork inspired by their poems and stories. we have been to take a look. reporter: she fled the war in syria for years ago -- four years ago. she and her family lived in this lebanese refugee camp. when she first got to lebanon, she worked packing boxes, earning just $4 a day. then an n.g.o. rescued her from that job and got her into a school near the camp. today, the 16-year-old is about

to head out to her poetry class. after years of trauma and uncertainty, she is beginning to find her voice. and she is learning to write verse for the first time in her life. >> we are the generation whose life is lost, whose dreams have been broken by war. we are the generation that has grown too old, too soon. reporter: this poem recounts the challenges she faces as a refugee. >> they are attacking us with words. who are you? why did you come here? reporter: two hours from the camp, unicef has organized an exhibition about art, refugees, and the civil war memorial. this painting is inspired by the

thoughts and feelings of dozens of civilian children. moved by the poems and letters, syrian artists have come together and are using their creativity to describe the experiences of these children of war. ivan debs is one of the artists. he has tried to capture broad sentiments on canvas. >> this is anger. i did not want to show the children as victims. reporter: the organizers deliberately chose the memorial as the site of t eve. lenon self sufred thrgh decades of civil war thatearl tore the country apart. ♪ reporter: civilians have been the main victims of the conflict

in syria, but it has especially targeted the young. >> many of the children that have written these ponds and texts -- poems and texts have lived the war intensively. they have lost their homes, schools, sometimes their parents. reporter: back at the camp, she is on her way to a get together with friends. she has taken upinging as well and says she would like to be a journalist or singer when she grows up. she has lost nearly everything, but she refuses to give up hope. [singing] phil: now to some of the other stories breaking news around the world. the turkish court has released on bail two more journalists tried on subversion. they work for the independent newspaper.

17 members of the staff are being charged with supporting terrorist organizations. all have been freed apart from the paper's chairman. almost 200 specialist trips have been dispatched to the british city where a russian double agent and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent. they are in salisbury helping to remove potentially contaminated objects. he and his daughter remain critically ill in a local hospital. at least nine people are reported dead after an explosion in afghanistan's capital. police believe a suicide bomber carried out the blast in the minority shia area. islamic state has said it carried out the attack. germany's social democrats have three men and three women that will join angela merkel's new coalition government as ministers. reporter: optimistic and relieved.

after lengthy discussions, spd leaders present their six cabinet picks for the new government. with the quarrels over the foreign ministry behind them, the focus now is on teamwork. >> we sought to put together a good team that can work together well. a good team made up of highly competent people with the expertise to take on significant portfolios. reporter: the hamburg mayor is set to become vice chancellor and take on the coveted post of finance minister. the former justice minister takes a career leap to become foreign minister. important labor ministry ghostly parliamentarian with 20 years of experience. the three male ministers will be joined in the cabinet by the same number of women. the incoming family affairs minister was previously mayor of

the berlin district. >> as mayor, it has always been important for me to say it doesn't matter where you come from. what matters is who you want to be. that is what we have to work for, making sure all the people living in our country have equal opportunities. reporter: her predecessor is moving to the justice ministry. another fresh face is set to take over the environment ministry. >> i come from an industrial area and i know that safeguarding jobs and protecting the environment must go hand-in-hand. that is the task i have set myself. reporter: germany and europe have been waiting half a year for the new government. now things are finally set to move quickly. the new cabinet will be sworn in on wednesday. phil: the dw political correspondent gave us this assessment of how those key spd

ministers will fit in with chancellor merkel's conservatives. >> some of them, definitely because they have served under chancellor merkel before. i think the cabinet will go smoothly to begin with. the word is chancellor merkel will have her work cut out to maintain harmony for a simple reason. both her conservatives and the social democrats did very badly in last september's federal elections, so both sides are keen to score victories. you have the spd at the moment very low in the polls. they will be keen to win early successes to help them recover and sharpen their profile. on the other hand, you have some senior figures in the conservatives keen to take the party to the right and win back support they lost to the anti-immigration party.

you have some conservatives lurching to the right. the social democrats lurching to the left. in the middle, chancellor merkel will need all of her political skills to keep her house together. phil: u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson has asked kenya to reopen tv stations closed down after the disputed election. he said he told the president a free media and courts were crucial for democracy. ahead of his visit, the president and the opposition leader appeared together and shook hands for the cameras promising to cooperate for the good of the country. let's get more from our correspondent in nairobi. welcome. how was mr. tillerson's criticism of the closure of the tv stations received? >> by the kenyan public, it has been received well. it seems the government is still time -- trying to defend its

actions. the foreign cabinet secretary said it was a one-off event and overplayed by the international and local media, saying only four of the maybe 10 stations shut down, so it was not really a big deal. but when you look at it, it is the four most critical stations that are most critical to the government compared to the others because the others are owned by the government or play music. they did shut down critical channels of information. the government seems to be defending that move still. phil: not a big deal, despite the fact i recall the kenyan courts ordered the tv stations to be reopened? >> it did. they are still justifying it saying this was a matter of national security given the inauguration.

there does not seem to be much remorse. the fact they said it was a one-off event probably shows the government will not try that again given the pressure that came from the international community and local institutions. phil: let's talk about the mock inauguration couple of weeks ago. today, we saw them shaking hands. how significant is that? >> it is very significant in the sense that a lot of kenyans are now thinking back to 2008 when we had kofi annan on one side and the then-president and the other shaking hands and had the steel that came through. a lot of people are questioning what next. they are meant to start the dialogue that will bring kenyans together. that already exists. is this a photo or an actual

opportunity for the leaders to bring the country back this a wd coalition? most kenyans will tell you after 2008, a grand coalition is not necessarily where they want to go. they want a legitimate government in place. phil: the winter paralympics have begun after a glittering ceremony with fireworks as nearly 600 athletes gather to compete in the biggest winter paralympics and history. the games run until march 18. it is time to remind you of our top stories at this hour. president trump and kim jong-un agreed to hold the first ever u.s./north korea summit. president trump confirmed the plan and says great progress is being made. america's president has moved

ahead with controversial trade tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. it has sparked fears of a global trade war. he says he is facing down an assault on the united states. you are up-to-date. more at the top of the hour. have a good day. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] xnóx

♪ here's a look at what's coming up. winning combinations -- a young austrian breathes new life into the milan fashion scene. colorful celebration -- carnival season has begun in the french city of nice. and balancing act -- professional highliner lukas irmler is always on the lookout for new challenges. we start off the show with a rising star on the international fashion scene -- 35-year-old arthur arbesser. he's austrian, but he relocated to milan a few years ago to make