♪ brent: this is dw news live from berlin. on -- a showdown over preconditions, a historic summit between the u.s. and north korea and increasingly in doubt tonight. president trump insists on the denuclearization of north korea. we will see if the meeting goes ahead. this after pyongyang said u.s. demands for them to give up the nukes could end negotiations before they begin. >> with friends like that, who needs enemies? brent: the president of the e.u. council lashing out at donald

trump as european leaders meet to discuss the iran nuclear deal and the threat of nuclear sanctions. are you up and the u.s. on a collision course -- europe and the u.s. on a collision course? ♪ brent: i'm brent goff. it is good to have you with us. after an about-face by north korea, plans for the historic summit with the u.s. are in doubt. donald trump acknowledging today it is unclear whether the anticipated meeting is still on. insisting pyongyang must abandon its nuclear arsenal. north korea says it will not take part in the talks if it is pressure to give up its nukes. reporter: history being written a few weeks ago at a summit of the north and south korean leaders. pyongyang said it was prepared to denuclearize. but now north korea has

proliferated -- has put on the brakes. the north postponed a summit scheduled with south korea. the reasons, these annual u.s.-south korean joint military exercises taking place. south korea expressed surprise and disappointment of the news. >> it is regrettable north korea has decided to unilaterally postpone the talks. reporter: back in washington, donald trump said he had not been officially notified of north korea's threat to cancel their planned summit next month. mr. trump: we have not seen anything, heard anything. we will see what happens. reporter: earlier the white house press secretary indicated the president was prepared to roll with whatever decision the north koreans make. >> we look into it with a

campaign of maximum pressure, but if they want to meet the president, we will be ready, and we will be prepared, but -- reporter: trump has taken credit for shepherding the korean peninsula towards peace, last month meetings newly freed u.s. citizens who had been held prisoner in north korea. their release was hailed as another sign of thawing relations with pyeongchang, but out of nowhere, things could be up in the air. brent: in the studio now is hannes mosul letter. he is -- mosler. a familiar face to our viewers. what are we seeing now coming from north korea? is this a case of kim jong-un giving u.s. president donald trump a dose of his own diplomatic menace -- medicine? hannes: there is the cowboy in the west, he is the cowboy in the east, and they know how to

communicate with each other. as long as this stays on a level where they can come the precarious issue with care and responsibility, it is fine. until now they are communicating. brent: communicating and putting on a show, but they are raising the stakes or at least he is for drop, isn't he, -- trump, isn't a t, because for each problem that makes a failure in the talks, looking at more i guess negative for the u.s. president? hannes: that is correct. but he wants to get his message across to drop, the world, that they have a high interest in the talks. they will not give in very easily, so they want a piece of the cake. there is also the message -- they want to explain to the public wedding of changed and will go towards the proposals given by the u.s.

brent: asking comments by the new advisor, john bolton, his comments have angered the north koreans. what did he say that brought about this turn of events? hannes: they were clear, they were annoyed by john bolton, because they have experienced but in particular because he mentioned the libya model with gaddafi, and we know how the story went. gaddafi way it -- gaddafi gave up his nuclear weapons, then afterward he got shot by the rebel forces which were supported by nato. that is the worst-case scenario. it is the red rack for the north koreans. brent: with kim jong-un, he is aware of libya he has see what happened with iran. so he is looking at all of this. is he actually in a better position to haggle and to negotiate than donald trump? hannes: i do think so because

the timing is good with xi jinping in place. it is different country in the region, with the chinese and south koreans, very well mediating between the parties which is important to reach a sustainable agreement in the end, because both sides can make sure that what they are negotiating will sustain in the future, so this is quite different. and north korea's nuclear weapons. brent: north korea has nuclear weapons. let's assume if it does not change, the dude -- the denuclearization goal is not met and the summit is a failure. with donald trump, it could be a low point in his tenure, but for him, he has a term, maybe a second term, and that is it. for kim jong-un, he is losing face, let's say, if it is not a success for him, but then he goes back to north korea and then what? hannes: that is a good question

because he actually agreed to come out and continue the dialogue with the u.s. and south korea because he is interested to develop his country further, to have the slight but existing development in the economy of north korea to push that further, to develop the country, to become a normal member of the international community. this will be difficult. brent: how do you backtrack? he does control the media and information they get. it is one-sided. can you go back and forth and yo-yo with the public like that and still maintain absolute control? hannes: i am sure he can. he proved that for the last couple of years, and his father did, so this is not really the problem. the bigger problem is to satisfy this small but growing middle class that is also existing in -- they want to live wealthy and continue. brent: 30 seconds, will we see

more episodes like this week before we reach june? hannes: i think so. it is not to worry about. it is normal communication between the corridor. brent: the cowboy in the east and west, as always, thank you. are those special bond between europe and the u.s. breaking for good? the transatlantic relationship is on shaky ground after a week at the the u.s. i'm -- the u.s. withdraw from the iran nuclear deal and move the image the -- the embassy to jerusalem. meters -- people are meeting in bulgaria. they are expected to discuss their response to the threat of u.s. trade tariffs on europe. i had of that meeting, the european council president donald tusk lashed out at donald

trump. he has stinging strong words. mr. task: looking at the latest decisions, someone could think, with friends like that, who needs enemies? but frankly speaking, europe should be grateful by president trump because thanks to him, we have got rid of all the illusions. he has made us realize that if you need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of your arm. brent: ouch. people are calling of the pulverizer from poland tonight. a spring in our correspondent in bulgaria covering the meeting. when you hear words like that, you have to ask with the trans-atlantic relationship, how low can it go? reporter: it is very buried.

european leaders are a great. the council president whom we just heard, he talked to leaders before he goes to a meeting like this and before he speaks publicly. he mirrors what he heard behind the scenes on the telephone and in personal meetings, particularly from macron in france. it is serious because he feels he has been made an idiot in washington, paraded around for three days, then leaving empty-handed. then trump says ha ha, i will cancel the deal. european leaders are furiou. the transatlantic relationship, you can't even talk about it. it doesn't exist, it is on the ice, in deep freeze somewhere. they are trying to figure out how can they stand up against what they see as absolute and utter bullying by donald trump. brent: some people may: bullying, other may say it is

the cold hard facts of the power of a superpower. the european union is not backing down from the iran nuclear deal, but how far is brussels prepared to go? at the end of the day, europe is powerless in the face of u.s. sanctions, isn't it? reporter: it is in a way, and not. the question is, are they prepared to pay the price? are they not only prepared to talk the talk but walk the walk? if trump really came out against sanctions, against european enterprise and business, engaged in iran, and europe that strikes back and comes back with counter sanctions, we would send the global economy into a tailspin. are they really ready to go that far? that is what is being talked about. some are more meek.

some want to talk, and some are angry, particularly the french. so what will they do? there is cause of blocking a -- calls of blocking a law is you -- talks of alternative streams of finance, banking and europe, going around the u.s. banking system, so they are talking about practical measures, but it is a big little decision they have to make. brent: do you think after tonight europe will have a concrete plan that will make the u.s. president blank? reporter: not yet. this will take a bit of time. this is the first meeting they have had together, and there will be another meeting next week in vienna about particularly with russian cooperation and participation, and things will go from there. there is time, a month or two months to figure out what to do. europe just needs to know know and decide, do we want to play

hardball against drunk, or do we sort of want to be cowed and be what the french say, an american vessel? -- vassal? brent: it sounds better than being a poodle. thank you, barbara. the result at stake for european businesses -- there is a lot at stake for european businesses. reporter: one au commissioner saying they are prepared to use legislation, making it illegal for european companies to comply with u.s. sanctions, targeting iran. donald has threatened to slap sanctions on firms that do business with iran, and he is naming names. reporter: this person checks the news several times a day. the iranian entrepreneur is currently in germany visiting his business partners. he sells medical technology and

is involved in the computer industry. donald trump decision to withdraw from the iran nuclear deal comes up at every business meeting. how will that you react? will there be new sanctions against iran? he has made a lot of contacts through international trade fairs like this one in tehran last year, and he has contacts with european companies, but how many of his partners are uncertain about the future of the businesses. >> the current situation right now, we have to sit down and see what is going on. basically, there is improvement, relationship between iran and european companies, especially with germany. and this is a very big moment in our history that we can see who

is our real partner. reporter: this person speaks to his staff in the middle east several times a day the a video link. -- day via video link. he provides high-speed internet to afghanistan, pakistan, and iraq. airlines have shown interest, but getting the money together for these orders could become increasingly problematic. >> what would have worked fine a week ago might be impossible next week. getting someone to fund these projects are instance. a european thankless branches in the u.s. won't be able to finance them. reporter: hugh still tied to keep his customers in the middle east happy, but if the sanctions go ahead, businesses like his might have a difficult future. reporter: the french oil giant total is going to pull out of a huge drilling project unless he gets an exception -- exemption

from u.s. sanctions. it is one of the biggest investments in iran since the lifting of sanctions in 2015. total receives 90% of financing from u.s. banks and says it cannot afford to be exposed to any secondary sanctions. discussing a possible waiver with u.s.-french authorities. let's bring in our financial correspondent. we are hearing that the german insurer addyi's is going to wind down its business in iran. tell us about that. jens: a spokesman from alliance is quoted saying that they are actually looking at their portfolio to identify iran related to business, then pretty likely will wind down this part of their business, but the spokesman as saying iran related business is minimal, and they

are waiting for some guidance from the european union and from the german government, so the whole process is ongoing, but it does look like alliance is winding down their business related to iran. reporter: despite these geopolitical tensions, iran, china, north korea, investors don't appear that rattled. is there any reason? jens: investors on wall street, they bet on possibilities. they are trying to figure out how likely for instance that the north korean talks will not take place, and how likely is it that if there are no talk is that should be the case, how likely it is that the tensions could escalate. nobody has a clear answer to that, so it is almost impossible to make any bets on that. so when it comes to nafta, there is a deadline on thursday, and

is very unlikely that we will get any deal done between canada, mexico, and the united states anytime soon. there are elections in mexico in six weeks from now, anwe have the congressional elections in the u.s. by november. with all that stuff going on, i really do not see nafta going anywhere at this place. reporter: our financial correspondent in new york, thank you. data privacy versus innovation, europeans, especially germans, do not like companies gathering their information, but it is what has powered the tech giants in the united states and china. the only price europe takes is for taking a lead in regulation. reporter: europe has been left behind. creating tech titans has proven the domain of the u.s., and china holding calendar status. both countries have been able to

take advantage of gigantic domestic market, targeted investment, and the mastery of the winner take all models that have allowed the likes of google and facebook to thrive. those are only two out of five most valuable public companies in the world. all tech companies from the u.s.. china's catch-up strategy appears to be working. if technology champions tencent and alibaba are in the top 10. european companies are nowhere to be seen amongst the global elite. but the seeming omnipotence can be waning, and it is europe raking it in. e.u. competition commissioner has pursued antitrust cases against silicon valley's biggest, slapping billions of regulatory fines, and starting next week, the general data protection regulation will require businesses to increase protections on e.u. citizens. europe's lead in regulation

could be an opportunity for the content flagging tech industry if it means european companies get better at building socially responsible alternatives to today's big tex, but will they? reporter: over to brent now. merkel's say to macron, let me get back to you. brent: is there something real and they say there is merkel-macron magic at play? many are asking for that. she is doing her best to come up with a response to the e.u. reform proposals by emmanuel macron. she says a german answer will be ready in time for next month's au summit -- e.u. summit. she made this place during a debate on the budget, but not all lawmakers are in favor of that magic, and they don't like the idea of contributing more german money for brussels.

reporter: it was money time for angela merkel and the bundestag. discussing her proposed budget, she talked about both how much she wants to invest in germany and whether her government is willing to fork out more for the e.u. emmanuel macron once additional investment in the bloc, but merkel is cautious. >> it would be pretty difficult to put more in the e.u. budget and more in the eurozone budget while maintaining stability criteria. we will be talking to more. reporter: for the far right populist afd, there is no dilemma. they say merkel is simply wasting german money. >> celebrate president emmanuel macron's plants. we don't oppose a massive transfer of german tax money. on the contrary you seem to be in a hurry to shift

responsibilities to paris and brussels and to spend tax money which you never earned. reporter: the center-right ftp accuses the government of wastefulness. >> all of our partners in europe want to know what they are spending their money on. we are the only ones in europe saying we will get more money without knowing what it is for. -- give more money without knowing what it is for. reporter: the joubert -- junior coalition partner favor more german financial support for the e.u. >> as the country that profits most from the e.u., it is our fundamental self-interest to strengthen the european bloc. to refuse would be to pull the rug from our own feet. reporter: the pro-e.u. green says merkel is not going far enough in macron's direction.

>> the point is for us to project that we are for this version of a common europe. we put up the money, but this is precisely what the new finance minister did not do. reporter: merkel has to balance between supporting macron's desire for a stronger e.u. and taking the heat of skepticism among german taxpayers. the good news is state revenues aron the rise, giving europe a bit more leeway. brent: here are the other stories that are making headlines around the world. malaysian reformist leader rahim has celebrated his release from prison by appearing in a rally. this comes after his opposition alliance won alliance early this month. he was imprisoned on sodomy charges which he and his supporters they were politically motivated. mark zuckerberg has agreed to appear before the european

parliament in the wake of the global data sharing kindle. antonio, the parliament president, confirmed zuckerberg would clarify issues as early as next week. the british firm cambridge analytic us share the data of three yield -- 3 million e.u. based users without consent. filipinos working as domestic workers in kuwait will have access to greater support from philippine authorities. it is a part of a deal agreed to by both nations after months of diplomatic turmoil. the friendship began after the brutal murder of a filipino maid in the gulf state. this crime prompted rodrigo duterte from -- filipinos to not work in that state. reporter: home at last, hundreds of overseas filipino workers arriving in manila after their flight from kuwait. amid the waiting and form filling, tiredness and relief.

>> by god's grace i am back in the philippines. i can move freely without fear, so everything is ok. reporter: they were answering the call of the government, which had demanded they come home following reports of abuse, the most shocking of which shamed a nation. her name was joanna. in 2014 she posted photos of her visit to this organization who were helping her start a new life abroad as a housewife in kuwait. two years later her body was found mutilated and stuffed in a freezer. she had been tortured. the couple she worked for confessed. it prompted an international backlash as the filipino president rodrigo duterte b

anned filipinos from emigrating to the gulf state and called on thousands to come home. >> wait for your return and resettlement. there will be a sense of patriotism and the love of country and family. reporter: in february, joanna's body was reunited with her family. the murder shone a light on the conditions of 200,000 filipino workers in kuwait. but relations went from bad to worse when diplomats took matters into their own hands. videos emerged purporting to show embassy staff rescuing domestic workers. kuwaiti authorities were furious, expelling the philippines ambassador. he defended the rescue stunt. >> we have public servants and

diplomats are here to promote the welfare and protection the interest of overseas filipino workers anywhere in the world. reporter: as these women had for the families left behind, the well-being of millions of other filipino workers in the middle east remains an open question. brent: after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. stick around for that. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

(upbeat music) - [narrator] a major breaking story as we come on. a military coup underway right now in turkey. - [female narrator] there's presumed military coup underway. - [male narrator] tanks on the move, military jets flying overheard. - [female narrator] a very confused and chaotic picture. - [male narrator] we do not know the whereabouts of the turkish president, recep tayyip erdogan. - [female narrator] the military says, they have taken control. turkish president erdogan, has been speaking on national television. - [male narrator] the president made this statement to the public, via facetime. the president went onto say, "millions are now in the streets of turkey, "protesting the uprising" - [narrator] some video here from just a short time ago. showing soldiers surrendering to forces loyal to the government. - [male narrator] turkish officials say, they have stopped the coup. and turkey's president says, the government is now in charge.