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submarine at the bottom of the ocean. ♪ welcome to bbc world news america on pbs and around the globe. we start with a rare peek inside of the world's most closed off societies and what we have been seeing is grim and north korea, exclusive interviews suggesting life is the worst it has been since the 1990's as people are dying of starvation after the government sealed the borders during the pandemic. our correspondent has been speaking with three people who riske their lives tod tell the story. i spoke with her a moment ago. north korea is a difficult country to report from an report about. what more can you tell us? correspondent: because north korea's borders have been sealed for more than three years, it

has become virtually impossible to say what is happening inside the country. all the serna list -- resources we would rely on by foreign detriments and aid workers have left on the ground and we began to get serious reports that situations like the country was not good that chronic shortages, hunger, even starvation, so at that point we decided we wanted to try and speak if we could to people inside the country to -- that what was going on. now you are about to see some of what we found out but i want to warn you that some of the images in our report are graphic and you may find them disturbing. >> people have started dying. >> this chilling testimony comes from inside north korea. >> once i did not eat for two days and only drink water. recently people have been

knocking on the door. [knocking] asking for food because they are so hungry. correspondent: hearing from people inside this isolated country is extremely rare but with fears the country is on the brink of famine we have been secretly communicating with people who live there. we are using actors and animations to illustrate their words and have changed their names to protect them. >> in our village, five people have starved to death. correspondent: he is a construction worker living in a chinese -- >> in one family, the wife was too ill to works of the two children were surviving by begging. in the end, all three died. at first, i was afraid of dying from covid but then i began to worry about starving to death. correspondent: at the start of the pandemic, north korea completely sealed its borders.

these pictures released by the regime are all the world has been able to see. for years, no one has been allowed to enter the country and authorities even stopped food and medicine from crossing the border. >> [speaking in foreign language] correspondent: in south korea, we began to get reports of chronic food shortages, and so we teamed up with an organization here. >> [speaking in foreign language] correspondent: they have sources inside the country. they were able to get our questions to people. this is a person who lives in the north korean capital pyongyang, the wealthiest part of the country and tells us that even here supplies are running dangerously low. >> once i did not eat for two days and i thought i was going to die in my sleep at night. my husband and i survived by -- 10 more days and then another 10

days, thinking if something happens, we might start but at least we will feed our kids. [wind chime] there are lots of beggars now. if they are lying down, we check them and usually find that they are dead. there are others who killed themselves at home or disappear into the mountains. [crying] correspondent: what these people are telling us evokes memories of the devastating famine of the late 1990's, known as the are jewish march which killed as many as 3 million -- arduous march, which killed as many 3 million people. >> for the past years we would hear about that by starvation and that happened in the 1990's or to thousands but to hear it happening again you know in the past two or three years i think you know i think it is taking us back to the arduous march, which was the most difficult period

for the north korean people. correspondent: when covid finally breached the country's borders the authorities banned people from leaving their homes. >> during one lockdown i know that five people who were trapped inside their house for 10 days and they were hafted by the time they were let out. they managed to sneak out at night to get food. ♪ >> [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] but the specter of correspondent: a number famine has not stopped correspondent: kim jong-un from funding his limited finances into building nuclear weapons. the money he spent on missile test is less year would have been enough according to some estimates to ensure that his entire population was properly fed. >> the people never wanted this england -- endless weapons develop it that brings heartbreak to generation after generation. we want to live in a society where we do not starve, where my

neighbors are alive. correspondent: north koreans are more isolated than ever before. it is getting more difficult for them to survive in possible -- impossible to help them -- and impossible to help them. anchor: obviously not easy to be communicating with people inside north korea. if us a sense of how you want about communicating with citizens inside the country. -- give us a sense of how you went about communicating with citizens inside the country. correspondent: it is difficult so what we had to do is we had to work with this organization which has a network of sorts is in the country and these sources were able to find people who wanted to be interviewed by us but then we had to get the questions to them via the sources on the sources had to rely the answers and the answers were sent back and hundreds -- in hundreds of installment because it was too risky to send one entire answer on it's on because if the government found out that any of these people who

talk to us, found them out, there was a possibility they would be killed because people in north korea are forbidden to talk with people outside the country especially journalists, so without that throughout this process we have gone through huge measures to keep these people safe and protecting their identities has been fundamental and why we used actors to voice their words in these animations you have just seen, but yet keeping people safe has really been at the forefront of what we were trying to do and why this process has been such a painstaking one and has taken us so many months, but because north korea is so isolated and we were concerned about the situation inside the country this is why, despite -- we decided despite all these challenges to go ahead with these reporting -- this reporting. anchor: if you can, now that covid is no longer a pandemic and not a global concern is there a sense with the north korea that some of these covid-air restrictions might begin to finally ease? correspondent: there have been mumblings over the past few

months that perhaps kim jong-il is per -- preparing to open the border and ultimate we do not know and of course there is the chance that these border closures could continue for many years and we have to really is that kim jong-un has not necessarily done this because of the pandemic and every other country in the world has not reopened its borders. certainly i think this started because of the pandemic but as time has gone on kim jong-un has used the covid pandemic almost as an excuse i think to tighten his grip over his people and isolate them from the world and to shut the world out and if he were to reopen the border he is going to have to let back in the eight workers and diplomats and let the eyes of the world see what is happening in the country and it may well be that during best period of extreme closure that he has decided that it is better without the eyes of the world in north korea. anchor: jean mackenzie, our correspondent and so, korea, thank you for your reporting. we put the bbc's finding to the

north korean government and the representative from its embassy in london said this, "the information you have collected is not entirely factual as it is derived from fabricated testimonies from anti--government forces and we have always prioritize the interest of the people even in difficult times and has an unwavering commitment to the well-being of the people." well, staying in asia and the u.s. state department has confirmed that antony blinken will be traveling to beijing this weekend and will be the first trip by a top u.s. diplomat in nearly five years. the visit was planned in february originally but was scrapped up of the u.s. shutdown the suspected chinese spy balloon and its airspace. joining me is our north american correspondent jessica parker for more on the summit. ed has been a few months and set alledge spy balloon saga -- it has been a few months since that of legend spy balloon saga, so why not? correspondent: as you say that visit was canceled back in february after the u.s. shutdown

this suspected spy balloon of course the chinese said it was a weber -- weather balloon blown off course, but i think since and that there has been an effort to try and put things back a little bit more and warm up those frosty escalation -- relations and there are escalations if those lines of communication are not open and there have been a couple of military instances recently where the u.s. could -- accused a chinese fighter pilot of making aggressive maneuvering in the south china sea in chinese warships are accused of cutting across u.s. naval vessels in the taiwan strait. and what you have got here is two massive global powers competing for influence but what the state department have been saying a spokesman today it is important that these two powers talk to each other. >> it is important that just we have these lines of communication as two of the world's great powers to make sure that as we are watching each other and watching the steps that we take that there is

no miscalculation on either side of the other's intentions that -- and that when we have issues we can raise them with each other so this understanding does not veer into dangerous miscalculation. anchor: so they certainly want to make sure they keep the communication lines open so is there anything else we can expect from both sides to be discussing in what could be a very packed agenda for this visit by anti-blinken? correspondent: they have a lot to talk about and there is a lot i don't really agree on rci ci to eye on and we will see whether that is taiwan, obvious one, or whether that is the russian invasion of ukraine, which china of course has refused to condemn and whether it is the alleged use of chinese chemicals in the making of sentinel -- sentinel -- the deadly drug here in the united states so it's not an easy list of issues for china in the u.s. and i think that is possibly why u.s. officials really downplay expectations around this meeting and they are not thing that there will not be a big

breakthrough in the u.s. china relations and they are think it is important that they are just talking. anchor: given that, briefly, is there anything on that list that they could tackle and some find some common ground on? correspondent: u.s. officials today have been speaking about how they need to cooperate in areas like climate change and the speaks of course to the fact that they are the two worlds greatest economies and when you are facing huge challenges like climate change to some extent surely those two countries need to work together in order to make progress but i don't think anyone is pretending at the moment that the relationship is anything other than rocky and it looks like it will stay that way for some time. anchor: it should be interesting to see what happens is we can our north correspondent mark parker pair pit. well, at least 79 people have died in more than 100 rescued after their fishing vessel capsized off the coast of southern greece but official site that hundreds more migrants may have been on board and we have the latest from greece. correspondent: we don't know the

scale of this disaster tonight but it is clear that it is bad and more than 100 people have been rescued but survivors are saying that up to 700 people they leave were on board this fishing boat. it sat off -- set from libya and was heading to italy and an image has emerged showing the vessel packed with people in the deepest part of the mediterranean. no one it would seem had a life jacket on. the greek authorities have said tonight that they went towards the vessel and that no one wanted help when they offered it but that has been challenged by an organization which provides an emergency phone number for people at sea and says in fact that the authorities waited hours before they approach the vessel and they also said in terms of anyone refusing the offer of support that was because of the so-called pushback policy that greece pursues, in other words pushing

people out of greek waters. that is a policy which athens says does not exist and it repeatedly and strenuously has denied it uses the sort of traffic so where are we tonight? well, the families of the dead are grieving for, hundreds more families they face in unbearable weight to find out what has happen and european leaders are talking once again about trying to find a solution to all of this but the reality is so far this year that more than 70,000 people have arrived in europe mainly in four different countries in the south of the continent. and with this going further into the summer and the weather being good the fear is that many more people will attempt this perilous crossing. anchor: well, the u.s. federal reserve has decided to keep rates unchanged, the first time in more than a year the central bank has not raised its benchmark rate and while the pauses welcome for those

adjusting to higher interest rates the fed has signaled that more increases make be on the way. let's go to duke -- may on the way and let's go door correspondent. michelle, this was a highly anticipated announcement the bed pausing interest rates a unanimous decision, why? what was the economic data telling them? correspondent: i think this ushers in a new phase in the battle to try to bring down prices without essentially tipping the economy into recession and as you mentioned, it is a fight that began in march 2022 which saw policymakers in the building behind me raise interest rates 5%, and an oma's amount in a short period of time so they decided this was the appropriate moment to take a step back and assess the impact of their actions on the economy, so it has pushed up the cost of borrowing everything from mortgages, credit cards and business loans.

all of that is more expensive. they want to see if it's working and what further action is needed. here is the problem the fed chair jerome powell warned that consumers and companies could expect more pain ahead because inflation remains well above its 2% target so as far as they are concerned the job is not done yet. anchor: i -- jerome powell: i think that as anyone can see not a single person on the committee wrote down a rate cut this year nor do i think it is old to be appropriate if you think about it. uh, inflation has not moved out and it is not so far reacted much to our existing rate hikes and so we will have to keep at it. anchor: all right keep at it and as you mentioned inflation is 4% in the target is 2%. that last bit off -- economist always say it can be sticky and it is difficult down to the target so how will the fed judge their progress on inflation? correspondent: well you know, --

jerome powell again and again said would be data dependent so they were look at the inflation report and we just heard earlier this week the consumer omission inflation america is moving in the right direction but you pointed out 4% on an annual basis and producer prices are still high and they are looking at labor data so i think the last bit is the trick is part and and that was reflected in comments from jerome powell who sort of said we are moderating the pace because they don't want to tip the u.s. economy into recession and pushed too many people out of work, but at the same time he also warned that the danger of inflation and high prices when they become entrenched that that causes greater damage in the long term and they are determined to avoid that but they are proceeding consciously and at the same time saying but we will be aggressive as needed. [sirens] anchor: a difficult balancing act. thank you. a look now at other stories

making headlines. the eu is a step closer to passing one of the world's first major laws safeguarding artificial intelligence. the european parliament approved rural setting a global standard for the technology which includes automating medical diagnoses. a ban has been placed on poilce using live facial recognition in public places. tens of thousands of people have been evacuated in india and pakistan in anticipation of a severe cyclone. cyclone is forecast to make landfall in the western indian state off the coast of one pakistani province and trains in the region have been suspended while two of the country's largest ports have also stopped operations. the comic book artist -- who helped to create some of marvel's most famous characters has died. he was 93 years old. he began working on the amazing spider-man comic in 1966. among his later designs work wolverine, the punisher, and luke cage, one of the first

black superheroes featured in marvel comics. ♪ well italy bid farewell to silvio berlusconi on wednesday with the state funeral in the lawn and a day of national mourning has been declared, the first time the former prime minister of italy has been honored in that way. we have this report. correspondent: a day of national mourning as thousands gathered to say a final farewell to silvio berlusconi, a man who dominated italian society for almost half a century. [applause] nearly 2000 people attended his funeral inside milan's gothic in vitro -- cathedral. his five children come in next to them, -- children, and next to them, 53 years his junior and two decades younger than sylvia berson since goni's eldest daughter.

-- silvio berlusconi's eldest daughter. >> [speaking in foreign language] correspondent: during his sermon the archbishop of milan said to be happy means to love parties and to enjoy life to the fullest , a sentence that perfectly encapsulates silvio berlusconi's flamboyant life. political allies and rivals paid their respects but very few world leaders showed up, an indication that berlusconi has been a divisive figure until the end. [applause] ♪ as his coffin was taken outside the cathedral unemotional crowd chanted. [chanting] silvio will always be our present. his funeral was a spectacle attended by political theaters -- figures under string of ex-girlfriends. here in italy he was a very influential figure who transform the country's media, football

and political landscape. [applause] but his party might not survive without him, which could be a challenge for the coalition government. so, after his death, the risk of political instability is looming. bbc news, milan. anchor: more than 80 years after he went missing on a top-secret world war ii mission, the submarine hms tribe has been found -- trident, one of the most successful world war ii sub sinking 15 enemy ships and just eight months. he had this report. correspondent: sheet set sail on boxing day 1941 supposedly on one last mission before heading for home but hms triumph was never seen again here was lost with all hands, a crew of more than 60. these are some of the last photographs of crew members on

shore leave in egypt. a highly decorated crew of submariners selected for a secret mission. their fate has been a mystery for more than 80 years until now. because the wreck of the hms triumph has finally been found by greek divers. she lies more than 200 meters down in the aegean sea. >> extraordinary. extraordinaire detail. this is amazingly um intact. it is an escape hatch. correspondent: he is a former naval officer himself and his uncle michael was 23 and was the submarine's second-in-command. >>, was extraordinaire -- i was extraordinarily moved to see the detail. it looks as if this is uh a troop or grave uh and within are 64 souls, one of which is

my uncle. correspondent: the closed hatches tell the story, no one escaped. descendants finally have answers of those who were lost. >> for me this has been the end of a 50 year question mark. i spent 15 of those actively looking for it so it is the end of a long journey and quest. >> there is a little community here who are getting closer after all these years on the on the where when and how that what happened to hms tribe -- triumph. correspondent: sunk by a mine, it is a reminder of the losses suffered by british submariner's in world war ii. anchor: well before we go to the image behind meat that is the entrance of the great hall that leads into tokyo's new harry potter theme park, the largest indoor harry potter attraction in the world.

it features costumes and re-created film locations from the series and visitors can film videos of themselves to be projected on the screens and fully immerse themselves in the magical surroundings but you have to conjure up a bit of patience. tickets are sold out until august. i am carl dash. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪

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