glad to have you with us. it's thursday, april 25th. north korean leaders have shown they are determined to stick to the policy of military first. they are putting on a display of that belief. they are celebrating the 81st anniversary of the people's arm.

military commanders visited the revolutionary martyr cemetery. they staged a dance performance in the capital central square. the head of the central army called for public loyalty. >> translator: we have developed more compact nuclear weapons, transport systems and other equipment. if unwanted war breaks out, we will put an end to the showdown with the united states. >> the newspaper of the ruling workers party say they're close to putting and end to the showdown. security analysts believe military forces have been moving missiles around the east coast after threats. north koreans say they can already imagine the gun salutes celebrating their victory. international monitors say

they detected radio activity in the atmosphere. analysts with the comprehensive test band treaty made the announcement. they say an observatory detected gas in the air two weeks ago. radio active materials from the nuclear test leak into the atmosphere at that time. >> the measurement is csistt with the scenario where the tests could be underpinning the explanation. >> diplomats say the north koreans may have done something at the test site causing the materials to leak out. analysts detected radioactive materials from the first nuclear test in 2006.

they didn't find anything after the second test in 2009. they may have developed methods to contain radioactive emissions. lee met in beijing with south korean foreign minister. they quoted lee as saying the chinese would spare no effort in denuclearizing the mission. they will oppose any act that goes against that goal. security analysts wonder how far they have progressed with their program. mark fitzpatrick moved to the institute. he said they could be close to fitting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles.

>> one can't say for sure but they have been working on nuclear related explosives for over 20 years. i assume that they probably could mount nuclear warhead on one of their ballistic missiles. probably not one of the longer range missiles because that's a more difficult task. the question is whether any nuclear warhead would be reliable. i think it's that uncertainty which leads many governments to say they can't say with any conclusive confidence that north korea has a nuclear weapon. we were all waiting to see what kind of results might be obtained from the capture of any zenon gases in the atmosphere and when none were discovered in

the couple weeks after the test the hope of knowing whether it was plutonium or highly enriched uranium disappeared. they can't tell based on zenon captured this late in t game. noh korea has been working on the uranium enrichment program for over ten years. it's not possible to conclude that they actually have such a weapon without any evidence that would be solid basis for saying that. the question is in it inevitable that they will contain this arsenal. not exactly a reasonable comparison. my own analysis is we can take

north korea at its word in this case and assume they won't trade away any weapons because they see the nuclear weapons as necessary to maintain their regime. in fact, it is the maintenance of these weapons that prevents north korea from obtaining the aid, trade, and investment from the west, from japan and other countries, that would actually help them escape their poverty trap and keep the regime alive. but they see it differently. they think they need the weapons to preserve themselves. they're not going to give them up, ever, i believe. a senior official in china's quake sichuan province has been fired after people protested the slow relief. they punished him on wednesday. 193 people have been confirmed

dead in the earthquake and more than 12,000 injured. rescuers are struggling to reach villagers in the mountains cut off by landslides. frustration from those over shortages of relief supplies. a group of residents protested the local government tuesday. they carried banners saying they were cold and hungry. the agency said the official failed to fulfill his duties because he left his post when survivors were most in need of supplies. provincial authorities plan to su donionsnd supplies reach authorities. health authorities across asia have been on guard against the new strain of bird flu spreading in china. those in taiwan say they detected the first human infection involving the deadly

h7n9 virus. a 53-year-old man after returning from the eastern province of gansu. after he came home, he complained of fever anfatigu and hospitalized a wk later. sts showed he had been infected with the strain. the man had no contact with live poultry while in china. so far, 109 cases of the bird flu mainly in eastern part of china, including shanghai and beijing. of them, 23 people have died. japanese trade officials are getting closer to the table for a deal. tell us what's the latest on the transpacific partnership. >> most officials like what they are seeing in washington. japan will participate in free trade talks for the transpacific

partnership. japanese officials will join the round of negotiations in july. it's required 90 days before the with another country.dealks all 11 nations are taking part in the tppp talks. acting u.s. trade representative sent the letter of notification to congress. he says the participation of japan and major u.s. trading partner as well add close ally further increases the economic significance of a tpp agreement. it also says japan's participation will cate a free tradact accounting for nrly 40% of output. it says talks will cover all products including farm and manufactured goods. the hope is to concludes a pact

by the end of this year. japan is moving forward to talk part in the tpp talks but jap need trade officials are likely to face tougher demands to eliminate tariff talks. they met in tokyo on wednesday. he asked to make sure japan will negotiate all items including rice and other agriculture products. japan hopes to exclude such items from tariff band. new zealand aims to expand parts of cheese, dairy and other products to japan. the main u.s. talk index fell for the fir trading day out of week four. at's theconoc data and mixed earnings results weighed on sentiment.

for more on how stocks here in japan are trading this more than let's go to ramin at the tokyo stock exchange. >> a little bit of deflation going on among investors because with earn x eectaons either not being in line and also forecasts coming up a little bit short as well. key data that we've had in the u.s. also pointing to slower growth. we just had the durable goods orders in the u.s. which fell 5.7% in march. let's see how all of that is translating into the opening levels for thursday april 25th here in tokyo. both indexes in the positive. 1,5 f t topix.

as the data fell short that meant the dollar also fell after yet again coming closer to that yen level on wednesday. as much as the bank of japan's measures have taken hold markets looking at u.s. economic data as the key driver. further signs of slowing growth do come around especially with the gdp numbers due out tomorrow dollar.uld keep pressure on the there's also concern about slowing growth in europe and china after data in those show as well. that may weigh on sentiment here in japan as well. key exporters rely on demand from the u.s. and china. news of the transpacific partnership being pushed through by the u.s. could be a bit of a positive.

the u.s. gdp data will be watched. 99.47 to 48 yen. let's have a look at the euro now changing 129.43 to 46. all eyes meeting after germany's sentiment business figures fell short of market consensus. earnings in japan are under way as well with yahoo japan. they're all going to come out with earnings later today. that will be a big focus as well. back to you. >> thanks, ramin. that's it for me for now. i'll leave you with the market

figures. japanese prime minister abe defended visits by his cabinet ministers to a war related shrine. he says they should not bow to criticism from japan's asian neighbors. three ministers visited the shrine over the weekend. the shrine in tokyo honors japan's war dead, including some convicted of war crimes. the visits triggered protests

from chinese and south korean officials. speaking in the diet, abe questioned the timing of those countries' complaints. he said china did not object to visits by japanese' leaders to yasukni when those convicted of war crimes were enshrined there in 1978. he said the chinese protests began only later and that south korean official began to strongly object only during the nomu administration in t >> translator: it is natural for us to pay our respects to the people who sacrificed their precious lives for the state. it is also only natural for ministers in my government to act freely without bowing to pressure. >> abe said his responsibilities include defending japan's interests and the nation's pride based on history and tradition. he said it is wrong to think that if pan makes concessions on these matte it will help improve diplomatic relations.

south korean president park geun-hye has urged japanese officials to exercise caution and prudence in dealing with the past. she made the remarks at a lunch with senior members of the south korean media. she said her government is committed to promoting cooperation with japan but she said japan's tilting to the right will hurt its relations with other asian countries. the south korean leader said this will bring no benefits to japan. a senior u.s. offial h urged japan and china to act calmly and constructively concerning their dispute over the senkaku islands in the east china sea. u.s. deputy secretary of state william burns is visiting japan and spoke exclusively to nhk in tokyo. the islands are controlled by japan but claimed by china and taiwan. burns stressed both sides should discuss the matter calmly to avoid inflaming tensions. burns says the u.s. does not take a position on the sovereigntissue but acknowledged that the isnds are adnistered bjapa

>> we call upon all parties to deal with this issue in an exclusively peaceful manner, to avoid actions which might risk miscalculations or risk rising tensions. it is very important to deal with this issue in a calm and constructive manner. >> burns also mentioned a recent series of talks between u.s. senior officials and chinese leaders. he said his country will strengthen ties with china through diplomatic and military routes and that u.s.-china relaons are very importantor creang provocation by north korea. asia wants to have an eu style economic community. leaders have begun talkings on forming a single market by 2015. the two-day summit began on

wednesday. the prime minister welcomed the leaders at a banquet. the agenda is likely to include a plan to liberalize investment ps the the leaders will discuss how to get the plan on schedule. a major obstacle is the divide between high income asean members. singapore is much richer than myanmar and cambodia. the summit is expected to discuss disputes. observers are hoping they can establish a legally binding code of conduct. . the two statues were best

known of afghanistan antiquities. one more site is under threat. we have the sty. >> reporter: they're on high alert for armed militants who remain active in the part of the country. buddhists ruins is situated here the 2,500 meters above sea level. it's believed to stretch 12 kilometers from east to west and 8 kilometers from north to south. it prospered as a buddhist city between the second and seventh centuries. on excavation four years ago and after a number of ruins more than five meters below ground.

researchers have identified eight temples so far. they are in incredibly good condition. this statue is of buddha delivering his teaching. the color of his robe has been preserved for more than 1,000 years. the detail of the material is clearly visible too. human bones were also right arm found. they believe to belong to a priest who lived in the temple. it's not just temples that have been discovered here.

this extraordinary ruin is on the verge of being torn down. buildings have been erected the ruin. the red line indicates a copper mining area. most of the ruins will be clear for the mines. >> translator: we were pressured to finish the excavation in three or four years. we had to complete what takes 30

to 40 years in only four years. >> reporter: after the collapse of the taliban regime in 2001 afghanistan is trying to rebuild with the assistance of the international community. rebuilding efforts are slow going. the country cannot help top its natural resources on the ground if it wants to stand on its own two feet. >> we'rerying toprerve time and profit from the copper mine for the economic stability. it's something which is required for people. we need the money. we need the economic resource to stabilize the afghan society. >> reporter: afghanistan is thriving to emerge from the legacy of decades of war.

the legacy is set to begin on the path of reconstruction. that's putting assets in the country. many belonging to old man kind. hideki, nhk world, afghanistan. time now to get a check on the weather. it's sunny in tokyo this morning. will it last? we see in world weather. >> the nice weather will continue throughout the day. this system is packing cold air bringing unstable weather across the region. this system is said to move into parts of japan.

we may see some hail, thunderstorms and gusty winds for a short period in some places. a lo front line is lying over the areas like okinawa, taiwan and southern end of china and northern parts of thailand and vietnam, bringing thundershowers. some areas, like southern china, may see 50 to 100 millimeters of rain into the next 24 hours. flooding and landslides will be an ongoing risk here. towards southwestern china, where the earthquake occurred on the weekend, sichuan province will continue to see on and off showers throughout the day that will raise the risk of landslides unfortunately. temperatures will be on the warmer side across china. 26 degrees here and 23 in beijing. and cherry blossoms are in bloom. let's look at this video. 2,000 cherry trees are in bloom in litate.

the town has been evacuated since the nuclear disaster and residents gathered there for the first time in three years. it's been designated a restricted zone so people can only visit a short time. the 60 refugees gathered under the trees for an hour and couldn't stay longer because of radiation. at that time, it was quality but it will be a sunny day in the prefecture. and rainy conditions continuing across the east. and in quebec the next 24 hours and this cold front will have thunderstorms. the rainiest weather is found in pennsylvania and new york. by thursday afternoon, things will be clearing up across most of the u.s. out west, we have a high pressure system bringing dry

weather and clear skies because temperatures may go below freezing in some places so that would kill sensitive plants if left uncovered outside. towards the north, on and off showers, snow showers moving into the great lakes region in some areas. across the west, looking dry but wet weather in the forecast for the west coast of british columbia, vancouver will miss the rain with a high of 15, 17 in seattle and double digits in denver thursday. finally, in europe, wet and windy conditions continue for the next several days and the new system is drifting up towards the western mediterranean reason that will produce hail and gusty winds in southern spain today. to the north, a couple of high pressure systems bring nice and warm conditions. temperatures on thursday are as follows. very warm, 25 in paris, 19 degrees in berlin. temperatures will go down quite significantly by the end of this week. here's your extended forecast.

that concludes this edition of "newsline." do stay with us.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: vice president joe biden joined 4,000 people at an emotional memorial service for the m.i.t. police officer, ambushed and killed in the boston marathon bombings manhunt. good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, we explore what's known about the tsarnaev brothers' lives online where they may have been inspired to mount the attacks. >> ifill: plus, jeffrey brown talks to kenneth feierg, the man charged with overseeinghe $21 million fund to compensate the wounded and the families of the dead.