welcome to nhk world "newsline," i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. north korea state media are reporting the uncle of leader kim jong-un has been put to death. leaders have discussed cooperation and china's newly declared air defense identification zone. and engineers say the early

breakdown on the cooling system in one of the reactors at japan's crippled nuclear plant may have caused the meltdown. north korea's young leader has made a lethal move to tighten his grip on the country. state-run media says kim jong-un's uncle has been executed for acts of treason. chon sun tech was considered the second most powerful man in the country. his death has sent ripples around the region. >> reporter: north korean state-run media reported that the special media tribal chun should be executed. it said that this sentence was carried out immediately.

the workers party newspaper carried a photo of chun in handcuffs. the court accused him of attempting to luring the country's economy and trying to sell north korea's natural resources. it went even further accusing chun of fuelling the people's dissatisfaction with kim's leadership, saying he tried to gain power so a coup, saying chun had admitted to these crimes. chun sun tech was the uncle of north korean leader kim jong-un and likely seen as his mentor. he was married to kim jong-il's sister. chun used his family connections to take key government posts. he worked to open up the stagnating economy.

but from 2003, he disappeared from the public eye, with some observers believing he had been dismissed. his whereabouts were not reported again until 2006. with people now finding out about what is unfolding in pyongyang, there is growing concern from world leaders. south korea's presidential office convened an emergency meeting on friday to discuss possible developments. the country's intelligence agency says chun's executions will send a clear message to his supporters. >> translator: we assume that north korean leaders intended to minimize discontent with chun sun thek's allies and give them a feeling of terror.

>> reporter: a u.s. state department spokesperson said that if the reported execution of chun took place, it demonstrates the looseness of the north korean regime. experts believe relations between beijing and pyongyang may be affected because chun has deep connections with chinese top leaders. they also point out members of six-party talks will be watching carefully, because kim jong-un may take a provocative action in the bid to disperse people from such political unstable regions in the north. nhk world, tokyo. we spoke earlier with an associated press senior video journalist in pyongyang. he's been covering north korea for the past decade. >> rafael, thanks for talking to us. how did people there find out the news and what's been the reaction? >> early this morning about

shortly after 6:00 a.m. local time, the news came out in a report from the central news agency, but that goes to foreigners mainly. it was only a bit later when local koreans first heard the news, they said from radio and state tv did not start broadcasting until 3:00 this afternoon, so it wasn't something people saw on television until much later in the day. instead, in the daily newspaper, which came out this morning, there was that second page report with a long, long article and the two photographs, one showing the courtroom and one with chun with his head bowed, guards on either side. that was the first time that it was out officially and clearly, but the daily newspaper did not come out early this morning, it came out later than usual sometimes, so there were a number of people crowding around newspaper stands where it is displayed normally in the city to look at this article. that was the main way, but news did spread by word of mouth earlier in the day.

>> were there any indications preceding chun's fall from power? >> locally, no. i think that some foreign analysts have pointed to a number of occasions over the past months where certain major state occasions or other high profile visits by the leadership where it was perhaps he was noticeable by his absence, because normally in the past few years he's been a very prominent figure in all of these kind of public occasions, as well as a lot of the visits, which the leader makes to various places around the country. but there was nothing -- nothing clear before last week's announcement from the south of korea that he had got into trouble basically and that was confirmed, of course, on sunday. before that, there was nothing clear, no clear indication, no rumor that had surfaced in an obvious way that he was in this big trouble, which has led to his execution yesterday.

>> what about any notable changes in the city, in pyongyang, other than people crowding newsstands? >> so far, it's looked like daily life is normal on the streets of pyongyang today. it's cold, it's been snowing for the past couple of days. people are clearing snow on the streets, going to their workplaces. there is no sign of any outward gathering or organized activity to mark this or to learn about this. of course, it is common that in workplaces or otherwise here in north korea, people do have lectures or study sessions where various important state developments are discussed and they are given the official version of what has happened, but certainly on the streets to people going about the city, there is no difference to daily life here since this news came out today, friday morning.

>> some experts are saying this is a move to solidify kim jong-un's power base. what has the regime been doing to tell people about him or his achievements? >> the news or the way that the leader is portrayed here is always a very intense level of reverence. it is absolutely consistent in its extreme reverence for a venner ration for the leader and his family. that hasn't changed. it has been even more intense over the past few days, because next week is a major anniversary here, which will be the 17th next week, tuesday, 17th of december, the second anniversary of the passing away of kim jong-il, the former leader, so there has been a lot in state media, which is reflecting that. and, at the same time, the new phrase the unity leadership of kim jong-un, that has been

stressed heavily since sunday when the news first came out that chun sun tech had got into big trouble. last year there was the same event to mark the passing away of kim jong-il took place on the eve of the anniversary, the 16th of december. that was a huge meeting with the senior leadership all sitting in front of a large audience listening to speeches and the main leader, kim jong-un, was there on that day, the 16th of december last year. so far, there's no indication whether this year, the 16th or the 17th will be the main event, but it's certainly a buildup to those days where it won't be life as normal here. there will be a very somber atmosphere and people will be expected to go out and pay their respects at statues and monuments and portraits of the former leader. many people are trying to understand what's going on in

north korea right now. we asked professor miamoto for his insight. >> translator: death penalty verdicts of senior figures have been announced in the past. in 1953 and 1958, but the executions themselves were not made public. this is the first time north korea has actually announced that an execution has taken place. as the verdict says, chun was trusted by three generations of the kim family. kim il zonk, kim jong-il, and kim jong-un. the execution seems to be meant that treason was committed by such a trusted figure. kim jong-un is trying to cement his power and authority. he has blamed all his faults and failures to date on chun with

his verdict. he probably made it public to justify himself and his leadership. the end of the verdict says, we know of no one other than kim jong-un. it's meant to emphasize that he is the one and only top leader of the system and that numbers two and three do not exist. december 17th is the second anniversary of the death of former leader kim jong-il. thousands of people will gather for a memorial service. jeng was removed so he would not be present for that event. the senior officials there will represent a clear distinction between those close to jeng sun thek and those who are not. more purges are likely to follow. jeng's people will probably be banished from their posts or

executed. turmoil is probably inevitable for the time being. ties with china, especially in the economic field, will probably diminish. the relationship between north korea and china will have to be monitored closely. the purge will be nationwide. tensions will continue in north korea, even among officials of local governments. china's announcement last month of an air defense identification zone over the east china sea has triggered concern across the region. japan is working with southeast asian allies to ensure safe

flights. the allies have gathered in tokyo for a summit, and one of the main discussions is on the latest chinese move. nhk world reports. >> reporter: the special summit kicked off friday in tokyo. the leaders of japan are working with asean counterparts to project a unified voice on the air zone issue. nhk got access to a draft of the summit's communique. it says japan and the ten asean member states will step up cooperation to ensure air safety in the region. it also says japan will help asean and china create legally binding rules to settle territorial issues over islands in the south china sea. china's decision last month has shaken up other asian countries. china's newly announced zoning

partly overlaps with other nations, including japan. beijing has indicated it may set up another air defense identification zone in the south china sea, a focus of territorial disputes with countries such as the philippines and vietnam. japanese prime minister shinzo abe wants to win backing from asean nations in challenging the legitimacy of china's policy, but officials are still struggling over the exact wording of the drafts. for some countries with strong ties with china, taking a strong position may be difficult. others fear china's expanding reach and may react accordingly. members of the summit are racing to reach a final agreement, but the political stances of each country against china are different. a communique should be issued as early as friday night.

officials are working around the clock to come up with a deal. mitsiko nishikawa, nhk world, tokyo. engineers at the crippled fukushima daiichi plant have identified why the number 3 reactor experienced a meltdown after the 2011 disaster. they say the accident likely resulted from the early breakdown of the cooling system and failed attempts to inject water. the plant's number 1, 2, and 3 reactors suffered meltdowns. at reactor number 3, the meltdown began about 10:30 a.m., march 13th, two days after the earthquake and tsunami. engineers with tokyo electric power company say the latest findings suggest that part of the fuel was exposed because the water level inside the reactor was too low. this indicates the functions of the emergency cooling system had already been lost by early morning. their report also says

firefighters began to douse the reactors with water shortly after 9:00 a.m. they say that may have been ineffective because of leaks from the piping. tepco officials say they will continue to investigate why massive amounts of radioactive substances were released and how it happened. now we have ron madison with the latest in biz news. ron? >> thanks a lot, gene. we're hearing now that japan is getting ready to help southeast asian nations to cushion any potential impact of a tightening of u.s. monetary policy. japan has agreed to expand its currency swap agreements. under the agreements, japan will increase the amount of currency it can lend from $12 billion to $22.7 billion. for the philippines, the ceiling will double. japan will also set up a new fund for singapore. a decision by the fed could prompt investors to pull their

money out of emerging economies, and that could possibly trigger excessive fluctuations in financial markets. japan wants to head off such developments by expanding or creating these swap agreements. finance minister taro aso says the association of southeast asian nations is crucial for japan. malaysian prime minister has called on japanese businesses to invest more in southeast asia. he's seeking to help integrate their economies. he spoke at a meeting of businesspeople in tokyo ahead of a special summit between japan and asean. he noted that the plan for the integration of the ten asean economies has been making steady progress. these countries are trying to abolish tariffs and liberalize investment and services. >> our vision is to transform@region into a single market with a population of over 600 million and an integrated

production base. >> he pointed out that the preparations for the integration happen mostly completed, emphasized there has been no change in the plan to launch an integrated economic community in 2015. the prime minister also said private firms will be essential in creating such a community in the region, and he encouraged japanese companies to increase investments, especially in the environment and biotechnology sectors. let's move on to the markets now. european equities are on post that the u.s. federal reserve may soon wind down its $85 million a month bond buying program, and this has been rattling global stock markets in recent weeks. germany's benchmark has been on a downward trend the past two weeks after hitting a record closing high of 9,405 in november. are seeing slight gains at this hour for the frankfurt dax, up about a quarter percent, 9,040.

other markets, london is seeing gains of .2 of 1% and paris is up nearly .4 of 1%. earlier, tokyo's nikkei added .4 of a percent due to a weaker yen on speculation japan's biggest public pension fund may invest more in stocks. in mumbai, 20,715. banking shares were among the major luosers. investors are worried higher interest rates will hurt bank profits. concerns after industrial output for october came in weaker than expected. for the weak, the index lost 1.2%. on to currencies. early on friday, the dollar rose to a high against the yen, but due in part to profit taking. currently trading right now at

103.68. euro/yen around 122.39. u.s. trade negotiator recognizes that more time is needed to reach a high level agreement in the transpacific partnership free trade talks. delegates failed to reach a deal by year end. acting deputy trade representative wendy cutler says the 12 nations are reaching towards an agreement in january. they couldn't overcome differences on issues such as agricultural tariffs and intellectual property rights. >> they reaffirmed the commitment of achieving a high level, comprehensive agreement, even if that meant taking a little more time to achieve such an agreement, and they agreed to meet soon after the new year again. >> cutler said she'll work hard to find common ground in an effort to complete the deal at january talks. south korea has said that it will explore the possibility of joining the tpp discussions, but

cutler said it would be very difficult for any country to enter the ongoing negotiations, given the time table. in japan, a high ranking government official is also cautious about the outcome of the tpp talks. senior vice minister attended the discussions in singapore and now says the negotiations could lose momentum if the member countries don't reach an agreement by next spring. he also says the u.s. administration might want to show results before going into midterm elections scheduled for next autumn. one big problem is how to proceed on issues that call for political decisions, considering how long the protection of intellectual property rights should continue. all right. that's going to wrap it up for biz tonight. i'll leave you with a check of the markets.

it's cold, windy, and snowing in japan. our meteorologist robert speta has a update. robert? >> yeah, gene, really even in the tokyo area we've been seeing some pretty gusty winds out here today. right around noontime at the international airport, about 61 kilometer per hour sustained winds. even farther towards the north in hokkaido, over 100 kilometer winds. i also want to show you a video coming out of iwata prefecture. you see the accumulation on the

ledges, that's just how much snow has fallen in that short period of time. people getting out and about, their shovels have to clear it out. good news, this part of japan, not uncommon to see the snow come down. it's hard, but it is causing some travel problems out here. and for those people that are a little bit surprised to see the snow, that's going to be farther towards the southwest, because you have that sea effect snow machine, there's a very cold air coming in, it picks up that moisture and even parts of western japan, you're looking at the snow. as far as the heaviest, it will be towards the north and farther towards the south. you could see up to about 60 centimeters of snowfall in the next 24 hours alone. hokkaido, you're looking at widespread areas about 50 centimeters. even areas towards the east on the pacific coast, 30 to 40 could trail over here, so a lot of people feeling the effects of this. for the most part, the pacific coast of japan will stay dry,

including the kanto area, you're going to see gusty winds out of this. the dry weather will be changing, though. taking a look towards the south, widespread rain showers this weekend across much of southern china, hong kong, taipei. this is going to develop and head off towards east, though, and basically push just south of japan, including the tokyo area, some rain showers coming out of that. next week, enjoy the dry weather while it lasts. tokyo, high of 11, partly cloudy. saturday, seoul with a high of only 1. cloudy for you. beijing at 7. ulan bator, minus 11. on the flip side of that, 30s across the tropics. let's talk about what's going on in the americas, where frigid temperatures are still the big topic. we've been watching this moisture flow out of the pacific ocean and it has started to spawn this low pressure area towards the east of the rockies

and while that is going to be developing here the next 24 hours and throughout friday, pushing off here towards the east. snowfall across the ohio river valley, some thunderstorms down towards the south. few could become strong, about 15 to 20 centimeters as far as your snow and even the mixed precipitation coming in with this. lake effect towards the northeast, that will be changing over to just straight-up snow really if you're under it, isn't going to make much of a difference. you're still going to be seeing the snowfall across that area now and into the weekend as our storm system pushes off there towards the east. it will pump some warm air ahead of it, though, atlanta with a high of 11. new orleans, 23 for your high. mind it, cold air will start to filter in. i want to talk about what's going on here in europe. we have a cut-off low towards the middle east and this is still bringing some precipitation there into parts of damascus. you saw about 100 millimeters of rainfall in the past 24 hours. next three days, still the chance of snowfall out here, but by the end of the weekend, looks

like the cut-off low will start to dissipate and slightly improving conditions by sunday. that's a look at your world weather. here's a look at your extended forecast. an age-old rite ha

reenacted in japan's ancient capital, kyoto. a group of female entertainers known as geikos has paid a courtesy call on their dance teacher ahead of the new year. the group visited their teacher dressed in kimonos. the young women in training have traditionally visited their teachers on december 13th to thank them for the past year and to offer early new year greetings. they met in a practice room where the teacher offered the students words of encouragement and gave each a new fan to be used next year. >> translator: this is the first time for me to participate in

the traditional new year's greeting. i'll train harder next year. that's "newsline" for this hour, i'm gene otani in tokyo.