new roads and bridges. new mass transit. new business friendly environment. new lower taxes. and new university partnerships to grow the businesses of tomorrow today. learn more at esd.ny.gov a very good saturday to you. i'm richard lui. north korea showing off its newest long-range missiles. what is the range of these new weapons and what are pyongyang's capabilities now? and trump's next move. the commander in chief is monitoring the situation from mar-a-lago with vice president mike pence heading to south korea right now. what can and will the president do to try to neutralize the north korean threat?

and then tax day protests. dozens taking to the streets april 15th to demand president trump release his tax returns. >> we are taking the gloves off to say knock off the secrecy, mr. president, and publicly release your own tax returns. >> we're going to start this hour here at msnbc looking at the fragile situation between north korea and the united states. it's overnight at the moment in north korea, around 2:30 a.m. earlier today -- or rather yesterday their time, the nation held a military parade showing off its military muscle. these are some of the pictures of that as officials threaten a nuclear response. this procession you're seeing here featured the nation's newest arsenal missiles, some stuff we haven't seen before.

this, as they celebrated the birthday of kim il-sung, the country's founding president and the grandfather of the current leader, kim jong-un, who is in his 30s. all of this happens while mike pence heads to south korea. janice is live from seoul with the latest. >> reporter: richard, with tension extremely high here, there was a massive parade of missiles and military hardware in pyongyang. the regime had promised a big event to mark this important day on the calendar and it certainly delivered. experts believed there was at least one or as many as three new types of intercontinental ballistic missiles, which would be capable of reaching the united states. kim was there watching the show, also backing the latest threat from the regime that if the -- that the u.s. faces all-out war and annihilation if north korea is attacked.

now, this is an area of the world that is familiar with this sort of tension. but what distinguishes this escalation from past crises is the world of china. china is the main ally of north korea and the country's economic lifeline. china is urging both sides to back down to avoid having a situation spiral out of control. as it stands, neither side appears to be willing to do so. the risk, of course, is that a small mistake could lead to terrible consequences. >> janice, thank you for the latest. let's take a closer look now, as we were mentioning, about the capabilities of north korea and its arsenal. today's parade gave an inside window into the type of weaponry that the nation possesses. the hardware appears to be more advanced than expected. joining me is brigadier general

mark kimet. let's start with this. it's been called an icbm, believed to be potentially solid fuel. what's the deal? your thoughts? >> i think what the north koreans are trying to demonstrate that they not only have the ability to reach japan and korea but getting close to the west coast of united states. >> how big of a development is this? again, icbm and solid fuel. >> well, we have understood for quite some time that the north koreans were developing a very aggressive missile program. on one hand, we should be concerned while watching that development but, on the other hand, i think we recognize that what we're seeing is a capability but not a specific intent to use those missiles. >> again, we're just looking at what potentially could be canisters that are welded together and painted. we do not know.

>> sure. >> the kn-14 and what we discussed, the icbm, then there is this slbm, something that could be launched from potentially a submarine. big deal here? how far have they moved along this line? >> again, i think we need to be careful about overstating their capabilities simply because they are trying to demonstrate that they can stand up to the world. >> yeah. >> i think we actually have some things to be concerned about but this emerging role of china as a broker is something the united states has been looking for for quite a few years. i'm, frankly, encouraged by the role that president xi is taking to try to diffuse the tensions here. >> you're alluding to a brokerage, if you will, of elements related to nuclear programs. as has been reported, how they sell items on the black market, gray market to countries like iran. is that the big worry here, really, what we're trying to

stop? >> well, certainly we're worried about the proliferation of missile technology and perhaps proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. we remain worried about the threat this poses to two of our closest allies, japan and korea. but what we're really looking for the chinese to do is stop the long-term tensions. not necessarily these tensions that happen one at a time. they are the broker. they are the ones who can diffusion the situation today, tomorrow and could have for the last few years. korea, north korea depends heavily on the patronage of china. they have been reluctant in the past to become involved in this situation. i'm happy to see that they are now taking an active role. >> the u.s. moves in terms of its military now very close to north korea. >> yeah. >> is this a good or bad thing? how is it working out on this day? >> well, i think we speed to look at what president trump is doing, not simply in the context

of north korea but throughout the world. it is clear that what has happened is some of our enemies have tried to test this new president. you saw in january where the national security council put the iranians on notice. you saw the response to the syrian provocation and you're seeing the response to the north korean provocation. my view is that this is a president that is drawing the new red lines and telling these nations how far they can go and how far they can't go. and that's a good thing for america. >> all right. retired brigadier mark kimmit, thank you. appreciate that. one of the biggest issues as the brigadier general is bringing up is the united states faces the diplomatic options and the support on the ground in south korea and the difficulty that the u.s. has in terms of its ability. on "hardball," christopher hill did speak about that topic and the extra complications

affecting the region. take a listen. >> and so for us to get into a kinetic strike against north korea without full understanding, full consultation for the south koreans could create a lot of problems, especially if north korea were to fire back as in retaliation. so i think we need to be very close to the south koreans. right now we have no ambassador here. we have no ambassador in the pipeline. i think there's a real problem in terms of our ability to communicate out here. >> joining us now, dig deeper on this topic, is rebecca grant, national security expert and senior fellow with the asia society. thank you both for being with us. let me start with rebecca on this. hard power versus soft power. we're seeing some moves by the united states when it comes to hard power. has anything changed in terms of what was formally believed to be say soft power is still better at this moment? >> soft power and hard power go

together. so right now one of the most important things is we have very close military cooperation with south korea. as you know, we have u.s. air forces and army forces there. it's a combined command and so a lot of what we've seen is hards power reinforcing the soft power. the movement of the "vinson" strike group. we deployed initial elements of the terminal high altitude interceptor to korea. >> so you just well-described, rebecca, for us, the hard-powered element. the soft-powered element is the question. do we have the troops and lack of an ambassador, you don't have that balance, then. it's really a hard-power move if you look at that assessment. >> i think you're right.

what we want to see is more soft power. we need an ambassador in south korea. we need to get the ambassador confirmed for china and need one for japan. i think south korea and japan, our so-called enemy north korea, our frenemy china, we need more communication with all of them and let them know what we are willing to do and not willing to do. we need better communication. >> it's a hard comparison, rebecca. certainly full of a lot of difficult choices, really in terms of no win. that's how the scenarios are put out in these policy briefs given to the president. in this case with north korea, also a lot of tough choices at the moment because, as we were talking about with the brigadier general, 10 million people. if there was to be military action, many would say sarin gas goes over that 30-mile stretch,

hits that city with 10 million people and there begins a very horrible scenario, not only for the korean peninsula but for all of asia. >> that's right. that's why it's called a demilitarized zone where those forces face one another. key points to remember, we do have good missile defenses. our forces in south korea are very strong. i'm not surprised that we've seen concerns by south korea's population about what this means for them. this really is in their backyard. but remember, china comes in here, too. north korea has been china's buffer state for 50 years or more. but they're not behaving in a way that's helping right now. the international situation is such that north korea has to change its behavior. i think we see china recognizing that. we need china to help us move forward and we'll keep our hard

power shield up to show that we need progress. >> isaac, it's been said that it's no longer kim jong-un, it's really the president of the united states but is china also part of that mix? >> i think they are. we've been told for so long that they don't have influence on north korea. and that's completely false. there's a lot that china can do if it decides to really constrain north korea. so i think what xi jinping decides is really important in this calculus. i think the other thing that we have to remember is that even though china is north korea's most important ally, there's no lost love between these two countries. there's a lot of hatred and ill will between the two sides. on the one hand, while china has a lot of influence, they don't have a lot of soft power in north korea. i think watching the relationship is a really important was not to keep an eye on. >> as well as the russia and north korean relationship as

much as it is very, very old, we're looking at nuclear capabilities that came from the soviets back in the day. so all of these interlinkages that you all have described so well for us. thank you both. >> thank you. now a look at bryant park in new york city, site of one of dozens of protests today. we'll go there live after this. you're going to be hanging out in here. so if you need anything, text me. do you play? ♪ ♪ use the chase mobile app to send money in just a tap, to friends at more banks then ever before. you got next? chase. helping you master what's now and what's next.

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here are some cities that we're watching where protests are taking place.

this is over trump not refusing to release his tax returns. 53% of voters say trump should be forced to release his tax returns and 51% say it's very important or somewhat important to them. morgan, what really these protests saying? >> reporter: that's right. you can feel the energy out here. we have signs like this. bankruptcies, $3 million for a golf trip. you can feel the energy and people are saying, look, as tax day, we have the citizens to pay our taxes so you should have to

show yours. some other interesting signs we saw, you are out here, why? >> i can't think of anything more important than protecting our democracy. this isn't a partisan issue. this is about being an american and protecting our democracy. and we know for a fact that it has been attacked and infiltrated by russia. we know for a fact that our administration has deep links to russia and the only way that we can know what kind of business ties our president has, this is all over the world and looking at his tax returns. he's the only person who has never returned them in 40 years. this is something we do every year and i would just say, mr. trump, if you have nothing to hide, then please release them.

why not? because if you release them and you're not hiding anything, the american people can feel rest assured that at least our democracy is protected. if you care about the american people, you will release your taxes. >> reporter: describe the threat that the current president has to our democracy. do you think actions like this is the way to make our voices heard? >> absolutely. 25,000 people here are making their voices heard. you can see the power that the women's march had. and this is how we shake things up and sends our message to our senators and house representatives that we are watching and we are watching what they are fighting for and

what they are not fighting against. and we will show up at the polls and act accordingly. and this shows passion. this shows fear. this is real. this is a real threat to our way of life and our country. this is not about being a democrat. it's about being a republican, an independent, a green party, a democrat, anybody who is an american citizen should feel the same way about this. we need to make sure that the president of the united states' first and only concern and commitment is to we the people. >> thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. >> reporter: as you heard debra mention, this isn't about being a republican or democrat, this is about being an american and being a responsible american. richard? >> morgan radford there in new

york city with a very energetic crowd. mia, are the crowds growing in number in atlanta or decreasing? >> reporter: richard, we just wrapped up that two-mile march through downtown atlanta. joining us right now is one of the organizers of today's march and two rallies that you had here. thank you for being here with us. first of all, what were you hoping to accomplish today? >> that we want transparency from this administration and we want mr. trump to release his taxes. people are interested to know what kind of entanglements he has. >> why is that so important? >> because it speaks to what the goals are and who they are beholden to and he's a transparent president and we ask for that transparency. >> we saw all kinds of people out here today. what does that say about this

movement? >> that this movement is multigenerational and it's what america really looks like and we're expecting our president to act on behalf of all americans. you saw america cross-sectioned here and we want transparency. >> what's next? we're having all of these marches across the country and around the world. what's the next step? >> our elections. there's a very special election here in atlanta on tuesday and we expect the progressive candidate will win that election and send a message to all of america that there's a progressive movement that's coming. we're serious and we're gathering momentum and we'll see that steam on tuesday. >> gerald, thank you so much for joining us. another thing that we kept hearing out here from the protesters and marchers is that by law the president doesn't have to release his tax returns but that's something they'd like to see changed. richard? >> and as was mentioned by one

of those who was participating in today's march there, saying that it's a key election in the sixth district in atlanta that could see a democrat surprisingly win potentially in what is a republican stronghold. so a lot to watch there in atlanta, georgia. mai a-rod r maia rodriguez, thank you. next, united policy change over the removal of the passenger from one of their flights. why many consumer rights advocates are angry with the change.

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since friday, a delay in evacuations left passengers right outside that city. and friendlier skies might be in sight. united will ensure that crew on the aircraft are in their seats at least 60 minutes before departure. this comes after the viral image of showing dr. david dao violently being taken by staff. they will offer passeers up to $10,000 to give up their seats voluntarily. while most of president trump's aides remain in washington even as the close eye is on north korea. a closer look at how the president is monitoring the situation. sometimes you just know when you hit a home run.

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hi, i'm richard lui. topping the headlines for you at

the bottom of the hour, north korea raises tensions and eyebrows dirg the eyebrows during their anniversa anniversary parade. and an afghan official says the death toll from the largest nonnuclear weapon ever used has risen. a commander in the region where the u.s. military dropped the bomb on thursday, four important commanders and 94 isis fighters were killed by the so-called mother of all bombs. the official claims no civilians were killed. >> no more secrets! no more lies. that's the scene in west palm beach. the demonstrators are hoping that the president will hear them loud and clear. this marks the 7th of 13 weekends in office that he's spent in florida. his top aides stayed in d.c. to

celebrate the holiday weekend with their families. kelly o'donnell is there in west palm beach. how is the president -- as we watch a very tense 48 hours here in north korea, do we know what he's doing there at mar-a-lago to keep an eye on this? >> reporter: well, there's no easy answer on that. the white house is not providing much in the way of any background of what the president is doing, with whom he's speaking or any contacts. we know he spend most of today at west palmeachoes have access to secure communications with the white house situation room, the pentagon, anyone he would need to be in touch with. typical practice is, whenever there is a president traveling, there are key departments traveling with him. you pointed out some of the most senior aides are not here. that's notable. the first time in the dozen weeks that we have not seen the chief of staff or top strategist

traveling with the president. it may be part of why they have stayed home. but. >> are members of the national security council who are here and they direct people to let them know what is going on in north korea or anywhere else, for that matter. but maybe in part due to the holiday, there's been no readout from the white house on any specifics. now, it also is important to note that vice president mike pence is traveling to seoul and will be visiting four countries over the next ten days or so, his front and center seat on what's happening in that part of the world will be critical. the president and vice president often speak multiple times a day, based on the sources that we have, and the vice president and his family are heading to seoul, south korea. part of that mission is to offer reassurances, to discuss strategy and to work with leaders in that part of the world who have, arguably, the most at stake with north korea because they are its neighbors and certainly are within range

of north korea's capabilities now. the u.s. has great concern about the expansion of the nuclear program in north korea and the possibility of devises, delivery systems, rockets that could reach the pacific coast of the united states, for example. so this is an important trip for pence. it is also something that didn't happen overnight. it's been planned for a few months and the timing makes it even more relevant. richard? >> kelly o'donnell there in florida with the president, thank you so much. the president campaigned on the america first platform. now he seems to be looking beyond u.s. borders, based on some of the moves that he has made in recent weeks. he's taking on russia and syria and afghanistan. with all eyes on north korea at the moment, leon panetta warns the strong rhetoric coming from trump towards the rogue nation could escalate tensions. take a listen. >> the words from the

administration are creating even higher volume in terms of the provocations that are going on. i think we've got to be careful here. there's a reason no u.s. president in recent history has pulled a trigger on north korea. >> china's more rforeign minists they have their swords drawn. joining me thank you both for being here. shawn, when you look at this, what is your sense of the awareness of the complexities that this president understands with regard to north korea, given all the different layers? it's been said before, shawn, that it's potentially more complex than syria, which was his previous engagement. >> it really is a complicated situation and it's a situation for a new president who, during the campaign, didn't really articulate a coherent or consistent foreign policy approach or foreign policy idea.

this is really emerging as the first test of what he wants to do with the situation in north korea. we've seen the moves made with regard to launching a strike in syria. so this is a big test for our president who, coming into this, had no foreign policy experience and is now relying on people who are more experienced than he is to guide him through this process. but ultimately he's going to have to make these decisions. >> and it's been said here, when we look at the semantics and headlines here, daniel, he's operating more in a straight line as opposed to the zigzag and up and down, depending on how you like to call it here. your sense of the tenseless related to the topic there in the beltway, there at the white house at the moment. >> i think no one thought that when they were electing donald trump that north korea would dominate his foreign policy. i think you had previously talked but how there was no

senior aides around president trump in mar-a-lago. i think that indicates there's no serious concern that there's going to be a war starting in the next couple of days. and so i think trump is taking north korea seriously but it's not in his interests to get into a military fire fight with the north koreans, especially given that they are volatile and you just don't know what kim jong-un who is kind of this 30-year-old crazy person is actually going to do. >> you know, it's been said that kim jong-un is one that is unpredictable but in his unpredictability, he is predictable, you might say. when we look at kim jong-un and president trump and how they see each other, that is a real big question. you have the unpredictability of one leader in north korea but also the unpredictability of the u.s. president. that's the new, if you will, input to this relationship between the two countries. >> that's a really good point. this president is unpredictable

and has been unpredictable and world leaders are trying to feel him out and understand where he's coming from, what he would do and how he would react. remember, you have china and russia who, you know, geographically, certainly they are a lot closer to north korea than the united states is who have a vested interest in not having a big, explosive situation that results in turmoil right on their borders. so they're watching what this president is going to do. you have north korea watching and the whole world watching and, again, this is the first real big test because we didn't know coming into this presidency how this president would act on foreign policy. he gave signals during the campaign, at times seeming hawkish and other times not interested in be involved abroad. this is a real test that this

president is facing. >> when you look at this new president, daniel, he approached his administration by saying, i really don't like multilaterals. i prefer bilaterals. he had scores of discussions and meetings one on one with other leaders from countries around the world. in this case, kim jong-un wants that. he wants to be validated. i am real. i want to meet and talk to president trump. that doesn't work here because for tens of years, 10, 20 years now, we've been in the opposite way when it comes to foreign affairs here. how is he going to put the two together? >> i think trump is not going to use the old handbook when dealing with north korea. he's already kind of engaging in a tit for tat. i think he is thinking if they

could only hash out a deal and sit down with kim jong-un and have peace in the peninsula. the national security council is saying in his ear every day, this is a complex situation and we need china to put pressure on the north koreans and so far there is some indications that they actually are putting the foot down. they are going to share intelligence with the u.s., which is an unprecedented thing for the u.s. to be cooperating with china but you're also seeing them to not put much pressure on north korea either. >> the interesting question is how are they coming up with these decisions at the white house. daniel lipman, always a pleasure. thank you both. >> thank you. it's usually tax day today, but those protests are demanding president trump that he release his tax returns.

yasmin vossoughian will be with you in the next hour. stick around. think again. this is the new new york. we are building new airports all across the state. new roads and bridges. new mass transit. new business friendly environment. new lower taxes. and new university partnerships to grow the businesses of tomorrow today.

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these images are coming from the air in berkeley, california. there are over 100 tax marches across the country. this is, again, around 11:44 local time, berkeley, california, some reports of some sort of gas being used also in this space. we don't have any confirmation yet. very active on the ground there. we'll continue to watch what is happening there. again, one of the locations of tax marches across the country and then there's the nation's capital also on this tax day, a march there. that continues as protesters demand president trump release his tax returns. ali vitalli is there. >> reporter: richard, you can see around me, we're in the middle of this protest and started up at capitol hill when

we were hearing from lawmakers like maxine waters and ron wyden. the object yion is that he shou release his tax returns. we were told during the campaign it was because he was under audit and couldn't release them. of course, that doesn't actually preclude you from releasing your tax returns. people are saying on this tax day he should be releasing his tax returns. they want to see where his money is going and if he has any kinds of entanglements. one person who shares that concern is jan. >> i felt it was important to come out and say how i feel. i'm a moderate republican and i've taken a lot of flack for that but i feel betrayed by the republican party. i think what they are doing is reprehensible, crooked,

treasonness and i felt like i had to come out here and say that. >> do you think that seeing these protests could make change and make trump release his tax returns? >> i think it can definitely result in change. you know, 330 million americans in this country, we're not going to stand for this. this is a democracy. it's not a monarchy. you can't put your family members in the government without repercussion and you can't collude with foreign governments and two have high agents in the campaign and not expect people to question that. this is not a third world country. this is america. i'm not letting it go. >> a lot of people out here share that concern and many of them saying that they want to see those returns for those act reasons. of course, congress is holding an investigation into russian collusion in the 2016 election but this is another piece of the puzzle here with the trump

administration and washington is wanting to see what his monetary entanglements have been. >> ali, thank you so much. straight to portland, oregon, a crowd there for you. also, katie beck is on the ground. it looks quiet there, at least at this moment. >> at this moment but not for long. this is about two hours before the rally gets started. people in downtown portland are just starting to gather and show up with signs and instruments they are going to have a march. it's going to leave this plaza and take about a mile route around downtown portland, the same exact route as the women's march. these folks demanding what so many people are asking for. accountability, transparency and for the president to release his tax returns. now, joining me is an organizer of today's event in portland. why is this important to portland? >> i think it's important to portland because it's important to all americans.

we, like you said, demand accountability and trust in our leaders. this is something that the president has said over and over that he would do when he was campaigning. now he's the president and he said he's not going to do it. so we expect that he live up to his word and release his returns. >> in january, a senior white house official was saying people don't care about this anymore. they voted for president trump. this is over. what's your response to people don't care. >> i think the tax marches are a response to that statement. that's why we are doing this, is to prove that people do care. thousands of people are coming out today. hundreds of thousands of people around the country. and there's even lots of marches in cities around the world. so people care. >> reporter: the significance of having it on april 15th, obviously tax is on the mind, right? >> exactly. >> reporter: we look forward to speaking with you later. we'll bring you the latest as these crowds show up. still early here on the west coast but we expect the march to happen in about two hours. guys? >> 11:48 a.m. there in portland,

oregon. katie, thank you. just one of the 150 that we're counting across the country. next, new developments in arkansas' plan to execute 11 inmates in just 11 days. your al. try new flonase sensimist instead of allergy pills. your al. it's more complete allergy relief in a gentle mist you may not even notice. using unique mistpro technology, new flonase sensimist delivers a gentle mist to help block six key inflammatory substances that cause your symptoms. most allergy pills only block one. and six is greater than one. break through your allergies. new flonase sensimist

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thanks for staying with us. a series of executions sparking fierce debate in arkansas. beginning on monday, inmates are set to be executed over the course of 11 days. but a stay has halted virtually all executions. >> reporter: the fate of seven executions in arkansas are in doubt. protesters gathered at the state capitol and governor's mansion asking for mercy, including state judge wendell griffin, seen here on a cot attempting to portray a death row inmate.

in a separate decision, the arkansas supreme court granted bruce ward, the first to be executed, a stay of execution. for damien eckles, they are more than just convicted killers. >> these are people that i lived with for all 20 years. >> reporter: he spent 18 years on death row, one of the west memphis three convicted of killing three boys in 1993, described as a satanic ritual before dna released them in 2007. there has been support from big names in hollywood. >> i'm proud to be here and proud to stand in absolute solidarity. >> reporter: ace the arkansas governor tried to get these done

before the execution drug expires. jacob rascon, little rock, arkansas. >> also this morning, attorney general filed an emergency petition with the state supreme court asking that today's injunction be lifted. she said it's unfortunate that a u.s. district judge has chosen to side with the convicted pris nors in one of their last attempts to delay justice. thanks for being with us, kamela. with the emergency petition filed by the attorney general, what is expected to happen? will this ruling be reversed? >> well, i don't want to speculate on what the judges and justices look at this will be doing moving forward. what we can say right now is it's unclear what the status of these executions is going to be. the governor has said that he's committed to fighting to carry out these executions, that they will work to reverse these decisions.

there are two court decisions that block all of these executions. so the governor and the attorney general are fighting for these executions on two levels, both in state court and federal court. >> has it really come down to the issue with this lethal injection drug, as jacob rascon was describing to us, and the fact that it needs to be used by a certain time? >> that is why the governor has said that he scheduled these executions so closely together. there were originally eight men scheduled to be executed over the period of 11 days, which, if they were carried out, would be the fastest rate of executions that any state has done since the death penalty was brought back in the '70s. so this was an unprecedented move and he said it was because the state's supply was expiring and they wanted to fit in as many executions as they could before the drugs used by date.

this has become difficult for states to inquire because the companies that make and sell them don't want to be associated with these executions. >> finally, what is expected to be next? the state governor is part of this discussion here? >> yes. asa has been working to fight this. the attorney general has filed an appeal and we're going to have to watch to see what the courts say moving forward. the first execution was supposed to be on monday. so things are moving very quickly. >> all right. thank you so much. the very latest on what is happening in arkansas. have a great saturday. >> thanks. you, too, richard. that's it for me. yasmin vossoughian picks up our coverage from here. stay with us. was built with passion... but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. with it, i earn unlimited 2% cash back on all of my purchasing.

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day march as protesters demand president trump release his tax returns. marchers are taking place in 150 cities across the country. president trump is the first u.s. president since richard nixon not to release those tax returns. he claims his taxes are under audit and that no one cares about them. a new bloomberg poll suggests otherwise. 53% of voters say he should be forced and 51% say they are very or somewhat important to them. in berkeley, california, there's a face-off between supporters and detractors. police showing up in riot gear with fetear gas. reporters are on the ground following all of the action. i want to start in new york morgan radford is live.