eyes on north korea. u.n. delegates try to find common ground as leaders in pyongyang ignore warning after warning. members of the u.n. security council are still figuring out how to respond what's happens in north korea. leaders in pyongyang say they intend to follow through on their promise to launch a rocket on thursday at the earliest. they say it will carry a satellite into space, but representatives of other countries stay they're testing a missile and have demanded the

u.n. respond. the u.s. ambassador currently holds the rotating security council chair. susan rice says members agree the launch would be a provocation. >> we think that as a consequence of that, should it occur, the council will need to convene and to respond credibly. >> the north launched a long-range rocket in 2009. the security council adopted a president's statement condemning the act rather than a resolution, which would have been stronger. china holds veto power. u.n. sources say that a chinese representative is likely to oppose any new resolutions. delegates are trying to draw concessions over violence in syria, and political analysts say they don't want to create any additional disagreements. japan's foreign minister gemba and u.s. secretary of state hillary urging north kore to cancel the launch until the

last minute. gemba sayshe group of eight foreign ministers should issue an emergency statement condemning north korea if the launch goes ahead. they'll meet later in the day. >> translator: i believe it's important that g8 foreign ministers send a strong message at the upcoming meeting. >> we believe that strength and security will not come from more provocations but from north korea living up to its commitments and obligations. gemba says the launch would hinder u.s. efforts to resume dialogue with leaders in pyongyang. members of north korea's governing workers party is expected to appoint kim jong-un as general secretary of the party's top post. they meet during the day for the national convention. members will gather for their first conference in september 2010. kim made his public debut then as the heir apparent to his late father kim jong-il.

kim jong-un is expected to assume the country's top post on friday. the supreme people's assembly will install him as chairman of the national defense commission. kim became the supreme commander of the armed forces late last year. with the successions he'll complete the transfer of power from his father who died last december. kim will hold the most senior positions in the ruling party, state and military. all of these events take place around what would have been the 100th birthday of the country's founder kim il-sung. north koreans are expected to hold a mass rally on sunday to celebrate the centennial. south korean and japanese personnel are preparing to intercept anything that enters their air space. they say they've dealt with such provocations before. >> reporter: north korea tested its first ballistic misnil 1993. the nodong 1 had a range capable

of reaching almost any part of japan or its territories. the first launch of a long-range missile, the taepong dong 1 took place in 1988. that fell over japan before falling into the pacific ocean. in july 2006, north korea carried out a series of tests over the sea of japan firing seven missiles at once. one of them, the taepodong 2 has a range of 6,000 kilometers. that means it is capable of reaching the mainland united states. three years later, pyongyang tested an improved version of the taepodong 2. and analysts believe north korea's missile development program has several objectives. one is to enhance its military power. the north korean government also views its missile tests as a trump card in negotiations with the u.s.

analysts also suspect north korea hopes to use missile technology exports as a source of revenue. thank you for joining us today. professor, one site says this is a rocket and the other says this is a missile launch. what is your opinion? >> north korea is likely to mount what they call satellite on the missile, but i cannot say for certain whether it's really a satellite or not. now the rocket itself is believed to be a variant of the taepodong ii ballistic missile. an important point will be whether the north succeeds in putting what they call a satellite into orbit. previous attempts have failed. in 2009, the first and second stages of the booster flew well, but the third one did not separate. if north korea succeeds this time and put the satellite into

orbit it will mean the country is capable of delivering a lightweight payload to the continental united states. that would reinforce north korea's position when it's negotiated with washington. >> then what distinguished this launch from previous ones? >> the fact that the missile will be launched to the south. in the past three occasions, north korea launched the missiles to the east. since the -- to the east, the missile would have greater acceleration flying eastward. then why are the north koreans launching the misil to the south? my guess is they are trying to simulate a missile attack against the u.s. mainland in order to attack the u.s. mainland you have to launch the misil missile to the north. the first one would fly over china and the other over russia.

so you don't want to do that. they've decided to launch it to the south where it has a clear path over the ocean. >> right. so is the launch likely to succeed, do you think? >> well, north korea's launching more or less the same missile as the one launched in 2009 so north korea is using the proven technology, but then the missile flew more than 3,000 kilometers. however in the past three taepodong test flights, are not korea has never succeeded in launching what they call a satellite. so the missile launch is likely to succeed, but what they call a satellite polite nmight not be orbit. this is their fourth attempt. we'll wait and see what happens. >> thank you very much, professor. now the question is when north korean authorities will give the green light. as we've mentioned, they are weighing several factors, not the least of which is the

weather. what's the forecast? >> according to the japanese aerospace organization, the ideal condition for the launch is gusts less than 60 kilometers per hour and no thick clouds within ten kilometers of the site and dry conditions. ideally less than 8 millimeters of rain per hour. based on that, conditions will be favorable from thursday into saturday because the high pressure system will be dominating in and around the area. on friday, there will be a little bit of cloud here because we've got two low pressure systems to the north and south. and on saturday a bit cloudy in the early morning but should clear up. so dry conditions and less windy conditions for the next three days, but things will change on sunday and monday as the low pressure system moves in. so we're expecting cloudy conditions on sunday with relatively strong southwesterly winds and on monday, some

showers and variable windy conditions. so it looks like conditions for the launch on sunday and monday are less than ideal. back to you. >> thank you very much there. north korea says it has started to fuel the rocket which is scheduled to launch between thursday and monday as we've been reporting. this is the final step of the launch preparations. now in some other news, china's ruling communist party has suspended a former senior member from the post he still held. bo xilai used to be party chief in the city of chongqing and destined for better things. the xinhua news agency reports the party suspended bo from his post on its political bureau. members suspect he was involved in serious violations of discipline. bo was a notable member of the so-called princeling faction of children of senior leaders. he's been viewed as a contender for the party's top ranks. but a former close aide temporarily fled to the u.s.

consulate in february to seek asylum. party leaders then dismissed bo as chongqing party chief. political analysts say the decision to banish bo from the politburo effectively ends his career and his troubles aren't over. xinhua is reporting his wife gu kailai is being investigated for the murder of a british citizen. neil hayward was found dead in a chongqing hotel. the news agency says gu had been turned over to authorities. it quoted police as saying the murder was motivated by a fight over business interests. and british foreign secretary william hague has welcomed china's decision to investigate the murder. >> and it should, of course, be investigated in itself, irrespective of political considerations. >> hague said he began pressing china a few weeks ago to look into hayward's death. the joint envoy for the u.n. and arab league kofi annan has urged syrian government and opposition forces to end their

year-long conflict by thursday. the two sides kept fighting past a tuesday deadline for withdrawing troops. annan made the appeal when he visited syrian refugees on the turkish border. >> i believe it's a bit too early to say that the plan has failed. if the will is there, we can still get the cessization of hostilities by the 12th. >> syrian foreign minister walid said government forces proceed with the withdrawal step by step. but reports say they've not let up their attacks on the rebel strongholds of homs and hana. at least 60 people across the country were killed on tuesday.

>> the u.n. security council backed annan's demand that government troops change course. >> members of the council are unified in their grave concern that this deadline has passed and the violence has not only continued but over the last ten days has intsified. >> rice demanded that the syrian government follow through on its promises. former senator rick santorum has ended his bid for the presidcy. the announcement clears the way for former massachusetts governor mitt romney to secure the republican nomination. >> we will suspend our campaign effective today. >> santorum put priority on christian values and pushed for conservative policies. he won an unexpected victory in the january caucuses in iowa posing a strong challenge to front-runner romney.

but santorum failed to build on that early support. romney was the clear winner in last month's super tuesday contests when ten states held primaries and caucuses. his lead over santorum continued to widen. former house speak newt gingrich and texas congressman ron paul are still in the race. but santorum's withdrawal means the republican race is effectively over. romney will most certainly challenge democratic incumbent barack obama in the november presidential election. judged by its cover, this newly published book looks simple enough. a collection of photos accompanied by works. but on this week's "road ahead" we'll see the back story is more complex. starts with a tsunami that cut short the life of a young girl in fukushima and includes a father who is determined to preserve his daughter's memory.

>> reporter: the book is kwauld "yuna," the name of the girl who went missing on march 11th, 2011. she was 7 years old at the time. customers are drawn to the child on the cover. >> translator: when i look at this book, i feel as if this girl is still out and about. i can't believe that she isn't here. >> reporter: the book is the work of yuna's father. it was published a year after the disaster. >> translator: memories gradually fade away, especially for children. i don't want anyone to forget yuna, and i thought the book might help cultivate new friends for her. >> reporter: yuna lived in okuma town, site of the stricken nuclear plant. entry has been tightly restricted since the accident. her home was destroyed by the

tsunami. only kimura and his older daughter survived. the bodies of kimura's father and his wife were eventually recovered. yuna is still listed as missing. last july, kimura was given permission to enter okuma. he picked through the debris searching for a memory he could hold on to. he found many pictures in the mud. the grieving father was seized by a new emotion. a fear that yuna's young friends would start to forget her. determined to preserve her memory, kimura decided to self publish a book. he brought the photographs to a publishing company in tokyo. yuna was always cheerful and active. alongside her photos he put down

things she had said. words and expressions that remained fixed in his mind. yuna talks directly to the reader. "i will be number one." "it's all right." many poses show the girl's determination. kimura says that it looks like his daughter is trying to cheer him up. the book was published on february 25th. on that day, kimura finally organized a funeral for yuna and his other family members. >> reporter: we will never forget you. more than anything else, these are the words kimura wanted to

hear. >> translator: yuna's friends said this book allows them to keep her memory by their side forever. when i hear that, i feel it was great that i made this book. i'm so happy that it will help yuna live in people's hearts. >> norio kimura says part of the profits from the book will be donated. the money will go to a group that helps children affected by the disaster. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 disaster. but it won't be easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses, entire communities. we'll show you their struggles and their successes on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on newsline. in seoul, shops on wheels are all the rage.

they require little investment, and they're easy to open. a wide variety of businesses are starting unique mobile shops. sue choi has more on the story. >> reporter: a mobile shop is doing business in this popular hangout for office workers. from the outside, this looks like your average van, but once you step inside, you'll find it's actually a clothes shop. >> reporter: with 200 pairs of fashion jeans on sale. because of its convenient location, some 20 or 30 women hop into this shop during their lunch break. >> translator: it's very convenient. they have many types of fashionable jeans. >> reporter: it all started out as a solely operated made-to-order apparel store in the city's main fashion district. now it has several designers and

managers who hit the streets in this mobile shop. >> translator: we sell business suits and shirts in the office areas, targeting people in their 30s to 40s. we take family goods to residential areas. our sales have grown more than 30% since we started mobile stores. it's getting warmer now, and the jeans season is coming soon. we are planning to make the rounds more often. >> reporter: the new school year has just started in south korea. what you see here on campus is a mobile bank. equipped with the latest technology, it offers a full range of banking services. >> translator: this bank saves time. it can handle transactions faster than regular banks.

>> students can use automatic teller machines to make deposits and withdrawals, transfer money and open accounts and even take out a loan. >> translator: we started mobile banks to provide financial services at remote locations like mountain areas where soldiers train. we also take advantage of seasonal demand at places such as festivals, beaches in summer and ski resorts in winter. we plan to open more of these banks in the future. >> reporter: because it's easy to set up a mobile shop, more young people are getting into mobile retailing and becoming their own bosses. this is the owner and chef of the restaurant. he's only 27 years old. he studied cooking in college and worked at a major hotel for a year. but he couldn't do the kind of cooking he wanted to. so two years ago he opened this

roving restaurant at a cost of only $4,500. the place is buzzing with customers until the late hours. >> translator: good food, cheap price, and it's fun, too. i love it. >> translator: this costs much less than starting a regular restaurant and allows me to serve the kind of food i like. it gives young people like me an opportunity to open their own business. besides, i can make more money and use my time the way i want to. >> reporter: online shops are drawing strong attention in south korea, but analysts say doing business face-to-face is still a key to success. >> translator: there are a wide variety of businesses like big

stores and online shops in the retail industry. and competition is intensifying. mobile shops are attracting attention now as a niche industry. the number of these shops will increase if they better understand the customers' needs. >> reporter: the city is dotted with all kinds of mobile shops, and they're changing seoul's retail landscape. sue choi, nhk world. and here's sayaka mori once again. this time with the world weather forecast. >> things are getting quite stormy across much of japan. a strong low pressure system has already produced a lot of rain and very strong winds across much of western japan. rain of over 130 millimeters have fallen in nagasaki prefecture.

and the system is now starting to impact the central japan. so very heavy rain and strong winds are on the cards. but by tomorrow, things will be clearing up and sunny weather should return. as for the korean peninsula, getting dry, but things are getting very wet across the southern half of china. down towards the indochina peninsula, widespread scattered showers and rain will intensify across parts of cambodia as well as southern vietnam. moving on to the americas, things are getting wet and windy in the west. as a low pressure system moves in a the system will produce very heavy snow in the upper elevations. up to 60 centimeters of snow is on the cards in the southern sierras from wednesday into friday. meanwhile, active weather is still going on across the southern plains, particularly wet in northern texas. the threat of severe thunderstorms, large hail, damaging winds and even tornadoes will continue

throughout tuesday night. the threat will be also spread into colorado and new mexico on your wednesday. meanwhile, the reason for this active weather is warmer air from the south will be colliding with cooler air from the north. so whereas the southern u.s. is experiencing dry -- warm conditions, lots of freeze warnings and watches have been posted for much of the northeastern u.s. highs will be 10 degrees on -- in chicago on your wednesday with morning low of minus 1. toronto, 10 degrees as well. new york getting up to 13 degrees and the same goes for washington, d.c. but to the south, as i mentioned, very warm. 29 degrees in houston and 29 in miami. now heading over to europe, multiple systems are producing messy weather to much of western and northern europe producing thunderstorms, gusty winds and even hail in some locations. over the next 24 hours, heavy rain will be spread into the western section of the balkan

peninsula. out towards the east, another system is producing severe weather in eastern turkey and those stormy conditions should remain into thursday. as for the highs, many areas are experiencing warmer than average temperatures. getting up to 14 degrees in berlin and 17 degrees in vienna. in moscow, 6 degrees. slightly cooler than average but we'll be moderating into more typical levels as we head into friday. all right. that's it for me now. and here's your extended forecast.

and a quick reminder of the main story once again. north korea says it has started to fuel the rocket, which is scheduled to launch between thursday and monday. and this is the final step of the launch preparations. and that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." we'll be back in about half an hour so do stay with us. i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. thank you very much for

watching.