u.n. blacklists. united nations officials consider new sanctions on north korean companies. officials are weighing whether to freeze the assets of more companies affiliated with pyongyang. they're expected to choose the firms within two weeks. the security council adopted a presidential statement on monday, condemning the launch of what it called a satellite using ballistic missile technology. the statement calls for additional groups and supplies to be added to the sanctions list. the council's sanctions

committee discussed how to handle the list of candidate companies submitted by the united states, japan and others. the committee chairman said he expects more member states to submit lists of their own. >> i'll tell you a number of companies have, and it's an ongoing protest. i think more suggestions will arrive. >> he said the committee will study the list over the next two weeks and select the firms to be targeted. the north korean leader kim jung-un carried his first public comments. kim said that a nation cannot defend its right to autonomy and

survival without adequate military might and that north korea must continue its programs to strengthen its military. he instructed the defense industry to develop a greater arsenal using the latest technologies and the highest quality. he said pyongyang will continue its efforts to achieve a unified korea, which was the wish of his late grandfather and father. the head of the u.s. missile defense program says that north korean officials have made no progress in developing a missile. pointing to the rocket they launched last friday, blowing up two minutes after takeoff. o'reilly made the assessment at a senate hearing, saying a lot of flight testing is needed to validate missile capability and said the north koreans haven't done that. >> it's been evident every time they test, and their progress has not been made apparent in

this latest flight test. >> the missile defense agency has set up interception bases in alaska and california to counter long-range ballistic missiles from north korea and elsewhere. analysts are analyzing information from their satellite around the clock. japanese and u.s. officials are discussing how to realign u.s. marines based in japan while keeping an eye on north korea and the region. as part of the talks, they are considering holding joint military drills in the west pacific. the officials say u.s. troops and japan's self-defense forces could conduct the drills on one of the northern mariana islanding. the japanese are considering help pay for the new facilities. they agreed to transfer the marines first.

three-quarters of u.s. forces stationed in japan are based in the southern prefecture. japanese government officials are studying a u.s. request to raise japan's share of the costs for the transfer to more than $3 billion. japan's trade balance in march went into the red again after february data snapped four straight months of deficits. the finance ministry said in its preliminary report on thursday that japan's trade deficit was about $1 billion last month. this led to a record trade deficit in the fiscal year that ended in march. it hit a historical high of $54 billion. exports are up for the first time in six months. that's nearly a 6% rise from a year earlier in yen terms and mainly due to an increase in shipments of autos and auto

motive parts. imports rose more than 10% due to a rise in imports of crude oil and liquefied gas. here is an outlook on japanese trade. >> i think that japan's trade deficit is likely to increase in coming months and the quarters for the following reasons. first, on the import side, i'm quite cautious in terms of the outlook of the restarting the nuclear power plant in japan, so the import of energy will remain elevated. in addition, the price of energies are likely to increase over time to the extent that we should expect the pickup of the economic growth rate. and also the result of a increase in the japanese

companies, the overseas production and we are likely to increase more from abroad and those goods which were in the past produced in japan. and on the export side, and also for the same reason, the export growth is likely to be positive but more slowly. in other words, the shift of the production to overseas will reduce the pace of the growth over japan's export. and in terms of the trade, that is export price to the import price ratio is ready to deteriorate. so for those reasons, i expect the other ade deficit is ready to expand in the coming years. the italian government has been trying to reveal its finances but it's now extended its balance budget target to one year to 2014.

the prime minister's administration held a meeting wednesday and included a report that includes the government's balanced budget outlook. the report postponed the balanced budget target by at least one year to 2014 or later. it projects the country's 2013 deficit will still be half a percent of gross domestic product. monty said everything his government is doing is aimed at supporting economic growth. sources say concerns will not increase following italy's announcement because the international community and financial markets have confidence in monty's policies. u.s. treasury secretary timothy geithner is urging debt-stricken europe to strike a balance between growth and austerity. >> we want to avoid getting into a situation since economic weakness produces in the short term larger deficits, you don't want to have to offset that

increase in the deficits with immediate difficult cuts in spending. >> geithner was speaking at a seminar ahead of a g20 meeting that starts thursday. he pointed out the risks of undermining stability and growth if europe tries to implement budget cuts and tax hikes immediately. geithner called for europe's self-help efforts without relying too much on the international monetary fund. about china, he welcomed the country's decision last week to expand the daily floating ban of its currency against the u.s. dollar. but he denied that it represents the end of china's reform process and called on china to do more in its currency reform and expand domestic demand. china says it will introduce 5 million eco friendly cars by

2020. it's seen as an effort to combat the country's air pollution. they will prioritize making electric cars and plug-in hybrids and policies taken to encourage individuals to buy such cars. measures will include subsidies on a trial basis and building charging facilities. china became the world's largest auto market three years ago, topping the united states. actions on the environment are apparently not keeping up with the pace of increased car ownership. this is causing serious air pollution. south korea is known as a super power in the field of cosmetic surgery. noses, wrinkles eliminated, warts removed. south korean surgeons do it all. and there's never a shortage of clients ear to change their

appearance. >> reporter: i'm now in a cosmetic surgery facility in seoul. on display is technologies unique to south korea where public interest in plastic surgery is high. more than 100 businesses took part in the exhibition. customers and members of the public checked out the latest technology. this machine scans faces and produces the results in 3-d. it can simulate the results of an operation. this machine scans to show bones and muscles and helps surgeons are their operations. as well, visitors receive free laser surgery. >> translator: korean women tend to believe that real beauty is

what's left after you take off your makeup. >> reporter: cosmetic surgeons in south korea performed about 770,000 operations in 2010. that's about 1.2 times more than the year before. each year, more peopl take an interest in this kind of surgery. more than half of seoul's plastic surgeons apply their trade in this area. it's called the beauty belt. more than 200 government certified clinics are packed into the city. this 30-year-old woman is on her way for a treatment. she's getting married next month and decided to improve her looks. she's undergoing laser treatment to get rid of wrinkles that are on her face. five treatments cost almost $800. >> translator: there's going to be a photo shoot, and i want to

look as beautiful as i can. >> reporter: this 27-year-old man, a university student, has also decided to enhance his looks. when he lost his business last year, he decided to remove pimple scars from his face. >> translator: i represent the company, so i would make a lot of presentations to audiences. if i can get rid of my facial imperfections, i think i will be able to perform with more confidence. >> reporter: he's just one of the growing number of men who have had cosmetic surgery in recent years. as well, more people from outside the country are coming here for cosmetic surgery. today, a 27-year-old master student arrived from china.

this clinic has a section exclusively for foreign clients. interpreters help out. patients feel less stress because they can communicate in their own language. >> translator: there are a lot of plastic surgeons in china. but since most of them use the names of korean doctors and clinics, i thought i might as well go to korea for the surgery. >> reporter: a clinic opened its hotel for nonkorean patients and the doctors operated on more than 1,000 nonkoreans, about 50% more than the year before. the clinic wants to attract more

business from nonkoreans. >> translator: our research also focuses on sensibilities towards cosmetic surgery outside asia, in places like europe or the united states. >> reporter: south korea's cosmetic surgeons aim to attract more patients from home and abroad. with so many people concerned about their appearance, the doctor's prospects look good. anna jong, nhk world, seoul. south korea sees cosmetic surgery as an important part of its strategy to attract medical tourists from abroad. the number of such visitors reached 110,000 in 2011 and the objective is to boost that figure to 300,000 by 2015. and a special agency has been established to arbitrate cases of medical malpractice. a long standing territorial

dispute has arisen again in the persian gulf. a visit last week by iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad has reignited the dispute. >> reporter: the foreign ministers of the six member gulf corporation council met in qatar on tuesday at the request of the uae. they issued a statement condemning by the iranian president as provocative and also said it was in clear violation of the uae sovereignty over the island. iran has controlled the island since 1971, after britain withdrew from the region. since then, iran and the united arab emirates have both claimed sovereignty over the islands.

president ahmadinejad remains firm on iran's claim, stressing the iranian army will not allow any hostile act on its territory. on wednesday, iran's foreign ministry told reporters that the statement by the persian gulf nations is groundless and interferes in iran's internal affairs. iran's parliament also issued a condemnation of the gulf country's latest move. iran and the gulf nations are already at odds over iran's nuclear development. the latest dispute over the islands could further increase tensions between the purse gulf nations. nhk world, tehran. government officials in afghanistan said they'll need an infusion of foreign aid to ensure their country does not unravel. troops are scheduled to pull out in 2014 and the afghans say they'll need more than $4 billion to maintain security. after gain defense ministry

officials say they depend on financing from abroad. u.s. and european officials say they intend to reduce their contributions, saying they have to deal with their own fiscal difficulties. they're still figuring out how much aid they will provide. officials are meeting in brussels about what will happen after the troops are withdrawn. and in another afghan related story, the u.s. military there has become embroiled in another scandal. this time it's photographs showing u.s. soldiers posing with the remains of suspected afghan insurgents. the photos are published in wednesday's edition of "the los angeles times." one photo shows two u.s. soldiers posing behind afghan police officers holding the body parts of a suspected suicide bomber. a soldier who served in afghanistan provided the photos, which were taken in 2010.

the photos point to a breakdown in discipline and leadership that he said compromised the safety of the troops. u.s. defense secretary leon panetta apologized for the photos and said an investigation is already under way. >> that behavior that was depicted in those photos absolutely violates both our regulations and more importantly, our core values. >> anti-u.s. sentiment is mounting in afghanistan in the wake of serious incidents involving u.s. soldiers, including the burning of the koran and a shooting rampage that left 17 villages dead. a cease-fire seems to be collapsing in syria. government troops renewed their assaults on the central city of homs. they stopped firing last thursday, but soon resumed the attacks, claiming the opposition

failed to respect the cease-fire. human rights activists say the troops are shelling residential areas. an advanced group of six u.n. observered arrived on monday. 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." the operator of the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant has sent a robot inside one of the damaged reactors. the inspection was aimed at pinpointing areas where water is leaking. the utility needs to repair the leaks before it can decommission the plant.

tokyo electric power company plans to fill the containment vessels with water before retrieving the melted fuel roads. but radioactive waste water continues to leak out of the number one and three reactors. tepco on wednesday sent a robot with five cameras into a scaffold around the number two reactor suppression chamber. workers maneuvered the robot to check about 90% of the upper part of the chamber. but they found no serious damage or defamation. the utility has not been able to confirm the conditions of pipes connecting the containment vessel where the company expects

water is leaking. let's turn now to the world weather forecast. hi there. things are getting wet across western japan because of a southwesterly flow coming in from the ocean. it's going to be particularly wet on the pacific side with thunderstorms and gusty winds possible into tomorrow. but behind us, dry and warm across the korean peninsula and up towards the north, a low pressure system, which is bringing a wintry mix into mongolia, starting to move into northeastern china. actually, some hail had been reported in and around the beijing area. we have been hearing reports of some flight cancellations in beijing international airport. down towards the south, unstable weather is continuing in southeast china. it's been raining over the past several days but an additional 100 millimeters is still on the

cards, so the risks of flooding and land slides are getting more. but finally sunny weather will come back on your sunday. down towards the endochina peninsula, seasonal thunderstorms have developed but some locations may be seeing highs of about 40 degrees. moving over to the americas. a slow-moving low pressure system is still bringing unsettled conditions to the eastern section of the deep south. and up towards the north, a large low pressure system is moving into the great lakes region, bringing thunderstorms and more active weather will be hitting areas across oklahoma into iowa on your thursday. and out towards the west, another low pressure system moving into british columbia and the pacific northwest, so you're going to see wet and windy conditions once again on your thursday. as for the high, 16 degrees in

seattle and 17 degrees in denver. los angeles getting up to 26 and it will be warming up to 31 on your saturday. out towards the east, jumping up to 23 in toronto and reaching 20 degrees in new york. down towards the south, 26 in mexico city with plenty of sunshine. now, moving over to europe. not much change since yesterday. a low pressure system is still bringing thunderstorms, gusty winds, hail and mountain snow. much of the british aisles and western continent over the next 72 hours. rain will continue but what's going to happen on sunday because london marathon is coming up? it's going to be very changeable weather, but we may see some dry conditions from sunday morning into the mid afternoon hours. so the runners may escape from rain. the high is expected to be 11 degrees, so a couple degrees

lower than average. thunder showers will remain in much of italy and the western portion of the balkan peninsula all day thursday, but things are getting settled across turkey after a period of heavy rain moving towards the north and affects western russia and the baltic state. temperature wise, still on the warmer side in moscow with a high of 14. and 16 degrees in kiev and a couple of degrees lower than average in london. 15 degrees for paris and madrid. that's it from me now. here is your extended forecast. ♪

our top story once again. theup security council is looking into what else can it do

to reign in north korea. they're expected to choose firms within two weeks. the security council adopted a presidential statement on monday, condemning the launch of what it called a satellite using ballistic missile technology. the statement calls for s to be added to the sanctions list. the council's sanctions committee discussed how to handle the list of candidate companies submitted by the united states, japan and others. the committee chairman has said he expects more member states to submit lists of nar own. >> i'll tell you that a number of companies have, and it's an ongoing process. more suggestions might arrive. >> he said the committee will study the listing over the next two weeks and select the firms to be targeted.

north korean leader kim jung-un has stated his intentions to build up the country's strength. his statement filled the paper's first two pages. kim says that a nation cannot defend its right to autonomy and survival without adequate military might. he said north korea must continue its programs to strengthen its military. kim instructed the nation's defense industry to develop a greater arsenal, using the latest technologies and the highest quality. he also said pyongyang will continue its efforts to achieve a unified korea, which was the wish of his late grandfather and father. that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." thank you very much for watching.