if iran has not obeyed un security council resolutions is because it is because those resolutions are in fact illegal iran writes as an independent country cannot be trampled upon by the un security council even the un security council itself although it is not a democratic body by any means it has permanent seats people countries with permanent seats and rights of vetoes where you run doesn't even have a presence in the council but beyond that it doesn't have a mandate to go beyond international law at no point has there been any evidence even when iran halted nuclear enrichment for three over two years and implemented the additional protocol which goes far beyond what most countries in the world do no evidence had ever been found that iran's nuclear program as i said wait and wait a minute wait a minute ominously we know him that we could we keep on this argument i think he is very he from the very start he was very much in the american camp ok tom go ahead jump in well let's let's just i want to make one slight correction to what. and that is that iran is implementing its additiona

security council resolution says because it is because those resolutions are in fact illegal iran writes as an independent country cannot be trampled upon by the u.n. security council even the un security council itself although it is not a democratic body by any means it has permanent seats people countries with permanent seats and rights of vetoes where you run doesn't even have a presence in the council but beyond that it doesn't have a mandate to go beyond international law at no point has there been any evidence even when iran halted nuclear enrichment for three over two years and implanted the additional protocol which goes far beyond what most countries in the world do no evidence had ever been found that iran's nuclear program as i said they don't in any way a letter where the enemy the domino as we know it in that we could we can this argument i think he is very good from the very start he was very much in the american camp ok tom go ahead jump in what mohamed let's let's just i want to make one slight correction to what. and that is that iran is quote implementing its additional protocol in fact it never brought it into force in. it's not acting under it it was provi

on the common side and democratic side the us went into kosovo without the sanction of the un security council so there are you know the question is where this is to questions one is the violation so. it becomes a war crime the second question is how do you draw the line about war crimes when franklin roosevelt did rescue the jews in the second world war is that a war crime when obama is not intervening in syria is that a war crime i mean it's a very very but stephen we're totally talking about the violation of international law international criminal court we're looking at law established the international criminal court will will of eventually be the arbiter of these kind of issues but this is something that it is going to take some time to make clear how how you define it ivan eland how you define it which defined. well i think you know i think we often in the united states define terrorism and war crimes and all this other stuff too to. you know alleviate our own government of some blame of course you know you know in the in the terror bombings in world war two we always kind of forget abo

of the world's largest stakeholders in this business happen to be permanent members of the un security council two out of which abstained from the vote that is russia and china they cite a lack of clarity in the language of the treaty in the part where it says arms transfers should be subjected to risk and human rights assessments first so it's a. arms sales to the buyers record on human rights which sounds like a very good idea but then this raises all kinds of questions like do brain or saudi arabia have a perfect human rights record so the treaty leaves lots of room for all kinds of interpretations russia being actually supportive of the effort to regulate arms sales says it abstained from voting for the treaty also because it has not been arms sales to non-state actors. despite the calls of a number of states it was not reflected using the ban of the supply of weapons to north ryde state and this is a significant shortcoming. in that because of the effectiveness of the international arms trade treaty. even though the united states supported the treaty at the way congress has made it clear

and the un security council of called on iran to bring in the forces additional protocol and act according to its terms mohammad did you disagree there that's not true iran employment is the national party at all during that period in which it halted the michael jordan meter and all right charles jump in go ahead i think that there is a lot more agreement here than i think we probably have noted so far but what is hindering the argument or the discussion right now is your insistence on having a very black and white view of what is taking place the u.s. is pathological the u.s. is destroying the n.p.t. and so forth and on the other hand you're also arguing that iran has never been in any sort of acting only above ground all of its actions have been completely legal when we know that's not the case they've been acting in subterfuge we could take this debate to a higher level and ask ourselves why would iran contemplate having a nuclear deterrent and there are very good arguments for that ok but how do you know that's what it's going to homicide is the question of the united states. well i wo

security council resolutionsand iaea that call on iran to suspend some parts of their nuclear program, cooperate, and so on. these un's standpoint, security council and iaea acts are not considered legitimate. they are not required to comply with any of these resolutions. they should be treated like any enjoyingrty in terms of an extensive civil nuclear program under iaea and safeguards. given these fundamental differences and interests and perspectives, the theory of the p5-plus-1 has been to try to at least get agreement on some modest measures that would limit somes nuclear program in ways in exchange for limiting sanctions, in the hope that would create confidence and create a context that would make it possible to try to negotiate a more cooperative agreement and at the same time slow down the nuclear program. even in this very modest area, but two sides are very far apart in terms of the quid pro quo. both sides accept the basic concept we are talking about limits on the nuclear program in exchange for limits on sanctions, but when you get down to the details, they are very far apart. forp5-plus-1 are asking act

a very embarked on difficult six-month negotiation for another un security council resolution. at the very last moment, as most of you will remember, brazil and turkey and iran announced an agreement which was viewed in the white house really is a pretty transparent effort to try to delay the sanctions. so we went ahead with the sanctions. since then, we and the iranians have been locked in this sort of spiral where we keep increasing sanctions as the negotiations make a process -- no progress. i keep going ahead with their nuclear program and each side keeps trying to bargain leverage. kind ofnot reached some an agreement that would relax sanctions and the nuclear activities, where that is possible. >> please wait for a microphone to arrive and then state your name and affiliation. start right here. >> miami washington correspondent for south korea's news agency. -- i am a washington correspondent for south korea's news agency. today, "the washington post" reporting, what is your assessment of the problem? let me ask you about the north korea nuclear tests last month. is a rai

south korea has done great work on the un security council helping to curb civilian casualties in combat zones. and they have done that work not just in the far east, but around the world. we are also grateful for south korea's continued commitment to reducing iranian oil imports. this has not been easy. it is at a cost to their economy. it is difficult. but they have played their role and done their part in helping to have an impact on trying to change the behavior of iran. iran knows exactly what it needs to do in order to address international concerns about its nuclear program. it can start doing so next weekend in al-madadi at the p-5 plus one talks. workso discussed ways to more closely on the humanitarian crisis in syria. and i thanked the republic of korea for their support on humanitarian concerns in that area. we also shared an initiative on sub-saharan africa, and we thank them for that. in terms of bilateral issues, the foreign minister and died both want to promote the smooth implementation of u.s.-korea free trade agreement. this agreement is good for both countries and it

they say that one of the brides boss of the un, unsurprisingly under the command of the security council is peacekeeping aberrations. the u.s., i believe, recognizes and is recognizable from the bush administration down to the obama administration that peacekeeping operations of the un for all the problems, scandals, and sexual predation and perturb and scandals of ripping off the organization, all of that stuff aside, there is of value that is being provided by peacekeeping operations that is essentially irreplaceable to the united states. we will see is when it comes to places where we're looking to have them perform jobs and would not. >> host: kenneth anderson, what is the u.s. influence here? >> guest: the u.s. influence in the un is one sense bears largely, but in another sense not to. this is a key point about this book. i have been talking almost exclusively about the un and the u.s. relations to wait as a player within the system. the biggest player, the superpower of all of those things are true. but the most important relationship that the u.s. has to the un is not actually as

they helped us in the un and security council and moved troops. those troops are to prevent north koreans from coming in and send a signal they could move on north korea. that is a tacit signal. i think they could do more. all they have to do is turn off the fuel and food and thidges change in a hurry. this is theater by kim jong-un. he is trying to appeal to leaders in his country that he is a strong leader and the dangerous thing is, he's talking about nuclear now that they haven't said before. >> uma: i think people are concerned with all . rhetoric heating up and with the country's reacting now and concerned and getting troops in place and trying to figure out how to position that a mistake could happen here, a careless mistake and we are raising it to a level it doesn't need to be. >> i think we have to raise it to a level when they talk about nuking guam or u.s. possession or alaska which is part of the united states and not the continental united states. when they start saying that and we have to take it very serious. part of the our proble

south korea has done great work on the un security council helping to curb civilian casualties in combat zones. and they have done that work not just in the far east, but around the world. south also grateful for korea's continued commitment to reducing iranian oil imports. this has not been easy. it is at a cost to their economy. it is difficult. but they have played their role and done their part in helping to have an impact on trying to change the behavior of iran. iran knows exactly what it needs to do in order to address international concerns about its nuclear program. nextn start doing so weekend in al-madadi at the p-5 plus one talks. we also discussed ways to work more closely on the humanitarian crisis in syria. and i thanked the republic of korea for their support on humanitarian concerns in that area. we also shared an initiative on sub-saharan africa, and we thank them for that. in terms of bilateral issues, the foreign minister and died both want to promote the smooth implementation of u.s.-korea free trade agreement. this agreement is good for both countries and it will st

thousand and thirteen and it's been a constant problem with the within the un where many states feel that the security council composition should be changed in the veto should be dropped or it should be expanded but the fact is is the other commentator points out power realities to play an enormous role in defining what is considered a war crime and what isn't considered a war crime and we do have to recognise that even as we pursue the ideal which is to have an international criminal court be the arbiter of these kind of situations i mean even so do we need law then international law. if no one's going to be held accountable well yes it well i think it would help the problem that you have with the international criminal court isn't a situation in of sadat conflict is if these if these dictators think that they're going to be thrown in. before the court and thrown in jail for the rest of their lives are going to fight more so there are downsides to the international court but i think there are also upsides but of course you know i mean here is what happened britain in the us invaded iraq and even killing rebe

. >> m23 believes the un is advocating forced as the answer. last week the security councilnanimously approved the creation of an intervention brigade to neutralize rebel groups. its rules of engagement will allow the un forces to fire on the rebels first. it was m23's entrance into goma late last year that prompted the international community back. the rebel force is made up of soldiers who deserted the government last year. it is called the march 23 movement after the date of a failed peace deal signed with the government in 2009. it is made up of soldiers mostly from the tutsi tribe. rebels have been fighting for territory and to gain control of the country's mineral resources. but they are looking for a peace agreement now because their group has been weakened in recent fighting. new video appears to show rebel fighters attacking government soldiers at the airport in aleppo. the opposition has been trying to take control of the international airport for weeks. spent more -- army send more troops earlier. more accounts of violence by the rebels. they say fighters trying t

un says north korea's threats have gone too far. >> for russia, as a permanent member of the security council, and signatory of nonproliferation treaty, such outrageous regard by pyongyang on the security council resolutions is categorically unacceptable. we are convinced the path to improvement of the situation is not by the escalation of military rhetoric and real military activity, but by joint search for ways to save the situation through diplomacy. >> the backlash against north korea has extended to the internet. a government run website in north korea has been targeted by hackers by the group of nominalists -- an ominous. they stop promoting messages showing kim jong-un but showed him with a pig night -- pig like snout. aidun has temporary closed distribution centers in the gaza strip, saying it is no longer safe after protesters raided the headquarters. demonstrators were angry over a decision to cut off a monthly cash allowance for poor families. 800,000 palestinians in gaza depend on aid from the united nations relief works agency or unrwa, of around two thirds of the population. but the un organization is suspending operati

security council resolutions. kim jong-un, north korea's young leader has said that his goal is to procure nuclear weapons arsenal so each successful missile test for him is another step in the right direction. the launch could happen today or any day as we approach april 15th. that's the birthday anniversary of kim un-song. they would determine if it is headed to sea if it's a test or whether it's headed inland in which case a decision would again be made within seconds to intercept that missile or not. meanwhile, with all of this going on, there is still no apparent panic or anxiety either in pyongyang or streets of seoul. people say they are used to this cycle of provocation. it always ends up with at least in the past with north korea backing off for a concession like money or aid. kim jong-un has never been tested and no one knows what to expect. back to you. >> thanks very much. jim maceda in seoul. g-8 foreign ministers are meeting in london talking about how to respond to north korea. speaking ahead of the g-8 talks,

security council toughened sanctions against the north to try to smother its nuclear and missile programs. china, north korean's longtime ally, voted in favor of the action. >> what is the jong-un regime trying to achieve? what's the end game here? >> yes, gene. the north koreans are trying to heighten the sense of crisis. direct talks with the u.s. kim reportedly told former star american basketball player that he wants to hear from president obama. here is what dennis rodman said in march after his visit to north korea. >> he want obama to do one thing -- call him. >> he wants a call from president obama? >> that's right, he told me that. he said if you can, dennis, i don't want to do war, i don't want to do war. he said that to me. >> north korean officials know president obama was reluctant to negotiate with them during his first term. now that he's started his second term, they are hoping he'll change his position. they insist nuclear war can break out at any time on the korean peninsula. they've gotten the attention of american readers with their threats to bomb asia and the u.s. mainland. they believe negotiations are possible. >> how long do you think the north korean l

case of syria both russia and china are security council members of the united nations security council. they have veto power over anything that goes on in the unn terms of resolutions and actual actions that the u.s. does. when you have a situation like this it becomes very difficult for the international community to react because what they are dealing with is try to get consensus among all of these nations. you can make the argument that it is self-evident that because of the suffering going on in syria all nations should jump in and put a stop to the internal fighting that is going on. that would be one argument. but if you get to the idea of why the russians are perhaps put into a corner is the financial times -- into a corner as the financial times" indicated, they have been a longtime ally of syria. they are on the minister iranian coast of syria. it is interest. -- they are on the bed iranian coast of syria. mediterranean coast of syria. the iranians have one major arab ally. what they are dealing with here is a series -- is a situation where they believe that if the assad government falls they will no longer have access to that militar

international space and security, that depends on the security council, and i can assure you next to nothing will happen until this plays out. >> neil: normally you get a union in pyongyang, say everything is hunky doory and come back and report everything is hunky-dory but about have not seen that and as i know no u.n. team has been allowed in. so that could turn this even more of a pressure cooker. >> north korea withdrew from the nuclear nonproliferation treaty ten years ago and kicked out the international atomic agency. didn't make any difference because they didn't show the iaea anything critically important anyway. so the presence or absence of inspectors would make much of a difference in north korea. back in my confirmation days i got into trouble for something i said ten years ago, there is no such thing as the united nations, by which i meant the u.n. has no separate existence in a situation like this. it's only what its member governments are prepare to have it do, and given hour divided the security council is, withrich and china flying political cover nor north korea, the security council will not be able to act effectively before this plays

un as a whole. and then for the parts that are inherently global, general assembly, the security council, these parts, to see themselves as not on a sort of a train track trying to get to this kind of future point where it becomes something completely different from what it is now. but to say, this is why we are. we are going to live for being a political organization, essentially a diplomatic talking shop for the nation's. and that is pretty darn good and pretty darn important, and we actually poisoned and world to the extent that we demand that we become something different on the road. >> host: and we have been talking with american university professor kenneth anderson about his book "living with the un: american responsibilities & international order". thank you, professor. >> guest: thank you very much. there really appreciate this. >> we would like to hear from you. tweet us your feedback. twitter.com/booktv. >> his family background and his relationship with his brothers, the mayor of chicago, and a hollywood agent. this is about an hour-and-a-half. >> when you think about the accomplishments

security council approved tighter economic sanctions against north korea. >> they are angry about the sanctions. there is an effort by kim jong-unflex his military might, as well. i want to bring out -- >> after having talked about this over the last week and more since the threats have become so regular i think there is a sense that we don't know about this new leader and we don't know his intention. everything is kind of guesswork. what they do believe is that he does not have the capabilities despite all of the talk of thermo nuclear war and all of the rest of it to do anything like that. what the united states and south korea are saying and preparing for is the possibility, perhaps even the likelihood that there might be some kind of missile test. if it is a hostile act they say they are prepared if it is directed at something other an a sparsely populated area or over the waters of japan. nobody thinks there will be an outbreak of anything resembling a nuclear war or exchange of any type. >> you have the new leader in south korea. she is in an awkward position to say the least. you have the situation where kim jong-un becau

un declared state of war and threatened to shut down an industrial complex. >> when they started with all of this, this latest round back in november, they got first one u.n. security council resolution with more sanctions and then a second one with more sanctions. we're trying continue crease the pressure both in the i would they implement the sanctions with our allies and partners. >> finally, north korea this morning announced it has a new prime minister, a so-called economic reformer in his 70s who is actually the prime minister from 2003 to 2007 before he was officially purged. so now he has his old job back and it's a feel-good story, i guess. >> shepard: yeah, i guess, james rosen in washington, thanks. let's bring in gordon shang. an expert on matters north korea, author of nuclear showdown, north korea takes on the world, and he is live in manhattan. the troubling thing is it's something new every day. there's more rhetoric from the north koreans now. we have a warship. now the aegis defense system is there. >> you have leaders in south korea, north korea, china, who are all new. we have a new national security team in washington. nobody can afford to back down ri

un's thinking now. >> what is he thinking now? >> the aim is to rattle us and frighten us, and also the chinese and south koreans. and distract us from implementing security councilns and other pressure on the north. >> green, who dealt with north korea on the national security council, says kim may also be trying to compensate for the fact that he's so young, 29 or 30. analysts say he's got to show strength with the military. >> he's trying to look as a young man of 30 in a society where age is respected as tough. so that's his way of looking to the generals like he is in control. >> but he may lose control if he cannot prou a male heir. his wife will be counted on for that to solidify a dynasty that some analysts say is on shaky ground. there were reports last year and early this year that she had been pregnant, may have given birth to a daughter, but nothing solid beyond that. >> we also know that kim jong-un has another relative that has significant power, influence in north korea. >> his uncle, heard to kim's late father's sister. he was a key player behind the scenes during the transition, while kim jong-un learned the ropes. analysts believe the uncle may

un's thinking now. what's your best take on his calculations now? >> the aim is to rattle us and frighten us and also the chinese and the south koreans and distract us from implementing security council sanctions and other pressure on the north, green, who dealt with north korea on the national security council says kim may also be trying to compensate for the fact that he's so young, 29 or 30. analysts say he's got to show strength with the military. >> he's trying to look as a young man of 30 in a society where age is respected and tough. and that's his way looking to the generals like he is in control. >> reporter: but he may lose control if he can't produce a male heir. his wife ri sol ju will be counted on that to solidify a dynasty some analysts say is on shaky ground. there were reports late last year and earlier this year that ri sol ju may have been pregnant, may have given birth to a daughter but nothing solid beyond that. brian todd, cnn, washington. >> and for more on this, watch a special edition of "the situation room" tonight 6:00 eastern time. >>> all right. coming up, some liberals are mad at president obama. we'll tell you why they aren't standing by their man. and

un's thinking now. >> what is he thinking now? >> the aim is to rattle us and frighten us, and also the chinese and south koreans. and distract us from implementing security councilnorth. >> green, who dealt with north korea on the national security council, says kim may also be trying to compensate for the fact that he's so young, 29 or 30. analysts say he's got to show strength with the military. >> he's trying to look as a young man of 30 in a society where age is respected as tough. so that's his way of looking to the generals like he is in control. >> but he may lose control if he cannot prou a male heir. his wife will be counted on for that to solidify a dynasty that some analysts say is on shaky ground. there were reports last year and early this year that she had been pregnant, may have given birth to a daughter, but nothing solid beyond that. >> we also know that kim jong-un has another relative that has significant power, influence in north korea. >> his uncle, heard to kim's late father's sister. he was a key player behind the scenes during the transition, while kim jong-un learned the ropes. analysts believe the uncle may still be running the governme

security council not long ago. john christopher. >> this is the 60th anniversary of the so-called armistice which the kim jong un has basically rescinded. the conflict there has been going on during 12 presidential administrations. has this administration been in touch with any of those individuals going back to the truman administration who can lend some insight and some regional acumen, basically, to the president in terms of advice? >> well, i don't have any specific conversations the president has had to read out to you. the president is constantly speaking with those with expertise in different areas of both foreign policy and domestic policy, and i'm confident that he has had considerations with experts outside of goth on this issue -- government on in this issue, but i have no specific ones to read out you. it is certainly the case that this is, you know, north korea's actions have been something that successive administrations have had to deal with, especially the last several. >> thanks, jay. >> last one, ann -- i'm sorry, i did say connie. >> thank you very much. this is a follow up. will there be any private investment into

and appear, even if syria allows the investors and, any action would to be authorized by the un security council already, there is deep disagreement around the table with the and sector should be allowed to investigate. it looks likely that the un roof would be an up blocked with deadlock. , the united nations. >> meanwhile, u.s. president barack obama concert on friday that a chemical attack would be a game changer for syria. al jazeera spoke to a series dr. who says he is convinced that chemical agent have been use. >> i'm a doctor. when i show a group of persons have been affected, the same symptoms, the same signs, withoutany injuries, any broken legs, any cuts, any trace. so that i must think about chemical gases. n military seems to be focusing firepower on the capital. this video shows an air strike on the damascus capital. there is also shouting in a distance. al jazeera cannot independently verify these pictures. jordan is host to nearly half a million syrian refugees. most of them have been living in tents with a few basic amenities. but a new find is giving hope to the most volatile.