. >> nbc's jim maceda joins us live from seoul, south korea. jim, the pentagon report was disclosed during a hearing yesterday by a congressman of the armed services committee. what's been the reaction there on the ground? >> reporter: hi there, bill. well, it seems to be -- there seems to be a difference of opinion here in seoul between what the dia is saying and south korean intelligence. the south koreans maintain that for now pyongyang does not have a nuclear device small enough to arm a ballistic missile with. a south korean dod spokesman said that their military assessment is that north korea has not yet what they called miniaturized a nuclear device, but that if they do do that, it will be a game-changer, bill. >> so, jim, is it life as normal there in seoul? i mean, what's the feeling on the ground just from looking at the residents of the country there? >> reporter: well, life as normal is an abnormal existence here. for 60 years these people have been living in a state of war. and in a very abnormal situation. they are only 20, 30 mile

nbc's jim maceda is in seoul, south korea. jim, what's the latest on this? >> reporter: hello, richard. well, it seemed yesterday that the crisis had crested somewhat, but now with news of the reopening of the yongbyon nuclear plant, that has got to increase already high levels of tension here. when this relatively small plant, keep in mind, it was generating enough plutonium for one nuclear bomb per year, when it was shut down some six years ago, it was seen, i recall, as a major victory for u.s. diplomacy. is now looks like, however, that leader kim jong-un who says he's angry about new sanctions slapped on the country and ongoing u.s./south korean war games not far from here, it looks like he is undoing any progress that has been made in the past. that said, experts are calling this opening of the plant more symbolic than anything else. much of the plant was destroyed and will need to be completely rebuilt. that could take years. still, they're taking no chances at the pentagon. they confirmed today that the u.s.-guided missile destroyer, the "uss mccain"

i think we have jim maceda back in seoul for us. officials in the japanese city of yokohama mistakenly sent out a tweet today announcing that north korea had, indeed, launched a missile. the tweet was then withdrawn. but it's an indication, is it not, of how high tensions are running? >> reporter: martin, i think it's an indication, it's a sign of the per ills, if you will, of the age of social media where every mistake you make can go viral. yes, i take your point. despite the calm kind of business as usual demeanor that you see still, despite all this other stuff going on here in the south, and even with north koreans, there is tension. among the armed forces, the national security forces, and especially in japan. which has already lived through one near miss by a north korean missile a few years back. the japanese are taking this very, very seriously. they've installed three patriot anti-missile batteries around tokyo. they say that they will shoot down any missile, even a piece of debris from a missile that enters japanese air s

nbc's jim maceda watching it again tonight for us from south korea. >> reporter: kim jong-un's regime turning once again to its airways to make a point about its enemy to the south. north korean soldiers released their trained dogs on this effigy of south korea's defense minister, a u.s. ally, says the commentary, who deserved to be chewed to death. but with tensions so high, it was south korea and the u.s. who tried to accommodate the erratic kim today. the pentagon canceled the test launch of a minute man long range ballistic missile in california, while in seoul, the top military commander postponed a trip to washington. the allies avoiding anything that might be misread. but the north koreans remain defiant and on track to test at least one of their own missiles the musudan, with a range that could in theory reach guam in the pacific. some intelligence reports suggest kim will choose to launch before or on april 15th, the anniversary of kim's grandfather, kim il-sung, the founder of the nation. the missile is probably unarmed but even an accident could be catastrophic. >> i could

jim maceda is in seoul, south korea, for us. jim, if you got us there, we're with you live at this point. i hope you can hear us but here is my question to you. does it seem like it does to us -- >> i'm assuming that the first question is about the trigger. >> we're closer to a military check? are you hearing me? >> first question was trigger. second question was -- >> i think jim is not hearing me, guys. jim, it's alex, can you hear me? i think we're having a little bit of an issue with our two-way. let's move on from that. we'll come back as soon as that gets cleared up with jim maceda in seoul, south korea. let's talk about what's developing today with nelson mandela, who is out of the hospital now. he was discharged after being treated for pneumonia. he was admitted to the hospital ten days ago. the 94-year-old had some fluid drained from his lungs to ease his breathing. we are going to have a live report for from you south africa coming your way in our next hour. >>> from there to politics now. new today president obama's co

. >> nbc's jim maceda is in seoul. a lot of bluster over the last couple of weeks and now the south is saying they know who is causing all of these threats. who is he? >> reporter: hi, richard. everyone's been speculating about why the level of war like rhetoric spiked in recent weeks, you're right. it may have a lot to do with a little known but very ambitious north korean vice marshal who is trying at least according to the times of london to make a name for himself. this man is behind all the threats behind nuclear war and destruction. few here are really taking seriously. meanwhile, all eyes are on north korea's next move. intelligence sources saying it could launch at least two medium range missile at any time. they're now loaded on mobile launchers and fully fueled in theory they could reach u.s. bases on guam in the pacific. but north korea is saying this is just a test launch of previously untested missiles. still, allies in the region are on a state of high alert. gentlem japan deployed batteries around tokyo

>> jim maceda live in seoul, south korea. >>> turning now to washington. the most serious gun control efforts in years cleared their first hurdle in the senate thursday. victims of the sandy hook massacre were there to watch. nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell has that story. snapshots of fallen children and teachers of newtown inside the senate. outside the capitol, a 23-hour vigil reading gun victims' names. >> jamie stafford at the age of 31. >> reporter: crosses to remember them on the national mall and family members here to witness the vote. >> we are standing here because her sister and my mom can't be and their voices need to be heard. >> reporter: under that emotion-fueled pressure, expectations shifted. >> literally the political landscape of america on gun safety is changing before our eyes. >> the motion is agreed to. >> reporter: senatored took one small but significant step, opening up what will be weeks of heated debate over gun laws and violence in our culture. 16 republicans voted to begin that contentious negotiation. >>

i'm jim maceda, nbc news, reporting from seoul. now, back to you. >> okay, jim. thanks so much. back here in the bay area, in the north bay an 8-year-old boy's heart stopped after being hit bay pitch at a little league game. >> what a terrifying scene this was. he was playing at a little league game in rhonert park. he was hit and only managed to run a few steps toward first base when he collapsed. he went into respiratory and cardiac arrest. coaches ran out on the field to try to help him, so did two paramedics who fortunately happened to be at that game. they performed cpr and they are also little league parents. >> the parents, they did cpr for approximately five minutes, and then the department of public safety showed up with a defibrillator and they defibrillated this little guy's heart. his heart started beating again, he began crying and was loaded into an ambulance and taken to santa rosa memorial hospital. >> wow. he said the boy was conscious and talking when he was taken to the hospital. he was even asking about the game and the statistics from the ball game, so he mu

jim maceda is live for us in south korea. jim, i want to start by asking how the people you've met there are reacting to the threats from the neighbors to the north. >> hi peter. good to be with you. as you know well having been here, south koreans are conspicuously not reacting to that kind of news about the reactor. you'd be hard-pressed to find any concerns in the streets of seoul. people don't want to talk about politics, especially not about the north. korea watchers are telling us that that really masks a generalized sense of anxiety that these people are feeling, perhaps for the first time in years. remember, the border is only 30 miles away from here. the news of the reopening of that nuclear plant has got to be increasing already high levels of tension. if you remember, when this relatively small plant was shut down some six years ago, it was seen as a major victory at the time for u.s. diplomacy here. it looks like leader kim jong-un who says he's angry about new sanctions and the ongoing war games happening not far

>> jim maceda there in seoul. much, jim. >>> let's get right to our next guest, former new mexico governor bill richardson has served as a special envoy to north korea on sensitive international missions and a former ambassador to the united nations. good afternoon, sir. >> nice to be with you. >> is this leader about to stumble toward a serious military conflict? war by accident? or because he wants to impress his people who know that he never served in the military and he needs, in some way, to prove that he can be as belligerent as anyone else? >> well, martin, the danger is that he will stumble on some conflict, something in the yellow sea, a naval skirmish. he's not going to attack the united states. i don't think there's a full-scale military attack against the south because the north koreans know that will draw in the united states. the danger is a miscalculation, a misjudgment on his part. one, because he's backed into a corner. secondly, because he's trying to impress his own hardliners, his own military,

. >> nbc's jim maceda, thank you very much, jim. >>> this morning there are new leads in the shooting death of the scott prison chief. police are looking for two members of white supremacist prison gang. the men 31-year-old thomas guolee and james lohr are not being called suspects but officials say their name surfaced during the investigation. both are members of the prison gang 211 crew that's been linked to murder suspect evan ebel. now ebel was killed by authorities last week. he's suspected of killing colorado prison chief tom clements and a denver area pizza delivery man. meanwhile, threats and safety concerns have caused a federal prosecutor in houston to step down from a case involving another white supremacist gang. the move will not stop the case from moving forward. >>> president obama was in colorado yesterday drumming up support for gun control legislation that's been stalled on capitol hill. speaking before a police academy in denver, the president praised colorado's newly passed gun laws, he also appealed to the state's gun owners by spelling out what this plan does and

joining us live from seoul, nbc's jim maceda. embassies in north korea face a tough decision now that the government in pyongyang says it can't guarantee their safety. are they all now just going to leave? >> reporter: hi, martin. well, some may leave. the russians said they were still trying to figure out the text of the message that was sent to all those embassies. but the brits, you'll be happy to know, were very clear about it. they called the communication just more escalating rhetoric from the north koreans who are intent on making it sound as if the threat were coming from the united states rather than from north korea. and the british embassy went on to say that it had no plans to leave north korea. we'll see what some of the other two dozen or so foreign embassies in pyongyang do. but this was such an underhanded threa threat, threat, marten, on the part of the north korean government. i'd be surprised to see a mass exodus. >> let me ask you about a report in today's "new york times," jim. it say s north korea may have m

nbc's jim maceda is in seoul, south korea. good morning, jim. give us the latest there. >> reporter: hi. well, the latest, betty, is that here the defense ministry has backed off, as you suggested, from that earlier statement. that was coming from another official from another ministry who had said that north korea was preparing for its fourth nuclear test. now, the ministry is denying that, saying there is, in fact, no indication that north korea is preparing such a test at its test site up in the north. obviously trying to tamp down tension here already high as south korea and the whole region, really, is waiting to see if and when the north korean leader, kim jong-un, test-fires another ballistic missile expected in the days ahead, perhaps as early as wednesday. but south korea has admitted that the north can test both its missiles and its nuclear capabilities whenever it chooses basically saying, betty, that despite tougher u.n. sanctions now and surprisingly strong criticism yesterday coming from china, its main ally in the region, kim seem

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, foreign ministers from germany and japan stood united saying rhetoric threatens world stability. >> the policy of rhetorical escalation poses a serious risk to peace and security in the region and also to the entire international security architecture. >> president obama will send his 2014 budget to congress today, two months late. the white house blames the delay on the lengthy negotiation oeve the fiscal cliff. the budget arrives at 8:00 a.m. eastern. the president will speak at 11:00 a.m. and the public will get their own copy available at 11:15. there will be further tax hikes which angered republicans and cut entitlement programs like social security and medicare which has democrats up in arms. do you see anything on the table here that's going to get us closer to an agreement? >>. i think it is going to be difficult kind of process really. there are many diff

. >> nbc jim maceda is live in seoul, south korea. i keep wondering what is china going to do?o sort of calm these tensions down? >> well, hopefully they are. hopefully they will be. if yesterday's tough talk by the chinese government is any indicati indication, they are getting pretty much fed up with their nephew to the south. we're anticipating for the first time, really, as secretary kerry comes in here on friday a joint, if you will, diplomatic push. i think it's rare, you know better than i do, chuck, to see china and the united states on the same page, on any issue. but it looks like this time they are. and they may well say to themselves, well, we need to work together now to try, somehow, to try this diplomatic path forward since nothing else has worked. i would like to come back to where i am, chuck. i'm in seoul and the usouth koreans are going about their life like nothing is going on. they're stoic people and they lived through civil war. you dent get outward signs of panic or worry here, but, still, the south korean forces are on a high state of alert and everyone

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jim maceda reporting from seoul. back to you. >>> six americans have been killed in two attacks in afghanistan today. the first attack targeted a group traveling to donate school books that killed three u.s. service members and afghan doctor. officials said the explosion occurred in the coalition convoy drove past vehicles carrying a pro ven shal governor to the same event. another american civilian was killed in a separate insurgent attack in afghanistan. >>> the global initiative university continued in st. louis. bill clinton led the panel with panelist jack dorsey. more than 1,000 college students from 75 countries discussed various topics including education, human rights and climate change. chelsea clinton is a global initiative board member issued a call of action. >> all of our urgent challenges, whether in public health or climate change, what needs to happen to how do we do what needs to happen. >> stephen colbert will address the conference this evening. >> former south african leader nelson man dell ha ha

jim maceda joins us. what more do we know about the missile that has now been positioned on the east coast of north korea? >> reporter: the report is coming from the south korean military. it is based on western intelligence. the missile was being transported to a location close to a missile launch side. it appears in the satellite imagery which we have not seen to be a people range missile. it has a range before 1,800 miles. that would reach all of south korean targets as well as u.s. bases in japan and probe as far as guam in the pacific. now, it has to be said that north korea has never tested these missiles before. and this would most likely be part of a missile test, rather than an attack. also, korean experts do not believe that the kim regime has the capability at this time of launching a nuclear tip missile, period. that said, this comes as you alluded to on the heels of the latest threat from pyongyang of an attack on the u.s. with multiple nuclear devices. the u.s. is taking notice. it is beefin

jim maceda is live in south korea. they can retaliate if the north strikes, but what are the odds that will actually happen? what signs are you watching for? >> reporter: it has always been extremely unlikely that north korea would launch a full scale offensive against the south. that is, using its arsenal of artillery, missiles, 700,000 soldiers amassed at its bored he. kim jong un is young. he is naive but he's not crazy. at least that's how it goes. it is much more likely it would be a smaller strike like if you recall, the torpedo attack back in 2010 on a south korean vessel that killed almost 50 south korean soldiers. that kind of strike is possible. u.s./south korean war games are ongoing for another month. we know how much that antagonizes kim jong un. so striking a small korean ship is a real threat. in terms of imminent attack or signs of an imminent attack by new york, the most obvious signs would be significant movement of tanks and heavy weapons. missiles, rockets, into the board area. we haven't seen that

. >> jim maceda in seoul. >>> just this hour secretary of state john kerry held a news conference with his south korean counterpart. mr. kerry warned kim jong-un against carrying out a test launch. >> i would say ahead of time that it is a huge mistake for him to choose to do that because it will further isolate his country and further isolate his people who frankly are desperate for food, not missile launches. >> here at home, washington's most serious gun-control effort in years cleared its first hurdle in the senate thursday. it was an emotional day for relatives of the victims of the sandy hook massacre who were there to watch the first of many votes they have been fighting for. nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell reports. >> reporter: snapshots of fallen children and students of newtown inside the gnat senate. outside the capitol a 23 hour vigil reading gun victims' names. >> jamie stafford at the age of 31. >> reporter: crosses to remember them on the national mall and family members here to witness the vote. >> we are standing here because her sister and my mom c

let me get your reaction to jim maceda's report. tough talk from john kerry here. >> sure. thank you very much for having me on. i appreciate what jim said. i think when you look at what secretary kerry said, he laid out that north korea very well knows the options before it. instead of choosing the path of discussions, it has chosen to double down. this is not vegas. the odds are not in its favor but it has chosen to double down on threats, possible missile launch and at the end of the day, this administration has decided not to perpetuate the cycle but laid out the commitments north korea has subscribed to and spelled out the six parties, the countries focused on this issue and on the korean peninsula are willing to get together and talk in the six-party framework when north korea makes it clear that it will awide by its international discussion. >> the other headline, of course, are the remarks made by colorado congressman yesterday where he said that the north now has the ability perhaps to put a nuclear warhead on its missiles, though not reliably. the defense intellige

. >> jim maceda reporting from seoul. >>> a deal on gun reform has been reached in the senate.nnou morning at 11:00. democrat joe manchin and republican pat toomey are expected announce a bipartisan deal for background checks. if reached, it could be the biggest step to u.s. gone law in 20 years. majority leader harry reid has scheduled an initial vote for thursday. >> there are strong feelings and deep disagreements about some of these measures. every one of these measures deserves a vote, a yes or a no. no hiding. no running from an issue that has captivated america. >> as many as 14 republican senators including mirpt minority leader mitch mcconnell vowed to filibuster the legislation. however a mounting number of senators within the gop now appear willing to break with their leadership and allow debate to move forward. >>> a lone star college student was arrested yesterday after his stabbing rampage left 14 people injured. dylan quick told police he had been planning the attack for some time and fantasized about stabbing people for years. one student said he saw police chasing quick an

>> nbc's jim maceda in seoul, thank you so much. >>> now to one of the most gruesome injuries ever seen on live television. players, coaches and fans in attendance were visibly shaken when kevin ware's right leg snapped in two places during the ncaa tournament game against duke. ware fought the pain to tell his teammates to get the victory, and his coach says that was how they overcame the trauma. >> it was very difficult to watch. all he kept saying was "win the game." >> theismann tweeted his best wishes to ware. louisville beat duke to advance to the final four. ware shared this picture of his recovery via twit he after a successful two-hour surgery complete with his louisville final four trophy right under his arm. >>> immigration reform, do they have a deal or not? democrats and republicans say there is a deal. some predicting legislation could be written as early as this week. but at least one republican says not so fast. nbc's tracie potts is in very foggy washington, d.c., right behind her there. good morning to you, tracie. >> reporter: richard, good morning. believe it or not,

jim maceda in seoul. joining us, ben, he worked for the national security council under president obama. let's get to the heart of this thing. why is he doing it? what's the danger to us? >> sure. i think when we look at issues like this and scenarios like this, we look at a couple different things. timing, audience, and context. the north koreans have had a knack for landing big events on holidays. this is not being taken as an april fool's joke. the u.s. demonstrated, the government demonstrated, we can see that within the next few weeks of exercises that are going on because our commitment is strong to japan, to korea, and to the region. as to why he's doing this, obviously there are a lot of people trying to delve into the mind of this young leader. let's keep in mind he's meeting with his own parliamentary assembly, if you will, as real or facade as that might be. >> about as real as independence in that army over there. i've never seen a country with more robots. everybody smiles the same way, march

nbc's jim maceda is live in seoul with more on that. what in the world is the answer to that question? >> well, before we get into that, i've got some interesting news, alex, which follows from the other steps that are being taken. these steps may already be having some effect. south korea's official news agency said this afternoon that four or five of those missile launchers that we've been talking so much about, in north korean -- that north korean test site, suddenly stopped all activity. since then, since this afternoon, there's been no more movement that has been monitored at that site. that would suggest that the north koreans are delaying the launch of one or more of their musudan, those medium-range missiles. it's unclear why they would do this. but some south korean sources have said that the north koreans may now be looking, or wanting to review, the offer made last night by secretary of state john kerry. to return to the six-party talks, those talks that have been on hold now for the past eight years. if you recall, kerry pro

bill, mandy, back to you. >> jim maceda there, thank you. does china, then, have over north korea to try and defuse this crisis? >> joining us is assistant managing editor of the "wall street journal." pet peter novarro. director of a film documentary called "death by china." gentlemen, great to have you with us. peter, is north korea going to listen to anybody? even china? >> absolutely. china has the ability tomorrow to shut north korea down. all it needs to do is withhold the substantial food and fuel support it does for north korea. this thing with north korea, everybody needs to understand it's mostly the latest in an extortion attempt. basically trying to get money and resources from the west, primarily the united states. and the reason why china basically lets north korea do what it does is because, one, it fears that a unified korean peninsula would be pro-west. two, there's a tacit understanding between the obama administration and the chinese that if they cooperate with china, u.s. and china on the korea issue, then the u.s. won't

jim maceda in south korea. >>> courthouses across texas are on alert as the investigation into who killed a texas district attorney and his wife is now focusing on a white supremacist prison gang. a law enforcement bulletin last december warned gang members might try to attack police or prosecutors. kaufman county, d.a. mike mc mclelland and his wife were found killed. the murder of the county's assistant district attorney gunned down near the courthouse two months ago. at that time, mclelland had this promise for the killer. >> we're very confident that we're going to find you, pull you out of whatever hall you're in and bring you back and let the people of kaufman county prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. >> so far, no motives or arrests have been reported in either case. >>> there are chilling new details about the alleged killer of colorado corrections chief tom clements. court officials say that evan spencer ebel who allegedly shot clements in monument colorado last month was mistakenly released from prison four years early do you to a paperwork issue. there's a possibil

i'm jim maceda, nbc news. now back to you. >> our thanks to jim maceda. meantime, the stock market took a hit today, spooked in part by those growing tensions with north korea. so just what kind of fallout will this volatile and dangerous situation have on your money? and should america consider pre-emptive military action? here now, retired four-star general and former nato supreme allied commander wesley clark. also with us for the market's angle, abigail doolittle, equity strategist at the sea group. and brian kelly, co-founder of shelter harbor capital. how serious should we take these threats? >> i think you have to take them seriously. they're spoken. they're a nuclear power. they do have long-range missiles. they have a lot of special forces people. they could do something. they also have chemical weapons. and we have to believe probably biological weapons as well. so yes, you take it seriously. but so far as we've been told publicly, there are no signs of the kinds of troop movements and troop mobilizations yet, that would actually give us a sense

jim maceda is in seoul, south korea, with the latest. good morning, lester. it's ironic that in a country that could be on the brink of war, the people who seem the least concerned are the south koreans. those most in the crosshairs. there is plenty on this peninsula to worry about. north korea's threats of a nuclear strike or the launch at any time of a deadly missile that could hit targets all of the way to guam. but at seoul's oldest standing market, it's just another saturday. this woman has sold her rice cakes here for 30 years but lately sales are off. i'm a bit concerned about the threats from the north she said but i'm more worried about how the bad news has hurt my business. she is lived with the threat of war most of her life but knowing they live within range of north korean artillery or missiles doesn't warattle them. they say they have seen it all before. tensions rise with new provocations from an unpredictable north korean tyrant, be it kim jong-un, his father or grandfather before him. only to calm down until the next cris

that's the latest for cnbc's jim maceda in seoul. >>> meanwhile, north korea is celebrating a one-year anniversary since coming into power. more scenes like these can be expecting. the international community is wary that the anniversary of the north korean founder could be a potential date for a missile launch. >>> just the latest forecast for italian gdp ratios, italian gdp seen down 1.6% in 2013, up 0.8% in 2014. this is the think tank ref, therefore, the debt to gdp ratio seen at 2.2% in 2013 and 2.8% in 2014. francesco, we still clearly don't have a government in italy. it doesn't seem to be worrying anybody buying italian debt at the moment. yields again lower at auction yesterday on the three-year. how long can that remain the case? >> we otherwise are quite negative in the long-term, but in the short-term, we are actually quite positive overall, because we think ultimately a compromise between political parties should be reached and that there could be a fray out of it. >> we've had a relief rally, as far as yields are concerned, we've been having a relief rally for a while. >>

nbc's jim maceda is in the south korean capital city of seoul with the latest. jim?aig. well, when we spoke at this time yesterday, it seemed that all sides were stepping back from the brink. well, today certainly the u.s. and south koreans continue to dial back the tension. the pentagon even cancelled a test launch of a minutemen ballistic missiles in california worryrd that the launch might be misread by north korean, and the top south korean military commander followed suit postponing his meetings in washington today for the same reason. this coming friday, secretary of state john kerry is visiting seoul, and will likely look for new ideas. even perhaps, we understand, teaming up with china, who is sounding increasingly frustrated with its north korean ally. perhaps to launch a new diplomatic offensive on kim jong-un. while there was no threat from kim today, some extremely ferocious propaganda video appeared on the north korean state tv. you've got to check this out. showing trained german shepherds worked into a frenzy, then attacking the effigy of the south kor

. >> let's go to jim maceda who's been in the region. north continues to ratchet up the rhetoric, he's in seoul, south korea, following the latest developments. jim, when we last spoke on monday, you said the closing of this industrial complex one sign that the crisis has hit a higher level. this isn't a full-scale closure. but nevertheless, it's concerning, yes? >> reporter: it's very concerning, s.e. it's concerning because the industrial park really symbolizes so much more than the sum of its parts, in this case, the sum of its 120-plus factories. for the past decade, this has been the only north/south venture of the whole of the korean peninsula, bringing in some $2 billion in trade each year. but it's also a bellwether of north/south relations. this morning with a shift change of south korean managers and truckers trying to cross the borders, they were told in so many words, turn around and go back. 800 or so south koreans inside the factories managing 50,000 north korean workers opted to stay in their factories and watch over their

nbc's jim maceda in seoul, south korea. thank you, jim. >>> in west coast headlines, how your house might be making you sick. >>> and an office politics, toure tells me how prince has remained mysterious after all these years. in office politics, toure tells me how prince has remained mysterious after all these years. [ mom ] with my little girl, every food is finger food. so i can't afford to have germy surfaces. but after one day's use, dishcloths can redeposit millions of germs. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to a fresh sheet of new bounty duratowel. look! a fresh sheet of bounty duratowel leaves this surface cleaner than a germy dishcloth, as this black light reveals. it's durable, cloth-like and it's 3 times cleaner. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to new bounty duratowel. the durable, cloth-like picker-upper. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to new bounty duratowel. i found our colors. we've made a decision. great, let's go get you set up... you need brushes... you should check out our workshops... push your

. >> jim maceda joins us from south korea.here is still so little known about kim jong un that no one can say what his actions will be. >> reporter: that's right. forgive me for this, it is extremely quiet here in seoul. you're right. this crisis could now despite all the images we just saw, it could turn out to be more sabre rattling. the sources that we're talking to here are saying that the risk of conflict between the two koreas has already crested. that said, the supreme leader has already lined up his ducks. north korea's missiles and artillery are combat ready. they're pointing at south korean and u.s. targets now. both sides are saying they'll strike hard, even if there is the slightest provocation. kim jong un has even threatened nuclear strikes on south korea and u.s. targets. that's really unprecedented. though few experts believe that he has that kind of capability. so on the surface, life seems pretty normal here only 30 miles away from the dmz in seoul. people are working. there is no chaos in the streets. hotels

jim maceda is live in seoul, south korea. what's the latest there?ong-un does nothing else, the korea government contacted not just the russians but all foreign embassies in pyongyang. later the government warned british diplomats that they could not guarantee their safety in the event of a conflict as early as next week. the britain foreign office issued a statement saying it believes pyongyang had done this for propaganda reasons to support kim's position that the u.s. plans to invade north korea, something that he has said repeatedly. there's still no indication at all here of imminent war between the north and south. even as the tensions begin to ramp up. the tensions with the mid-range missiles, they are seen by air assets to have been placed on mobile missile launchers and then concealed. so one would say for quick use. but there is a range of 2,000 miles. it's never been tested before by the north which would suggest even if it was fired it would be a test, not an attack. something that has gone unreported, chris, is that the young kim has pic

nbc's jim maceda is in seoul. is this more sabre rattling from pyongyang?ore sabre rattling. i haven't sensed this much tension in 20 years. missiles and artillery are combat ready. they're pointing, at least according to north korea's leader, kim jong-un, at south korean and u.s. targets now. both sides, north and south, say that they will strike at the slightest provocation, the other side. kim jong-un has even threatened preemptive nuclear strikes on south korean and u.s. ta

nbc's jim maceda is in seoul with the very latest. >> reporter: well, the escalation continues today.the latest message clearly meant for u.s. consumption, the north korea military spoke of striking the u.s. with a number of lightweight mobile nuclear devices. no experts here believe it has such devices. once again, this latest threat was conditional, this time on the u.s. stop iping what north korea calls aggressive war games. a move that it sees as a preparation for an invasion. this comes after kim jong-un reactivated an old mothball plutonium reactor and for a second day running has barred south korean workers from crossing into the north to punch in at that very important quezon industrial park, the country's only joint venture. koreans here that they believe that kim is too weak and too broke to really launch an all-out war. but when you press them, they are worried that an accident or miscalculation of some kind during this powder keg could trigger something very nasty. back to you. >> thank you so much, jim. and despite being known for somewhat bearish outlook, our next guest

nbc's jim maceda is live for us in seoul, south korea. jim, it seems that every day, we are closing to a conflict in that part of the world. what's the sense of urgency where you are? >> reporter: hi, craig. well, there is obviously a sense of urgency, i'm coming to you from seoul, so there's less -- it's less obvious here than it would be up on the dmz or in north korea. still, there is a sense of you are generalcy. there is a sense this has been ramping up every day since february. and people are worried. very hard to get south koreans to talk about their emotions. those that do tell us something say they are upset, they are nervous, they are worried, mo probably more worried than they have been for a number of years. i have got to tell you, craig, the first time since this latest crisis began, the opposing sides seem to be stepping back from the brink today. it's not just me feeling this. we have heard no new threats from the north korean leader, kim jong-un, or from his government today. that's the first time in over a week there hasn'

jim maceda has more from seoul. >> it could be more than saber rattling.illery are reportedly combat ready and now pointing at both south korean and u.s. targets. both sides, north and south say they'll strike at the slightest provocation, and north korea's leader kim jong-un has even threatened preemptive nuclear strikes on south korean and u.s. targets. that's really unprecedented though many experts are saying they don't believe that kim has that capability. south koreans do tend to see kim jong-un as the boy who cried wolf, if you will. they lived through many of these belligerent threats before andiblely during the war games, the joint u.s.-south korean military maneuvers and only to see that rhetoric dial back. one sign getting a lot of attention today is last night's statement by north korea's bureau saying that the country would pursue its nuclear arms program, but at the same time it's going to also work on its economic development and experts today are saying that that's a signal that north korea really wants to engage again with south korea and

jim maceda joins us now and you said they hadn't started the military parade we were waiting for. what's the latest now? >> that's right. and for the people who weren't watching, the world is waiting for not just a missile launch, but this so-called day of the sun traditionally is the day whhey' out with their latest webry. they want to show off what they've got. now it's an hour later or so and it's getting dark at the end of the day. no sign of a military parade, much less a missile launch. by the way, north korea never actually said that they would preemptively launch a missile. that was coming more from south korean defense intelligence. however, they are going to try to avoid any provocation, one would think, especially on a day like this that is so important on their calendar. now, it doesn't mean that north korea won't do something in the days ahead. south korea says it's maintaining a very high state of alert just in case. and it says that north korea is ready to launch a missile. but the feeling is that things are now de-escalating. >> jim, how likely is it now that north