the dictator, kim jong-il, surveyed his troops. with him was his youngest son and designated successor kim jong uni. it is called all show and said that the north cannot pack as big of a military punch as they would have the world believe. >> they have 200,000 men in their special forces, and they could do some damage, but a war would be over in just a few days. the south is well prepared, and it has better weapons, and above all, it has the americans at their side. >> he says the north korean military is as a ramshackle as the rest of the country. its economic is obsolete, and it does not have enough food for its forces. he said that back then, when they could not take the hunter anymore, he and his colleagues would raid villages and steel -- when they could not take the hunger any more, he and his colleagues would raid villages and steal. he says life for the soldiers of the north is utterly miserable. >> the troops of hostages of kim jong-un. the life of a soldier is made up of drills, beatings, and hunkeg. you can never speak yo

we have just witnessed chants that include the name of kim jong-il's son, kim jong-un. re probably part of preparations ahead of his birthday on january 8. a sign that kim jong il's appointed successor is very present in the daily life of north koreans. shuhei ikehata, nhk world, in changbai on the border with north korea. >>> the united states says it will step up its monitoring of china's moves to strengthen its military. >> the u.s. shares the concern of many in the region that this type of military build-up far exceeds china's defensive needs. >> assistant secretary of defense wallace gregson said tuesday in washington that the u.s. must stay involved in balancing military power in the region. he said the u.s. will keep a closer watch on china's growing efforts to develop missiles that target aircraft carriers, new submarines, and methods for launching cyberattacks. gregson also criticized china for not expression disappointment with north korea over its artillery attack on south korea, saying china has failed to act responsibly as a major power. the u.s. and china a

state department considered arranging a private elton john concert for kim jong-il. private concert, elton john. is that true or false? false. common misconception. common mixup i should say. it is actually the president of kazakhstan who got the private concert with elton john and the united states did not arrange it. he paid for it himself. it was for his son-in-law's birthday party. the wikileaks revelation about kim jong-il was about eric clapton. a cable released, in may 2007 a wire was sent suggesting the u.s. government should, quote, book eric clapton. it said that in all caps. so-and-so person whose name is x'd out, passed on that the u.s. government arrange for eric clanton to perform a concert in pyongyang. it could be an opportunity for goodwill. he's been passed over for succession, he did attend eric clapton concerts while in school in europe. two years after this wikileaked cable in 2009, north korea invited eric clapton to come to pyongyang. he did not end up going. thanks to the wikileaks cable, north korea asked our government to help book the gig.

i thought it was interesting, though, that they did not let him so kim jong il or kim jong-un. he ended up meeting sort of the top tier of the foreign ministry and the military but did not see the nation's leaders. and when president carder went to visit just a few months ago kim jong-ill was out of town. he was in china. so he also didn't see the leadership. and i thought that was striking because if the north koreans wanted to send a message back to president obama i would have thought that they would have had governor richardson meet kim jong il. so whatever message was sent was sent at a lower level. in the end i suspect governor richardson probably accomplished something significant by bringing the inspectors back in if they actually get back in. how long-lasting it is is the big question and i think ian is exactly right when he says, you know, we can expect there's going to be another strike at a time and place at the north koreans choosing. >> we probably is a bit of a recipes here. look, lord knows i don't want to be on record as saying i know what the north koreans are

it has been issuing grown weary of kim jong il? wikileaks quoted one chinese official as saying that p'yongyang's posturing and missile tests was acting like a spoiled child. another said the north has little value to china as a buffer state. the reality is the cables are on closer reading just diplomats chatter, not a change of policy. there may have been some awkwardness for north korean and chinese officials on wednesday. both sides know that china continues to back kim jong il's regime, propping it up economically. >> north korean leaders are all paranoid. they are always suspicious about china. they will have read the information and will make them more suspicious, but they need china more than ever, so they will not ask china about it. and if they do, will explain that it is just diplomatic gossip. >> damaging in china's eyes is the cable clamming hacker attacks were ordered by the communist leaders. there is no proof, but just the suggestion is highly sensitive. another cable talks about the chinese premier and a chinese fir

that the north's leadership needed to distract from the worsing on the economy and the success of kim jong il. >>> china's foreign minister says that china remains neutral on the korean issue and is working towards calling attention on the korea -- calming tensions on the korean peninsula. he made the remarks at a forum attended by foreign diplomats based in beijing on wednesday. >> he stressed the importance of not enflaming intention and ask that the country exercise restraint. diplomatic sources say china will send two senior officials, one state counselor in charge of diplomatic affairs. and a special envoy on korean issues to the north. >>> observers say yang's remarks were aimed at rebutting criticism from the international community that china acts in favor of north korea. the u.s. naval fleet is taking part in an annual exercise with japan's maritime self-defense force. the uss george washington aircraft carrier is sailing towards waters near okinawa being accompanied by the uss shiloh, able to shoot shoot down ballistic missiles. this is based on the asums that north korea will launc

. >> in the meantime, a close aide to north korean leader kim jong il arrived in beijing on tuesday. choe tae bok is chair of his country's supreme people's assembly. he's expected to discuss the current situation on the korean peninsula with chinese leaders during his five-day visit. >>> more details are emerging from the huge amount of classified u.s. diplomatic documents released by the whistle bloeg website wikileaks. the site quotes a senior south korean official as predicting that north korea's regime will collapse two or three years after the death of its ailing leader, kim jong il. the cable dated in february was released on monday. it says that then south korean second vice foreign minister chon yung woo told the u.s. ambassador to seoul that north korea had already collapsed economically. chun also reportedly said china has less influence over the country than is widely believed. another u.s. document shows that a chinese foreign ministry official in april last year told a u.s. diplomat that north korea was acting like a spoiled child to achieve its demand of bilateral talk

it depends on the lovable crack pot, kim jong-il. they are blustering like something that blotsers. -- that blusters. if a live firing drill goes ahead by seoul goes ahead. he will recall that the north responded fighting artillery shells on a disputed island. even though the south may contain] the exercise as justified, the quote, intensity and scope, end quote of its retaliation will be worse. i think i know what they mean. >> i would be scared by this. gov, how concerned should we be about north korea? >> we should be concerned. it is run by a loonetic and he has a nuclear weapon. >> you can say that about the united states. >> no, i am not run by them. >> he is a loon and the man has his hands on the device them. >> the first round and he shot like a 50. this guy is amazing and he can do anything. >> he played it legitimately. >> i don't want to drop a bomb and there are a lot of people stuck because of this line, but i spoke to an exofficial and they say south korea is the antagonist. they run these drills to get america over th

the things have changed recently in the decades old stand off as the north prepares for kim jong-il tohis son. >> kathryn a significant development as russia critized the former cold war ally. >> the russians are wading in and telling the north korean counter part that moscow is concerned about the leadership of kim jong-il. ramping up the enrich. of uranium and the attack on the south korea island. they are standing by the international community as an escalation. >> north korea claims that south korea held live fire. everybody said the other came first. but the south today held similar drills. >> intelligence contacts, the issue was frame to me. longer the escalation goes on between north and south korea exercises and nuclear war threat. the greater the risk one side will miscalculate the risk. there is no way to break the cycle that. is concerning to the u.s. officials. we see this before multiparty talks and that is not the case this time. >> after a string of political gaffes and months of criticism in his own party, the chairman of the republican national committee is making a de

north korea's aggression has -- kim jong-il sti that's kim jong-il from north korea, this man mutterse way people look at me now, it's not friendly anymore. i need to avoid looking like him now. >> reporter: lying low in his bunker like print shop where not even loyal customers can describe the fact that kim jong-il is no longer so welcome on the streets of the south korean capital. for "today," ian williams, nbc news, seoul, south korea. >> what else can he do? >> he's got to find something.cu and o ywsne weather. . . . lightning fast. lightning strong. verizon 4g lte. rule the air on the most advanced 4g network in the world. >>> well, good morning everyone. you know, we hear there's some trouble in the caldecott tunnel. >> they just cleared all lanes, and the accident we followed the last half hour, but look at the big backup in lafayette. jamming up westbound 24, and a new action for the south bay northbound 101, heading toward shoreline, heading up toward the peninsula. meanwhile, san jose and the rest say swing typical delays. more news after this. ♪ it comes along just once a y

this man says he thinks it might be the mostthreaten time aftethey cease fire 6 weeks after kim jong il unvailed his youngest son as his heir. >> this validates a lon standing concerwith respect to north korea and its enrichment of uranium and continues to validate a country led by a dictator constantly desires to destabilize the region. >> meanwhile north korea's agenciesthe government will continue stres if south korea violates a disput sea border. south koea's president has vowed to retaate strongly if thenorth attacks again. ephram gram cbn news. >> north korea is one of the most repressive nations in the world. a place where christianitis out lawed and believers are put into labor camps simply for owning bible or attending a prayer meeting. recently, cbn news sat down with carl muller and spoke about the brutality prisoners face the camps. >> one day i hope the world understandwhat these camps are like. they are worse because of the extreme inhumanity of people than the camps at oush its. they are designed to work people to death. they are intentional in making people suffer. they

but what hand does kim jong-il va in this?what kim hopes to achieve, in effect, is a deal with the u.s. wherein we acknowledge north korea as a nuclear weapon state, lift sank shuns, push japan and korea to give them aid and they promise not to give their nuclear weapons to anyone else or perhaps cap or control one part of it. >> that's a deal green says they'll never take. richardson is unlikely to meet directly with kim jong-il but may be able to pick up much-needed signals about the leader. >> at 69, he's suffering from the effects of a bad report, reports are he's smoking and drinking heavily again and trying to quickly build a cult of personality in support for his young son, kim jong eun. >> green says that's a transition that may be violent. he said in the '80s when he was preparing to succeed his father, he orchestrated the bombing of a south korean jetliner. >> are there any indications that once he's in power, the sun son will be just as tough as his father. >> green and other experts say there's not much known about

economy next year in order to help strengthen the authority of kim jong-un who has been appointed as the successor to his father, kim jong-il. >>> south korea raised its foot and mouth disease alert to the highest level to deal with an outbreak spreading across livestock in the country. the virus was confirmed in late november in pigs on a farm in the southern city of andong. the south korean government set up a task force on wednesday to handle the crisis and called for intensified anti-infection measures. it has so far culled 520,000 cows or pigs, or about 4% of its farm animal population. all livestock farms in the country will be thoroughly disinfected and access will be strictly limited. year-end events across the country including fireworks displays have been canceled out of fear the disease may be further spread by spectator's shoes. >>> the chinese government says prosecutors filed for investigation more than 240,000 cases of corruption involving civil servants in the seven years leading up to 2009. the government released the country's first-ever white paper on corruption on wednesday. the paper says between 2005 t

our media today mocks really and jokes about ahmadinejad and kim jong-il as being dysfunctional people i think is the kindest way of putting it, but they won't be joking about it if they put themselves in the position where they are able to threaten us with pushing the button or pulling the trigger on us with a nuclear attack. we really need to be focusing on, as i said, the other aspects of this, starting with missile defense, because if we sit across the table from kim jong-il or his representatives, or ahmadinejad, and the best we have to offer is a retaliatory strike, that really isn't nearly as effective as having an umbrella over the top of us that can knock an errant missile out of the sky. we need a robust missile defense system. and i believe, as we said earlier, that this treaty chills that. because no matter what you say, if you read the independent statements that were made by the parties, the russians have said that if we go forward with improving either quantitatively or qualitatively our missile defense system, this is grounds for withdrawing from this treaty. well, i do

when kim jong il will die. some of those sorts of specific things. but we know in general the way the system works. >> it always amazes me the process is happening in egypt it happened in syria and is happening in north korea twice now. where a family wants to pass on control of the country. and what you have is vested interest with a particular family to do it because that family has appointed the key people in all the institutions. >> right. >> rose: so it happened in syria. so the people who have supported the previous president understand that... i assume, i'm asking this question, we better stay with the person we know. the family we know. >> the way to think about north korea is a criminal family. they are the ones who have first cut on the money, first cut on the food, first cut on all of the privileges. they support each other and they know that should that unity and that direction of the countries and affairs fall apart then no telling where it's going to go. so there's strong interest in them sticking together for their position of power an

. >>> north koreans leader kim jong-il and bay sying's top -- beijing's top official is in agreement. kim met with state counselor today and had in-depth talks. china has been under pressure to diffuse tensions between the two koreas ever since the north's recent attack on south korean soil. >>> it is 4:49. the obama administration says democrats should support a new tax cut compromise because otherwise the nation could fall back into a recession. congressional republicans like the deal that they made with the president. mr. obama agreed to a two-year extension of the bush-era tax cuts. in return, republicans agree to extend unemployment benefits for 13 months. liberal democrats against the proposal say it's tilted too far in favor of the wealthy. >> i don't think that the president should count on democratic votes to get this deal passed. >> i'm very hopeful and optimistic that a large majority of members of the republican conference will find this proposal worth supporting. >> the white house, however, said it did not have any other option. some democrats are especially unhappy with

china's state counselor in charge of foreign policy, dai bin gro has met with north korean leader kim jong il to discuss the situation on the korean peninsula. dai sat down with kim in pyongyang. china's special envoy to the six-party talks on north korea's nuclear program, wu dawei, also attended. china's xinhua news agency says the two sides held frank in-depth talks and reached an important and shared understanding. dai is believed to have discussed a chinese proposal for an emergency meeting of the six countries involved in the nuclear talks as a way to help defuse heightened tensions on the korean peninsula. the meeting was the first between kim and a senior chinese official since the north shelled a south korean island in late november. the united states, japan, and south korea have said that north korea must first move toward denuclearization as a precondition for the six-party meeting. chinese foreign ministry spokesperson zhang yu said on thursday that a further deterioration of the situation on the korean peninsula will not be in any country's interest. zhang said china hopes south

said that north korea responded positively to the proposed meeting when he met north korean leader kim jong il last week in pyongyang. >>> the u.n. security council has decided to partially lift sanctions on iraq in a move that would allow the country to develop a civilian nuclear program. the sanctions have been in place for nearly two decades. the council met to discuss iraq on wednesday. with u.s. vice president joe biden serving as the chair, the united states this month holds the council's rotating presidency. sanctions were imposed on iraq one year after it invaded kuwait in 1990 under the then president saddam hussein. the council adopted resolutions to lift restrictions on the country's civilian nuclear program. it also decided to return the control of profits from iraq's oil exports from the government, allowing the money to be used for humanitarian assistance. iraqi oil earnings have long been under international control. the united states now wants to accelerate reconstruction by helping the country stand on its own. >>> germany will suspend military conscription, or the draft, as p

dai had meetings with kim jong il among others. according to japanese officials, north koreans were quoted as saying they would not heighten tensions if the united states and south korea do not launch acts of provocation. the north koreans also reportedly said they would consider accepting iaea inspectors. the japanese government says it plans to keep calling on north korea to meet the five necessary conditions for resuming the six party talks. >>> in the commodities market crude oil prices are on the rise again. the benchmark wti futures rose above $90 a barrel in new york on wednesday. for the first time in 26 months. higher oil prices worldwide are pushing up the cost of petrochemical products in japan. crude oil prices have been rising since october. investors are moving their speculative funds into the market as a result of the long-standing easy monetary policy in the u.s. in japan firms such as sumitomo chemical have decided to increase their prices for polyester by about 8% in japan. japan's largest tire maker, bridgestone,

>> well, if he meets kim jong-il, there will be some questions about his health, and the command of thepeople are still going to be interested in the government and in hearing what was the propaganda line he was given and trying to read the tea leaves to see if the north koreans are moving in a different direction or not. >> reporter: they will ask him what officials wither in the room and what they said about kim jong-il and his likely successor, his third son. and like many other visitors were asked by the north koreans and the americans to go, another key question that u.s. officials will have for him, what did you tell them? because there is a worry that the wrong signal is conveyed when you have private citizens doing these high-level trips. >> reporter: green went to pyongyang as part of a u.s. delegation and he says this about what richardson's group and including our colleague wolf blitzer are likely experiencing. >> they will find that the north koreans are cleaning the room every two hours, because they are going through everything. they are followed everywhere and they can ge

have spoken publicly about the violence they appeared on a talk show on state television marking kim jong il's nineteen years as the country's top military commander the head of the anniversary of pyongyang warned it would launch what it called a secret nuclear war against seoul while the south president promised retaliation if attacked last month north korea shelled the south island of young young pianka killing four people in response to seoul's drills in the area analysts say the south koreans say south korea and the u.s. are seeking to destroy north korea as an independent state. the united states' policy for the last sixty years has been to seek the collapse of the north korean state and its absorption into the south. the lead government is more closely aligned with the u.s. foreign policy goals on the korean peninsula. say the governments of presidents rowan presidents kim. in south korea. president lee is often times seen as a puppet of the united states and. the area around his office is called by many south koreans the news united state of south korea south korea certainly seized on a

it has to go kim jong-il, mel gibson's answering machine islamic extremists and charlie sheen's liquoru just want to say, go for the last 700 people to put up with your douchry. >> one was a cartoonist and the other printed the cartoons. >> that is a good point. that has been one of the primary angles out of this story, sweden trying to distance themselves. it is much better if it is evening land's fault and not sweden's fault. >> the wife didn't know. >> the wife is always the last to know. >> what would piss you off more? finding out your husband was having an affair or in jihad? >> finding out i was married and didn't know it. the affair would be a personal thing. see that has nothing to do with me. >> bill, let's face it they follow a distinct pattern and they get an ipad. then they make extremist statements and the mosque say, yeah, we saw him making extremist statements and he ran out, but then they didn't report it. >> the other thing i can add to this list is if they talk with a high, feminine voice watch them. one of the things was probably girl that is not very strong. the wi

this morning we're going to meet with a top adviser to kim jong-il.ut i am concerned because these routine exercises of the south koreans could cause a miscalculation. my sense from talking to the north koreans is they want to tamp things down a bit. i urged them to be restrained, that they've caused a lot of international damage to themselves with the killing of the civilians on the island, the sinking of the ship, the increased uranium production that is causing enough alarm that the time has come to come back to negotiations and to cool things down. i think we've had a little bit of success. but i'm really concerned about these potential exercises causing a provocation. >> also, take a look at this. we've seen scenes like this play out around the country this week. we'll see some more next week all before christmas. they're being greeted, our men and women the hugs and the handshakes and tears from family. again, these scenes playing out at airports across the country. a lot of them getting leave, getting chance to come home. a lot of them coming h

official, and how do you view this recent escalation and tension has to do with succession from kim jong-ilst son if that is going the take place. is that part of this equation? >> well, it is part. it is not the whole part, but when i was there, i think that the couple of messages they were sending is one that the health of kim jong-il was fine. they invited me to take a look at the pictures of him that perhaps you are showing now going out and inspecting, and they made that transition that they, the leadership level, have accepted the fact that kim jong moon is going to be the next leader, and they are rallying behind him. the observation of governor bill richardson are spot on about china. we have given them a pass, because we are understood their concerns bt the fragility of the regime, but this coming year, a having seen what they are doing with the sinking of ship, and the shelling in south korea, they have to step up to provide some reasonable method of pressure on the north koreans to behave. >> a lot of people are concerned, jim walsh, that the obama administration does not have a

>> kim jong-il. >> one crazy spot. ahmadinejad. >> we have it going on, b, a rebellious idea or c, sentras are bringing sexy back. >> and which state representative may or may not have been in vietnam? >> kristy mcdonell. >> and in a recent interview which high ranking u.s. official should resign? >> first, with all of the star trek talk, shockingly i am the least nerdy person. i think it was hillary clinton. >> nice. mark kirk is the new senator having won an election by the seat health by whom? >> that would be jets 27-bengals 18. >> actually it was 26-10, but you were close. chicago has two baseball teams. which is bill's favorite? >> i think it is the white sox. when did the cubs, that's a clue, first win the world series? >> no, you were correct. >> and complete the last line to the mega hit "boom, boom, pow." >> pass. >> boom, boom, pow. you did horribly, joe. anne, we finish it up with you. a 19-year-old somali naturalized citizen was arrested in portland for what reason? >> he refused to go through the airport

. >>> north korea released new video of kim jong-il and his youngest son. analysts say this newly- released video is likely being used by them to hold the -- >> they want to make his son look as powerful as possible and have north korea look as pour as possible. we're likely to see some tough days ahead. >> reporter: meantime the tensions between north and south korea are intensifying tonight. south korea just wrapped up several days of preplanned regular exercises. the country's president pledged to get tough against his communist neighbor and stressed he's not afraid of a war. >> translator: we've now been awakened to the realization that war can be prevented and peace assured only when such prove cakeses are met with a -- provocations are met with a strong response. the region has been on edge since november. the south says they will use air strikes if they are hit again. the north has threatened nuclear weapons if targeted. >>> jennifer newsom and gavin newsom are expecting their second baby, a boy due in june. the couple already have a 15- month-old da

. ♪ >>> cable claims that north koreans leader kim jong-il's son is a huge clapton fan.hey suggested in 2007 that the u.s. government make arrangements for clapton to perform as a way of building goodwill toward the u.s. the concert never happened. cap ton's representatives have not comment. they wanted america to book a british performance. >> the latest on the arrest of a 14-year-old northern california boy charged with stabbing a 13-year-old girl and 18-month old brother. the amazing lengths the girl went to save her brother. >> i'm terry mcsweeney. how would you feel about paying a toll every time you went from san mateo county you went into san francisco county and a toll when you came out? i'll have details of the border battle that is brewing. >> also next at 5:30, why fed ex drivers and pilots are getting ready for a big day today. >> here is a look at big outbreak of arctic air, around fargo and minneapolis, 18 in st. louis all this cold weather is heading to the east. it's not causing any delays right now, it is going to have snow as far as south as atlanta thi

here's more on what kim jong-il is promising next. >> reporter: more ramped-up rhetoric from north korea. the rogue nation warning south korea against staging live fire drills on the front-line island bombed by the north last month. north korea new promising a deadlier attack this time around. [ through translator ] >> it will be deadlier than the one made on november 23rd, in terms of the scope and powerfulness of the strike. >> reporter: pyongyang said it considers such drills an infringement of its territory and responded to similar firing exercises with the shower of artillery shells last month, killing two marines and two construction workers. and if south koreans are not backing down, promising the military exercises will go on as planned and say they're prepared to teal with any attack. russia's urging the south not to go ahead with the exercises and the state department is defending seoul's decision. these are routine exer ices and there is nothing provocative about the exercises. >> reporter: and they're meeting with the south korean nuclear envoy. according to reports out of ch

just as well north korea's kim jong-il will never be invited to eat anything at this table, for he isflabby old chap. as for libya's moammar gadhafi, maybe he gets a table all to himself as he is said to be just strange. it's fantasy, but what is not is the job mrs. clinton now has in front of her, one at a time, to smooth a lot of ruffled feelings, beginning in kazakhstan, the nation whose defense minister enjoys, one cable said, drinking himself into a stupor. oh, dear. what's a diplomat to do? just like a dinner hostess, smile and say nice things. >> you have to get along with people. you have to listen to them, even if you disagree with them. >> reporter: whenever you're in earshot. even, apparently, when you're not. i'm john donvan in washington. >> that's why i just talk behind people's backs, i don't write it down. >> it's much easier. >> easier, yeah. >> she has a tough job. to sell america. sounds like someone opened up america's diary and started reading. kind of embarrassing. >>> coming up, susan boyle's singing challenges on "the view." >>> from the basketball court to div

alina cho was there when they rolled tout heir apparent kim jong-il's son.ns us now. >> good to see you, suzanne, as always. >> you were there a couple of months ago and this is a country like no other country in the world. >> i say that all of the time. you are absolutely right. it is like no other country on earth. and it is really difficult, i have to tell you, suzanne, for westerners to truly comprehend what is it like to be inside of north korea. remember, this is a place that if you are an average citizen, where there is no internet access, and many people don't own televisions. if you do own a tv, you are only allowed to watch government-sanctioned channels, and there is propaganda music blaring across pyongyang and you don't need an alarm clock because the music starts at 5:00 a.m. coming from the train station. and speaking of propaganda, and anywhere you go in pyongyang, there are statute -- statues honoring kim jong-il. >> what will wolf encounter on the streets, and how will he be received as a western journalist? >> he will be received well as i

. >> reporter: north korean president kim jong-il, has indicated he is preparing to hand over power to his youngest son, kim jong-un. analysts say the north is acting provocatively to burnish the leader-in-waitings military credentials and to win diplomatic concessions from the us. u.s. kim hung-kwang is a prominent defector who fled from north korea in 2002. >> ( translated ): north korea was confident it was a clever ploy, that washington and seoul would give it the aid it needs to stop the provocations. but the reaction has not been what it anticipated, because it is not getting what it wants, it is pestering other countries. north korea wants washington to make this issue a foreign policy priority, so it's recent behavior was designed to send a message to the u.s., south korea and international society. >> reporter: kim chul-woong, a professional pianist who played with north korea's prestigious state symphony orchestra, fled the country eight years ago to realize his dream of becoming a jazz musician. he thinks the way to manage the problem is to bring in the region's biggest econ

the leader of north korea, kim jong-il is known as the lady who owns the korean grocery store.ndian prime minister manmohan singh had two nicknames. known as either marge simpson or papa smurf. depending upon your mood. and one -- venezuelan president hugo chavez also known as mr. smelly finger. so -- but hey, angry world leaders, you should all -- in our country nicknames are a sign of affection. what did your parents call you when you were growing up, guillermo? >> gordo. >> jimmy: gordo. that means fat. that's not necessarily something you want to be called, but you loved it, right gordo? >> yes. >> jimmy: meanwhile, a very dangerous criminal named willie nelson is in custody. 77-year-old willie nelson arrested on board his tour bus about 85 miles east of el paso, texas. here's a pop quiz you can take at home. what was willie nelson arrested for? a, tax evasion. c, public urination. d, possession of marijuana. or e, b and d. b and d is actually the answer. he had -- [ applause ] allegedly had, i personally don't -- i personally believe he was framed. this is willie's mug sho

while north korean leader kim jong-il was ranked best dressed female janitor who also happens to be aolitician. [ laughter ] that's good, too. [ cheers and applause ] that counts. hey, you guys, i just heard that miley cyrus's parents billy ray and tish are getting a divorce after 17 years of marriage. [ audience aws ] it's kind of weird. it's the first divorce where the kid has to pay parent support. [ laughter ] but it's 2010, that's -- it's a messy divorce. tish is seeking full custody of miley, while billy ray is seeking full custody of hannah montana. [ laughter ] so it's very -- you don't know who's going to win. here's some news for travelers. instead of the usual pat-down, the tsa is now requiring security agents to slide their hands up the inside of a passenger's leg, which explains the most common thing now heard at airports -- "that's not a gun." [ laughter ] "going to see my daughter in connecticut, and -- -- going home for the holidays." [ laughter ] no, no. [ cheers and applause ] thank you. this was pretty -- yeah, this is a pretty interesting story. a group of nfl wive

wanted eric clapton to perform in pyongyang as a way to build goodwill and north korean leader kim jong-il'sreportedly a big fan of clapton. representatives for clapton have not commented. >>> former alaska governor sarah palin joined reverend franklin graham and his charity samaritan's purse this weekend in haiti. she observed the charity's operations and handed out christmas gifts. today as her trip drew to a close, palin told reporters she hopes the american people won't turn their backs on a country that's been through so much. >> don't want americans to forget the need that is here. more importantly for americans and people across the world to know what an individual can do to make a difference to contribute, to kind of get out of your comfort zone and volunteer to help. >> well, haiti, as you may snow being ravaged by cholera, even as it continues to recover from that huge earthquake 11 months ago, and in recent days a disputed presidential election sparked violence which threatened to plunge the country into renewed chaos. >>> some good news for job-seekers to tell you about and bad n

and i still highest level sitting american official to go to north korea and to meet kim jong-il. president clinton and president carter were there in order to get hostages out but they were no longer in office. and so i think that what is most unfortunate is that we left the talks at the end of 2000, and out of office in 2001, that they did not pick up from where we had left them. i believe that we were moving in a positive direction in terms of having made clear to the north koreans that the united states had no hostile intent. they were willing to limit their -- banning missile moratorium, and they also were willing to stop the exports at a friday of nuclear technology. the bush administration force own reasons did not follow up with that. it was a hiatus, and ultimately moving to the six-party talks, parts of which looked as though they might be successful and in the north koreans backed out of various parts. i think that what is nervous making about this is that we are not very knowledgeable about what is going on in north korea. there is speculation that all this shalit and

north korea marked the 19th anniversary of ruler kim jong il becoming supreme military commander.he celebration came on the heels of this week's forceful displays of south korean might-- on land and air, with two days of well-publicized live-fire drills. despite threats beforehand, the north did not respond militarily. but state-run media condemned the war games as a south korean plot. >> ( translated ): the puppet warmongers are doing it to scheme a war to invade north korea. >> warner: and a senior north korean defense official warned his country would wage a sacred war using nuclear weapons, if it's attacked. the war of words was the latest sign of rising tensions on the peninsula. in march, north korea torpedoed a south korean warship, killing 46 sailors. and last month, the north shelled a south korean island in disputed waters, killing four. this morning on abc, vice president biden suggested a reason for the north's recent aggression. >> going through a power transition that great leader is about to and has designated his young son to be his successor i'm sure whether is a