kim jong-il is sick. he's had a stroke. analysts say his memory is fading and he wants his third son, kim jong-un to replace him, but kim jong-un is untested. attacking the old enemy, south korea, may be his rite of passage. kim jong-un was made a four-star general last september. now he has to show he can handle combat. >> the military campaign is to turn him into the military hero, somebody who can lead north korea out of this mess and into the next century. >> reporter: little is known about kim jung-un, except he's pudgy, around 5'9", 200 pounds. he studied in switzerland under a false name. he likes basketball. a fan of michael jordan. it's not a stellar resume, but kim jong-un may be a last resort. the other sons have been unreliable. one was deported from japan in 2001, traveling on a fake passport. he claimed he wanted to go to disney world. a bizarre family, but kim jong-un could control the massive nuclear backed army. >> it's a highly calculated move to provoke the south as well as the united states. >> reporter: as north korea gambles with international stability to secure a dynasty. the basic question, brian, remai

their focus is kim jong il. >> nothing compares to what happens when kim jong il and kim jong un walkut. this sound goes through the crowd. this sort of wooo-wooo. and they start all lifting their hands up. and i look at their faces and they're all crying, and that's when you realize you're in something entirely and disturbingly unique. despite being backwards and bankrupt, north korea has built as many as a dozen nuclear weapons, and may be making more. >> the real concern about north korea's nuclear capacity is not that they're going to launch one but that they're going to sell one. >> couric: according to a new u.n. report, north korea sells $100 million worth of non- nuclear arms every year to countries with terrorist ties like iran and syria. money from the weapons sales goes into the pockets of north korea's leadership, which is also linked to counterfeiting and money laundering. >> north korea in some ways is a cancer on asia. >> couric: in the past, international aid in the form of food and medicine has gotten north korea to stop its nuclear weapons programs, but pyongyang has

domestically, kim jong il decided his third son, kim jong un, will be his successor. kim jong un has to quickly strengthen his power because his father is still dealing with the effects of a stroke he suffered two years ago. north korea is aiming to build what it calls a great prosperous and powerful nation in 2012 through military and economic reconstruction. the 100th anniversary of the birth of kim il sung. but u.n. sanctions against north korea for its nuclear tests have left the country's economy in shambles. so the north relies on foreign aid. and south korea took a softer approach with north korea, it used to send aid and support. >> right. >> but the administration -- but the administration of lee myung-bak is taking a tougher approach now. it only sends humanitarian aid. on the diplomatic side, north korea needs to guarantee its regime change. it wants to negotiate a peace treaty with the united states. the two countries have relied on a cease-fire aeement since the end of th korn r. it'sunlikely t. sncekorea. anrlrhis month t.s. united states'sthe inrnioxpec

korea is in the process of passing power from the country's ailing leader kim jong il to his son, the inexperienced kim jong un. >> he's protecting his own regime, propping up his son for the future and trying to protect the regime of kim jong il, his father kim il sung and his son kim jong un for eternity. >> reporter: many believe that's why the north is being more provocative. in march, they torpedo a ship and killed 46 sailors. they unveiled their newest nuclear facility capable of enriching weapons-grade uranium. the sophistication of the facility was a surprise to visiting american scientists. >> i said oh, my god, they actually did what they said they were going to do. >> reporter: south korea's president, lee myung-bak, warned that the south won't tolerate attacks on civilians. as these confrontations escalate, so does the threat of a full-blown korean confrontation the world has tried to avoid. celia hatton, cbs news, beijing. >> couric: meanwhile, in afghanistan, after nine years of war, nato and afghan leaders felt the time was right to open a dialogue with the taliban. they even held secret meeting

kim jong il, and his state of health. not exactly very steady on his feet. he's trying to shoehorn in his son, kim jong un, as his successor. kim jong un's only experience of the real world is his years at a swiss boarding school. are the kims, father and son, trying to show toughness by blasting at south korea, or the military trying to force the pace? this isn't, in fact, the most serious incident in recent months. in march, the south korean naval ship was sunk by a miscellaneous torpedo killing many sailors. an independent investigation believed it had to do with north korea. south korea didn't retaliate. maybe that persuaded the north that it can get away with just about anything. this time, too, it's clear that the americans don't want retaliation, either. >> everybody involved is stunned by north korea's provocative actions. i believe the president referred to it as outrageous. we're not going to respond willy-nilly. >> one of the big worries is that north korea is a nuclear power. but, presumably by coincidence, the north koreans have just allowed a senior american scientist to see their latest hig

kim jong-il. he suggested it was part of a plan to secure the succession of kim's son kim jong-un. a photo of the two were secured from the day before the attack. south korean government officials say the father and son had troops stationed at the base a few days before the shooting. his ministers held an emergency security meeting on thursday. they decided to review the rules in case of retaliation by north korea. they are scheduled to start drills sunday. the uss aircraft carrier george washington and four egis destroyers will take part. the drills aren't in response to the north's attack, but are aimed at deterring future military provocation by the country. but these types of exercise anger north korea. it says it launched the artillery strike in response to drills earlier this week. >> the situation is also causing concern in japan. it's government is working closely with the united states. both sides agree china should use its influence on north korea to calm the situation. the chinese premiere made the official comment about the attack on wednesday. he called on concerned co

as north korea's ailing leader kim jong-il prepares to turn over power to his youngest son, kim jong-un. >> the younger kim is being encouraged to show that he can be strong. that he's a tough guy. and so, this is probably not the last such provocation we're going to see. and these are really acts of war. >> special u.s. envoy stephen bosworth, already in beijing, urged china to stop its aggression. >> we strongly believe a multilateral diplomatic approach is the only way to realistically resolve the problems. >> reporter: china along with the u.s. signed the armistice agreement in 1953 that ended the korean war and is obligated to help the police cease-fire. but china has been reluctant. >> china is unlikely to do america's bidding but this latest situation puts beijing in a delicate position as an ally of north korea, it has considerable influence. but china is also concerned about regional stability and afraid of being overrun by refugees should north korea collapse. >> in recent days, north korea shocked the u.s. by revealing that despite tough sanctions it has built uranium enrichm

kim jong il being replaced by kim jong un and this is a way of the new leader demonstrating his strength, military prowess, maybe unite being the people. the alternative explanation is the north koreans, as they have done in the past, are rattling their cage to bring pressure to bear on the united states and south koreans in respect of the six-party nuclear talks. they may wish to get leverage over these parties. but the problem with this kind of escalator is beyou have two parties engaged in a tit for tat confrontation sometimes the escalation may be war even when both parties don't want war. that is why this is serious. >> if they are trying to get leverage and trying to push the six-party talks forward, we have already had a response from the americans who say they are not going to reward bad behavior. >> well, the united states has commitments to south korea when these kinds of events happen and they fall firmly behind the south koreans. the problem we have now is if the north koreans -- the north koreans are claiming the south koreans fired first which i don't believe is true at all

kim jong un was chosen as his father's successor. >>> on this tuesday morning, some peculiar weather that is wreaking havoc on pre-thanksgiving travel. >> the main culprits are wintry storms that are packing massive amounts of snow in the midwest. >> emily schmidt has all the details. >> reporter: on the busiest travel week of the year, bad weather is making for extremely slow-going. >> i knew it was kind of snowing yesterday. but i had no idea that it was going to be everywhere. >> reporter: in seattle, rare pre-thanksgiving snow and strong winds brought accidents that brought monday's rush hour to a standstill. major highways tied up in all directions. in california's sierra region, tow truck drivers have been working for three days-straight. >> we got a lot of snow in a short amount of time. i think the trees are very dry. and the snow is really well. and it looks like artillery shells went off all over the place. >> reporter: the midwest is accustomed to snow this time of year. but tornadoes is a rarity. so, in illinois, jim grabbed his camera, when he saw a funnel cloud outside

like much of what happens in the north remains a mystery as kim jong il appears to be passing power to kim jong un. tensions have grown. it was accused of sinking a south korean warship in march killing 46 sailors and followed a series of provocations includg tests of nuclear devices and lg-range missiles. 1 11 days ago, president obama visited. >> we made it clear north korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons will only lead to more isolation and less security for them. >> reporter: back from the nato summit the president and his cabinet continued battling on another nuclear issue. lobbying senate republicans on the s.t.a.r.t. treaty with russia. >> whether you are already convinced or can be convince i'd think we want to get our inspectors back on the ground the on way to do that is by ratifying is treaty. >> lester what has many experts surprised is the speed by which north korea constructed the facility. itidn't exist a year and a half ago. and many believe despite international sanctions on the regime there is no way they could have done it without outside help. lester. >>> thanks. >>> for years th

a little over a month ago, kim jong un was chosen as his father's successor. we'll continue to watch the situation throughout the day. >>> and our other main story on this tuesday morning, some peculiar weather that is wreaking havoc on pre-thanksgiving travel. >> the main culprits are wintry storms that are packing massive amounts of snow in the west. and some unseasonable conditions in the upper midwest. >> emily schmidt has all the details. >> reporter: on the busiest travel week of the year, bad weather is making for extremely slow-going. >> i knew it was kind of snowing yesterday. but i had no idea that it was going to be everywhere. >> reporter: in seattle, rare pre-thanksgiving snow and strong winds caused accidents that brought monday's rush hour to a standstill. major highways tied up in all directions. in california's sierra region, tow truck drivers have been on duty three days-straight. trying to dig people out from five feet of snow that covered the roads and toppled power lines. >> we got a lot of snow in a short amount of time. i think the trees

speculation is that in light of the north korean public changing their leadership, kim jong-il puts his son kim jong-un the revelation could be to strengthen china as unveiling the centrifuges could also be an attempt by north korea to force a resumption of stalled international nuclear disarmament for aid talks. it's aimed at a domestic audience. during the success process, the north wants to muster loyalty amongst military generals showing the north will continue to bolster its nuclear de-tarrant, so those are probably the primary reasons that they've disclosed this program at this point. >> okay. are there any leads, ali, about how this complex was built, who did it, who paid for it? >> there aren't many leads about who built it or paid for. . we dough no there was no complex in 2006 or 2009. this has all been built in the last, say, two years. the american scientists that have visited it said it was an extremely modern complex. it would fit into any american unit of the same construction, you know, the centrifuges were all lined up perfectly, they were all perfectly maintained. the koreans had prev

kim jong-il or others. as you know, he is transferring power to his third son, 27-year-old kim jong-un. north korea wants to make sure that the outside world respects what is happening in pyongyang. the recent attacks today on the islands, they also had a number of bombs that landed on the north korean waters yesterday. all of this would not have happened without explicit orders from the top. >> all right. thank you so much for filling in some of the details there. appreciate it. and at this point, wreerd like to say good-bye to our viewers on cnn usa. >> again, there have already been two other investigations of the scanners. at least one of them, the non-classified goa report of march 17, which says this. it remains unclear whether the ait, meaning the new scanning technology, would have detected the weapon used in the december 2009 incident based on the preliminary information the goa has received. a couple of footnotes to all of this. we don't have the full version of the private study that's coming out this week, but we don't have any study of the version the goa did. we reached ou

a third possibility is that kim jong-un, the son you referred to, wants to demonstrate that there is something done in his name. although, so far, they haven't put this in his name, that would establish that he too can stand up to the united states. what we do suspect is that in times of transition, nobody in north korea would want to look weak to the united states. i think the chances that this could be negotiated a way are probably pretty small. they might freeze activity. i think it is a bad -- a pretty small chance that they would actually dismantle it. of course, they know that every other time there has been a con fron tag, they have frozen things but they have never really had to give up any far of their nuclear infrastructure. >> david sanger reporting from harvard university today. thank you very much, david. >> thank you. >>> coming up next, who would win a 2012 matchup between president obama and sarah palin? >>> plus, will the white house get congress to vote on "don't ask don't tell." >>> 47 years later, the secret service agents assigned to president kennedy share their

president kim jong il recently introduced his son and hare kim jong-un to an obedient nation. such is the secrecy of the regime we don't know if kim the younger now a general is involved in the escalation. last week a u.s. scientist visiting the yeonpyeong site reported he had seen more than a thousand new centrifuges evidence that the north's nuclear program is well advanced. >> by having me there they could attest to the fact that it was a light-water reactor which is much more suitable for making electricity than for bombs but i think to some extent they also wanted to demonstrate to us, look, we have the technology and we know how to do this. because what i saw when i walked in that facility was just amazing. they already have the bomb. they have the plutonium bomb. so if they make a lot of highly enriched uranium all of a sudden they could have an arsenal of dozens of bombs. >> reporter: this is the kind of incident which fills diplomats with fear. the russian foreign minister called it a colossal danger. the chinese spokesman said nuclear talks must restart, and presiden

he says north korean leader kim jong-il and his son and likely successor, kim jong-un, are influenced the military. the south koreans must risk an escalation of hostilities and respond more forcefully, he says. >> ( translated ): the south korean president was hesitant and it makes people anxious. it doesn't make any sense, they're letting north korean get away with it again. >> reporter: temporary shrines have been set-up honoring the south korean servicemen who lost their lives on the island, and many worry there could be more when the military holds joint exercises with the americans in two days time. >> sreenivasan: a pentagon spokesman today defended the upcoming exercises against criticism from china, saying they are aimed at deterring north korea. the portuguese parliament approved its budget for next year with a host of tough spending cuts. portugal is trying to avoid a bailout from the european union, like the ones greece and ireland have already accepted.ç portugal's deficit reached 9.3% last year, the fourth highest oç the eurozone nations. after today's vote, prime minist

kim jong-il again made no comment on the growing tension. he spent the day touring a university with his youngest son, and heir apparent, kim jong un. we have two views of what's going on now from christopher hill, who led the u.s. team negotiating with the north koreans from 2005 to 2008. he's now dean of the joseph korbel school of international studies at the university of denver. and from leon sigal who has written extensively about u.s.- korean relations. he's with the social science research council, an independent think tank in new york. ambassador hill, does the joint u.s./south korean naval exercise make sense to you? >> yes, it does. because i think the key element of any u.s. policy for north korea has to be the relationship with south korea. you know, this relationship is getting better and better. south korea's emerged as not only a major partner for us regionally but een globally as we've mean? the g-20 meeting. so i think it's very important that we stay in tight formation with the south koreans. and i think an exercise of this kind is entirely appropriate. >> lehrer: leon sigal, do you agree? it sends a message and i

into talks with north korea armed with the new information, who would we be dealing with, kim jong-il or kim jong-un, his son. >> kim jong-il and he has extraordinary skill in convincing the u.s., south korea and japan others to believe repeated pledges to give up the nuclear weapons program in exchange for tangible benefits which he used to keep his region neil -- regime in power and that is the ultimate objective and the rationale for the weapons program. >> jamie: where is the united nations. >> i'm sure they'll huff and puff at the u.n. security council, but sanctions have failed with respect to north korea as i believe they are failing with iran and a country as poor as north korea to have this nuclear capability shows the sanctions are not enforced and not nearly tough enough to stop them. >> jamie: south korea's not the only country that is at risk or concerned about north korea having nuclear capability. i was asked the question when the story broke, by friends of mine, is this something we have to worry about? do we? >> yes, absolutely. north korea is certainly a threat in east asia, to sou

up the stakes in future negotiations, and they are trying to make a debut for the heir apparent, kim jong-unff to american scientists of their upgraded and strengthened nuclear facilities. >> also tell us a little of what has been south korea's military response after being fired upon by the north? >> reporter: the south korean military was conducting maritime training in that area this morning. analysts believe north korea could have fired in protest to that exercise. after the shelling the south korean military fired back and the military is on full alert as you said. the president also has convened a national security meeting at the underground bunker so this is a pretty big deal here and a shocking surprise attack. aiming at the military is one thing, firing at civilian residents is a whole different story. this definitely is taking a toll on south korea people's sense of security here. >> anyone who's monitored these borders at all knows this is far from being the first of these skirmishes. three maritime borders in recent years. most recently in 2009 november. >> reporter: yes, absolut

. >> this is all against the backdrop of the kim jong-il trying to salvage the credibility of his son and potential heir, kim jong un. you've seen a more aggressive north korea as it's discussed. >> i've been interested in the comments of the people who have been taken to this new nuclear facility. there's no evidence on north korea's part to hide what they are doing. they claim that this is a highly-enriched uranium process, which can lead to the construction of a light water reactor, that can make electricity. but it can also make a string of nuclear weapons. so, i think and we've got to get back to negotiations with north korea. but i noticed that's being ruled out, at least for the moment, by the white house. >> you would advise direct negotiations? >> i do. >> okay. mr. ambassador, thanks for your time this morning. >> my pleasure. >>> let's turn, now, to london, where date and location has been set for the royal wedding. jeffrey kofman is at buckingham palace with the latest on this. we have a save the date, don't we? >> reporter: we do. book your tickets early, robin. friday, april 29th. we have a royal weddi

prop up north korea while the state is in a power transition from ailing dictator kim jong-il to his youngest son kim jon un. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. >> it also continues to validate a country that is led by a dictator and constantly desires to destabilize the region. >> reporter: or this revelation could be a bid to secure more food and fuel aid for the impoverished north in exchange for promises to shut the plant. but one thing is clear: strict sanctions pressuring north korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program are not working, and as siegfried hecker suggest, once again kim jong-il is creating a political firestorm in the region. seal yacht -- celia hatton, cbs news, beijing. >> mitchell: and e.m.t. workers who violate their patients' trust next on "cbs evening news." >> mitchell: of course emergency medical technicians are trained to stabilize people as they are rushed to the hospital, but a number of reports have surfaced of technicians who have taken advantage of helpless patients. susan koeppen investigates. >> rosyshekka herring, a young mom from portland, oregon, says the day

and fourth and very crucial this day is the transition of power from kim jong-il to jim jong-un. he's trying to make kim jong-un into a very powerful military force and keep his military in line for the succession. >> you talk about the revelation thats there this high-tech facility to enrich uranium. it was not previously disclosed. let me read you what the "financial times" said about this, kim jong-il is sick, isolated, in the midst of one of the most risky ventures of his life. handing over power to his untested 27-year-old son. he has few cards in his hand, but this week he's played two of them, and in the twisted logic of pyongyang poker, they were both aces. do you really think they think these were aces? >> i think they think that they are very much aces. i think that they believe that they only have one thing to worry about, and that is the survival of the regime, that the legacy of kim jong-il's father, kim il-sung, the great leader, will go on throughout eternity. so they're going to do everything they can to play the only cards they've got. >> and real quickly, wendy,

completion is 2012, the target of completion for every major project because it is the centenary of kim jong- un -- the centenary of kim ill son's birthday. lost the this country capacity to do things like that the reinforced concrete for big structures like a nuclear power reactors. we have to go back and we learned that because we have not built one for such a long time. they are going to build a small one, but it's really important that containment structure can hold a potential accident. the role of the regulatory agencies is action -- is absolutely crucial. they said they have one and did not make me feel comfortable. it is a new design and they have a team working on that. e institute for a clear power operators and the world association of nuclear operators, after the three mile island and chernobyl accident, the rest of the world's nuclear power operators got together and said we have to do something and learn how to run these things safely. the safety record has been absolutely outstanding since that time. maybe we ought to have north korea to make sure they construct the reactors safel

jong il, the current leader ready. he has only spent two years with kim junkim jong un. he needs to show some victories. for instance, we saw the sinking of the south korean frigate. thanks for sharing your expertise with us. >> thank you. >> we'll be talking to the ranking republican on the house intelligence committee. ahead in our next hour, we'll ask him if the intelligence committee dropped the ball on the issue with north korea. stay tuned for that in about an hour on america's news headquarters. >>> this news shines a new spotlight on a nato deal proposed this weekend. russia says it's interested in a missile defense but stopped short of accepting the historic invitation. the russian president joined nato leaders in portugal and agreed to be involved in development plans but did not commit to being a part of it if it becomes operational. in an interview today with chris wallace on "fox news sunday", hillary clinton said karzai supports the nato strategy in afghanistan which calls for a security handover to the afghans by 24 teen. the taliban in afghanistan has called nato's plan, quote, irrationa

flexing north korea's military muscle is one way for kim jong il to win over the country's hard liners as he hands over power to his son, kim jung un. yesterday's attack proves just how far he's willing to go. ceila hatton, cbs news, seoul. >> smith: in london today, thousands of students clashed with police for the second time in two weeks. the students were protesting plans to triple university tuitions. it's just one of a number of draconian steps being taken to balance britain's budget. some tried to force their way into government offices but were not successful. two officers were injured, 15 protesters were arrested. 30 shopping days now till christmas. and there are some hopeful signs for retailers. the government says americans earned more money in october and we spent more money as well. seth doane tells us to rack up sales this year, retailers are thinking outside the box. >> reporter: holiday displays also pop up in stores right after halloween, but these days, entire holiday stores are popping up, too. from nike to gucci to e-bay, 2,000 temporary stores called pop-ups are opening this season. even pop-tarts has a pop-up