in that sense north korea today is now like north korea of the past. sure, it has not collapsed or changed since the death of kim jong-il, but, you know, we're only talking a few months. this new regime has always been in power for a few months. in the broader scope of history there have been buried -- many transitional regime's that lasted years before something major has happened. i think the verdict is still out i don't think we can simply assume everything will go smoothly and that there will be able to muddle through forever. prattle to the death of kim jong-il if you ask any expert, including you, what would be the most important variable that can create major change, i think everyone would have agreed, the sudden death of the north korean leader. we have to respect what we thought before. i think we all have to watch very carefully what is going to happen. i think the future of this regime is not an all certain. the ramifications if something happens will be huge for the united states and for others in the region in a way that won't matter for t

south korea has announced plans to build a new naval base near its border with north korea the base will include barracks and a training ground to accommodate around one hundred troops but the base will be located on one of five south korean islands established by the un them in one thousand fifties but dangdang refuses to accept so ownership of the island borders been the scene of several clashes between the neighbors the most recent attack happened in two thousand and ten when the north shelled one of the yellow sea islands killing for. more on this development we're now joined by corbett for news and information site the corbett report with us on the line live from japan james the border region where the base will be is located is disputed by north korea as we just reported what kind of reaction can we expect from pyongyang. well the important thing to remember about this is that it is in fact the second provocation in less than one week from from south korea against north korea in fact just on monday pyongyang was protesting the use of the north korean flag as a target during some jo

>> europe is seeking denucle denuclearization of north korea like japan, united states and south koreabut at the same time, european countries have been using their diplomatic ties with north korea to pursue their own agendas. this was demonstrated when the eu visited pyongyang in may 2001. the delegation came away with north korea pledge to temporarily freeze its missile tests. it appears that europe's strategy is to maintain pressure on pyongyang and at the same time pursue a policy of engagement. >> and what about north korea? how does it view its relations with europe? >> there are three things to note. first, north korea wants to strengthen its ties with europe in order to avoid becoming overdependent of china. the north also wants to show japan, the united states, south korea, that it is not isolated internationally. third, north korea's government hopes the relation with europe will bolster north korea's current leadership. in other words, using european capital and investments to raise domestic living standards would enhance the leadership's credibility and increase its grip on

sanctions banning weapons and materials to north korea. they say the paperwork show the ship transported four large vehicles from shanghai. japanese officials say it's likely these vehicles matched those displayed during a military parade in april in north korea and say exporting this type of hardware violates resolutions that ban countries from sending materials related to weapons of mass destruction to north korea. japanese officials are reporting their findings to the u.n. >>> a chinese foreign ministry spokesperson is denying the accusati accusations. >> translator: china firmly opposing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. we strictly implement u.n. resolutions. >> he added firms in china do not export goods that are banned by security council resolutions or chinese law. >>> nhk world senior reporter gives us more insight into the special vehicles that have been transported to north korea. >> where the international community has raised concerns over the launch, which for the first time appeared in public in pyongyang on apri

europe is see denuclearization of north korea just like japan, the united states, and south korea.t the same time, european countries have been using their diplomatic ties with north korea to pursue their own agendas. this was demonstrated when the delegation visited pyongyang in may 2001. the delegation came away when north korea pledged to temporarily freeze its missile tests. it appears that europe's strategy is to maintain pressure on pyongyang and at the same time pursue a policy of engagement. >> and what about north korea? how does it view its relations with europe? >> there are three things to notice. first, north korea wants to strengthen its ties with europe in order to avoid becoming overdependent of china. the north also wants to show japan, united states, south korea, that it is not isolated internationally. third, north korea's government hopes the relation with europe will bolster north korea's current leadership. in other words, using european capital and investments to raise domestic living standards would enhance the leadership's credibility and increase its grip

although it's a little foggy today, i can see north korea. in 1953, theing between north and south korea stopped with the signing of an armistice agreement that set up the demilitarized line. this roughly follows the 3th parallel. and the demilitarized zone stretches for two kilometers on either side of it. for the past 50 years, civilians have not been allowed to set foot on most of it. so the natural environment remained untouched. but since 2000, south koreans have lobbied hard to visit the area. now, south korea is trying to rebrand the area as an eke key tourism spot. on this day around 0 people took a tour to the dmz. it's popular as the county is only several hours drive from seoul. the visitors trek 18 kilometers around the falls. they see wildlife and admire the natural surroundings. they can get a look at about 600 species of plants and animals. this includes rare spe >> translator: the environment is really beautiful. i'm relaxed as it feels like i'm breathing air that is more than ten times fresher than that of seoul. >> reporter:

knew states claimed they had obtained atomic bombs including the isolated and unpredictable north korea terrorists who can get access to nukes are great concern to especially nuclear ambitions unstable middle east regimes in an effort to unite the world's leading nonproliferation and security experts the luxembourg forum was created it's the most important result of the international conference on preventing nuclear catastrophe which was held in luxembourg in two thousand and seven since the very beginning the renowned businessman and philanthropist dr v. just last counter has been the forum's president. hello mr kantor and welcome to our program hello i'll start with a couple of general questions first of all the venue this time is berlin but how do you choose the location is called the luxembourg forum because it started in luxembourg but how do you choose a venue. if it was you but well in this case it's quite obvious. there has been a change in loder ship in many of europe's largest and strongest nation is. the national which makes berlin a logical choice. so some useless shit. so w

two nations iran and north korea. do you believe that iran's nuclear program is really dangerous for its neighbors and the world in general. well let's take a look at the facts the void you read on the report today here in his almost six thousand centrifuges that operate around the clock. and that number is increasing. here in it has about six tons three point five percent alone reached uranium. in addition it has about a hundred and seventy kilograms of uranium in a reach to twenty percent up. what does this mean. that iran is already in position of enough uranium to produce seven or eight warheads. these are the facts that now there is another interesting consideration. the i.e. has been asking iran why do you need military technology is. why do you need the so-called nuclear explosive devices. actually meaning other components that are of no use for anything except for the production of nuclear weapons. and the i.a.e.a. he's getting no answers we're not talking about our expert community are a big key authority in

north korea has a attack on south korea's media for critical coverage of a children's parade. hello. welcome to "bbc world news." also to come -- china detains political activists as pro-democracy campaigners mark 23 years since the tiananmen square massacre. >> chain is like an apple that is rotten inside. on surface you see little. people think the apple is still edible. but it is not. >> from pageantry to pomp, as buckingham palace gives gears up for the diamond jubilee concert. >> leading figures if the european union are meeting vladimir putin for the first time as he was elected as president and pressing him to take a stronger line on the syrian crisis. mr. putin is holding two days of talk. the summit will also explore closer ties on trade, investment, and energy. our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, says mr. putin will be keen to talk about issues other than syria. >> there are lots of issues that the e.u. and russia need to discuss at this summit, and it's only a very short meeting. there are international issues like syria and like iran, but bilateral issues, t

this remains unclear why china provided north korea with the vehicles. but shipping military materials overseas requires a go-ahead from beijing. therefore, it is likely that china, china's leadership approves export of vehicles in the knowledge that north korea might use them for military purposes. but please look at the photo again. >> okay. >> as the vehicle seems to be for civilian purposes china may have thought it can -- it did not violate the security council resolutions, it exported vehicles to the north for civilian purposes. next question is, how is the international community react china's suspected breach of the u.n. resolutions? >> thank you very much for that. >> good evening, aung san suu kyi will spend time visiting britain and france. the last time she was in europe was 1988. she spent many of the intervening years under house arrest. leaving airport on wednesday she told reporters how she felt. aung san suu kyi made her return to the international stage when she visited thailand earlier this month on her european tour she's expected to

predominance over north korea.turning now to some other stories making world headlines a massive blast has leveled several houses in a residential area in the city of oldham in northern england one child was found dead in a man suffered severe burns in the blast that's believed to have been caused by a gas leak rescuers are searching through rubble for anyone else who could be trapped around one hundred nearby homes were evacuated. masked gunmen attacked the headquarters of a private arab t.v. station in beirut starting fires around the area one of the assailants was detained the rest comes after the chain channel aired a fiery interview with a sunni muslim islam is to criticize the hezbollah movement the group itself condemned the incident saying it's not behind the violence. police in bolivia clashed with government supporters and law officers strike. in overload pay were met by supporters of president evo morales after marching to the city's main square police used tear gas to drive back to pro-government groups

predominance over north korea. it was newly elected president mohamed morsi has moved into his new office and is starting to form a government there some as the leader has promised it will represent all egyptians including muslims and christians he also met with the military rulers have been running the country since mubarak was ousted last february the army promised to officially transfer power on saturday when morsi is sworn in as head of state over the question remains whether they'll stick to the deadline and how much power the president will actually have experts believe gaining full control of the country won't be an easy task for morsi. i think the real critical issue is is his relationship base of the military dictatorship there the military has made it very clear that it will not subordinate self to the civilian rule. and the question is whether he's going to go along with that and the ultimate question is does the u.s. government continue to fund his military dictatorship which it has been doing for some

predominance over north korea. it's been a week since julian assad requested ecuador for a diplomatic asylum and took refuge in the country's embassy in london no decision on that has yet been made me while prominent americans including filmmakers michael moore and oliver stone plus renowned academic noam chomsky signed a letter supporting us on his bed chomsky is one of the guests on the whistleblower of show airing today on our team here's a preview. now moving over the middle east the deep concern in the united states and the other imperial traditional imperial powers britain france particularly concern is that now they may the middle east may get out of control and that syria's a much more serious than south america so i agree that's why they invaded libya and i have no doubt about it was to restart basically a crude. i agree but i think it's all over so for example if you take a look at what's happened in the arab spring of the countries that are crucial to western imperial power the oil producers they have be

north korea will always retaliate in an aggressive fashion. sometimes they'll block gps. 70 percent of north korea is mountainous. it is not enough for us to know we are getting the materials into north korea. we want to be able to target certain areas. gps technology allows us to make sure we are reaching the launches and to be able to track where materials are landing so we can see the response of the government and assist with our partners in the undergrown churc church. >> what do north koreans tell you about these launches? >> north carolinians have fascinating stories to tell. they will tell them not to touch anything with a balloon or pack ajs because it is coated with poison. for a north korean to pick up a bible is a serious thing. >> it isn't useful to be carried ashed a pipe. even though it is dangerous for them to poe susz the materials. they are interested in coming to know jesus christ. >> thank you, gary. >> you see the images of visitors to jerusalem writing the prayers on the cracks of the western wall. >> i have done it. juli

predominance over north korea.egypt's defeated presidential front runner ahmed shafik has fled the country hours after a corruption case was opened against him the former prime minister of ousted leader hosni mubarak left for the united arab emirates along with most of his family meanwhile newly elected president mohamed morsi is starting to form a government which he promises will represent all egyptians he also met with the military rulers who have been running the country since mubarak was overthrown last february the army promised to officially transfer power on saturday when morsi is sworn in as head of state but the question remains whether they'll stick to the deadline and how much power the president will actually have experts think gaining the full control of the country won't be an easy task. i think the real critical issue is is his relationship to be so be the military dictatorship there the military has made it very clear that it will not subordinate to the civilian rule and the question is whether he'

> in europe and north korea rdiplomatic relations with north several other capital ciand north korea'sder, m jong-un, wants it in >> how does europe view s nuclear development and programs? >> europe is seeking the denuclearization of northike japan, t at the same time, european diplomatic tiewi to pur the n elegation came a pledged tofreeze its missile test it appears tpressure time pursue a po engagement. >> with e >> there are notice. first, north korea wants to strengthen its ties with europe in order to avoid china. japan, united states, so th an se its grip on c tiesorea will deepen? happen? >> t earlier thd forereign capital.rs will become prnorth. policy is yet not very clear. high hopes for the you >> nhk tokyo r enjoying aore thestarts.mori joins the world weather forecast. ine. we are s skies tokyo. the quite a warm day. raforecast. aroundrner. aff western japan with again, the ruding the tokyo area td it, dry across the is affecting much today, not too heavy but heavomorrow, as much as ers of rain is a span of 24 dochina peninsula has been aling with torrential rain, lots o

it on the first of all unlike you iran and north korea . and pakistan already possess nuclear weapons so you know when you they've got a total of three hundred and sixty me so with potential global reach and a hundred of them can be armed with nuclear warheads. what does this imply considering that the pakistani government probably has limited control over its own territory. stored at those much and how does it feel your pain in pakistan's perpetual conflict with india which you have just referred to know that many chips about what it spells is it permanent of the risk factor. what if the argument tell you that the deficiency of governance in pakistan has created a risk of nuclear weapons being commercialised in that country's civil liberties that i really look like yes of course i knew of course and i just quoted cuts them every time other music change of government just think of move the retired generals with access to the nuclear armory you want to get a good bargain for it it's only an i.q. if i don't want to speculate you want to we've

and south korea may see that as a type of threat against their their one leverage over north korea which is their food aid and their monetary aid to the north and if china is investing more and more north korea that kind of gives it gives them more of an advantage in that respect so we might see some mounting military tension to to try to regain south korea's predominance over north korea egypt's defeated presidential front runner has fled the country hours after a corruption case was opened again step the former prime minister of ousted leader hosni mubarak left for the united arab emirates with most of his family meanwhile newly elected president mohamed morsi is starting to form a government which we which he promised will represent all egyptians he also met with military rulers who've been running the country since mubarak was overthrown last february the army promised to officially transfer of power saturday when morsi is sworn in as head of state but the question remains whether they'll stick to the deadline and how much power the president will actually have experts think gaining

, and almost everyone who makes it from north korea to south korea goes to a special facility where theirhyes are taken down. they are taught how to adjust to life in south korea. they are immediate medical aide is seen to. dentistry is their number one need when they get to the south. but their stories come out in great bulk there. and it's a world 6 poverty. it's a world without spont nayity. it is a world in which there is a single national narrative written by the government. and every single person in that nation is con scripted to be a secondary character to serve that regime so people come to the south not knowing how to be the center of their own lives. not knowing that there are divergent possibilities for living life. large abstractions that we take for granted like freedom are very complicated and difficult for them when they get to the south. so i think it's a realm in the north where most people can survive a fairly decent life depending on how far you live from the capital as long as you don't want to live your life. >> rose: how did this impression you had change after your

>> senator, i'm from south korea. the united states has 20,000 troops in south korea. the united states needs to reduce spending in south korea and secondly, south korea has been seeking to deliver [inaudible] -- thank you. >> our spending in korea, we've got to reduce some of the planned spending for the housing, in particular. we cannot afford to be spending i believe it was a figure like $10,000 a month for family housing that was planned in order to have families -- more families come over and be with our troops in korea. we cannot afford that. we also -- so i would say that in terms of the number of troops, the first thing we ought to do is turn over responsibility for wartime control of operations to the koreans. that's long overdue. we keep saying we're going to do it and we don't do it. so if there were a war on the korean peninsula, the question as to who would be in operational control should have been decided that the koreans should have been in operational control years ago but at the request of the korean government, that's been delayed a number of times.

they also sampled korea's traditional culture. >> translator: if we promote korea's favorable image tooung people, they'll stay interested in the country and come back some day. that is why we focus on tourism campaigns in cooperation with k-pop stars. ♪ >> reporter: and the beat goes on. k-pop promoters won't rest until they make k-pop a global sensation. anna jung, nhk world, seoul. >> i should check out k-pop. >>> rachel ferguson joins us with the world weather forecast. we're going to get more information on the storm developing in the pacific. >> yes, this is guchal, a severe tropical storm heading over the philippines and continues to strengthen as it goes. to give you the late eest figures sustained winds above 100 kilometers per hour with gusts to 144. it looks like it's heading toward the northern half of the philippines, potential for direct landfall. it's hard to say at the moment. by saturday morning local time this is going to be a typhoon so we're looking at continued strengthening, that will mean strong winds affecting the philippines and storm surge and then it looks li

and i mean north korea can't do anything about it north korea will. well retaliate if attacked it's not unlikely that you can do anything more than that so i think it's going to go on. i think they the koreans realize that now they have to wait probably until after the american election and so you see what happens there and a second term. may be a better partner just a second term bush was wrong on the nose. but they will have to sit around but the interesting thing and the big thing that might change the game is the election in south korea there's going to be a change of policy in south korea towards more wins and that might turn the americans in. or item b. author in asia specialist thanks very much indeed for sharing your views with us here on r.t. thanks. well that's all for me for now time to get the latest from artie's business team first day russia's me to get out like a band of the year the same bet as burke for. well i didn't even go is there for us and we do get to see it so what makes a gathering particular important this year. well first o

this remains unclear why china provided north korea with the vehicles. but shipping materials over requires the go ahead from beijing. therefore, it is likely that china -- china's leadership approved export of vehicles. but please look at the photo again. as the vehics appear to be for civilian purposes china claims it did not violate the resolutions as it exported the vehicles to the north for the civilian purposes. the next question is how the international committee will react to china's suspected brief of the u.n. resolution. >>> well investors who hold assets in europe may be getting even more nervous. ai joins us now. tell us why tt is. >> that's because analysts at credit ratings agencies are saying some of these assets aren't even of investment grade. the latest victim is spain. the nation has been downgraded by credit agency moody's bringing it down to a level just above speculative status. the agency said that it has lowered spain's sovereign debt to baa3. that's down three notches from a3. it could further downgrade spain bt in the next three

south korea has eight fta partners. the two nations are trying to put the fta into effect next year. colombia would remove tariffs on cars it imports from south korea within the next ten years. meanwhile, south korea would lift levies on coffee, bananas and products from the south american country. south korea's population has topped 50 million people. but due to a falling birth rate, it is expected to peak at slightly above 52 million in 2030, and decline to the 40 million level by 2045. that wraps up today's report from seoul. >>> right, sue choi in seoul. the japanese prime minister will encounter a new set of problems, passed a bill that would double the consumption tax to 10%. now dozens of members are expected to leave noda's ruling democratic party. the government got support from the opposition liberal democratic party and the ally. the bills were sent to the upper house for approval. 57 members of noda's party voted against, including ozawa. ozawa suggested he would leave along with lawmakers close to him. noda

needs to adjust spending in korea > south korea has been looking at expanding their range of nuclear weapons. >> we are spending in korea. we have to reduce some of the spending, for the housing in particular. the housing was about $10,000 a month for family housing that was planned in order to have families come over to be with our troops in korea. we cannot afford that. also -- in terms of the number of troops, the first thing we ought to do is turn over responsibility for wartime control of operations to the koreans. it's long overdue. we keep saying we are going to do it and we don't. . the question is who would be an operational control if we go to war in korea. things have been delayed a number of times at the request of the korean government. i would hope that there's could be some progress for in terms of north korea that would allow us to reduce our troops, the number of our troops in korea. as far as the kind of missile systems that the koreans have, i don't have any strong feelings on that. they pay for it. i hope they would do it in a way that would not be viewed as takin

is now a bigger threat to security than north korea. 60 years after the division of the koreas. >> [speaking foreign language] >> when she is not appearing on tv, she talks to soldiers and schoolchildren about how lucky they are not to live in north korea appeared after all, she says it's not up to south koreans to change attitudes about the defectors. it is up to koreans themselves. >> [speaking foreign language] >> we may have been driven here by hundred and led very bad lives in the north. i do not want south koreans to see us as weak minded. we have a role in bridging the differences and helping south korea understand the north. >> it does not always work. the first attempt at show business with the north korean girl band never really took off here. perhaps it was the outfit. perhaps, it was simply too north korean. how much they have to blend in here -- it is sensitive. at the end, they send video messages back home. there's little chance they are watching. the pain is something south koreans empathize with. this is entertainment tv, after all. as she said, would you watch it if they lo

was on joining us on this program here on our t.v. a few weeks back and what the president korea was saying was that journalism outside of of ecuador is trying to screw right now and he's all about people like assad going out there and releasing information that exposes corrupt governments ecuador is all. about that a sonnet is all about it would make perfect sense for korea to take a sonic in however it's more than just two guys you know becoming friends and being buddy buddy and saying oh yeah this can work out great you know obviously has to do with international relations involving knowledge just not just ecuador and the u.k. but then you also have sweden and obviously the united states so there is it's more than just you know this bad guy in his weekly leaks and ecuador you know thinking oh do we don't we it's more than than just a simple yes or no because we like what he does it has more now to do with the international relations involving all of these nations and it's going to have big impacts for everyone and because you know this is all kind of intertwined we have a lot of c

are long standing there's a great battle going on in south korea no but with the government with the people who you are and what historic suppliers with people have gone up against the government building a base for aegis attack. destroy use of cruise ships well attack ships with nuclear weapons china knows there's china believes that the south china sea is is what is america once a commune and usurp them and i'll let you jump in and easter but just imagine what if china or or russia. radioing country what it is flee. the west coast for congress it would probably be a war but i wanted to jump in and mention of course that it's very clear that the u.s. is trying to ally itself with other countries there in terms of trying to enforce those countries maritime rights like you said china beijing largely claims a lot of that area there how risky is it for those nations to side with the u.s. and possibly lose china as a key ally. it's amazing it really is amazing i've said oh you know with another guess well in my own program which you have a nice experience there wouldn't it be wonderful s

and south korea. security concerns and lack of information have slore likely to join forces on a liquefied natural gas plant. leaders of russia's state back company and the deputy chairman said he's ready to help japanese firms join the project. the two sides are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding later this week during a meter of apec energy ministers in st. petersburg. >>> japanese researchers are preparing a deep sea search to explore the seabed of north central japan next year. they're looking for large reserves of natural gas or crude oil. the >> this performance pleases the crowd. no matter what she does on stage, singing, acting or acrobatics, she excels. in the world of chinese opera, she is a towering figure. she has devoted herself to chinese opera since she began learning it at the age of 10. now she explores new styles. she hopes they will awaken the interest of young people. >> translator: we can captivate our audience by adding new elements to thoughts and music. but at the s

to attack the government and media outlets in south korea. they blame the neighbors for carrying out smear campaigns against the new leadership under kim jong-un. >>> the leaders of china and russia remain opposed to any military intervention in syria. president vladimir putin and hu jintao held a summit meeting in beijing. their show of unity is frustrating western powers looking for ways to increase the pressure on the syrian government. nhk world reports. >> reporter: russian president vladimir putin is in beijing where he held talks with chinese president hu jintao. this was his first visit to china since returning to the presidency in may. putin told hu that the two countries share common interest in many fields, including international affairs, the economy and technologies. putin also said ties between russia and china have developed to the highest level ever, and he wants to develop them even further. hu said he wants to step up the two countries' strategic partnership, including military and energy fields. the two leaders also discuss

the japanese government has launched a protest with south korea over the visit. takashi kurai at the japanese embassy in seoul visited the south korean foreign ministry and expressed dissatisfaction. kurai urged it to reconsider its actions. >>> iran's deputy foreign minister says western sanctions will only complicate international negotiations over his country's nuclear program. representatives from the u.s., eu, and other world powers want to bring in siranian scientists stop enriching uranium for weapons development. the deputy foreign minister is former ambassador to japan. he's been taking part in negotiations with the five permanent members of the u.n. security council and germany. he says the u.s. and europe must recognize iran's right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. >> it's a big misunderstanding if they think that iran is under pressure by sanctions. no, not at all. yes, sanctions have been costly. sanctions have caused extra expenses for us, but they haven't been able to, you know, to force iran to give up its rights. >> he points out that iran'

foreign company to do business in korea.eporter: sill cop valley is already connecting everything and everyone with the new life and tell presence technology. these are called touch screen wall pad. >> everything is built in and wired into this and it's tiny. >> yes. cap control everything in the room. >> watch a movie or set up video conference with a a neighbor somebody half world away. >> speak to go me from dubai. this provide as great chance to roll out new technology and test new alternative. >> you can actually dial to call you've doctor for quick con some taiingtsen steady of getting in the car and waiting at the waiting room and reading old magazine. >>reporter: the backers believe they have to build more than sustainable tech field tower. gale the head of dale international at the good market. at a charity event designed to create a feeling of community. >> we dreamed of many years for day like today. >>reporter: i caught up with him later today at the golf club following a champion tournament. >> we were fortunate