korean peninsula. so we appreciate your leadership. and, obviously, north korea is about as unpredictable and dangerous actor as we have to deal with in the world today. so it is a complicated job to make sure that we maintain security there without rising too much to the provocations and without ignoring them a the same time. it's a delicate balance. we appreciate your work and effort to do that. i look forward to your testimony particularly about the proposed missile launch. how you see that playing out with other partners in the region that we're working with to try to contain it and in particular, what you think about china and the role that they could play in trying to better contain north korea? is that improving? are they becoming anymore cooperative in terms of working with us to make sure that north korea stays under control? and no country in the region has greater power than china, given north korean's dependence upon china's support for energy and other issues. that's a critical part, as we

after the korean war began as the world knows it, south korean and americans as well as russian and chinese counterparts clashed escalating the number of casualties into the millions. almost 37,000 americans lost their lives in the korean theater. next i would like to talked about the m.a.s.h. units that we're all familiar with, probably from the tv series and the movies, but we also have some veterans here from m.a.s.h. units. we all know and love the story about m.a.s.h. the work was not as glamorous as portrayed on the screen. surgical staff often worked for days without rest. the concept of the m.a.s.h. evolved towards the end of world war ii. the intent was to push surgical teams of skilled surgeons and nurses kroes closer to critically injured soldiers at the front. it was a fully staffed mobile facility equipped to provide definitive lifesaving surgical intervention and stabilization for transport through the system to the rear or fixed facilities. this is through the evacuation system. that was not altogether a new concept since as far back as world war i there were mobile surgical

there, more than 100 south korean factories employ 50,000 north koreans. this man hires about 1500 north koreans to make clothing. this company started treating workers to the pies. each employee gets five a day. but this had an effect no one foresaw. >> everyone was working hard, so as a reward, we decided to give them the chocolate pies. then they worked harder and produced more clothing. >> north korean defector is an expert on the north's economy. she says when she took her pie, she was shocked. >> when i was in north korea, i had never eaten one. i didn't know it was sweet. at first i had no idea what it was. >> the story how it increased productivity spread. now almost all the companies give their workers pies. but the pies are causing unexpected problem. they put a high value on this. many workers don't eat their pies. they trade them for other goods. they can get a whole kilogram of rice for just one pie. >> they have started making money by selling pies on the black market, so the pies are quickly spreading across the country. >> some north korean

koreans. the rank and file soldier is undernourished. the average soldier is very short due to malnutrition. up another pull clip from wednesday this week. this is about cyber security. [video clip] >> working hand-in-hand with the military on the protection of our networks and particularly looking at interoperability. i have come to realize that cyber is a key domain and is important as our air, maritime, and ground operations. so, yes, we have raised the awareness on that and is something that we are looking at on a daily basis with iraq military. host: what do your studies and what is the common thinking about their cyber capabilities? guest: i think the south koreans, the japanese, and the u.s. have been surprised about how quickly the north koreans have developed this cyber capability. as far as i know, hardened and protected cyber systems. you can do a lot of damage to a country by attacking their cyber infrastructure. north korea has maintained criminal syndicates throughout asia. they

as a north korean diplomat was leaving, he assaulted the female south korean delegate. the skirmish shows just how difficult it will be to resolve this issue. >> spoke to us from seoul after we had that report. we asked why more are gaining protests against the chinese government. >> they fear north korea's new leader kim jong-un will order more extreme punishment for defectors. detained 31 north koreans last month. some were repatriated. protesters in seoul had rallied outside of the embassy every day since. south korean officials have had talks with their chinese counterparts. about negotiations are at a stand still. so government in seoul has taken the matter up with the u.n. and with the americans. south korean affairs and minister met earlier this month with secretary of state hillary clinton. kim asked her and other u.s. leaders to use their influence to urge beijing not to send the defectors back. some americans, too, seem passionate about the issue. protesters demonstrated on tuesday in front of china's embassy in washington. and in three other cities. south kor

impact on the north korean leadership, would further intensify anti-u.s. or antiwestern hostility, and therefore strengthen the hand domestically of the north korean leadership to engage in such extra legal and unwelcome activities on the international stage. how would you assess that argument and respond to it? >> well, i can tell you that it is regrettable that the food aid is not moving forward. the north korean population really needs nutritional assistance and we're prepared to provide that to north korea. the real motivation and the linkage, this is not intended to be linked to anything else to any movement by the north koreans. however, the fact that north korea so brazenly violated commitments and just so recently agreed to, in the discussions in bejing, and its commitment that announced on february 29th on leap day, and indicates that they're not reliable and we cannot expect them to meet other international commitments including the commitments that they have agreed to that are associated with the provision of nutritional assistance to the needy

he assaulted a female south korean. the skirmish shows just how difficult it will be to resolve this issue. >> why are so many south koreans turning out for these protests? >> yes. they fear north korea's new leader may order more extreme punishment for defectors. authorities in china are deported many last month. protesters in seoul have rallied outside china's embassy every day since. >> what will the south korean government do next? >> yes. south korea has had talks with their chinese counterparts about the negotiations. so government in seoul has taken the matter up with the u.n. and with the americans. south korean king sung wan met earlier this month with secretary of state hillary clinton. kim asked her and other u.s. leaders to use their influence to urge beijing not to send the defectors back. some americans, too, seem passionate about the issue. protesters demonstrated on tuesday in front of china's embassy in washington, and in three other cities. south korean leaders are expected to bring up the issue at an

there, more than 100 south korean factories employ about 50,000 north koreans.s plant hires about 1,500 north koreans to make clothing. seven years ago this company started treating the workers to the south korean pies. each employee gets five a day. but this has had effects no one foresaw. >> translator: everyone was working hard, so as a reward, we decided to give them the chocolate pies. then they worked harder and produced more clothing. >> reporter: north korean defector kim yong-hi is an expert on the north's economy. she says when she took her first bite of a pie, she was shocked. >> translator: when i was in north korea, i had never eaten one. i didn't know it was sweet. at first i had no idea what it was. >> reporter: the story of how chocolate pie increased productivity began to spread. now almost all the companies at kaesong give their workers pies. but the pies are causing an unexpected problem. north korea suffers from food shortages, so north koreans put a high value on this simple treat. many workers don't eat their pies. they trade them for other

the north koreans have announced they will launch a missile. we are working very closely with allies and other partners in the region to try to discourage north korea from launching this missile as they intended, but we believe that this reflects their lack of desire to follow through on their commitments, their international commitments, and so we have been forced to suspend our activities to provide nutritional assistance to north korea largely because we have now no confidence the monitoring mechanisms to ensure that the food assistance goes to the starving people and not the regime elite, that these monitoring mechanisms we have no confidence that they would actually abide by the understandings. >> we have suspended the nutritional. >> yes, we have, sir. >> general thurman, readiness is one of your top priorities, guidance shifts the focus to asia. today we haven't seen an increase in resources to reflect the pivot. we understand that each of our contingency plans is under review to assess the level of resources required, assuming you are e

so there was this network that involved hezbollah, the real ira and the north koreans and the north koreans through that qaeda holdouts plates, counterfeit plates to make the $100 superfit now. they then began changing their own currency because they are states of the colors would be the same as what they needed to counterfeit the u.s. $100 japanese 10,000 yen note and the chinese are indeed. there are parts of asia where people would not take the super note he kisses her superfluous counterfeit. there will worried about a decade ago in the treasury department that this would actually undermine the credibility. it has been the u.s. and other countries have been successful and cash handling of criminal syndicates and enroll in the super note and have been much better at attack demand. we had a meeting with the north koreans in 2006 we told them he's got to step to the mess and the north koreans denied they were concentrating the super note, but they offered to help you decide if you give us your best counterfeit currency detection technology, we will use it to find whoever's doing this. so i

north koreans are angry about a poster found at a south korean military barracks.t contained slogans threatening kim jong un and his late father. thousands of soldiers and civilians protested against the poster at a rally in pyongyang. >>> at this year's geneva motor show, auto makers are showing smaller and more fuel-efficient models than in the past. they come at a lower price tag too. the move comes as europe's debt crisis weakening demand for cars. on tuesday the media had a preview of the 82nd international motor show in geneva, switzerland. about 260 firms are taking part. besides sports and electric cars small and medium-sized models are the focus this year. demand for these cars remain quite high despite four straight years of declining total new car registers across europe. france's peugeot citroen and germany's mercedes-benz are among the makers unveiling new smaller cars. japan's nissan is also introducing a small model which it aims to start mass-producing next year. the auto firm plans to invest nearly $200 million to make the vehicle at an existing fa

but in the korean war she served in korea. she told me it was far more difficult, the service -- thall met in korea than what she encountered in world war ii. i only wish she could be with us today. and one of the nurses wrote quite an extensive little thing that talked about sort of like a diary about her service. and i want to quote very briefly from it, because i've always been very touched by it. on august 6 th we arrived in chung one at noon with five new nurses. a school is again our home, but we're 17 to a room. flees and rats are added to the flies and mosquitos. we can't open the windows for air because the rats walk the outside of the building to get in. they got busy over the next -- and by two days later they had their hospital open. and she wrote about august the 8th. we have patients ever place. every known type of wound and burn. men of all ages and from all walks of life. one private had lost an arm and was likely to lose a leg. he wanted to be the first to let his mother know she would get a letter from the wa

i wish i could bring who are koreans. are there are people from community here so we can hear your testimony and be able to thank you personally. she make me cry. i apologize. anyway, we really deeply appreciate your service to the country and also we have a motherland which is back in korea and if you weren't there, the republic of korea would not be here standing. and i really hope that you had a chance to go back to korea recently to see such a huge progress and development. and it took basic steps to do that. since this is women's month and i have a question that the war is- is the place where you can get an opportunity as advancement for a nurse. was there any chance for you to advance to the physician's roles or educations, was that given any chance during the korean war? therefore, that well have a more doctors, female doctors in military services. >> i visited korea in 1992 to see it, and they were very nice to me there and they were very, very cordial. and my daughter was with me. and she is like 5'10" and a blon

the south korean papers also point to north korean military ties with other countries. they show that pyongyang sent 6,000 military instructors to 31 nations in asia, africa, in south america, between the 1960s and 1981. >> south korea condemned north korea's planned rocket launch as a disguise attempt to develop a long range ballistic missile to carry nuclear warheads. president lee myung-bak on monday met with members of his cabinet to discuss north korea's announcement that it will launch a satellite next month. >> translator: the north korean project is aimed at developing delivery methods for nuclear warheads. the plan is a grave provocation. >> the presidential spokesperson said lee will discuss the matter with leaders from japan, china and the united states at the nuclear security summit to be held in seoul next week. south korea estimates that the first stage of the rocket will fall into the yellow sea after 140 kilometers off the southwestern coast of the country. the second stage is expected to drop into the pacific ocean, 190 kilometers east of the philippine

north koreans are angry about a poster found at a south korean military barracks.t contained slogans threatening kim jong-un and his late father. thousands of soldiers and civilians protested against the poster at a rally in pyongyang. >>> and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.

south korean president e myung-baek is optimistic. about the accord. >> translator: if the south korea/u.s. fta goes well, it will have a positive impact. >> a super market in seoul held a special sale event on thursday marking the launch of the fta. it offered u.s. wines at prices about 30% cheaper than before. about 1,000 members of agricultural organizations gathered in seoul on wednesday to demand a halt to the launch of the trade deal. opposition to the fda continues in south korea due to concerns over possible damage to sales of domestic foreign products. >>> the aim of the drills is to convince north korea not to engage in further military prop indication amid-rising tension on the korean peninsula. the exercise named full eagle was open to the media on thursday near the military border with north korea. 100 south korean and 200 u.s. troops took part in a 19-minute dril. the exercise included firing of self-propelled how iter ises. >> the purpose of this is to deploy to korea from the united states and to combine with our korea

the deal will remove tariffs on 94% of south korean exports. these include cars and consumer electronics to the u.s. over the next five years. south korea says it expects the fta to boost its gross domestic product by 5.7%. the south korean president is optimistic about the ray cord. >> translator: if the agreement goes well, it will have a positive impact. >> the supermarket held a special sale event marking the launch of the fta. it offered u.s. wines at prices about 35% chaerp than before. about 1,000 members of allegation organizations gathered in seoul on wednesday to demand a halt to the launch of the trade deal. opposition to the fta continues to south korea due to concerns over possible damage to sales of domestic farm products. the south korean government is planning to subsidize farmers with about $20 billion and emphasizes that the fta will bring benefits to the country. >> translator: the agreement will be very useful not only for expanding the share of our country's products in the u.s. market, but also for boosting the south korea

the south korean papers also point to north korean military ties with other countries. they show that pyongyang sent 6,000 military instructors to 31 nations in asia, africa, in south america, between the 1960s and 1981. >> south korea condemned north korea's planned rocket launch as a disguise attempt to develop a long range ballistic missile to carry nuclear warheads. president lee myung-bak on monday met with members of his cabinet to discuss north korea's announcement that it will launch a satellite next month. >> translator: the north korean project is aimed at developing delivery methods for nuclear warheads. the plan is a grave provocation. >> the presidential spokesperson said lee will discuss the matter with leaders from japan, china and the united states at the nuclear security summit to be held in seoul next week. south korea estimates that the first stage of the rocket will follow falwell in fall into the yellow sea after the southwestern coast of the country. the second stage is expected to drop into the pacific ocean, 190 kilometers east of the philippines

obama spoke to university students in the south korean capital. his message, the north's nuclear threats have hurt its prosperity and development. >> by now it should be clear, your provocations and pursuit of nuclear weapons have not achieved the security you seek. they have undermined it. >> obama also spoke about iran's nuclear program. he said time is running out for diplomacy urging leaders to abide by the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. obama prodded russia, too. he's planning on meeting russian president vladimir putin in may and he said he'll try to have discussions aimed at reducing strategic nuclear warheads, tactical weapons and reserve warheads. obama set expectations high three years ago when he declared in prague that it was time to seek a world without nuclear weapons. >>> a new report by a nongovernment organization is giving president obama and other leaders reason to be concerned about north korea and iran's nuclear programs. the u.s.-based group nuclear threat initiative ranked 32 countries that own at least one kilogram of mat

those north koreans face the threat of torture or even death in prison camps. to avoid capture, refugees travel on a secret underground railway run largely by activists who move north koreans from safe house to safe house, or in this dramatic 2002 video, refugees literally throw themselves over walls to claim asylum in foreign embassies. thousands end up in south korea. lee, on a stroke of luck, connected with a refugee organization that arranged passage to america. "i knew if i went to the u.s. i could experience a different life. i could learn a new language." today lee works in a los angeles grocery store. worried about discrimination, he hides his nationality. saying his homeland has a terrible reputation. "i think all north koreans will die of starvation or they'll kill each other, so i hope somebody helps them live in a good place." danny lee has found his own good place in the world. he recently reunited with his mother, one of the lucky few who also escaped north korea. for years they thought they'd never see each other again. though even now, they can'

by the korean government in austin, texas. while we were waiting for the

north korean officials do not usually grant foreigners such access. they say they are trying to be more transparent. they insist the launch is for peaceful, scientific purposes. the officials at the space agency say the satellite is equipped with cameras that will take pictures of weather patterns and the natural resources. the satellite is expected to orbit 500 kilometers above earth for the next two years. political analysts say the north koreans are trying to divert attention away from what could, in fact, be a test of a long-range ballistic missile. foreign diplomats say leaders in pyongyang are just putting on a show. china is north korea's closest ally. even officials here have expressed their concern. hiroshi takano, nhk world, beijing. >>> an associate professor at the national graduate institute for policy studies has some additional insights on why foreign experts were invited to the launch. >> north korea has indicted dr. siegfried hecker who is an american nuclear scientist several times to its nuclear site in nyongbyong, in northeast/west

this hour he's attending a dinner with south korean president lee myung-bak. mr.lso made his first ever visit to the heavily fortified demilitarized zone that divides the korean peninsula meeting with u.s. troops there. another big focus of his trip, an international nuclear summit. paula hancocks joins us from the capital of seoul. paula, what were some of the highlights from the remarks that president obama made as well as the south korean president? >> reporter: well, rang di, what we saw and what we were actually expecting was the fact they both stood next to each other and said there was a consensus between them that north korea was in direct violation of u.n. security council resolutions of promises that it had already made to the united states just a few weeks ago that it wouldn't carry out nuclear tests or missile tests and it was also going against its own commitment, so this is what we were expecting both sides condemning north korea saying that this missile launch, this satellite launch should not go ahead. now, one interesting thing was many of the que

i'd like to follow up on the north korean front. first to follow up on the question my colleague had. could you be more specific what the consequences would be that you would bring to bear on north korea should there be a rocket launch in terms of the overall relationship but also specifics such as food aid and negotiations and also i'm wondering, sir, if you could give us insights about whether you've developed an impression of north korea's new leader and whether you've been able to yet take a measure of the man and to president lee, good to see you again. i wanted to ask you about the nuclear security summit. can you explain how it would have any true and lasting credibility when the two major antagonists of north korea and iran are on the sidelines? >> well, first of all, with respect to the consequences should there be a launch, by the north korean, as president lee indicated north korea is already under an extraordinary battery of sanctions. they are the most isolated country in the world. they are cut off from basic commerce

north korean officials want to hand out food by mid-april. residents will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the country's founder kim il-sung. the officials say their u.s. counterparts have promised to drop their hostile stance and want to move forward on an equal footing. secretary of state hillary clinton says u.s. officials will move cautiously. she told a congressional panel that the administration still has profound concerns. nhk world reports from washington. >> i said that it is our hope that the new leadership will choose to guide their nation onto the path of peace by living up to its obligations. today's announcement represents a modest first step in the right direction. >> reporter: clinton warned the u.s. will be watching north korea closely, and will be judging the country's new leaders by their actions. wary of progress on north korea's nuclear enrichment, the united states demanded concessions from the north in exchange for food assistance. the united states also aims to resume the six-party talks on north korea's

>>> north korean diplomacy. a step forward as pyongyang signals it will accept international nuclear monitors. but a senior envoy says relationss with south korea are at a standstill. welcome to nhk world "newsline." north korea's chief nuclear envoy says his country will soon accept inspectors from the international atomic energy agency. the move comes under a recent agreement with the united states. late last month pyongyang told washington it would suspend uranium enrichment activities in exchange for u.s. food aid. >> translator: we'll allow iaea inspectors into our country in the near future. we're taking concrete measures to fulfill our agreement with the u.s. >> ri spoke after attending an international conference in new york. he said the event made it possible for north korean and u.s. representatives to hold detailed discussions on bilateral issues. ri said the end of hostile relations between the two countries will serve as the basis for resolving their outstanding problems. south korea's chief nuclear

he left north korean and french musicians in on a performance by brahms, as well as korean music, and he still wants to conduct north korean musicians on korean soil. >> something that one has to understand, we don't consider this two countries. it's one country, and one family which has been forced -- forcibly divided by political -- for political reasons. >> this exercise in musical diplomacy may resonate with many people in the north and the south. any talk of reunification is still certain to jar with north korea's leaders, yet, for the head of the north korean delegation, it was also about more than music. >> it's a historic event, because it's the first time that musicians from the people's democratic republic of korea and from the french republic have come together like this to put on a joint concert. >> here's "bbc world news." i'm david eades. these are the headlines -- a nation in mourning. the survivors of the belgium bus crash return home. the country begins to reckon with its loss. the lawyer for the american soldier accused of killing 16 afghans says his client fears for

you speak in your testimony about the north korean army, the korean people's army having about 800 service combatants. can you tell us what are their capabilities and limitations in relation to our fleet structure, our surface combatants currently forward deployed in japan and the japanese maritime self-defense force ships that are also there in the region. >> congressman wittman, thanks. first off, in regard to maritime, the thing that concerns me most out of the 800 combatants are their submarine forces that the north koreans possess. particularly the ones on the west -- in the west sea because that's shallow water out there. and that's of concern. and also on the east sea. so we watch that very carefully. i can go in more detail in a closed session on that. other maritime capabilities, i think, some of that's atrophied from what i can tell. the rok navy maintains a robust patrol capability every day. and some of the things we look at with them is, obviously, our inner operablity with the u.s. 7 fleet that supports me out of japan. and for the japanese defense forces, i don't have any pu

north korean authorities say the launch will happen between april 12th and 16th. they say they're only sending a satellite into space. but most believe they're going to test a ballistic missile. that's why leaders have been lining up to urge the north to scrap its plan. the call comes from the presidents of the european council and south korea. >> we urge korea from any destabilizing act and that fully abides by its obligations of the u.n. security council resolutions. >> european council president and south korean president spoke after meeting in seoul. they urged the north to focus on stabilizing its food supply instead before promoting missile and nuclear development. south korean officials estimate the new rocket launch site and the launch itself could cost about $800 million. they say north korea could significantly ease its food shortages by using that money to pay for imports. for example, their calculations are that it would buy more than 1 million tons of chinese rice. >>> despite the pressure, despite the warnings, north korean authorities still say thei

north korean officials want to hand out food by mid-april. residents will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the country's founder, kim il-son. they want to move forward on an equal footing. secretary of state hillary clinton says u.s. officials will move cautiously. she told a congressional panel that the administration still has profound concerns. nhk world reports from washington. >> i said that it is our hope that the new leadership will choose to guide their nation on to the path of piece by living up to its obligations. today's announcement represents a modest first step in the right direction. >> reporter: clinton warned that the u.s. will be watching north korea closely and will be judging the country's new leaders by their actions. weary of progress on north korea's nuclear enrichment, the united states demanded concessions from the north in exchange for food assistance. the united states also aims to resume the six-party talks on north korea's nuclear development to further stem the country's nuclear ambitions. the talk

earlier this week north korean soldiers fired at targets bearing the name of south korean president bak. the soldiers were responding to reports of a poster found in a south korean barracks. the banner contained slogans threatening kim jong-un and his late father, kim jong-il. >>> enjoys from the united states and north korea have yet to agree on much, except extending talks to finalize details of a u.s. food aid program for the north. after more than six hours of talk in beijing, u.s. special envoy robert king told reporters they will continue their talks on thursday. >> we've discussed a number of the issues. we've made progress. we still have issues to resolve. >> during the talks, the u.s. is believed to have demanded the north to accept western officials to monitor the food shipments. the measure will ensure the aid reaches the most needy people and is not diverted to the military. the two nations agreed last month that the u.s. will provide north korea with 240,000 tons of nutritional supplements. in exchange, the north will suspend its uranium enrichment and missile launches and

the north koreans have accepted that that is what they will get. in some ways, you could see that as a sign that the new leader is flexible in his approach to negotiations. that is certainly one interpretation as is the speed with which this has happened. north korea is still officially in the morning for its leader. there could also be a willingness to open up on the part of the new leader but it could also indicate a desperation from north korea to get more food in the country. >> we will leave it there. just a few hours, iranians will go to the polls. they are voting for the seats that make up the legislature or the parliament and it is expected to be split between the supporters of mahmoud ahmadinejad and supporters of the supreme leader. not everyone is keen to mark their ballot paper. >> for the first time since 2009, iran goes to vote. not everyone will choose to do so. the opposition reformists are boycotting the polls. they say the government has made it impossible for this election to be fair. others will stay at home. >> i have no intere

the north koreans announced they would launch a new long-range missile. somewhat confusing messages? >> i think they are confusing messages. beijing not bode well for the direction this regime is selling. in 100 days since the north korean leader died, a lot of hope has been given. is been taken in on much different -- it has been taken in a much different direction. i think president obama's words are a good statement of that skepticism. >> and the fact that north korea is not on the agenda of the summit, but it has become the story, if you like. how worried is president obama about it? >> i think he is very worried about. north korea was always a big part of the nuclear security agenda. i think president obama is quite concerned because this is a very serious threat. dismissal, if they launch it and it is successful -- this missile, if they wanted and it is successful, could be a threat to the united states. president obama is taking advantage of this opportunity of having 50 world leaders in seoul to prevent it. is not on the agenda. as your piece says

the north koreans need food assistance. with a new leader in power, it seems a good opportunity for progress to be made. >> indeed, a very good opportunity. one american official has been quoted as saying, "at least it is a first thastep." windy think negotiations will resume? >> we will have to see. there will be for the negotiations soon, some involving south to rick -- there will be further negotiations soon, some involved in south korea. the japanese have a vested interest in things progressing. i would imagine that in the next few months we would have six- party talks. >> when do you expect the united states to go ahead with the food aid program to north korea? >> this will not be in one blow. it is already being planned, a set of installments of this food aid over a period of one or two months at a time. this is emergency additional assistance for infants and so forth. this is not just grain, but very targeted food aid. they will send monitors to make sure that aid gets to the people who it is intended for. >> profess

that caused the north korean party to walk out in protest, at that point the south koreans intervened with a blocking maneuver. the story received heavy media coverage in south korea. many of the reports say the confrontation in geneva helped draw attention to the serious abuse of human rights in the north. north korea called the scuffle a senseless provocation. >>> that's all we have time for this week. we close the program with scenes from the ancient japanese capital of mara in a traditional ceremony signaling the arrival of spring. the festival is held every march to pray for national stability. it's been be a served at the temple, a world heritage site for 1,200 years. each torch weighs a hefty 40 kilograms. it is believed being showered by sparks flying from the hall ensures good health during the coming year. >> thanks for watching. see you again next week on "asia see you again next week on "asia 7 days." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

and north korea in the sense that negotiations the north koreans said they will give up their nuclear weapons testing program and they'd give up their long range missile testing program. the americans in this saying that they will give up all nuclear activity all space activity the north koreans are taken of you actually launch a satellite is not developing a long range intercontinental ballistic missile and equally continuing to develop its the light water reactor technology is not nuclear testing i don't know who's wrong but certainly both sides appear to think they agreed or rather different different things when he made his agreement about two hundred forty thousand tons of of a bridge and seafood even given to north korea in exchange well that's right and you raised that point exactly it seems that diplomatic progress had been made quite recently why do you think perhaps we're seeing that the both sides both sides thought they had different agreements they are not without the elvis inspect the agreements we don't know who's got it wrong but nevertheless is there an element of the

it is a reaffirmation of our commitment to our korean ally and our mission on the korean peninsula. as president obama stated during a joint press conference with president lee two days ago, the u.s. will play a larger and longer-term role in shaping the region and its future. the cornerstone is our strong alliances including our alliance with the republic of korea. we will continue to the u.s.- iraq alliance, make fortunes -- enhanced presence, power production and deterrence in the region. north korea oppose a provocative behavior, large conventional military, proliferation activity and pursuit of asymmetric advantages through its ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction program including uranium enrichment continue to present a serious threat to the u.s. or -- our allies in the region as a whole. it was almost two years ago that north korea sank the naval vessel. that coupled with the on provoke showing of the island in november 2010 provides a reminder that p'yongyang is willing to utilize military capabilities with deadly consequences. these incidents demonstrate that

the missiles were directed over the yellow sea west of the korean peninsula. they're thought to have a range of about 120 kilometers. south korean sources say the launches were likely aimed at testing the range of the anti-ship missile which can be applied to long-range ballistic missile technology. political analysts say they see this as a warning to south korea and the u.s., following their joint amphibious landing exercise on thursday. about 9,000 troops took part in the drill in south korea. >>> as uncertainties in the middle east are causing crude oil prices to soar, u.s. energy secretary says many countries are still debating whether to release their emergency oil reserves. >> i would just say that it is an option that certainly on the table, no decisions have been made. it depends, again, on a lot of things. and so one has to just stay tuned. >> steven chu made the comment to reporters in tokyo on friday. he had attended a nuclear security summit in south korea earlier this week. chu referred to the possibility of major economies may release their stock

you don't you north koreans reach through. forward on beijing's perspective. into parts playing a role that was seen by the americans as constructive and helpful and mormons are being seen as not doing enough true way forward for a peaceful settlement is to get problems in your country and. i think it's safe to say that the u.s. president had quite a busy time in south korea even before the summit kicked off he was visiting the demilitarized zone between the two koreas and having a number of meetings a lot are the american interests here what americans really want to diffuse the situation in the korean peninsula they don't really want it a crisis situation you create it's not satisfactory all these. threats of. nuclear testing testing or shooting at south korean targets are potentially dangerous and the americans want to go rob it's all right thank you steve saying professor of contemporary chinese studies at the university of nottingham. ok as the two day nuclear summer progresses stay with r.t. for all the developments and saw. it's. true its intentions are.

the conclusions will be presented tuesday by south korean president lee myung-bak. speaking from seoul, u.s. presidents barack obama unnamed nuclear terrorism as one of the biggest threats to global security, but he also issued stern warnings to north korea and iran. >> it is always my preference to solve these issues diplomatically. but time is short. both leaders must understand they, too, face a choice. iran must act with the seriousness and sense of urgency that this moment demands. >> obama but again of his vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. >> i firmly believe that we can ensure the security of the united states and its allies, maintain a strong deterrent against any threat, and it still pursue further reductions in our nuclear arsenal. >> the west's conflict with north korea and iran is not on the official agenda of the sold summit, but it is bound to be discussed behind the scenes. >> chancellor on glamour tell -- angela merkel has a big policy shift. >> the government is open to extending it the first bailout fund, allowing it to run in parallel wit

my impressions with respect to the dmz and the north korean leadership. with respect to the issue of extending missile ranges, i think president lee got it exactly right. we have this incredibly powerful alliance that is multidimensional. and involves a whole range of coordination, training activities, making sure that there's inner operability with respect to weapons systems and defensive capabilities. so all these issues are being discussed as we move forward to implementing the 2015 plan. and so there are no specific preconditions around or specific obstacles around the missile range issue. rather a broader question of what are the needs in order for us to fulfill our enduring goals around the alliance. and a lot of that is technical. a lot of it take place not at the presidential level but rather at the military level. and we will continue to instruct our teams that they work closely together to ensure what is the ultimate outcome, which is not any particular weapons system or particular missile range but rather can we protect our people? can we make

look the north koreans are short on cash the iranians are high on cash they want to you can have up and to think that we have not exchange information about nuclear weapons is insane i do believe another told her it was reported in fact that there's a likelihood that the north koreans have shared nuclear technology do klute weapons of some sort the problem is delivery and panetta p.c.i. can notice that they don't know how to deliver and i agree with that so what we need to do now is look at what comes next we need to look at the larger issue of a growing potential for a sunni shia cold war. regarding your weapons so i think we've got to accept the fact that the radius may well established have a weapon but what we do is bombing them the right answer i don't believe so at this point let me read you actually a statement in which you kind of think of it as a speech and he said he ran a nation has never pursued and will never pursue nuclear weapons there is no doubt in the decision makers in the countries opposing us now well that iran is not after nuclear weapons because the islamic re

dale drake and lieutenant thomas porter also korean war veterans. we would like to recognize three korean war husbands unable to join us, as well, today before stach sergeant lewis lozak, vice admiral john johnson and pfc robert f. myers. it's been a remarkable program today and it's time to wrap it up, but i hope you've all benefited from the words that were spoken today. it was some 60 years ago on the korean peninsula and the future of cokorea was very much in dou. and despite the korea became in abject poverty, devastated by conflict with seemingly few prospects for suffering people. but in the space of a few decades, nothing short of a miracle took place. today the republican of korea is a force for good in northeast asia, a bastion of democracy, and a staunch ally of the united states with an economy that's the envy of the world. mun of this would have been possible without your sacrifices and those of your fallen comrades. so on behalf of those in uniform serving today and an eternally grateful nation, thank you, we are standing on the should

the second round starts monday in the south korean capital. representatives from japan, the u.s., china and 50 other countries will take part. leaders are working on a draft of the summit's joint statement. they say nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats to security. they say all nations must take responsibility in preventing terrorist organizations from getting their hands on nuclear materials. their draft statement also mentions the accident at fukushima daiichi and the need to address the safety of reactors. north korean officials are warning leaders at the summit not to raise the issue of their nuclear program. they say they will consider any statement as a declaration of war. the state-run korean central news agency said any provocation would go down in history as a heinous crime. it said any provocative act would create an obstacle to the denuclearization of the korean peninsula. south korean leaders want their counterparts at the summit to send a message urging the north to abandon its nuclear ambitions. >>> indian leaders say

please give a warm welcome tuesday korean-american musical group for tonight's opening program. we're in a wonderful? founded 18 years ago, the music and art culture center's mission is to raise across cultural awareness, inspired artistic expression, has and from the arts education and preservation of cultural values on long korean-americans and thier youth. since coming to the u.s. in the early 1990's, she has been a pioneer in educating youth and the general public on caribbean dance in the san francisco bay area. -- korean dance in the san francisco bay area. once again, are round of applause for our opening number. it is such a pleasure to be with you here tonight for this special celebration. please stand now for our national anthem, sung by ayumi perry. ayumi. >> ♪ oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly str eaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that