. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." north korean military commanders seem to be raising the stakes. south korea's defense minister says they appear to have put a medium range ballistic missile into position. it's their latest threat in response to ongoing u.s./south korean military drills. defense minister kim kwan-jin spoke at parliamentary committee meeting. >> translator: it's not a long-range missile but it has considerable range. it could be for test firing or for drills. >> a recent u.s. intelligence image shows what looks like a ballistic missile being moved by train to east coast of north korea. the location of a launch site. kim's description matches that of a midrange missile known as musdun. the north koreans unveiled it in 2010 during a military parade. its estimated range of 3,000 to 5,000 kilometers puts it in striking distance of japan and a u.s. base on the pacific island of guam. south korean officials say they cannot rule out the possibility that authorities in pyongyang will fire the missile. they say

>>> it's time now for "newsline." the leaders of japan's governing party are putting their plan to fire up nuclear plants on fast forward. the liberal democratic party's draft policy says they will take step does row start facilities that have been confirmed as safe. they will now go over the energy policy with government researchers. then they will include the plan in their campaign platform for the election in july. this latest draft takes a pledge the liberal democrats made one step further. they will decide in three years whether to restart facilities. only 2 of 50 reactors have been restarted since the fouk shema accident. the liberal democrats are studying way does bring the situation under control. >>> the surviving suspect in the boston marathon bombing is behind bars. federal officials took him out of hospital and put him in prison. dzhokhar tsarnaev is recovering from throat wounds. he's admitted he and his brother tamerlan let off two bombs near the finish line of the boston marathon. and he told investigat

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." south korea's president has told their military commanders be ready to respond to any north korean provocation. pack geun-hye has heard threat after threat from authorities in pyongyang. she's vowing to fight back without worrying about the political consequences. defense ministry officials briefed park on monday. she said she takes the recent string of north korean moves and threats very seriously. she acknowledged that the north koreans have scrapped a nonaggression treaty, cut off a military hotline and unilaterally announced they have entered a state of war with the south. >> translator: if any provocations happen against our people and our country, the military should respond powerfully early on without any political considerations. >> a navy commander briefed park by video link. he said north korean forces carried out a massive military drill last week near the border in the yellow sea. he added the north still had five vessels near the area. north korean authorities are pushing

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. >>> heavily armed police are searching door to door for a suspect in boston's marathon bombings. tactical units have surrounded at least one house in watertown. the suburb has been the focus of an hour's long manhunt. a second suspect died there following a gunfight with police. police are hunting for 19-year-old dzhokhar tsarnaev. reports in u.s. media say the suspects are brothers originally from a russian region near chechnya. they say the dead suspect was 26 years old. reports say the brothers had been in the united states for several years. they also say the dead suspect had explosives on his body when he was captured. the manhunt kept people in the boston area on edge overnight and well into the next day. his father says he was a boxer and hoped to join the u.s. olympic team. and he said joe hdzhokhar was studying. ruslan sar any is their uncle. he urged dzhokhar to turn himself in and why he thought his nephews might have committed the bombing. >> what

>>> hello and welcome back to nhk "newsline." an earthquake has been reported. we'll bring you updates as we learn more. i repeat, a magnitude 6 earthquake hit western japan. it occurred at 5:33 a.m. japan time. the epicenter was at a depth of ten kilometers. we'll bring you updates as they become available. >>> u.s. secretary of state john kerry has warned north korea to stop making threats. john kerry said it will be a grave mistake for them to carry out a test of a mid range missile. >> it is a huge mistake for him to choose to do that because it will further isolate his country. kim jong-un needs to understand, as i think probably does, what the outcome of the conflict would be. >> kerry spoke some seoul after a meeting with his counterpart. >> we are all united in the fact that north korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power. the rhetoric we are hearing from north korea is simply unacceptable. >> kerry met separately with president park. kerry is reported to say they should act with caution to keep the situation from escalating further. the meetings wer

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." north korean leaders are pushing ahead with plans that could help them build up their nuclear weapons arsenal. the state-run korean central news agency says scientists in the reclusive nation will restart a reactor that can be used to produce plutonium. the unit is located in yongbyon north of the capital pyongyang. the reactor generates electricity and operators can use the spent fuel to make plutonium. north korean scientists have used plutonium in experiments, and analysts believe they have built several nuclear weapons with it. authorities shut down the reactor in 2007 and destroyed part of its infrastructure. that followed an agreement with members of the six-party talks. the group comprises the two koreas, the u.s., china, japan, and russia. north korean officials say their decision to restart all nuclear-related facilities in yongbyon is part of efforts to deal with an electricity shortage. they add it's in line with leader kim jong-un's pledge to rebuild the economy and streng

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." malaysians are getting ready for a vote that could shake up politics as they've known it for decades. prime minister najib razak has dissolved parliament and will soon call an election. his long-ruling coalition will be in for a fight. patchari raksawong in bangkok has more on this story. patchari, good evening. >> good evening, gene. the prime minister is now going over the calendar, and deciding on an election date, whenever malaysians go to the polls, analysts expect najib's coalition will have to battle for an increasingly popular opposition. >> translator: this morning, i asked the king's consent to dissolve the 12th parliament as of april 3rd. his majesty gave his approval. >> reporter: najib razak showed a stern expression during his televised address. political analysts say opposition parties will be tough competition in the general election to be held as early as this month. since winning independence from the british empire in 1957, malaysian politics has been dominated by t

>>> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's friday, april 26. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo chemical weapons in syria >>> u.s. president obama is reacting to pressure to react to a new development in the syrian war. it's likely syrian forces have used chemical weapons. >> the u.s. intelligence community assesses in some degree that the syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in the region, specifically, sarin. >> there's no confirmation about how and when chemicals were used or how many people were hurt and killed. the u.s. government is pressing for a full investigation by the united nations. president obama may face pressure to intervene if a red line has been crossed. >>> u.n. peacekeeping troops are to join the french army in mali, west africa. they've united to support the state against rebels. they passed a resolution contempt being human rights violations. insurgents still control mountainous areas in is south providing a challenge for the new u.n. force. >>> soldiers assembled in front of the palace. his late father l

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." security analysts are working around the clock trying to figure out the state of play in north korea. officials in south korea, japan and the u.s. remain on high alert for a possible missile launch. they believe authorities in pyongyang could follow through on their threats at anytime. north degree yaps celebrated the first anniversary of kim jong-unbecoming their country's leader. >> com rad has brought us an epic change with his military mind. >> officials say forces are set to launch a medium-range miss ill from their country's east coast. they think it could travel toward the sea of japan or toward the pacific ocean. it could take place in the coming week. >> translator: we think north korea could conduct the launch on or around april 15th. we must keep close watch on when and how many missiles will be launched. >> on monday, north koreans will observe the birthday of the nation's founder kim il-sung. they're already marking another event. it's been one year since kim jong-un took

glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's friday, april 12th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. north korean leaders seem to make daily threats and leaving them to wonder what's next. they say kim jung-un is showing off. he is using belligerent language to show them he's in control of his country. james clapper said he have thinks the north korean will use that language for a long time. cia director was summoned to speak to the committee. he said intelligence analysts have found it difficult to jung kim's action because he's not been in power very long. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is headed to the region to lend his weight to diplomatic efforts. he wants to convince chinese leaders to use his leverage. kerry wants to encourage them to take advantage of their influence. on sunday kerry will move onto tokyo. he'll meet with japanese foreign minister. >>> foreign ministers from the group of eight nations have line ed up against north korea. they condemned the strongest terms of the the missile program. >> we made clear in the text that minis

welcome to "newsline". it's tuesday, april 9. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >> former prime minister margaret thatcher made history as the iron lady. she led her country through strikes, terrorist attacks and a war. she died monday morning after suffering a stroke. nhk world has more from london. >> reporter: thatcher became britain's first female prime minister in 1979. she led the country for 11 years. she cut taxes and privatized state run corporations. she relaxed financial regulations and fought labor unions. current british prime minister david cameron praised her achievements. >> real thing about margaret thatcher is that she didn't just lead our country, she saved our country. and i believe she'll go down as the greatest british peacetime prime minister. >> reporter: thatcher was in power when argentina invaded the falkland islands in 1982. she responded by sending a military task force. they retook the islands after 74 days of fighting. she worked with u.s. president ronald reagan to help end the cold war. >> she nev

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." first we again with the death of margaret thatcher. she led the country for 11 years. her legacy includes the privatization of dozens of state-run corporations. she also eased financial regulations and cut taxes. thatcher worked with u.s. president ronald reagan to counter the influence of communist countries. she was dubbed the iron lady for her uncompromising stance. >>> a north korean official says his country is pulling staff from a project that has become a symbol of inter-korean cooperation. 53,000 north korean workers have been working at the kaesong industrial complex. state-run media said officials will temporarily halt activities at the industrial park. the official claim that they have been abusing the complex for what he called provocations. he said the north would halt all difficult at the park. the first such operation since 2004. he said officials will decide whether or not to keep the complex open. they have added to tensions between the two koreas. last week they started to refuse to allow south korean workers to enter

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." people in north korea are celebrating an important holiday as people elsewhere continue to watch the country's leaders. north korea's citizens are observing what would have been the 101st birthday of the nation's founder kim il-sung. leader kim jong-un marked the day by visiting his grandfather's mausoleum. >> state-run tv reports kim was accompanied by close aides, including his uncle and mentor. it was kim's first appearance on state media since a session of the north korean parliament two weeks ago. people in neighboring countries fear he'll mark the holiday by ordering the test of a ballistic missile. pictures out of pyongyang send a different message. presidents have laid flowers. at statues of kim il-sung and kim jong-il. >>> north korea's leaders have made repeated threats targeting people in other countries, in spite of repeated calls for restraint. officials in pyongyang escalated tensions after u.n. security council members approved stricter sanctions. they were responding t

welcome to "newsline." it's wednesday, april 10th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. residents of seoul are going about their business. they're heading to work, doing the things they do most days. they're carrying on in the face of threats from the north. as south korean spokes person says the north korean military could launch a missile at any time. south korean nave a commanders aren't taking any chances. they've deployed a second military vessel. it's equipped with an advanced tracking system. they sent another vessel to the yellow sea. they say they're ready for whatever might come. last week north korea nl forces move add midrange ballistic missile to the coast. the defense minister has ordered the sdf to destroy any debris that might fall on japanese territory. so they've deployed two interceptor missile launchers. others have deployed the same defenses at other bases. >>> the foreign ministers of other countries are asking north korea to refrain from exercises. the members gathered at the hague. >> translator: we should work with the rest of the international c

that's "newsline" for this our, i'm gene otani in tokyo. .

>>> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's monday, april 15th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. north koreans are celebrating the nation's biggest holiday. it would have been the birthday of the country's founder kim il sung. organizers plan various events in the capitol, pyongyang. at one of them, leaders repeated their threats against the united states and it's allies. >> translator: north korea is developing nuclear weapons in both quality and quantity. we will mercilessly punish the united states and it's lies. >> north korean leaders have threatened to attack targets in the u.s., south korea and japan. security analysts believe their forces have completed preparations for the launches of an immediate range and short range ballistic missiles. top diplomats say the work with chinese leaders to try to rein in the north koreans. >>> john kerry made his first visit to japan as secretary of state. >> translator: we agreed that north korea should stop its provocative actions immediately and that we will show a firm stance on the denuclearization o

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." u.s. authorities are carrying out a large-scale manhunt around the city of boston, searching for a suspect they believe is responsible for the city's marathon bombings. a second suspect is dead. >>> media says they're brothers from chechnya. investigators accuse the men of killing a security guard earlier at the massachusetts institute of technology in cambridge. police say the pair car jacked a vehicle after that to make their escape. reuters reports they kept the driver hostage for about a half hour. officers caught up with them in nearby watertown. they engaged in a gunfight. residents heard shots and explosions. after police captured one of the suspects, they announced he had died. boston political identified the man on the run as the one in the white hat. they say he is 19 years old. the dead suspect was 26 years old. the brothers had been in the united states for several years. >> we believe this to be a terrorist. a man that's come here to kill people. we need to get him in custody.

. >>> welcome to nhk "newsline". u.s. prosecutors have charged the surviving suspect in the bombings at the boston marathon. they accused dzhokhar tsarnaev of using a weapon of mass destruction. he could face the death penalty. the 19-year-old suspect remains in a boston hospital where he is being treated for his wounds. the justice department said in a statement that he faces a second charge of malicious destruction of property resulting in death. prosecutors accuse tsarnaev and his older brother, tamerlan, of setting off two bombs last week near the finish line of the race. three people were killed. more than 170 were injured. the older brother died on friday after a shootout with police. u.s. media are reporting that dzhokhar tsarnaev told investigators that he and his brother planned and carried out the attacks by themselves. he said they were motivated by religion but had no involvement with terrorist groups. reports say the brothers learned how to make bombs on the internet. white house press secretary jay carney sa

>>> welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday april 2nd. i'm kathryn kobyashi. south korean's president has told her people to be ready for any provocation. she's willing to fight back without the political consequences. she said she'd take the recent string of north korean moves and threats very seriously. she acknowledged that the north koreans have scrapped a nonaggression treaty and unilaterally announced they have entered into a state of war with the south. >> translator: if any provocations happen against our people and our country, the military should respond powerfully early on without any political considerations. >> a navy commander briefed her by video link. he added the north still had five vessels near the area. dell gats to the north korean parliament have added to the tensions. members of the supreme people's assembly adopted laws to strengthen weapons programs. the state run kreeen central newsing asy reported on the annual assembly in pyongyang. leelder kim jong un attended the meeting. they adopted legislation to reenforce the nation's nuclear

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." north korean officials have made more threats after weeks of them in a broadcast on state media. they warned all foreigners to leave south korea. >> translator: we urge all foreign nationals at institutes and companies, including tourists, to take evacuation measures out of seoul and south korea for their own safety. >> defense officials in seoul are worried this could be more than just talk. they say on wednesday the north korean military may launch a missile. >> translator: we could say that the north koreans are expected to fire a missile tomorrow, although the schedule could change. >> the north korean military has reportedly moved a midrange ballistic missile to the east coast. kim said it's not known whether they have notified international bodies of any launch plans. north korean officials have already warned foreign diplomats in their capital pyongyang that their safety could not be guaranteed in the event of a conflict. >>> officials from japan's defense ministry are preparin

>>> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." . it's tuesday, april 23rd. boston bomber u.s. judicial authorities on monday charged the surviving suspect in the boston marathon bombings. dzhokhar tsarnaev could face the death penalty. he was injured during arrest and is unable to speak. officers are asking him to respond to questions in writing. his 26 year old brother, tamerlan tsarnaev died in a standoff with officers. the brothers are ethnic chechens. they are trying to find out if they were planning further attacks or if they had accomplices. three people were killed and more than 170 were wounded in the marathon bombings. boston residents came together at the site of the bombings exactly one week later. more than 1,000 people gathered near the marathon finish line to mourn the dead. ♪ and the home of the brave >> people sang the national anthem, and they observed a moment of silence. >> i would like to understand what would drive a person to that kind of hatred so that perhaps we can prevent that kind of hatred in the future. >> mourners stopped to lea

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." the u.s. secretary of state says north korea has nothing to gain by making more threats and everything to lose. john kerry says the north's leaders must get serious about reviewing its missile and nuclear programs. he was in south korea where concerns are high that the north is about to test a midrange missile. >> that it is a huge mistake for him to choose to do that because it would further isolate his country. kim jong-un needs to understand, as i think he probably does, what the outcome of the conflict would be. >> kerry spoke after meeting his south korean counterpart. >> we are all united in the fact that north korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power. the rhetoric that we're hearing from north korea is simply unacceptable. >> kerry also met with south korean president park geun-hye. media reports say kerry urged park to respond with caution even if attacked to keep the situation from escalating further. kerry will not -- will travel next to china. he's scheduled to meet with presid

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." people in iran a assessing the damage after a powerful earthquake. iranian media say more than 40 people are dead. analysts say that the magnitude 7.8 earthquake his tuesday afternoon local time. they say it was 86 kilometers east/southeast of hash. they felt it in new delhi. some rushed out of buildings and waited in parking lot. in pakistan, there was the shaking in a tv station. >>> a magnitude tremor hit southern iran a week cool. plates that meet underneath have generated two major earthquakes in the last 20 years. . in 2003, a quake struck the southeastern city of baum. and a 7.7 tremor hit north western iran leading 30,000 dead. law enforcement officers are coming through evidence to see who attacked the boston mary on this and why. two bombs wept off and killed two people and injured nearly 30 others. investigators say police have found more explosives near the site. the bombs went off on monday afternoon. the first knocked back runners 30 meters from the finish. the second hi

>>> welcome to "newsline." u.s. investigators say they may be able to identify a suspect at the boston bombings through security video. policing combing through a mountain of evidence. investigators have been analyzianalyze ing fragments of the devices. people captured what happened before, during and after the explosions. some media outlets report video from one camera shows a person who police believe is a suspect. fbi and local police have scheduled a news conference but they postponed it as they continue to analyze the evidence. >>> the fbi says a granular substance contained in a letter addressed to president barack obama tested positive for the poisonous ricin. the u.s. secret service said the letter was intercepted as a white house mail screening facility on tuesday. press secretary jay carney says the president has been briefed on the letter and orders the investigation continue in the boston bombings first and say this is no indicated link between the letters and the bombings. >> the bombings in boston that

welcome to "newsline." it's wednesday, april 24th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. operation >>> rescuers in china are still searching for people trapped under the debris from the earthquake that sichuan. the trerm killed93 -- the tremor killed over 93 people and injured over 1,000. nhk has more from the city near the epicenter. >> reporter: soldiers and police are still looking for survivors, the crucial first 72 hours has ed passed. chances of survival are said to drop rapidly after that. landslides caused by the tremor and aftershocks have blocked roads. workers are trying to clear roads to affected areas blocked by landslides. rain has been falling. this raises the risk of further landslides and other secondary disasters. the people that manage to escape are struggling. some 400,000 people lost their homes. they are trying to do what they can to survive in shelters. this village was hit hard by the quake. it lies 10 kilometers from the epenter. over 90% of the houses were damaged. residents responded by building huts from bamboo and straw. about 20 people are sh

glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's friday, april 12th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. foreign ministers from the group of eight nations have lined up against north korea. they condemned in the strongest possible terms, north korea's ballistic miss ill programs. >> we take clear that ministers supported the skmitment to strengthen the current sanctions regime and take further significant measures in the event of a further launch or nuke cheer test. >> the minlsteres criticized what they called north korea's aggressive rhetoric. hague said it will further isolate the country. he urged delegates to return to the talks on their program. john kerry has gone to lend his weight to diplomatic efforts. kerry begins his tour in seoul. he'll meet with south korean foreign minister. they're expected to discuss how to respond to any further provocations. kerry has said u.s. forces stand ready to protect their allies. he'll head to beijing on saturday. leaders there have long defended their allies in pyongyang. kerry wants to convince them to use th

>>> welcome to "newsline." it's monday, april 1st. i'm kathryn kobyashi in tokyo. north korean officials have issued a pointed warns about their nuclear program. they released the statement after kim jong un presided over a meeting of the worker's party. they called for building a stronger economy and nuclear arsenal. state untv reported on kim's speech at a meeting. central committee of the worker's party, a top decision making body. members met for the first time in two and a half years. kim said his country is on the eve of war. he accused the united states of trying to topple his regime and dismantle north korea's nuclear stockpile. and he criticized u.s. forces for joint exercises with the south's military. security analysts say what the north korean are doing is testing technology for ballistic missiles. he also promised to build water reactors. kim says they need to focus more on agriculture and industry. north korea will hold the supreme people's assembly. dell gats from around the country will meet on monday to adopt decisions on the national budget, new l

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." u.s. and south korean troops have been carrying out exercises after exercise since the beginning of last month to prepare for any future conflict. the annual drills have angered north korea. now the media are getting an inside look at the operation which is called "full eagle." the troops showed part of an exercise to journalists in the southeastern city of qohang. about 2,000 personnel unloaded military supplies for ground combat troops from ships anchored nearby. they're preparing for the possibility that an enemy attack would destroy ports. the u.s. and south korea plan to continue to do the annual drills until the end of this month. north korean leaders said last week they would agree to dialogue with the countries if they suspended the drills. south korean officials are still concerned about a possible missile launch by pyongyang. >> translator: north korea doesn't appear to have removed its ballistic missiles from the sea of japan coast. >> analysts say the u.s. and south korea opene

glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, april 18th. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> u.s. officials say they may be able to identify a suspect through supreme court bombing. two bombs killed three people and wounded more than 170 others. they have not made any arrests. but media outlets report they're close to identifying a suspect. >> reporter: people from boston have been having vigils to honor those killed in the attacked that left them shocked and saddened. a flag flew at half-mast at the elementary school that richard martin attended. the 8-year-old was the youngest among those killed, standing near the finish line with his family cheering on the runners. one of the bombs also seriously injured his mother and 6-year-old sister. friends and neighbors have visited their home to drop off flowers and presents. two brothers from martin's soccer club brought a ball bearing message from his teammates. he would, like at the end of the game, say he won or lost, do something crazy to warm up the team and make sure they had a great game. >> repo

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo with the stories after this hour. >>> engineers working on the cleanup at the power plant hit another snag. radioactive water may have seeped out of a storage pond. a spokesperson for tokyo electric power company said engineers detected water on the pond outside of a waterproof sheet. the level of radioactivity is low. he said engineers will investigate what caused the problem and he said they plan to transfer the water to another pond. engineers dug the ponds to store ground would the water that floods into the reactor building and gets contaminated. they have to filter and store hundreds of tons every day. they reported a string of other problems, the cooling system for a fuel pool failed on friday. it was off line for three hours. and a power failure last month caused a blackout that lastedñ v transported poultry and a woman with no fixed occupation. one of the 31 people who recently had contact with her has a fever and is being treated in an isolated hosp

welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, april 11th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> south koreans have woken up to another round of threats and believe a missile could be launched by north korea any time. north korean forces had been set to launch a missile on thursday and now they may launch shorter range missiles at the same time or one after another. >> translator: it will end with just a threat. i'm not very worried. >> translator: north koreans are just like us. i feel sorry for them. their leaders should look at reality. >> government officials say north korea could fire east to the sieve japan or south towards the pacific ocean. commanders have deployed deployers with the aegis air defense system to the sea of japan and to the yellow sea. >> translator: we've asked the u.s., china and russia to use all possible channels to urge north korea to stop its provocations. >> u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel says the actions of the north korean leadership are unpredictable. he says u.s. forces are ready for whatever happens. >>

welcome back to nhk world "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. >>> the south korean unification minister has advised he's telling business people in an industrial complex to leave the com flex in north korea. it is near the demilitarized zone, but it's been effectively closed since earlier this month and north korea is refusing to talk about reopening it. >> translator: our nationals remaining in the kaesong industrial zone are experiencing greater difficulties due to the north's unjust actions. so the government has come to the unavoidable decision to bring back all remaining personnel in order to protect them. >> north korea stopped allowing south korean workers to enter the complex on april 3rd. nearly 180 of them stayed behind in the facility to maintain their facilities. and on april 9th, authorities in pyongyang pulled out the more than 50,000 north koreans who work at kaesong for south korean firms. the unification ministry proposed holding talks on resuming operations, but north korean leaders re

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." >>> south korean defense officials say north korea is ready to fire a ballistic missile from its eastern coast. officials are preparing for various scenarios. they say the north could fire a single missile or launch several at once. north korean forces moved what appear to be a mid range musudan missile to the coast last week. south korean and u.s. forces have been on high alert ever since. south korean official says the missile could be fired east towards the sea of japan or south to the pacific. >> translator: we're not taking any chances. north korea has test-fired missiles at dawn to surprise us in the past so we are monitoring them 24 hours a day with the united states. >> government officials in seoul say the north koreans appear to be preparing to launch other missiles, as well. scud missiles have a range of several hundred kilometers. rodong missiles have a range of about 1,300 kilometers. south korean officials believe >>> people in the region are thinking about how best to respond to north korea. authorities are preparing for every poss

. >>> welcome back to nhk world "newsline." investigators in the u.s. have been studying fragments found at the boston marathon bombings. twin explosions near the finish line on monday killed three people and wounded more than 170 others. police say whoever carried out the attack could have followed bomb making instructions on the internet. investigators recovered a mad piece of metal that's thought to have been part of a pressure cooker. they also retrieved a nail that's about one centimeter long. doctors say they have found what appears to be nails inside the victims. the investigators discovered a u.s.-made battery attached to two wires and a small circuit board. they've been quoted in some american media as saying the circuit was likely used to detonate the bombs. they say the explosives may have been set off using timers. it's not difficult to turn pressure cookers into bombs. some media say it costs less than $100. the devices have been used in terrorist attacks in the u.s., afghanistan and elsewhere. investigators also recovered black nylon fiber

. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." health authorities across asia have been on guard against the aggressive strain of the bird flu that's spreading in china. now those in taiwan say they've detected the first human infection involving the deadly h7n9 virus. taiwanese public health officials say a 53-year-old man developed the flu after returning from eastern chinese province of jiangsu. he stayed there from march 28 to april 9. officials say after the man returned home he complained of fever and fatigue and was hospitalized a week later. tests showed he had been infected with the h7n9 strain. the man reportedly had no contact with live poultry in china. so far 109 cases of the bird flu have been reported mainly in the eastern part of china, including shanghai and beijing. of them, 22 people have died. >>> rescuers in bangladesh are digging through debris to find survivors of a deadly building collapse. an eight-story structure on the outskirts of the capital dhaka crumbled to the ground. local media say more than 70 pe

. >>> that's all for this edition of "newsline." do stay with us.

. >>> and that is all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

. >>> that's all for this edition of "newsline." do stay with us.

. >>> that concludes this edition of "newsline." do stay with us. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: vice president joe biden joined 4,000 people at an emotional memorial service for the m.i.t. police officer, ambushed and killed in the boston marathon bombings manhunt. good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, we explore what's known about the tsarnaev brothers' lives online where they may have been inspired to mount the attacks. >> ifill: plus, jeffrey brown talks to kenneth feierg, the man charged with overseeinghe $21 million fund to compensate the wounded and the families of the dead.

. >>> and that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." i'm roger pradhan in tokyo. we'll be back at the top of the hour so do stay with us on nhk world. >> "california's gold" is produced in association with kcet, los angeles and is seen statewide on california public television. this series is endorsed by: >> is it possible to drive a car and still have a clean environment? to refine a cleaner gasoline? to build a bridge from oil to renewable energy? could business go further and be a force for good? can 100,000 people in 100 countries come together to build a new brand of progress? we think so. "bp" is proud to bring you "california's gold," beyond petroleum, "bp." ♪ ["california here i come"]

. >>> that concludes this edition of "newsline." do stay with us. >> california's gold is produced in association with kcet los angeles and is seen statewide on california public television. this series is endorsed by: [ music ] in the early days, when they first came on scene, they caused quite a stir. i mean, after all, they were revolutionary-- self-propelled machines with wheels. and before long these strange-looking contraptions had made it from europe to america and eventually all the way to california, where they became an instant hit. in fact, since the 1800s,

. >> that concludes this edition of "newsline." do stay with us. >> lucille clifton grew up in western new york, near buffalo, worked as a government clerk and office assistant. her first book, good times, was rated one of the best books of 1969 by the new york times. lucille clifton, who said, "one should wish to celebrate more than wish to be celebrated." >> won't you celebrate with me what i have shaped into a kind of life? i had no model. born in babylon both nonwhite and woman what did i see to be except myself? i made it up here on this bridge between starshine and clay, my one hand holding tight my other hand; come celebrate with me that everyday something has tried to kill me and has failed. ( cheers and applause )

. >>> and that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." i'm roger pradhan in tokyo. we'll be back at the top of the hour so do stay with us on nhk world. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: the syri car rages on, as assad's prime minister survives a reported assassination attempt in the heart of damascus. good evening. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm jud woodrf. on the newshour tonight, we debate whether the u.s. should intervene and explore who the fighters are behind the rebellion. >> ifill: then, taxing the internet. we discuss how congress may be changing the way we pay for the things we buy.