denuclear rising -- de nuclearizing north korea. the differences between south korea and north korea are considerably greater than the differences between east and west germany. the economic out is greater between north and south korea. the way that people have been socialized is much different. the north korean people would have an even greater challenge and jury of difficulty integrating with south korean -- and degree of difficulty integrating with south korean society. the south korean society has been growing, but it may not be cost ofgh to handle the the absorption of north korea on its own if it is a sudden change in north korea. host: the other point of 's comments, the amount of executions happening in north korea. do you have any comments on that? publicthe number of executions have at least doubled. aides were executed in advance of his detention and trial and execution. host: our line for independents. good morning. at the publicly available information we are able to see, not necessarily intelligence, it seems to me that

it is called north korea's dennis rodman problem. work, no part to the north korean can travel thomas speak, or worship freely. as many as 2.5 million north oreans died of starvation related illness in the mid-19 90s. 1990's. 200 thousand still languishing in prisons. 200,000line unburied -- still languish in prisons. the dead lie unburied. picture of the a situation inside north korea in 2000.te 1990s and up to the situation in parts of north korea has gotten better. there is no question that the north korean leadership structure imposes severe forms of inequality and desperation on the lowest people in that structure. the political present camp system is still operating in a major way. north korea is unquestionably the worst governed country on earth by almost all the indices that are out there. everyone should want to see improvements in north korea. the human rights situation is the subject of the u.n. human rights council's inquiry that has been in place over the past few months. they will be releasing a report in march on the si

denuclear rising -- de nuclearizing north korea. erences between south korea and north korea are considerably greater than the differences between east and west germany. the economic out is greater between north and south korea. the way that people have been socialized is much different. the north korean people would have an even greater challenge and jury of difficulty inat and degree of difficulty integrating with south korean society. the south korean society has been growing, but it may not be cost ofgh to handle the the absorption of north korea on its own if it is a sudden change in north korea. host: the other point of 's comments, the amount of executions happening in north korea. do you have any comments on that? publicthe number of executions have at least doubled. aides were executed in advance of his detention and trial and execution. host: our line for independents. good morning. at the publicly available information we are able to see, not necessarily intelligence, it seems to me that north korea is run like organized c

how do you understand what's going on in north korea. we saw last week with the release of merrill newman the north koreans calling up the state department saying we're letting him go, no explanation. when we say well, why did that happen, you can't predict the north koreans. so you know, in an odd way, this uncle was one of the more predictable people that they knew, that they have been dealing with for some time. now they are really increasingly in the dark about the new -- >> merrill newman, the 85-year-old american korean war veteran who was picked up, he was a tourist in north korea, held for a month and suddenly, they let him go. he's back in the united states right now. you're watching, jim sciutto. getting reaction? >> interesting, this is a reminder of what the real source of instability in the region is and it's north korea. it's a nuclear power. they have done three nuclear tests. our attention has been distracted by another real issue, tensions between japan and china about the islands, et cetera. but the most severe source of

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it means to them and their relationship with north korea. and trying to discern about what it says about a wider struggle. the striking thing for everybody watching north korea is the openness and the speed with which all of this unfolded - the ousting of this man, and his dispatch, if you like. a man who was, until recently, considered the second-most important person in north korea. >> his fall from grace absolute and for all the world to see. photographs of jang song-thaek appearing before a tribunal were released with a speed and openness rarely seen before. on the streets of the north korean capital pyongyang, residents were digesting the news that the man, the mentor of theirs leaders, and seen at his side was vilified as the enemy of his people. >> translation: he's an enemy that dares to be trying to take over power from our leader. look where it got him >> translation: for a group of traitors who were going to deter our community, execution is unity. they should be torn up. >> the downfall of jang song-thaek began with his removal f

are imported from north korea or the other countries in which many st house removal as a sign that the north korean leader kim down and it's etsy about as weak grip on power this raised the possibility of a military coup for an uprising against the leader um i'm going to use it to my face and i knew on because i mean you know kim family is the sandbar of north korean certificate which in common as a dim the sale would say it is a symbol of supreme with a b in north korea sought all the time that was the key for any kind of pre production in north korea. um if somebody is five to ten of the play thompson said would try to push him allah and in the instep so try to set himself on those koppel is pretty good leadership and initiative is to stand behind him. you can do something about psychedelic and so is the intro at this moment that is each color of the entire country. i don't think it's worthy to be snotty instead again. somebody is depressing concept of what he's one of the twenty second hand not just be an uprising against kingdom and two. what we knew that john had a cube role i

citizen detained in north korea. officials released a statement saying, we remain concerned about the welfare of the u.s. citizens held in custody in korea. kenneth bay has been in custody for over a year and we continue to urge the dprk authorities to grant immediate release. bay is a missionary and tour operator. authorities sometimes see missionary work as a threat to their government. >> my worst fear is they will ship him back to a labor camp. ultimately, we haven't given up on kenneth or the u.s. government. we place our hope and faith in them to bring kenneth home, and mr. newman, as well. >> since 2009, six u.s. citizens, including two journalists, have been detained. we're following the store on air and online. we have videos with newman's wife and son on nbcbayarea.com. it is our top story on the front page. >>> police in campbell are investigating a murder/suicide involving an elderly couple. a family member had gone to check on the couple and found the 89-year-old husband and his 92-year-old wife dead from

north korea is a tough target.uch of the intelligence community was surprised by the transition of the leader, people had to scramble to know who he was. they clearly did not know much but the reassurance was that he had this highly trained uncle tutoring him, and we thought, the world thought this was someone who -- the one who has just been gruesomely executed and is not even allowed to be buried, that guy. i think it puts this young, untested leader in total power in a country where we have much less intelligence than we need. i visited there when his father was in power on an intelligence community trip, this was the strangest place i have seen. everyone who goes there says it is like a horrible disneyland. we know that their nuclear ambitions are real. if there is instability in the political leadership, what does this suggest? >> this raises flags because they recently tested a nuclear weapons. quietlyntries are building nuclear arsenals but they are testing weapons. they are very close to a hugely populated

for north korea? if that agreement is reached, it would have been a product in large part because of the concerted pressure that the members of the international community had applied. particularly through broad sweeping economic sanctions. it will be the product of cooperative effort over years between the united states, france, britain, russia, china, and germany. the fact that the p5 plus 1 have hung together, it might have created an opening. in the case of north korea, we have had similar unity and economic pressure. china and the united states have stepped up increasing the pressure on north korea. north korea has not made a decision. partly, perhaps because it begins from such a lower economic race. open, in fact, to the international community then is iran. it is important to come to the negotiating table in earnest. we are no more interested in talking for talking's sake with north korea than we would be with iran. it has got to be -- given the past history of north korea -- a serious engagem

if we ignore north korea said its defiance only become worse. simply to make the incentive with the olive branch does not necessarily solve the problem. at some point we need to break the cycle that we believe they can get incentives or improve the negotiating position. therefore i would strongly advocate to take a much stronger line or a much more resistant blind when it comes to someone of north korea. they will suffer through the regime which is in place. there has been a consistent cost also with the empowerment of china. but ultimately we need to draw a line in this the end. what happens when we don't draw a line in the sand? of course, we go back to the beginning of the korean war. there is a national security directive that defined america's defensive perimeter. within six months we were at war. we will be tested it is the response that matters. operation paul bunyan. many of you may remember were hacked to death in the demilitarized zone in the late 1970's. this was after jimmy carter said he would mistral from the forces. north korean s

with the knowledge north korea. but merrill ne newman was not an ordinary foot soldier. he was part of the white tigers, and who were so secret that no one new about them in the 1990s when documents were declassified. for the north koreans, they never signed a peace treaty with the united states. their propaganda tells them that war is emanant with the united states and it could begin at any point. that's what north korea has been saying. >> now they have still have another american as well. tell bus that. >> this is kenneth bay, the other american--now the only american being held in north korea. what is very enlightening about the case is that the north koreans had decided to release merrill newman who was involved in the north korean war and possibly killed north koreans. but kenneth bay is a missionary teaching christianity. and that is a crime. he has a sentence of 15 years in prison. >> 15 years. we'll continue to follow that story, and we'll keep an eye open for when mr. as mrs. newman arrived home. >>> turni

the relationship between north korea and china will have to be monitored closely. the purge will be nationwide. tensions will continue in north korea, even among officials of local governments. >>> china's announcement last month of an air defense identification zone over the east china sea has triggered concern across the region. japan is working with southeast asian allies to ensure safe flights. the allies have gathered in tokyo for a summit, and one of the main discussions is on the latest chinese move. nhk world reports. >> reporter: the special summit kicked off friday in tokyo. the leaders of japan are working with asean counterparts to project a unified voice on the air zone issue. nhk got access to a draft of the summit's communique. it says japan and the ten asean member states will step up cooperation to ensure air safety in the region. it also says japan will help asean and china create legally binding rules to settle territorial issues over islands in the south china sea. china's decision last month has shaken up other asian countries. china's newly an

and where it leaves their relationship with north korea.hina sees an internal match up for the people to deal with japan and on the other hand says said this may be a domestic issue but it's one that it's certainly interested in given the possibility instability that may stem from this in the region and trying to figure out if this points to a bigger power struggle within the leadership of north korea and what is most striking is the speed with which this happened in a very open way that it has come about marking the end of a man who was widely regarded until recently as being the second most powerful man in north korea. his fall from grace absolute and for all the world to see. photographs of jung appearing before the special tribunal to pass the death sentence were released through a website with speed and openness rarely seen before. obthe streets of the north korean capitol and the man considered the mentor of their leading and seen at his side was now an enemy of the people. >> translator: he is like an enemy who dares to be craze enou

you heard the word "reclusive" a lot when somebody is describing north korea. the regime doesn't let the rest of the world see what it doesn't at the present time to but the tight controls have been loosening ever so slightly starting just about two years ago when the associated press was allowed to open a bureau in the capital of pyongyang. david guttenfelder is the photographer assigned to the bureau. he spend up to three weeks at a time in north korea. >> you go to these maz spectacles -- 100,000 people in the stadium, creating these huge mosaics of propaganda. if you look closely, it's children flipping cards and they're peeking out from behind the boards. so rather than photograph the whole scene, guin and you see sort of the ropes and pulleys behind what they want you to see. >> axelrod: he's been to 75 countries in his 18 years as a photo journalist, making more than 20 trips to north korea alone in the last 13 years. to guttenfelder, the steps north korea is taking are halting and small, but unmistakable. are you feeling that what you are allowed to do

it is north korea's closest ally but it is for assistance on the case concerning merrill newman. >> tell us more about why the north koreans would have number of american soldiers who fought in the korean war have gone back to north korea and have not created an incident in which the north koreans felt they should detain these soldiers. but merrill newman was not an ordinary soldier. he was guerrilla fighters. >> he's on his way home and we anticipate he'll be home very shortly. >>> assuring chuck hagel that the security agreement will be signed in a timely fashion. hagel apprised early this morning, but afghan president threw a wrench into negotiations after saying he would not sign the agreement until after that country's elections in sprin spring 2014. >>> two days after nelson mandela's death vigils and memorials continue to grow. tomorrow the country begins an official week of mourning of their late president. sir, throughout the night from their perspective. every time i've spoken to you over the past few years the crowds get louder. they get morse more celebrateor. >> yes, you can

china's official position, what happens in north korea stays in north korea. >> these are the internal affairs of the democratic people's republic of korea. as a neighboring country, we hope that it maintains national stability, economic development, and the happiness of the people. >> so chinese officials say they are watching, of course, very closely what happenses in north korea. for now, the relationship still remains the same. we are also covering this a bottom shell revelation today the missing american, robert levinson was on a secret unauthorized mission from the cia more than six years when he disappeared in iran. the associated press say levinson, a former fbi agent was under contract to the cia when he visited iran's kish island back in march of 2007. the alleged spy connection is in stark contrast to assertions by both the u.s. government and his family who say he went there on private business. well, a source close to the investigation now tells cnn three cia employees were fired over the scandal. secretary of state john kerry was just asked about this. he was pretty cauti

the society and increasing all control of what kind of information below and we'll all laugh on north korea and especially in falcon heights violation. speaking of the human rights violations can you tell us what are some of those common abuses suffered by north koreans comb the most isn't the only country in the was it that actually does not own protect any human rights that is least is on a new verse of the cure for the carnation up my nights so you name it everything from freedom to speech freedom of movement on it and calm the rights to life and our screens ethan they accept the situation has given them as normal because they've done to the heavily coated with a lot into this society for generations much money so they don't realize sometimes that something is wrong. so last month the united nations human rights committee just unanimously passed a resolution on the north korean human rights can you tell us about your role in that and how effective you think this match will be ten years and tons of compliments for his mom thing for the contents onto this if it's successful case that on te

um we don't want to have a game with north korea when north korea is not sincere. president that was awesome very active on the diplomatic front. she's not a total of thirty bilateral senate seventy five the overseas trips to the us china and russia and south east asia in iraq when a support for north korea policy and pushing ahead with their so called steals dependency. the major tasks there were many many analysts say all the oppressed impact was able to bolster by laugh revelations which kind and it is more work to do and strengthen the country's relationship with the us professor king at no cost korea national diplomatic academy sets for free a us ties are proceeding. we have a lovable more to bother with but with the united states we have to develop all world of intensive three to july this would help to think of all what to do about the alliance. we must double audience. in two thousand and nine. and though after that there has been nothing. who on the door. the alliance to fill up the contents of the lines so today let's talk now about some of the criticisms

north korea held him for alleged hostile acts during the korean war. north korea released a video of him confessing to war crimes. hello, everybody. i'm in washington with a breaking news this hour. live at los angeles with the very latest upon his return and where we hope he will be speaking to reporters about his experience. dominick. >> yeah, absolutely. 42-day deal finally all over. let's show you the scene at san francisco airport at the international terminal there. the plane has literally just landed. apparently taxiing to the gate. eight minutes sooner than planned. he will come out of arrival toll at some point. he's got to go through immigration and get his bags. it could be a few minutes before we see him. just before he took off from beijing, we saw him in good condition. he was smiling. and he looked in good shape. this is what he had to say. >> i'm very glad to be on my way home. i appreciate the tolerance the dprk government has given to me to be on my way. >> i got to say for a 95-year-old guy he is doing incredibly well considering wha

we for china the dean who is asian and north korea it is important but so is the maintenance and he's instability in the north and to create us japan east asia pacific retail policy. but it's not just an art does not want to break its ties with china. a new fear for your copy yet does not seem an option for now. there hasn't been a sufficient reduction in the security threats in the region and between the two koreas to score the north end its nuclear program. still as a result some game continues to have difficulty with making the strategic decision to change iran. the idea that the common and they constantly proclaims that it was a tight leash and great leader teenage son and dear leader tim duncan's were the north to hold on to its new clear weapons. on sunday at the knees. before your dna and another begins. get the latest line from seoul expert analysis from h's heartbeat with the viewpoint of the covert its global network and why on arrival that. he always on standby south. old taking your overseas was shot has agreed to lend a helping hand to hand strap neighboring ukraine. esse

nuclear threats during a speech at one of the nation's top universities it is in north korea is believed to be deposed number two man may be hiding out in china in a quest for asylum in south korea on sunday it's the good sense. welcome to primetime years it's friday this ever sit here in korea life and soul mind and tell him thank you for joining us we begin with present at today's meeting with visiting us vice president joe biden at the presidential office that on a date this morning discussions of the current geopolitical tension in northeast asia that success to paint the presidential office correspondence onto to have to detox. even the president acting u s vice president biden stretched all the good hour long protest get told that the kids got to see the variety of issues freedom from the file at all to the global. first and for the mash the two sides be a further strong a lap full of lions. meet the meaning of and to do with who i am doomed. when you meet in the kitchen if you didn't tell i'm a menu to the enemy is here to promote his book on me to meet cool to not attend the key

>>> finally free, the palo alto veteran who was detained for the last month in north korea, his bay area reunion with his family and new calls to release another u.s. citizen. >>> plus, preparing to pay respects to a civil rights icon. how the family of nelson mandela is comforting mourners at his home. >>> and the cold snap, a warning for sierra drivers a and how long the freeze warning will last for the bay area. >>> nbc bay area news starts now. >>> good evening, i'm diane dwyer. and we start with a developing story, the 85-year-old palo alto man held in north korea is free tonight, back in the bay area. nbc's bay area kimberly terry has more on the newly released photo of him, kimberly? >> reporter: that is right, dianna, happy to be home, we want to show you the photo of merrill newman and his wife, happy at home. he says he is truly grateful for all the support he and his family have received during this ordeal. korean war veteran merrill newman arrived at san francisco international airport to a group of media. he held hands with his wife, lee, and his son, jeff, was beside him. >

the government is now keeping a keen eye on north korea's internal complexity and in the us. and for extra steak and tongs remove all and execution of his associates. we are doing lines on the phone with dr fong and thick director of center for foreign policy at the sun is too cute. thank you for joining us they do well professor were there any clues that north korea's number two and head of the state's most powerful party would be to post. i carried you in an open and do you live in but not on though it appears though indonesian men. i would say that there's not many of you that to be the pride but. the if the blow out so often that to give us some examples of some of her naps. me i'm a bit and development should be viewed in the up and get out of the kingdom ended up with incredible if they get taller as a leader. we have to admit i now know that north korea is that the inability to agree that if the up to them i think that the home of a few credits to spend it on good thing too. so the ride it was only possible because of its kind of him. i'm not in a cute family. and beca

and then added any back here in the south amid the turmoil in north korea president than they can be a security meeting with related ministers and senior secretaries on monday the president to set them on a train infrastructure to better anticipate changes in the north and to safeguard against reckless provocations in particular a dingy reports from the presidential office her recent execution of that time so that was once regarded as the second most powerful fake during north korea has startled the world not to mention south korea as a follow up whatever to security policy meeting on friday. a tense execution was announced by playing in state run media held a meeting with the afternoon with her fork affairs and security related ministers and senior secretary. see your essentials secretary for relations agent had told reporters the president ordered the establishment of the national security council secretariat support the management at the nsc and the action of the national security office to better respond to the rapidly changing situation on the korean peninsula and in the abbrevia

>> take my shoes off. >> reporter: one reporter asked him if he would return to north korea. very short answer, probably not, he said. >> 42 days of frantic worry for his family. what's been their reaction today? >> they are obviously overjoyed. they were at the san francisco airport to greet him. his wife lee and son jeff. necessity wanted to get him home for well-deserved rest. have time as it is the holiday period. of course, they explained that, well, we could get to hear the whole story eventually. >> we'll have more to say about his unusual and difficult journey. for now though, we ask you to allow us time to be with him as a family. >> reporter: we believe they actually made their way back to their palo alto home in california. when we'll hear from them again, we don't know. they certainly need a few days to get together. >> he deserves that for sure. thank you. >> when you hear a story like this, you may be wondering why in the world would anybody go to north korea with the possibility of this happening? we know it does happen. actually, an estimated 800 to 1,000 amer

his advanced age and health condition, the democratic people's republic of north korea deported him from the country. vice president joe biden in south korea for a memorial honoring korean war dead said he had no role in the negotiations but while praising newman's release, added that another american, christian missionary kenneth bae, is still jailed in north korea. >> mr. bae has no reason of being held and should be released immediately. >> reporter: but an elderly retiree with a heart condition is now home looking forward to kicking back. >> i think i'll probably take my shoes off. >> reporter: his wife, lee, so relieved to have him back. >> 42 days is a long time to wait. >> reporter: an end to a time in history which is much more than merrill newman bargained for. when asked today if he'd ever return to north korea he said "probably not" and smiled. >> mike taibbi, thank you. >>> deadly weather is making life miserable for millions of people. 11 weather related deaths have been reported. weather channel meteorologist jim cantore is with us from dallas. >> reporter: if you looked at

to give impression to the world that north korea is giving in to the demand of pressures coming from washington. >> reporter: former u.n. ambassador bill richardson, who says his north korean contacts aren't responding, told cnn on sunday that kim jong-un isn't following north korea's usual pattern of releasing americans after getting a purported confession. >> so this is baffling opposite but this is a new regime of the new leader and i suspect he is sending different signals but nobody knows what those signals are. >> reporter: newman's family expressed appreciation for north korea's cooperation. they released a statement saying merrill is in good health and reports that he is being well treated and the food is good. >> thank you, mark kelly live in the newsroom. >>> lots of people are headed out on black friday last weekend but they didn't spend as much as they did last year. that's according to the national retail federation. 141million people went shopping over the holiday weekend, up by 2 million from last year. total spending is expected to top out at $57 billion but that's ac

efforts to open up must be backed by an easing of international sanctions and an improvement in north korea's image outside world. it is foolish of the north to think that they can attract foreigners despite building for a sign so all in school that is the attainment of american tourists will also vote against the north's that tends to attract foreign territories. on sunday at ten weeks. never announce their intentions and the south china sea. china has dispatched forty fighter jets to the area seemingly in response to a stand up earlier this month between the chinese and us warship party and has two teeth now i have to back forty of its jacket and fighter jets to the south china sea according to a chinese military paper on tuesday then it is widely perceived as an attempt to prevent additional standoff with the united states in international waters the guide states over the weekend revealed that one of its warships was approached by a tiny bbc pull off on the south china sea despite the radio warnings to us at the time he's in the soul cannot stop work in a us ship to take evasive action to

he's been to north korea and met with government officials. what do you make of this alleged confession. is it good news were mr newman. >> i think it is good new, as bizarre as it is. this was a surprising turn of event. it doesn't make sense for anyone here but the good news is when you have a public confession that that sets it up for him to be released. he is 85 years old. he has a history of heart and health problems. that is a good thing. obviously the confession he wrote he did not write. you know. in it is the south korean line hostile policy. he doesn't know about hostile policy that's a north korean government phrase, and it signals that they wrote it. when they say if i come home soon to the united states - that's probably a strong indication that he'll be released. >> is that critical that one line grabbing on to it "if i come home to the united states." it's the line and stepping back. it's also the fact that there's a public confession. we have not heard anything from kenneth bay, another american seized. sadly and unfortunately,

north korea is trying to shift one sector of the military to the party. if you take power away interest someone, they'll not be happy. i read this as disturbing. if they have internal problems, they will not care what china thinks, or the u.s., they'll focus on their own i think we are in for a rough ride over the next year or so. >> north korea's propaganda machine, something of an act of weakness, trying to hold on to jang song- uncle, was china's guide. he had the close relationship. he advo cade chinese reforms and he's been shot by a firing squad. when you undergo internal percentages, when factions are fighting one another. one of the things you do is get paranoid who can control north korea - no one right now. >> thank you jim walsh for our insight. >> basketball diplomacy, why dennis rodman is back in north korea. plus, buckingham briefs the hacking scandal - reaching the british royal family. >> plenty of problems in salt lake city. a car accident. one person was not affected - on a unicycle going through the snow. they are dealing with airport d

does north korea execute people all the time? yes, it does. this is a regime based on family, it's a monarchy more than a communist state. when you execute essentially the senior-most figure in the government, the - you know, the man who has married to kim jong-il's sister, kim jong-il, the previous president having appointed this guy to take care of the young leader, and then he turns around and he's not purged. he had been purged before and rehabilitate. he's purged and executed, that is big new, and it's worrisome to any outside party, be it china or the united states. it may signal paranoia or instability within north korea. >> is kim jong un trying to consolidate power or is he afraid of losing power? >> that is essentially the question - was this an act out of strength or an act out of weakness. as with all things north korean, there's more theory than fact. they are accusing him not simply of corruption - everyone is corrupt in north korea - they said he was corrupt and he was engaged in anti-party, anti-government and uppatriotic acts.

north korea charged him with hostile acts against the state. kimberly perry is in pal palo a with the latest. >> reporter: he does have a heart condition that requires medication. so far, the family said nothing in response to the video of the 85-year-old that surfaced yesterday. on that video on north korea's official news agency, he is seen reading a handwritten apology. he bows and then there is video of the korean war veteran putting thumb print on each page of his written confession. >> it's a forced confession. the language is not the language that would be used by an american and some of the syntax and grammar made no sense. it's something written by the north koreans. he read it. obviously with the hope that by making this kind of forced apology he would be released. >> daniel schneider, stanford professor and north korean expert says this country coerced confessions in the past. merrill has been missing since late october when north korean officials took him off of a plane as he was getting ready to leave that country where he spent te

this release and then the release. >> reporter: newman, a korean war veteran dreamed of visiting north korea. last month he fulfilled the dream, touring with a friend. relatives say he was on a plane getting ready to leave when a north korean military officer took him into custody. last week newman's wife spoke with nbc news. >> we have a lot of strong support. but when you don't know where your husband of 56 years is, you don't know his health, you don't know when he will be home with us, it's not an easy situation. >> reporter: today, a state department official said the swedish embassy in north korea which handles issues dealing with u.s. citizens was granted access to newman. meanwhile another u.s. citizen, kenneth bay, has been detained in north korea for more than a year. today in a statement the white house said it was deep thely concerned about the welfare of both men and urged their releases. joe fryer, nbc news, los angeles. >>> for many people in this country, today the weekend meant another chance to hunt for holiday bargains as the first numbers were released from black friday w

because nobody really understands this black box that is north korea. >> first of all it's great to beld simply say that it's easy to forget, but korean peninsula is still the most dangerous place on the planet, and the north korean leadership is deeply unpredictable under the best of circumstances, and this new leader, who is value just a kid, kim jong-un, has proven himself time and time again over the course of the last few years to be dangerous, almost uncontrollable, and with very few touchstones in asia. china normally had the ability to engage north korea, and control its destiny somewhat. i think that process, that period has passed. he is taking north korea in a very dangerous direction, high tensions with japan, with china, with south korea, and the united states. they really standalone on the global stage. they're well armed, and i think increasingly will become desperate. >> could the nature of this whole thing, they released photographs of 3,000-word document alleging that the uncle was planning a military coup, was trying to destroy the economy, and then plan a military c

. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> dennis rodman touched down on his third trip to north korea, one of the most oppressive regimes in the world. he says he's there to help the basketball team. could he actually influence his friend? the north korean dictator, days after the dictator executed his own uncle. >>> now learning a british tabloid listened in on kate middleton and prince william's phone messages while dating. the transcript even read in court today. >> protesters in india burn american flags and mock the president after an indian diplomat arrested and strip searched in new york. >>> welcome to "around the world." i'm suzanne malveaux. >> i'm michael holms. thanks for your company. north korea has world leaders concerned a leadership struggle going on, execution of people in the inner circle, some have just vanished and a american in prison charged with trying to bring the government down. >> another visit to north korea by former basketball star dennis rodman. rodman landed in pyong today for another round of basketball diplomacy. he's quick to say this isn't an offic

it's bizarre if that this man was legitimately traveling in north korea with his visas. re also because he is a war veteran. in the past, in 2007, the north koreans handed over to me the remains of seven of our soldiers from the korean war. they like the north koreans the interaction between the two militaries. it's bizarre also because it seems like nobody's in charge. had they wanted to take him hostage they should have done it without taking him off the plane. what is bizarre too is there are two americans there. this has never happened behave. kenneth bay, who also has been there a year, longer than anybody else. in the past the north koreans have used them as bargaining chips. in this case we don't know what they want. they rejected an american envoy who was on his way over there. it was negotiated they were going to get him out and the north koreans said stay back. this is a new regime, the new leader there. i knew the old leaders. but now, everything's a big question mark. >> and you know, the state media in north korea released this video of merrill newman. his ha

north korea's leader stokes fears around the world. >> instability in north korea would be probably one of america's and the region's worst nightmares. >> ifill: those are just some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: a security breach at the height of the holiday season has exposed millions of target shoppers to data theft. the retail chain said today that some 40 million credit and debit card accounts may be affected. it urged cardholders to monitor their statements for suspicious charges. we'll get the details and explore the risks right after

it seems to me, if we're worried about the situation in north korea, and we're uncertain about what is going to happen t doesn't make any sense for us to make it worse by voicing criticism of the north koreans. just wait, watch, if our militaries need to tweak up their watchfulness, we can do that quietly. the north koreans will understand it. we need to get past this jittery period. neither of us knows what the other is thinking rit now. >> woodruff: we hear you, robert carlin, sung-yoon lee, we thank you both. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: late today, the white house announced that the president has received an advisory committee's recommendations on revamping the surveillance activities of the national security agency. and the "washington post" reported the n.s.a. can crack cellphone security codes, giving them the capability to listen in on private calls and text messages. tonight, chief foreign affairs correspondent margaret warner continues her conversations with lawmakers on the scope of n.s.a. >> warner: documents leaked by former national security agency contractor edward s

he is taking north korea in a very dangerous direction. th japan, with china, with south korea and the united states. they really stand alone on the global stage, they're well aarmed and i think increasingly will become desperate. >> could the nature of this whole thing is it's so fascinating, they released photographs of 3,000 word document alleging that the uncle was planning a military coup, was trying to destroy the economy and then plan a military coup so he could take over and spent lots of money and raise the economy. the core of that question is why did they feel they needed to do that and is there likely to be a very strong faction of the military that was and remains against kim jong-un and in favor of the government? in other words do we have a dangerous of a real power struggle within north korea? >> the fundamental truth is, we really do not know. we know that -- probably was, probably the most sophisticated inter -- probably the most internationalist, probably the one that understood most about how the -- he had the closest re

the tense relationship between north korea and south korea which is our ally, and all those things impact the situation to which mr. newman walked in. >> newman's family says in a statement that the 85-year-old reports he's being treated well and that the food is good. newman has been detained since late october when north korean officials took him off a plane as he was getting ready to leave the country. >>> the white house is asking north korea to release mr. newman as well as another u.s. detainee who has been in custody since last year. officials releasing a statement that reads in part, quote, we remain deeply concerned about the welfare of the u.s. citizens held in the custody of the dprk, the democratic people's republic of korea. kenneth bae has been in custody for over a year. we continue to urge authorities to grant him amnesty and immediate release. bae is a missionary and a tour operator. north korean authorities sometimes see missionary work as a threat to their government. bae's sister in seattle say right now he's being held in the hospital and needs treatment. >> our worst

after being released last nightie north korea. the -- nightie north korea. he was detained for six weeks. >> reassurance from afghanistan. u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel told by his counterpart that the security deal will be signed in a timely fashion. the deal allowing u.s. troops to stay in afghanistan beyond 2014. >> it's nearly midnight in south africa. the country is about to begin the official week of mourning. the unofficial grieving began thursday and has not stopped. >> many that want to honour nelson mandela is making their way to his home. >> this farm was a central factor in the struggle against nelson mandela lived here for a period of time, disguised as a gardener. members. a.n.c. gathered here and the armed wing as well. nelson mandela met with them, they discussed the revolution and what country they wanted to have in the future. nelson mandela was away from the farm when it was raided by police. a large number of a.n.c. leaders were arrested and put into prison. nelson mandela was arrested on his way back to the form, the beginning of a

during his time in custody in north korea, they released a video of the veteran apologizing for his actions. the north korean government does have a history of coercesing statements from detainees. we may learn more about the circumstances surrounding the statement as he returns to u.s. soil. he spoke with reporters briefly in china. >> i'm very glad to be on my way home. i appreciate the tolerance that the government has given to me to be on my way. >> what would you like to do first? >> go home and see my wife. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> pyongyang released merrill newman citing his advanced age and health. he suffers from a heart condition but was given his medication while he was detained. while he is expected home this morning, there is still another american detained in north korea. coming up, i'll have more on the effort to bring him home and we will continue to track merrill newman's flight home and can check in with family as they arrive. back to you. . >>> one woman is dead, another hurt, after a shooting at a hip-hop concert in vallejo last night. it happened at dan

now according to north korea's official announcement, executed as a traitor. in fact, called, quote, despicable human scum, worse than a dog. the announcement went on to accuse him of thrice-cursed acts of treachery in betrayal of such profound trust and warmest paternal love shown by the party and the leader for him. it claims he confessed at a military tribunal, what was clearly a show trial. his downfall was shown on state tv earlier this week when he was arrested, shown being pulled out of a public meeting. jung sung-taek was viewed as a potential economic reformer, in charge of the transition of power and second in command. he was also the point man for maintaining pyongyang's relationship with beijing. and tonight the white house says there's no reason to doubt the official announcement of execution. an official said if confirmed this is another example of the extreme brutality of the north korean regime. the administration is now monitoring developments closely and conversing with allies in what is now clearly a new crisis zone. >> a big story from ther

citizens not to travel to north korea. dan and bianna. >> jeff, our thanks to you. >>> this is a crucial weekend for the obama administration on another front the deadline has come and gone for fixing the disastrous healthcare.gov. >> how is it going, let's bring in george stephanopoulos. so, how it's going? >> the white house is going to release new numbers this morning. it's meeting the goals. it will work for 08% of the users. it's capable of handling 50,000 people at the same time on the website. 800,000 a day, with less than a second to load a page, so those are the numbers right now. the white house knows it has to continue to work overtime. as they face these new deadlines for the end of the year to get new enrollment for obama care. >> george, how high are the stakes to get it right for the president? >> it defines the president's legacy. especiallies heading into the final three years of his second term, not much prospect to gain much more on the legislative front. he has to make this work. he has to fight all of