so in that sense, it is not like the north korean path. and sure, it has not collapsed board has not changed since the death of kim jong il comment that we are only talking a few months. i mean, this new regime in north korea has only been in power for a few months. and the broader scope of history, there's been many transitional regimes that lasted months, years before us in the majors have been in terms change. so i think the verdict is still out on this. i don't think we can simply assume that everything will go smoothly and be able to muddle through forever because prior to the death of kim jong il and december 2011, she would ask any expert, including you, scott, what will be the most important variable that can create major change in this country? i think everyone would've agreed the sudden death of the north korean leader. so i think we have to respect what we thought before and they think we all have to ask carefully whether it's going

>> it seems north korean authorities were the ones who proposed the idea. the north raised the issue last april when a group of japanese lawmakers visited the nation. it came up again in june. north korean officials invited members of the japanese media to visit the graves of japanese citizens and the idea of holding bilateral talks. the government says more than 34,000 japanese residents died from hunger and cold during the evacuation of the korean peninsula at the end of the world war ii. remains only 20,000 have been repatriated so far. >> what do north koreans gain or stand to gain by being pro active on this specific issue? >> probably being motivated by economic factors, a program to exhume remains on such a large scale would involve hiring a lot of manpower and would provide north korea with a important source of income. you could compare it to the special industrial development zone. where south korean companies hired north korean workers. the country's new leader, kim jong-un, has spent six months consolidating his power. held a number of expensive

. >>> a 13-year-old japanese girl was abducted by north korean agents in 1977. the parents of the girl have not heard from her since. they have urged the government to make a break through in the upcoming talks with north korea. in a lecture in tokyo her parents expressed their hope. >> translator: i want japan to keep insisting that north korea respond to the cases of japanese abductees, otherwise, diplomatic normalization can never be realized. if the government can't make a break through by continuing to insist on a resolution, it will be impossible to solve the issue. >> japanese government officials say north koreans kidnapped 17 in all.

the north koreans promised to reinvestigate the abduction cases. but after a leadership change in japan they said they would postpone the investigation, putting a chill on relations. in 2009 the north launched another long range ballistic missile. the u.n. security council condemned the launch and the north koreans said they would pull out of the six-party talks. then last december leader kim jong il died. his son, jim jong un, took over. then there was discussion about repatriating japanese who died on the korean peninsula at the end of world war ii. they agreed to involve government officials in a separate round of talks leading to the meetings in beijing. >>> mitt romney has dreamed for years of occupying the white house. delegates to the republican national convention have nominated mitt romney as their choice for president. now they are busy to reintroducing him to americans. >> the honorable mitt romney of the state of massachusetts has received 2,061 votes, more than a majority of those votes entitled to be cast at this convention. >> delegat

north korean reported kim jong-un. kim told the servicemen north korea will fight a sacred war for reunification if enemies fire on its territory. >>> students who study abroad get an education far beyond the classroom. they learn about customs, language and culture. the number of foreign students in japan remain constant until around the year 2000. by 2010 a record 141,000 student were studying here. and they keep coming. nhk world has their stories. >> student here are studying corporate confines. students are all from other asian countries. waris came from thailand three years ago. he was interested in learning about japanese manufacturing and culture. we visited his apartment. >> translator: this is a japanese manga. >> manga comics and cartoons he read as a child drew his attention to japanese culture. he got hooked on the dynamics of japanese monga and yearned to know more about the culture. >> translator: i like ninja stories the most. they made me interested in japanese culture. >> reporter: waris received a ba

japanese and north korean diplomats may have inched closer to resolving a longstanding dispute. they met in beijing over the last several days. japanese officials say they hope more senior diplomats will discuss the abductions of japanese nationals in future talks. the government officials were the first from the countries to meet in four years. they agreed to organize higher level talks in beijing as soon as possible. japanese officials want the abductions of their nationals by north korean agents in the 1970s and '80s on the agenda. they want to discuss repatriating the remains of japanese who have died in what is now north korea around the end of world war ii. and they hope security issues including nuclear and missile development will be up for discussion. >>> meanwhile, a group of japanese civilians who evacuated the korean peninsula in world war ii is back in north korea after 70 years. their main object is to inspect the burial sites of fellow nationals who died there. the four-member delegation entered north korea on tuesday. they visited north hongyong province. officia

the last discussion was on the sensitive issue of abductions of japanese nationals by north korean agents. >> translator: the governments of japan and north korea need t address pendin isss tt lie between them. these include the abduction issue. >> more than 34,000 japanese are believed to have been died on the korean peninsula at the end of world war ii. the remains of more than 20,000 have not been returned to japan. >>> the mentor and uncle of kim jong-un is on a mission to do more business with north korea's closest ally. he's visiting china. he met with the chinese commerce submissioner and they developments near the chinese border. they agreed to speed up inf infrastructu infrastructure. north korean officials place top priority on improving the standard of living. they say they hope to rebuild the economy. >>> a record heatwave in the united states has led a nuclear plant to shut down after the water used to cool down the turbine became too warm. the operator of the millstone power station inonneicut ys it shut down one of its two reactors on monday morning. the utility says the te

i'll proceed to discussions with north korea. >>> a 13-year-old japanese girl was abducted by north korean agents in 1977. the parents of the girl have not heard from her since. they have urged the government to make a break through in the upcoming talks with north korea. in a lecture in tokyo her parents expressed their hope. >> translator: i want japan to keep insisting that north korea respond to the cases of japanese abductees, otherwise, diplomatic normalization can never be realized. if the government can't make a break through by continuing to insist on a resolution, it will be impossible to solve the issue. >> japanese government officials say north koreans kidnapped 17 in all. five have since returned to japan. the two sides are also expected to discuss how to repay tree ought the remains of japanese nationals. they were in the northern part of the korean peninsula during the second world war. members of a civic group from japan have left beijing to inspect the remains. about 35,000 japanese died in the region during the war. remains of more than 20,000 are still in the country. t

north korean fun park.t's like disney world, except at disney world, you don't end up eating goofy and pluto. [laughter, groans] sorry. wow, a groaner. that one went over like mitt romney at an naacp meeting. [booing in video] [cheers and applause] wow. look at him. you would have thought he just did a joke about the aurora shooter. am i right, people? [nervous chuckle] my buddy snoop dogg-- have you heard about this? he's become a rastafarian now, and he says he's changing his name again to snoop lion. it's a true story. when i heard that snoop was changing his name to lion, i said, tigger, please! [laughter] here's someone else with the munchies. look at this. christina... what happened, baby? looks like those fishnets caught a whale. am i right, people? [applause] christina, when did you go from genie in a bottle to pig in a blanket? [applause] she's more marmalade than lady now. ♪ what a girl wants is seconds, apparently. [laughter]

korean peninsula. but still bringing some heavy rain showers around north korea. then it's going to be expected in towards northeastern china. a very heavy precipitation here. but not just across the korean peninsula is where you'll be seeing this. portions of western japan. you have this moisture inflow coming in from the south along the western periphery of this high pressure off towards the east. some areas in nagano, upwards of 44 millimeters in just a one-hour period. still could be seeing up to 100 and 150 millimeters in some of these strong storms within the next 24 hours. definitely a very foul weather here. then we look over towards central china. there's a developing front here that's bringing exceptionally unfavorable weather. it's mainly due to this cool air sinking in from the north. warm air in the south. clashing and that is going to be provide something very gusty winds. heavy rainfall up to about 100 to 150 millimeters and even a large hail. take a look at some of these temperatures. beijing, high of 32. ulaanbaatar behind this front, 14 only for y

so a group is heading to north korea to find out where they're buried. the group lived on the korean peninsula during the war. japanese officials don't usually allow citizens to travel to north korea because of sanctions. they gave this group permission on humanitarian grounds. the japanese will visit chongjin in the northeast and cemeteries near pyongyang. about 35,000 japanese died in what's now north korea around the end of the war. the remains of more than 20,000 are still there. japanese and north korean officials will discuss what to do about the remains later this week. they'll hold the first intergovernmental talks in four years. >>> thousands of children were in the area at the time of the nuclear disaster at fukushima daiichi. the japanese government wants to find out how they were affected. it will conduct thyroid tests on children outside the prefecture. it will compare the results to tests already under way in fukushima. health care professionals discovered lumps in the thyroid glands of 1 in 3 children in the prefecture. radioactive ioh, dine released from fukushima dai

is rushing emergency thod aid to the north korean people. barry petersen has more. >> reporter: a week of devastation has left tens of thousands homeless and follows a summer of massive crop failures. millions are already malnourished. e at same combination triggered years of famine in the 1990s, so bad that two out of three children under seven suffered sum stunted growth and hundreds of thousands starved to death. if it happens again, a hungry nation may be the first real mallenge facing kim jon un, named supreme leader last december. north korea's propaganda machine projects him in two ways-- as a man of his people, complete with isglamorous wife, and as the ifrong man vowing to continue with the nation's nuclear onspons program. christopher hill is a former sts. assistant secretary of state for east asian affairs. >> so they have kind of brought him out and, you know, tried to make him look like he's kind of usnning the show because even an out-and-out totalitarian dictatorship, there needs to be. >> reporter: in china there eems little

so far the north koreans have won four gold medals and one bronze. if that is true? >> north korea, a fascinating country. let's say that. >> can you imagine that type of pressure? >> hey, you get a fridge. >>> well, there are 23 medals that will get awarded today. among them, michael phelps' last individual olympic event in the pool. >> track and field also begin today. and they continue through the end of the games. those events. the u.s. women's soccer team is in action again, they face new zealand today in a must-win quarterfinal. and you are looking forward to track and field, huh? >> i don't watch, most of it, i don't watch a whole lot of the olympics. i do like the track some. that's fun. >> you look one of the runners? >> lolo jones. lolo. lolo. whatever. she could be basket weaving i'll tune in. >> i can't wait for track and field. it's incredible. >> i ran track in high school. i appreciate that. >> i didn't know that about you. >> not well. i was out there. >>> coming up, michael phelps' next career move. >> the wife of the director who ha

pretty much, when we saw a mysterious westerners, only one among a group of howling, laughing north koreansh diplomat. britain and north korea have had a softening of relations recently, and this photo seemingly designed to illustrate that the young kim is opening up his country a little bit and becoming a little bit less militaristic than his father, kim jong-il. this all follows a series of pictures from last month, of kim with a mysterious young woman. there was speculation that she was the lead singer of a north korean pop band, but last week a south korean lawmaker who had been briefed by intelligence officials said this woman is not the singer, but a woman named ri sol-ju who he married about three years ago. the woman was with kim at an event that gave us yet another great image from north korea, a disney-themed musical production. turns out the walt disney company said the north koreans should not have been using those outfits and characters, that they did so without the company's permission. something tells me, kate, any lawsuit emanating from this will not go well from either side

. >>> north korea has denounced an ongoing u.s./south korean joint military exercise. the north warned the two countries by saying its military is prepared to physically counteract if needed. the annual computer-assisted drill started on monday and will continue for two weeks. it's based on a scenario involving an attack on south korea by the north. >> north korea's state run tv made the announcement issued by its country's military but it did not clarify what use of force and physical counteraction exactly means. last friday north korean leader kim jong un visited a military unit that shelled the south korean island of yong pong in 2010. the north is apparently trying to raise troops' morale while keeping pressure on the united states and south korea. u.s. officials have launched a project in vietnam to clean up lingering deposits of agent orange. u.s. forces sprayed the toxic chemical during the war there to clear forests that provided cover for north vietnamese fighters. 37 years after hostilities ended, many civilians still suffer from severe health problems. >> rep

north korean women's soccer team beat columbia today 2-0. so, they will not be executed yet. [ laughter ] oh, no, i'm saying is they kill them over there if they don't succeed. the olympics have kind of started already, though the opening ceremony isn't until friday. they played the first round of women's soccer. the u.s. women's team beat france, 4-2. [ applause ] i tell you what, i haven't -- is it -- i'm not sure if you like soccer or you just like beating france or what it is. but i'll tell you this, i haven't seen so many women fighting over one ball since lance armstrong. [ applause ] and while the win against france was thrilling indeed, it did not compare to the opening game between great britain and new zealand. great britain won it, 1-0, thanks to moments like this. it's time for our "women's soccer play of the day." [ applause ] >> jimmy: you notice, no one was in the stands behind the goal. i thought they said soccer was popular in europe. i'm starting to doubt that. you know, apparently there are two olympic mascots this time ar

i'll proceed to discussions with north korea. >> a committee of the south korean national assembly has adopted a resolution on japan in a climate of diplomatic tension. members are demanding an apology and compensation for korean women forced to work in military brothels during world war ii. they want japan to admit responsibility for so-called comfort women. south korean lawmakers described what they endured as a crime against human values. members urged south korean officials to discuss the matter with their counterparts in japan and elsewhere. a spokesperson says the government has yet to decide on a course of action. >>> japan's ground self defense force has conducted a drill to evacuate a remote island in the event of an emergency. participants played out a scenario in which an island had come under military or terrorist attack. about 30 personnel and 50 residents took part. the residents took a bus to an airport, then a helicopter air lifted them from the island. local governments usually conduct emergency drills involving civilians. the sdf is leading this kind of exercise for t

. >>> japanese and north korean red cross officials plan to meet in beijing this week. they will discuss returning the remains of japanese nationals who died in north korea at the end of world war ii. the state-run korean central news agency said the delegates will meet for two days starting on thursday. the japanese red cross society says three officials from each side will attend the talks. the meeting will be the first of its kind in ten years. japan's health and welfare ministry says more than 34,000 japanese nationals died in north korea at the end of world war ii. some died in battle with former soviet troops. others died from starvation or during the cold winter on their way back to japan. the remains of more than 20,000 have yet to be collected. some japanese government officials say the talks are a sign that kim jong-un is trying to make policy changes. others say north korea is looking for an opportunity to resume dialogue with japan with a humanitarian issue that's easy to handle. they will also assess if the time is right to resume intergovernmental talks. ru

. >>> the uncle and mentor to kim jong-un is paving the way for the north korean leader's visit to china. he's expected to hold meetings with hu jintao. he arrived in beijing airport on monday with about 30 delegates from pyongyang. north korea's state-run media said chang will meet with chinese leaders to discuss the joint development of economic zones. they'll discuss projects in a border area in northeastern china and in the port city of roson. china has been in charge of north korea's economic reforms and foreign investment. kim planned his uncle's trip in an apparent attempt to seek assistance from china. he hopes to rebuild north korea's economy by moving forward with joint economic projects. >>> about 40 south koreans are swimming to a group of islands in the sea of japan. they are trying to show support for their country's claim to the territory. the islands are called takeshima in japan and dokdo in south korea. both countries claim sovereignty over them. the swimmers set out monday morning from gyeonsangbuk-do on south korea's eastern coast. singer kim jang-hoon is one of those

it will move toward the north and affect the shanghai area and kyushu with very strong winds. may hit the west coast of the korean peninsula by tuesday local time as a very strong typhoon then move towards the north. if you remember, a serious low pressure system has brought something amounts of rain to the korean peninsula. further flooding and landslides will highly likely here. >> saka will noin us more later in the program for world weather. >>> the japanese government has drawn up a road map for recon instructing areas in 12 municipalities near the fukushima de by tuesday morning, okinawa is chee expected to have a record total nuclear power plant. the areas were previously designated as evacuation zones. in areas of these municipalities where the evacuation order has been lifted, the government will finish decontaminating and restoring essential utilities within the next two years. the government also plans to create jobs through the decontamination and decommission of the reactors in these municipalities during this period. the road map says the government will take social responsibility for having promote

south korean government officials say they've yet to decide on aid to the north. they say they are confirming the extent of flood damage. >>> people across japan were glued to their tv during the london olympics. the country had its most successful games with 38 medals, including seven golds. now the medalists are home and they paraded through tokyo's ginsa district to show their appreciation for their supporters. nhk world's susuma kojima was there. >> reporter: crowds of shoppers flock to ginsa every day to check out the latest in luxury. a different type of crowd packed the streets today to see something else that's shiny. they came for a glimpse of athletes just back from london. and the medals around their necks. >> translator: they are so cool! >> translator: this is really exciting. >> reporter: the japanese olympic committee organized the parade to celebrate the medal haul. athletes beat the record set in athens eight years ago. uchira won a gold in all-around gymnastics. they captured a silver. the parade ran just one kilometer. it lasted only 20 minutes.

the north koreans have maintained the issue has been settled. >>> the japan meteorology agency plans to install three tsunami sensors on the sea bed. agency chiefs hope to speed up the ability to detect tsunamis after earthquakes. engineers will install the sensors around october. they will place them about 300 kilometers off the coast of japan. the sensors measure changes in hydraulic pressure and sent data to satellites from buoys on the sea surface. the monitors are designed to detect tsunamis about ten minutes after the earthquake. that is 10 to 20 minutes faster than current systems such as gps based wave monitors and coastal tide observatories. >> translator: we hope the new monitors will allow more time for people to evacuate. >> the meteorology agency under estimated the size of the tsunami that would strike after last year's march 11th earthquake. >>> a panel of experts say a majority of japanese don't want to depend on nuclear power. it is urging the government to review the energy policy. the panel found that 70% to 80% of respondents think nuclear power should be reduced

and south korea get ready for joint training exercises and any violation of north korean sovereigntyill result in what he calls a sacred war. those military exercises start on monday. >>> all right, let's get to another big story that we're watching. in syria, rebels are saying the syrian vice president has defected and they're trying to get him out of the country and into nearby jordan, but syrian state tv is contradicting those claims. jonathan mannman is at cnn international. so lots of conflicts here as to whether the vice president has defected, does he want to leave the country? what's going on. >> where in the world is farouq al sharaa and we have no shortage of answers and we just don't know which is true. if he looks familiar and we've been showing you his face, he has been the face of the syrian regime since before bashar al assad was in office. when bashar al assad was studying to be an eye doctor. he's been there 40 years. he's 74 years old. would a guy like that pick up and leave and claim i have no idea what i was going on. he was a loyalist before bashar was there. he

the north korean are armed to the teeth, and so are the iranians. what if they launched attacks on our allies at the same time? we would have on hard time stopping them without using nuclear weapons, and i do not think we want to use nuclear weapons. i do not think there is such a thing as being too prepared to defend the interests of the united states. tavis: i think there is a notion of being too prepared. how many new see you need? how many times over the do -- how many nukes do you need? how many times over the you need to blow up the world? >> during the 1950's, we spend roughly 10% of gdp on the fence. now we spend roughly 3%, so we could afford to spend more. i do not think there is a reason to take a chance on anything involving war. the more reason, the safer we are. i think people in the military should be paid more. i think it is criminal how little people in the military are paid. these are people risking their lives, taking away from their family. >> the more we spend upbraided to the better we would see, we would not have been hit, and

. >>> kim warned that if a single shell is fired into north korean territory, its military is ready to wage an all-out counteroffensive. political analysts say the speech is an effort to strengthen unity and demonstrate kim's leadership at home and abroad. >>> now a quick look at some of the other stories we're following here on "newsline." starting with the scrutinizing of soviet era documents on japanese detainees in siberia. russia is planning to allow japan access to its archives on the transportation of japanese detainees in soviet era labor camps. japanese officials will examine about 2,000 files stored at the russian national military archive in moscow. the documents include the names of previously unknown detainees as well as details of incidents that took place en route to siberia. about 53,000 japanese died in soviet labor camps. the burial location of 18,000 of them is unknown. >>> the operator of fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant is studying how to remove fuel rods from the crippled facility. tokyo electric power company examined one unused assembly removed in mid july.

. >>> the parents of a japanese girl kidnapped by north korean agents are keeping the issue of her disappearance alive by sponsoring an exhibition of her belongings in tokyo. megumi yokota was 13 years old in 1977 when she was kidnapped and taken to north korea. she had been walking home from school on the sea of japan coast. the exhibition at a tokyo department store opened one month before the tenth anniversary since north korea admitted it kidnapped megumi and other japanese nationals. six of megumi's belongings are on show, including a ballet outfit and a light kimono sewn by her mother the year she disappeared. >> translator: negotiations on the abduction issue between japan and north korea have stalled. i want the japanese government to reopen the dialogue so the abductees can return home as soon as possible. >> north korea is estimated to have abducted at least 17 people from japan to train its agents in japanese language and culture. in 2002, the north allowed five abductees to go home. but there have been no developments since then. for anxious parents like the yokotas, time is running

. >>> a south korean activist says he was tortured by chinese authorities for helping north korean defectors. he says he'll take the issue to the united nations if china doesn't seriously investigate his allegations. kim says chinese security officials detained him in march in dalian, northeastern china, while he was assisting defectors. he says he was beaten and given electric shocks until he was released in july. the south korean government asked china to investigate the accusations last week, but chinese officials have denied using torture. >> translator: we'll bring this case to the international community if china doesn't take positive action. >> kim says he suspects north korea has asked chinese authorities to crack down on activists. he says the north's new leadership is concerned about instability. kim also says the north has increased its monitoring of residents and strengthened border security. >>> the space probe called "curiosity" is now trying to live up to its name. it's exploring the surface of mars. trying to find evidence, something, anything once lived there. the rover land

system is already in place at a self-defense forces base in northern japan to manage the threat of north koreanissiles. installation of the radar system in south -- southern japan would improve capacity to gather information on china's short and medium-range ballistic missile activities. japanese government officials are reconsidering their guidelines for deton taminating forests. radioactive materials enemy the fukushima daiichi plant have tainted soil and trees. environment ministry experts planned to limit the cleanup effort to forests within 20 meters of the communities and campsites in fukushima prefecture. the municipal leaders called for a wider decontamination zone. they say forests are essential to the lives of people who live there. they point out that forests make up about 70% of the prefecture. they say excludeing most of this area for decontamination effort would hamper reconstruction. local government and forestry industry officials will meet next week to exchange their views. environment ministry officials say they'll consider those views when revising their plan. >>> many people

you install the visiting north koreans say clean drinking water is agency needed after serious flooding which has hit the country officially almost ninety people have died well over sixty thousand have been left homeless after downpours of this month more heavy rain this week has merged rice fields and led to power cuts. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton has begun a top of africa starting in senegal some observers are saying that may's prominent see on had gender is to change african leaders to reconsider their growing ties with china the u.s. has long been worrying to you that beijing is rapidly growing influence in the region from senegal clinton will move on to south sudan uganda and kenya me as a key way added south of pan african news why i doubt she will succeed in turning african nations away from china. hillary clinton went to africa last year she expressed some trepidation about the growing relationship between africa and the people's republic of china but it appears as if most of the states in africa have a very positive view of the burgeoning relationships between the a

first women's boxing match at the olympics to end new years of male dominance of the ever beating north korean kim high song twelve nine in the fifty one telegram. category. so plenty of success on their marks but the same can't be said in the pool for team russia instead it is the americans who dominated the swimming podiums in london rich of import fleet has more. america's dominance in the swimming pool has been clear for all to see sixteen golds and a total of thirty medals overall rusher in comparison were only able to come home with a couple of silvers and bronzes rushes on to see is all we ever claimed a second place finish in the women's two hundred metres backstroke believes america's approach gives them a key advantage. when you get out and go as the three american swimmers are amazing they're just so confident they're always laughing and joking amongst themselves and not for one minute would you think that they have an important final in just a few minutes this approach is just fantastic as they're always so relaxed going into a big race i wish i was as relaxed sitting on you are on

winning the first women's boxing match at the olympics and years of male dominance beating north korean kim gye song twelve nine in the fifty one kilogram four i won category. well on monday in the men's olympic basketball tournament russia have secured top spot in group a despite losing to australia eighty two points to david plotz men were leading with six seconds to go it was australia three pointer before the conflict russia's first defeat so far in the competition. while in the volleyball their compactness managed to finish the group stage with a victory i was meant to carry three sets however because of a previous defeat russia could qualify for the quarterfinals from second place rather than the usa when their fixture against. so midway through the ninth day of the games on the medal table is not looking very bright. for russia right now the country is currently in ninth place with only four goals so far while it's china usa and great britain who are leading the way. so russia may have dominated the judo and already have a golden wrestling but elsewhere perhaps hasn't gone to pla

first women's boxing match of the union takes twenty years of male dominance seventy aver dating north korean kim jong twelve nine in the fifty one kilogram flyway category. so on the ninth day of the olympics russia edging their way up the table currently in a position with five goals so far was china usa and great britain to continue to lead the way. meanwhile it's been a hugely disappointing olympics so far for australia they currently lie in twenty fifth place in the medals table with just one gold they finished sixth in beijing four years ago with fourteen goals to their name and further humiliation is being caused by the fact they currently lie eleven places behind arch rivals new zealand look i think now to catch j.b. is. we don't need our to use the words nigh on impossible but it's going to be extremely difficult. new zealand we don't want to suffer jokes for the next three years and fifty wakes until radio. so hopefully we can we can overcome them they've had a fantastic start so russia may have dominated the judo and already have a gold in the wrestling and now the gymnastics but e

north korean leader kim jong un has set out plans to develop the economy and people's livelihoods as his top priorities moving away from the military first mindset the statement was made during a meeting with china's foreign minister in the aftermath of floods and famine which have devastated swathes of north korea reformers have been circulating since a top military figure in killing young was sacked for opposing change. let's return now to syria and specifically how it's tragic events are unfolding across the media from many foreign outlets that simple reports that back up the push forward change get top priority talks on a boycott explains. right now pursuing a story and joining the camp when a japanese journalist traveling with syrian rebels converted to islam it wasn't just his old name he abandoned. but for those around him he still being someone who reported the conflict he became one of the few camera hanging in place of a rifle. while religious conversion of journalist is rare on the syrian front lines becoming political disciples on one side of the rebels is almost the norm