the north struck at sea again shelling the south korean island near the north. two construction workers died the first south korean civilians killed in a military attack in more than 50 years. the attack brought a humiliated south korea and a wildly unpredictable north closer to armed conflict than at any time since the korean war. the horror of the moment is still fresh to the hundreds of villagers who fled to temporary government provided housing on the mainland. >> i saw the shell passing over my head. it fell in front of me. the fear that i felt was just so tremendous. it is still so vivid to me. the elderly people who lived through the korean war, they went through that. now our children have to live through the fear. >> warner: did the south korean military come to your defense? >> no. iten rages me to think that. i really thought the government would react immediately, would retaliate immediately. >> warner: after nearly 15 minutes the south korean military did fire back. but to inconclusive effect. >> the government's own assessment of it was it didn't wo

motors, and a high- flying stock market: and the world's 12th largest economy. >> because of this north korean aggression, we used to have so- called korean discount in our stock market. >> reporter: for years, he says, the spectre of all-out conflict the specter of all-out conflict depressed stock values some 40%. now the discount is only in the 10%-20% range, but its still there. >> south korean economy has more things to lose out of war or military conflict than north korean economy. so that's why south korean government is more restrained than the north korean government whenever these types of military conflict take place. >> reporter: for a decade after the late-'90s, there was an alternate vision pursued based more on accommodation than antagonism. the so-called sunshine policy of the late president kim dae jung. with granting outright aid to the communist north, and letting some south korean businesses set up shop there. >> ( translated ): the idea was to have a win/win solution for business and politics. >> reporter: kris song bought the vision of south korean the auto parts firm he u

which had, basically, the perimeter they had broken out, and the north koreans were on the run and in tatters. and at this point, base aically, the korean war changes dramatically. the game changer was the entry of china into the war. macarthur had, basically, told president truman that the chinese would not intervene, and even though intelligence had indicated that it would. but a lot of that information was not sent up the chain of command, or it was dismissed, it was denied. i mean, there's a lot of different theories about it. but the men of the eighth army as well as tenth corps were pushing north towards the river and into, basically, one of the great traps of the 20th century. where instead of, you know, 50 or 60,000 chinese that macarthur anticipated had crossed the river, almost 3-400,000 chinese soldiers had marched 150 miles over rugged terrain, hid their movement and laid, basically, an insidious trap for both the eighth army as well as bob's unit in george company at the chosen reservoir. and it's here that george company makes one of its epic and great stands. that, basi

i started interviewing, i started interviewing north koreans i guess in 2001 and i couldn't get into orth korea and i became upset as a journalist. we are very simplistic creatures. if you tell us we can't go someplace suddenly you want to go, you kind of are like the cat in the string. i was really upset about why everyday life -- and i imagined it was a little bit like 1984 or brave new world and in fact it is. >> you a party when the samuel johnson prize for "nothing to envy" ordinary lives in north korea, now nominated for the national book award nonfiction category 2010. barbara demick is the author. >> visit booktv.org to watch any of the programs you see here on line. type the author or book title in the search bar on the upper left side of the page and click search. you can also share anything you see on booktv.org easily by clicking share on the upper left side of the page and selecting the format. booktv streams live on line for 48 hours every weekend with top nonfiction books and authors. booktv.org. >> next, james buckley former new york sanitary under secretary of state i

>> i spent about seven years interviewing north koreans not in north korea, but in south korea, around the chinese border. i've been to north korea quite a few times, but you can't speak to anybody in north korea. you can't even make eye contact with them. to say this is the most repressive regime in the world is, you know, actually a case where we can use superlatives. when you work in north korea, you have a minder, and your minder has a minder to make sure you don't talk to anybody. but i found north koreans, actually, to be quite talkative when they got out of the country, and i really just painstakingly pieced together their stories which, in my mind, were 1984 come true. >> these north koreans that you spoke with, did they escape from north korea? were they visiting south korea? how -- why were they out of the country? >> everybody has to escape. north koreans, basically, live in a large prison. they're not allowed out of their country unless they're very, very elite. these are people who largely when they were starving to death crossed the rivers that border china and tried to m

to pursue what was north of the north koreans around the perimeter they had quote won't -- went out and were in tatters broker at this point* the korean war changes dramatically with china entering the war. telling truman the chinese would not intervene and even though intelligence indicated that it would. a lot of that and -- information was not sent up the chain of command or does mr. denied. there's a lot of different theories but the men of the eighth army as well as 10 score was pushing north towards the yalu river into basically one of the great traps of the 20th century where instead of 50 or 60,000 chinese macarthur anticipated crossing the yalu river 20,000 soldiers march 150 miles over rugged terrain and hid their move in and basically laid in a trap for the eighth army as well as bop and -- bob's unit in the reservoir and it is here that george company makes one of the epic and greenspan's that basically a first marine division moving out and into the area of the chosen reservoir there is over 70 miles of road that goe

but there's a new mood here, a new soberness about the threat from the north. 50 south koreans total were killed last year in two attacks by the north. the other one on a warship. and the ones killed in november were the first civilians sort of deliberately targeted. and so if you talk to south korean people as we have in the streets and in shops here, they have a new appreciation for the seriousness of the threat from the north. and if you know, the dmz and the border with the north is just 30 miles up the road from the downtown behind me. >> suarez: in the past it appeared the north korean unpredictability really has kind of worked for the country while south korea has tried to build down tensions between the two countries. but it sounds like this time around is more of a resolving, more of a willingness to get tough with the north. you interviewed the south korean national security advisor, what did he have to say? >> ray, you're absolutely right. the national security advisor just after the gates meetings, i met with him at some length and he was vest firm about the fact that they

>> i spent seven years interviewing north koreans, not in north korea, but in south korea. i've been to north korea several times, but you can't speak to anybody there. you can't even make eye contact with them to say this is the worst repressive regime in the world. actually have a case when you work in north korea, you have a minder, and your minder has a minder to make sure you don't talk to anybody. i found north koreans to be talkative when they got out of the country. i pain stakingly pieced together their stories which in my life was 1984 coming true. >> these north koreans you spoke with, did they escape north korea or visiting? >> everybody has to escape. north koreans basically live in a large prison. they are not allowed out of the country unless they are very, very elite. these are people who largely when they were starving to death crossed the river that borders china, and you know, tried to make new lives for themselves, and you know, the funny thing is when they were in north korea, although they were starving, they were fed propaganda they they lived in the

bass started interviewing -- a started interviewing north koreans in 2001. a team because i could not get into north korea that became a journalist. you tell us we can't go some place and we want to go. this kind of like a cat and a string. i was really upset bid. i imagined it was a little bit like 1984. in fact it is. >> you're already won the samuel johnson prize. down nominated for the national book award on nonfiction category 2010. >> we are here at the national press club talking about his new book poisoning the press. tell us what this book is about. >> you bet. the title comes from the fact that during the nixon white house actually plotted to boys and a journalist, an investigative reporter. nobody under the age of 60 probably remembers or knows who he was, but that is peaky was the most famous and feared investigative reporter in the country. he drove richard nixon crazy. the white house tapes are filled with attempts to give him, altman the culminating in an actual plot to poison him. >> to you know if anyone else who previously written about this

bob galuchi who was negotiating with the north koreans at that time told me, he said i can't seem to convince everybody, anybody how close we were to a war with north korea. he said we were just about to evacuate the u.s. embassy in seoul and that would have been a clear signal to the north koreans that we were preparing to attack them or at least attack yongbyon which was the first phase of the war. now, president clinton already had a discussion with general gary luck who was in charge of u.s. forces in korea. lockett come back to washington to say to the president a few months prior to the close call that we could win a war with north korea at at that the cost would be 1,000,001,000,000,000,000. president clinton said, meaning what? he said 1 million south korean lives and a trillion dollars from their economy because of the destruction and the disruption. so those were the stakes and they were pretty terrible stakes. but clinton had kind of backed himself into a corner. it was going to be a series of ratcheted up restrictions on north korea and north korea's to turn seoul in south

north koreans talk about this quite often. >> i think they will seek their interest in stability. if situation in north koreaol. looks like it's going to becomes very unstable, then they willco intervene, and i think they did intervene in the case of the north korean provocation at the artillery barrage ha killedat t several -- that killed several south koreans in the latter part of last year.st and the u.s. has maintained to h the north koreans that north korea's provocations and particularly its development of weapons is a direct threat to the united states. so the u.s. put, i hi, veryun good -- i think, very goodry pressure on the chinese to get them off the dime -- >> so you're saying that thee chinese have an actual 12-step plan? >> no. they don't -- no, they don't have a 12 -- i think this is the idea of china rising and beings in control.d they're not in control. they're riding the tiger on thi- one. they don't control north korea. they have a lot of influence over it, but this is -- >> the same can be said with their very different, but also difference relationship with ira

i started interviewing -- i started interviewing north koreans i guess in 2001 and i fink because i couldn't get into north korea i became obsessed. journalists are very simplistic creatures. if you tell us we can't go some place suddenly you want to go like a cat and a string, so i was really upset about what everyday life was like, and i imagine it was a little bit like 1984, brave new world and in fact is. >> host: you have already won the samuel johnson price for nothing to envy and now nominated for the national book award nonfiction category 2010. barbara demick is the author. ..

the responsibility of the north korean regime. the next day it could be the responsibility of the international community which in effect means the responsibility of the u.s. mill taser, -- mail military, the south korean military, ect.. if there's one thing the united states needs strong bilateral military to military relations with china for is to discuss, you know, modalities were the north korean regime ever to collapse, but this is not likely to happen because china is afraid. first of all, we leak like seifs, and if word came out china was talking with us about a possible collapse of the north korean state, it would create tremendous problems in beijing with pyongyang. yes? >> sir, lieutenant commander, united states navy. wonder if you can comment further on the relationship between china and india? you mentioned there was no conflict between the two nations. however, there's a currently unresolved border dispute. is that a spark to a future potential conflict? >> the border dispute, you know, in north eastern india with a

north koreans talk like this often. how hostile their feeling is towards china. th korea looks like it's going to become very unstable, then they will intervene. i think they did intervene in the case of the north korean provocation at the artillery, that killed south koreans in the latter part of last year. the united states has said the provocations and development of nuclear weapons is a direct threat to the united states. they are serious. the united states put the pressure on the chinese to get them off of the dime, to move the north koreans into their tactics. >> you are saying that the chinese have an actual 12-step plan? >> no, they don't -- no -- no, they don't have a 12 -- i think this is the idea of china rising and being in control. they are not in control. they are riding the tiger. they don't control north korea. they have a lot of influence. >> same can be said with their very different, but also dangerous relationship with iran. >> iran is much further away. and their influence on iran is much lower than a place like north korea. they are fundament

the north koreans will not be talked out of their nuclear weapons program. that is as clear as it could be. i think the united states has to focus on the only ultimate solution to the north korean nuclear weapons problem, and that is the peaceful reunification of the peninsula. as long as the regime exists, the nuclear weapons threat will remain, and no one should have any illusions that we can appeal to the north koreans somehow to loosen up their policy for the good of their people. the north korean population now is on an individual basis for -- four to 6 inches shorter than the population of south korea. that is what the policy of the north korean regime has done by creating a prison camp that is now inhabited by 23 million people. any regime capable of doing that to its own citizens is not going to be persuaded by the idea of improving the life of its citizens. so, the question obviously is how do you accomplish reunification? i think the answer is that it has to be focused and consistent pressure on china, to persuade china that its current policy need

the responsibility of the north korean regime. the next day it could be the responsibility of the international community which, in effect, means the responsibility of the u.s. military, the chinese people's liberation army, south korean military. and if there is one thing that the united states needs strong bilateral military-military relations with china for it is to discuss, you know, modalities' where the north korean regime ever to collapse. this is not likely to happen because china is afraid, well, first of all, we leak. if word ever came out that china was talking with us about the possible collapse of the north to reinstate it would create tremendous problems for beijing with peering in. yes. >> listed commander davidson with the united states navy. what did you to comment further. you mentioned that there was no come flecked between the two nations. however lit there is a currently unresolved border dispute that is this part of a future potential conflict. >> the border dispute, you know, in northeastern india with the bo

the responsibility of the north korean regime and the next day it could be the responsibility of the international community which in effect means the responsibility of the u.s. military, the chinese people's liberation army, the south korean military. and if there is one thing the united states needs strong bilateral military to military relations with china for it is to discuss, you know, modalities this is not likely to happen because china is afraid. first of all, we leak like cs. if ford ever came out that china was talking with us about the possible collapse of the north to reinstate it would create tremendous problems for beijing. >> yes. >> sir, lt. cmdr. i wonder if you could comment further on the relationship between china and india. you mentioned that there is no conflict between the two nations. however, their is a currently unresolved border dispute. >> the border dispute, northeastern india, the border with china. you know, with part of the dynamic that caused the war between china and india in 1962, that is 48 years ago. but i think it is still an issue of contention.

it said north koreans are ready to meet anyone anytime and anywhere. the special envoy has arrived in the region. john kerry is saying he is encouraged by the latest news on referendum on independence. he is positive and wants to see two strong states emerge if there is a vote for separation. damage from flooding is so extensive in queensland it will affect the global economy. the task force has been sent to help the state recover from fundinflooding. one of the areas worst effected is the city of rockhampton. >> in milan not used to dealing with the extremes of nature, it is the magnitude of the flood that has taken austria by surprise. this is one of the great agricultural centers. we're massive forms have been reduced to small islands. one of the powerhouses of the economy will be paralyzed for weeks. it is hard to appreciate these gale of the disaster. -- the scale of the disaster. we're seeing a small fraction of the flooding. this is an area covering over 1 billion square kilometers. it is the small, low lying suburbs in rockhampton that are bein

the two countries expressed concern over north korean's uranium enrichment program.t says china will continue to be flexible about its currency exchange. >> the chinese economy grew 10.3% in 2010. has most likely taken over japan as the second largest economy after the united states. the first double-digit expansion in three years will likely fuel expectations for the emerging nation to pool the global economy toward a full-fejd recovery thanks to china's strong consumer spending and increased exports. chinese national bureau of statistics released the figures thursday. it said gross domestic product grew compared to a year earlier. the strong expansion comes as massive stimulus measures boosted domestic demand. exports to our fast-growing emerging economies emerged. china's rapid growth is causing concerns about inflation. beijing has raised its key interest rate twice since last autumn. experts are watching to see whether the chinese government can manage to keep inflation under control without cooling the economy too much. >>> footage released by a japanese aquari

and i think they did intervene in the case of the north korean provocation at the artillery barrage that killed several south koreans and the latter part of last year. and the u.s. has maintained to the north koreans that north korea's provocations and particularly its development of nuclear weapons as a direct threat to the united states. so the u.s. put i think very good pressure on the chinese to get them off the dime, the north koreans into their -- >> you're saying that the chinese have an actual 12 step plan? >> no. they don't -- they don't have a 12 -- this is the id of china rising and beingn control. they are ot writing -- they are not in control. they don't control north korea. they have a lot of influence over it. >> the same could be said with their very different but also dangerous relationship with iran. >> iran is much further away and influence in iran is much lower than it is in a place like north korea. their fundamental and north korea. it is right on their border. >> but they are getting with a nuclear power and a nuclear nnabe. wannabe. >> exactly. >> the chinese are

. >> the state department says clinton and yang discuss aid wide range of issues including the north korean and iranian nuclear programs, measures to counter global warming, and china's human rights record. and they agreed to strengthen cooperation to resolve issues of mutual concern. the two countries also agreed that north korea must take steps for denuclearization and pointed to the need for improved north and south korean ties to restart the six-party talks. >>> meanwhile, the u.s. special representative on north korea is in beijing and will likely ask china to use its influence on the north to ease tensions on the korean peninsula. stephen bosworth arrived in the chinese capital on wednesday, after visiting south korea. on thursday he will meet senior chinese officials including envoy wu dawei, who chairs the six-party talks. s expted to ask boswort toccep cha' proposal of an er chief negos of the talks. a long utkoannbu in oul th resu towardrow their differcebereis going to move mi fuchu,improve the speed to spebout a th dcuedheomonagnsthtw noakpledhee'thth porhi, ccute th th'shess,an

can the chinese really affect the behavior of the north koreans? they seem to be looking like they're trying, sometimes looking like they are not. is that something that is a dialup, dialdown depending on china's needs kind of control, or do they lack any influence in the end? >> i don't think it's a can they. the question is will they, congressman. >> you think they can? >> well, they provide somewhere between 70%-90% of north korea's energy needs, somewhere around 40-50% of foreign investment, so yes, they can. they fear that if they cut some of that, it would lead to instability in north korea, and they would up with what south korea, japan, and united states on their border. that's one thing. second, my view is that they absolutely enjoy the fact that the united states is pretty heavily dependent on them at least perceptually to interact with north korea, and that certainly restrains in my view a lot of the state departments diplomacy against china or toward china. >> i think china could help with north korea too. i think their interest is very

pretty sick of the north koreans and if i'm not mistaken said that they would be happy to see the korean peninsula reunited under the seoul government you know charlie and you know again weekly leaks and this program comes up and i think it's kind of interesting that we could maybe turn it upside down and you know maybe some of these governments can just say who will help us out there they actually let us say what we really think you know and it does but we didn't say that officially this is leaked information but there's a lot of things i've read in these cables that you know make me laugh because i think yeah we all knew that just too bad they didn't have the guts to say it in public and then they do it so i mean that again we talked in the last program at the end of last year you know what is this phenomenon because i'm still trying to get my head around and i think a lot of it's are and i think you look to people like you i mean do you think this is going to continue other organizations like we can be leaks that will that will make the public sphere more transparent it will be painfu

will exchange opinions on heightening tensions on the korean peninsula in the aftermath of the north korean shelling of a south korean island in november. they will also strengthen a plan for periodic reciprocal visits by the top japanese and south korean defense officials. kitazawa will meet u.s. defense secretary robert gates in tokyo on thursday of next week. they will discuss how japan and the u.s. can cooperate on the korean peninsula issues. china stepping up activity in the east china sea including waters near japan will also be a focus of the talks. >>> south korean president, lee myung-bak, says he will step up security following north korea's shelling of a south korean island in november. he also said the south is ready to increase economic cooperation if the north is willing to work toward denuclearization. lee made the comments in a televised new year's speech on monday. >> translator: any military aggression would be met with stern and strong responses. we have to deter the north from acting provocatively. >> he urged the north to end its military adventurism. >> translator: th

or lt night i was at the korean embassy and we were talking about what's taking ple in north korea. and one of the people working there at the south korean embassy was just amazed that people in the united states would care what happens to people in north korea. i said to one of the people with me were just saying that that's how we look at the wld. if somebody else is in bondage, if somebody else is in difficulty, we -- we feel that and we want to help out and deal with it. and that, to me, is part of what american exceptionalism is all about. this is a special place, and has a special calling, and if it isn't us doing it, in many cases around the world, it doesn't get done. i've been in the sudan and they aren't calling on the chinese to lead sudan into a freer time period. i've been in other places in africa and on north korean border, and if you're looking for somebody to sve their pro, it's the americanshat go in and do it. our task now is to not only do that around the world but it's to do it here domestically. i just think we've got to look more and more at ourselves and say,

that is what they showed the north korean people over and over again, americans in north korea.ot having enough food for the people because the americans could be coming anytime, so we had to keep the food for the military, so the people were starving. people were starving. mitch mcconnell reference the difference between freedom and communism, and it is very clear there, as clear as that overhead picture. others have mentioned, our nation honors its sons and daughters who answer the call to defend a country they never knew and eight people they never met. this same spirit of duty and devotion to the cause of freedom lives in the service of veterans to this day. it is the greatest legacy of the people who stood a on the korean wars frontlines. our colleagues have the medals and the shrapnel to prove it. we pledge to never forget them and we remember all they did for the american people and all they achieved for peace and liberty around the world. every day, general casey, america is blessed by our men and women in uniform who keep us safe at home, the home of the brave and the l

peninsula now is probably danger because the north koreans may press their luck with what they think is a low-level escalation, which the south koreans are not going to take again. and in that case, the chinese are going to get into much deeper water than they are and so i kept trying to press the chinese insane you've got to, nobody smiles when the officials me. behind the scenes you better find some technical reasons why it's difficult to supply fuel as quickly as they'd like because of the north koreans don't get that message from china, as well as from our trilateral cooperation, we make it into something this year which we will all regret. >> i biked about him now. i think interferes that could precipitate greater liberty but they need to balance that against a more realistic fear that failing to use leverage in no way could result in a deeper crisis or another provocation as he suggested that south korea needs to respond to for domestic political reasons. for china this is an extraordinarily complex issue, but one with the risks for them of using their leverage a low

the new killer program and restraining north korean military is in. the two nations have good reason to work together. china is america's biggest creditor holding $900 billion in treasury notes. the u.s. is in china's biggest customer. try that built the out japan last year to become the second-largest to the economy. second largest only to the u.s.. right now is a distant second. china's economic ...out look was four times as big. that means china could overtake the u.s. and the next decade or two. not necessarily bad news for the u.s.. china's rising middle-class is developing its own taste for imports and that means more jobs for americans at heart. >> they are growing at twice the rate of growth of our experts. they have a great deal of effort invested. >> they visited in 2006 and president bush invited him to of a working lunch. but many others they never forgave him for the perceived insult. formal peace corps shriver died. he was the first piece course of his brother-in-law of president john f. kennedy. he was also the running mate back in 1972

japan also served as liaison between the security council and south korea over north korean issues. but japan has failed to gain support for its calls for the council to explicitly condemn north korea on two occasions. one was over the sinking of a south korean war ship in march, allegedly by the north. and another was north korea's artillery attack on a south korean island in november. japanese officials are voicing concerns about being out of the council -- security council from the new year. they say it will now be difficult to obtain information on the moves of the various u.n. member nations. >>> an avalanche in the mountains of western japan killed four ski resort workers on friday. it happened at around 1:00 p.m. in tottori prefecture. the four workers were checking the site of another avalanche when the second struck. a resort official says they closed the courses and no skiers were there. 60 centimeters of snow had fallen in the seven hours leading up to the accident. a local meteorological observatory had issued a snowstorm warning for the area. weather forecasters say a lo