north korean residents are required to report to customs authorities when they take over 100,000 yen or $1,270 to the north. customs say at least $890,000 were brought into the country. public officials say the association was asked by north korea to donate money to celebrate kim's anniversary. >> translator: north korea is asking people to show their loyalty to the new leader, kim jong-un, especially people from the pro-north korean association in japan. >> he also predicts similar requests before the sen ten reof the birth of kim il's son, his grandfather and the north's founder. he says demands have become a heavy burden on some north korean residents in japan. >>> u.s. home builders feel better about putting down roots. ai uchida has the latest economic data. >> the latest data coming in better than expected. new home building in the united states rose 1.5% in january compared to the previous month. that is key indicator of economic trends. the commerce department said thursday housing starts in the month stood at 699,000 units in annual terms. that's a little better than the mark

especially the north korean an association in japan. >> he also predicts similar requests before the rth of his son. he says the demands on a heavy burden on north korea residents in japan. >>> while u.s. home builders are feeling better about putting down roots. ai? >> new home building in the united states rose 1.5% in january compared to the previous month. this is a key indication of economic trends. the commerce department said on thursday that housing starts in the month stood at 699,000 units. that is a little better in the market forecast of 675,000. the increase was mainly due to a rebound in apartment construction. by region, housing construction grew 18% in the south. almost 12% in the west and just under 8% in the northeast. however, the midwest saw a sharp decline of over 40%. building permits, a gauge of future construction, were up 0.7%. analysts are focusing on whether the housing market will continue to recover as it has recently been showing upward and downward movements. >>> general motors announced on thursday a record profit for 2011. the u.s. automaker reported a

and north korean negotiators. it was the first such meeting since north korea's longtime ruler kim jong il died in december and was succeeded by his son, kim jong un. secretary clinton today called it a reminder that the world is transforming. >> the united states-- i will be quick to add-- still has profound concerns. but on the occasion of kim jong il's death, i said that it is our hope that the new leadership will choose to guide their nation onto the path of peace by living up to its obligations. >> woodruff: this is not the in 1994, former president jimmy carter-- acting for the clinton administration-- brokered a deal for pyongyang to shut down nuclear plants in exchange f u.s. aid in building electrical power plants. the yongbyon plant remained closed until 2002 when both sides accused the other of not living up to the agreement. from there, the north went on to test-fire long-range missiles and conduct its first underground nuclear test. in 2007, the bush administration, along with south korea, russia, chin

the former north korean leader, kim jong il. it doesn't take much to pull off the former dictator, says mr. kim, the permed hair,less distinctive jump suit, and maybe a bit of clapping. having a former north korean leader as a guest on your tv chat somehow or a prop for your music video is surprisingly popular near the south. but now that kim jong il is dead, will impersonators like mr. kim switch to mimicking his son? hmm, he says, there's not much similarity between kim jong il and his son, i'd need to get a different haircut. he'd probably need to do more than that. kim jong un has a very different style than his father, much more, well, matey, more tactile, more hands on. north korean state media has shown him testing soldiers' equipment, tasting their food, sitting on their beds. even the anchor who carried news of his exploits has been replaced by a younger, softer looking model. the new chummy style has generated a few crunch inches in the south. this newspaper for north korean defectors in south korea is run by a man bet

the chinese government treats north korean defectors as illegal immigrants. a representative for north korea claimed the south is trying to use the issue for propaganda. south korea's government will see how much international support it can gather before deciding its next move. in south korea, families of north korean defectors and human rights groups staged rallies over the issue. they called on china not to return the defectors to the north because they could face execution. >>> a leading credit rating agency downgraded greek debt. ai uchida from the biz desk with more of these details. why the ratings cut? >> it's highly doubtful of the credit swap which is part of the greek bailout. u.s. credit ratings agency standard & poor's downgraded the rating of greek debt to selective default on monday. this is the first time that a major ratings firm has made such a decision on greece. the greek government is now asking private sector investors to take a voluntary writedown on their greek debt holdings of about 50%. s&p says it cut the country's rating because the

the north korean military is in charge.don't want to give up the destructive method. >> the chinese military was said to be moving toward the north korean border. >> more on this with the panel. thank you. >> north carolina is known for being repressive society. some are concerned with the security proposals they feel are intrusive here. catherine herridge explains. >> if you feel like you are being watched you are probably right. the latest tool under consideration to collect data inside are drones. >> these are the tools. everybody wants to get involved with the shiny toy. >> in iraq we used them to track down bomb factories, but in that case you would back track people in place of the bomb to the factory it came from. >> homeland security uses drones on the border, the question is whether the department reportedly investigating other options. we are using the uab along the borders. they are a force multiplier for us. >> spokesman did not expand on the comment, the document from the homeland security procurement office sh

the north korean army was tee moralized. the victory has become recognized as a masterpiece of strategy. so it will return to its rightful inhabitants. there had been a long line of cities and towns returned under macarthur's leadership. it was at this time that president truman cited macarthur for his vision, his judgment, his will, his unshakeable faith. the korean war continued northward. the orders were the destruction of the north korean armed forces. and then the chinese communists entered the conflict, posing new questions in washington not only military but political. while carrying out what he considered to be his duty as supreme commander, the pursuit of victory on the battlefield, general macarthur came into conflict with those he served. his long and distinguished military career was suddenly brought to a close in an official order from the president, commander in chief of the military forces of the united states. he was homeward bound for the first time in 14 years. the san francisco reception was the largest, t

and north korean for the resumption of food aid included an end to the nuclear program, an end to a missile testing, and the possible reintroduction of inspectors to north korea. that goes right against u.s. policy. the u.s. embassy says two issues remain. that is denuclearization and food aid. >> it is still a big question. if this is indeed a change to washington's policy. good >> we do not know why admiral willard made these comments or what was behind them. there have been questions in the past of how real that division is between the issues. there was a u.s. assessment team that went to north korea more than six months ago, yet the administration has not made a final decision about whether to resume food aid. both issues were discussed with talks between the u.s. and north korea in china last week, so there are some people who question how real the separation is, but that remains. we are told that remains of u.s. policy. >> there are reports north korea is loosening its border controls, allowing north korean side to cross the border into china, but they have to bring home a can of food

and north korean diplomats aren't revealing much. still, they are back in talks over pyongyang's nuclear program. analysts say that alone is a positive development. they are expected to focus on the north's uranium enrichment and food assistance from the united states. the two sides held talks since the death of the former north korean leader kim jong-il in december. decisions lasted for more than five hours, but representatives revealed little. >> the talks today were substantive and serious. we'll pick up again tomorrow and see if we can't make a little bit of progress and have something a bit more substantive to report to you. >> translator: we have discussed all the issues that concern us. both sides were sincere. zblt. >> the americans are believed to have urged north korea to take steps toward denuclearization. including suspending all uranium enrichment. north korea is believed to have asked for food aid including grain ahead of the celebrations in april to mark the birth of the country's founder kim il-song. the multilateral f

this newspaper for north korean defectors is run by a man better prepared than most to make the comparisone met and dined with kim jong il before leaving north korea. >> he had such stages that people did not dare look in the face, but kim jong un has no choice but to oppress the people and embrace them. he is begging for their loyalty. >> whether his style signals war or weakness, here in the south, officials say it's his new policies they are watching for. on that score, north korea says nothing will change. when it comes to substance, kim jong un is kim jong il. >> you are watching "newsday". still to come on the program, the duchess of cambridge is greeted by fans and she makes the royal visit to liverpool. >> we take a look around burma's newly built . capital. let's take a look at some of the stories making headlines around the world. the financial times still very much focusing on the the greek debt crisis. it reports that the euro-zone officials meeting has been cancelled today. it comes amid a growing fight about the merits of allowing the national default in greece. the herald tr

that's untouch and that is the program that produced the nukes that the north koreans have today. and there is no change at all. this is a nice soothing headline for administration in an election year. >> bret: unicef says 80% of the kids in north korea are malnourished and the food aid is necessary. but the deals we have done them before. >> the white house is in the corner trying to explain how this is not a quid pro quo, and we have a policy of not negotiating armament for food cooperation on disarmament for food but it happens to be that this is humanitarian need. they are responding to it. as senator kyl points out it is an exchange. it breaks with the policy. no matter how much they try to put it in different work that is what they're doing. as charles points out north koreans not only give themselveses a caveat in statement and only made promises of sort of a sliver of the nuclear operation, but they can at any time receive food and walk away. >> bret: the thing we don't know is the relationship between the new leader kim jong un and military leaders in north korea. and what

radio press says north korean media ran 15 news reports about kim jong-un in january. it's part of his role as supreme commander of the military. this is in sharp contrast with coverage of his late father. kim jong-il was not seen in official news reports for nearly three months after his father kim il son died in 1994. his frequent appearances suggest north korea's leadership is trying to show he is, in fact, experienced despite his age. nine of the 15 media reports or 60% were about his military activities. one showed him touring a tank division on january 1st. he officially became supreme military commander a day earlier. kim jong-un has made it clear he will press forward with the military first policy promoted by his father. state-run media is suggesting kim jong-un will start following in his father's foot steps on the international front. he might have an appointment with one of his country's major investors. north korean media says an egyptian executive is now in pyongyang. chairman of o rescom telecom. the company launched mobile phone services in november 200

christian activists prayed for north korean prisoners and their family. this college student urges more christians to speak out. >> i wept and prayed when i realized in proverbs it says we should speak up for those that cannot do so for themselves. >> rally organizers are urging them to announce a clear statement against the koreans. >> you are about to meet a young lady who was part of north korea's secret underground church. her story has never been told until now. >> her name is kim jen, born in north korea. her testimony is rare. cia estimated 24 million people live in the communist country. best guess is 2 percent, 480,000 are christians. a handful have escaped from the buddha regime. >> growing up i was told by the authorities there was no god. we are ordered to worship kim jong un and kim un sung, the leaders of the country. >> what was it like to be a believer of north korea. >> we met every saturday evening. we had to be very quiet, we whispered when we prayed and sang songs. >> growing up she learned about stories of her city, the jerusalem of t

look back at 1994, when the north koreans made a very similar deal to this, and at that point, the founder of north korea, just died, and his son, kim jong-il, was taking over and there were worries of stability so they made a deal when they got there that established protest transition, they reneged on that deal and a last experts including a leading expert on north korea, say this is simply a case of, here we go again. >> kim jong-il has died. his son has yet to consolidate power and entering into another stopgap arrangement, he is not going to give up his most dedestructive weaponry. than he goaled karl marx and chairman mao said a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. >>shepard: we can hope but there are limitations. >>jonathan: very significant limitations. they say, for instance, they are stopping the enrain medium enripment at one laboratory and there are according to most experts, six places where the north koreans enrichure rain. the inspectors will only allow to be allowed to go to the one site. as for testing missiles, the experts point out they may not test the

north. they plan to send them back. activists say the people will be punished if they return. a south korean foreign ministry spokesperson said diplomats will raise the issue next week in geneva at a meeting of the u.n. human rights council. meantime, they're asking china to treat defectors from the north humanely. many south koreans are concerned about the plight of defectors. 23,000 people who have fled the north now call the south the home. about 50 north korean defectors and supporters held a rally tuesday outside the chinese embassy in seoul. they demanded that china stop the deportations. the protesters said if they are sent back, they will be killed along with their families. chinese authorities maintained that defectors are illegal immigrants and not refugees. >>> japan and australia have held their first meeting about whether japan should join talks on the transpacific partnership free trade agreement. government officials from the two countries met in canberra on tuesday. australian officials said they welcomed the start of japan's consultations for joining the talk, but they stopp

kim jong-un not even yet 30, but he has ascended to the north korean leadership upon the death of hiset to the talks specifically in a moment, but i just have to ask about kim jong-un. have we learned anything more about him since he assumed power back in late december? >> yes, you know, north korean propaganda has been showing a lot of footage with inspection tours, traveling to different parts of as more footage of him, we don't know what he sounds like. no one actually knows what his voice sounds like, in a sense there's been no audio of this. there are two south korean officials, the former president, his widow, and the former chairman and his widow, both went to play their respects at kim jong-il's funeral, and they had a brief audience. aside from the two individuals, again we don't know what he sounds like. >> john, why do you think that is? >> you know, i think there's a lot of speculation. one thing is they are trying to cultivate an image of kim jong-un as almost being the reincarnation of kim song un. so perhaps their voices are different. hence there will be something of a

that will be an early test in these negotiations. >> what is motivating the north koreans?s it just the food aid? >> they want incentives. they want light water reactors. they would like that to come back alive but some point. it would be very hard for the west to bring that back in the short term. north korea clearly wants nuclear energy. from the short term, i know they would like to have a better relationship with the united states to counterbalance to china. they are not looking for the united states to compare withy role of china. i do not think they want to be totally dependent on china. they are looking beyond the status quo to do things that would allow themselves to have a better relationship with the united states. >> we will see a if they actually get followed. there are moves to end a row which has driven a wedge between egypt and the united states. a travel ban has been lifted force said a sense that work for pro-democracy groups in egypt. they have been charged with receiving illegal foreign funding for their organization to stir up unrest. >> at 8 tie otic we

to make concessions which would then draw significant concessions from the north koreans. the hope is to get the negotiations going and to start to make some progress but i don't have hopes that there will be huge progress. >> what are the steps that you will look for from p'yongyang that will make you think that is different? >> well, they should shut down the centrifuges at this plant. they actually psin down and stop./ the other it -- they actually sping down and stop. also, they are looking for other enrichment sites. there are secret sites. we will learn more about this program and what it entails. >> what is motivating the north koreans? is it just the food aid or is there something else going on? >> they certainly want incentives. food would be a start. they want light water reactors. they want that to come back alive. that is very hard for the west and south korea and japan to bring that back. clearly, north korea would like nuclear energy. from a strategic point of view, they would like to have a better relationship with the united states to counterbalance china.

the new regime in north korea by sending in food aid. >> there have also been reports that the north koreans will be releasing some prisoners. what have you heard about this? how soon will this happen? how many prisoners? >> the last we heard of this was several weeks ago when north korea announced it. they said it would begin on february 1, that is today in asia. they did not say much else apart from the fact that it was going to be in honor of the two former leaders, kim jong il and his father. this is something that does happen on key dates in north korea. one of the big questions is, what happens to the political prisoners? many political prison camps are under the radar, where people are held for life. that is the real question. they would like to see people released from those camps. that is unlikely to happen. it is likely to be criminal prisoners who are released. we have no news of it yet. it was due to begin today. >> in the capital of seoul in south korea. thank you for the update. over the next five years the number of super rich individuals in indonesia is expected to triple. it

and north korean leaders met for the first unilateral talks between the two countries since the death kim jong il. thank you very much for coming in. is there a deal to be done with the new north korean leadership or is that what these meetings are trying to find out? >> they are trying to findt whether there is a deal to be done. they were trying to work on something where they would exchange some food assistance to north korea. this is for a freeze on their nuclear program. this is what they're trying to do before kim jong il died, and then he died. this is the first interaction to see whether they are on the track or not. >> what is your take on kim jong un hill to -- on kim jong un? is he someone who is open to dialogue? >> the answers, we just don't know. we really do not know. we know less about this individual then we knew about osama bin laden, muammar gaddafi, or saddam hussein. the people they will be meeting are not people they have not met before, they are the negotiators that have been working on this going back to the clinton administration. the people will be the same b

special envoy for north korean policy. attention is focused on whether the north's nuclear stance changed under the new leader, kim jong-un. there's also speculation about whether north korea will comply with the u.s. demand to stop its uranium enrichment program in exchange for food aid. >>> japan and australia held the first meeting about whether japan should join talks on the trans-pacific partnership free trade agreement. government officials from the two countries met tuesday. australian officials say they welcome the start of japan's consultations for joining the talks, but they stopped short of expressing support for japan actually participating in the free trade negotiations. they stressed that a prins well is all are tariff free, including farm products. they are continuing discussions on the requirements japan must fulfill to join the talks. six out of nine countries already in the negotiations have so far expressed support for japan's participation. >>> the british royal family is celebrating a milestone. the dia

they're following the north korean playbook. the same folks in charge now watched in the '90 aes as did i because i was an operative then. watched the annorth koreans wal us up to the line to where they developed their own nuclear weapon and kept going. we are doing the same thing here again. i would hazard to say we play the same script. so do the north koreans. don't forget the iranians watch that. they learn from that. they're going to walk us up to the brink as best they can without jeopardizing one thing they're worried about which is regime continuation. the interesting dynamic to continue the metaphor that tony just laid out for us, aaron, if you feel you can accept that framing, in that metaphor south korea would be the most vulnerable to the ambitions in north korea that tony described in the '90 aes and in this case israel would be playing the role of south korea. those who would be most threatened immediately by virtue of this type of a development. at the end of the day, keep that map up for a second. the motivation f

the north koreans know this and want the food assistance. d there's really nobody else giving it to them now because a bit of donor fatigue has set in from the international community from giving north korea food for well over a decade now. they clearly need the food and the obama administration is leveling that to make sure they can make progress on the nuclear issue. >> on the nuclear issue, the fear with north korea had always been that north korea might outsource its nuclear weapons to somebody else or sell off its nuclear weapons to some other group. do we have any indication whether that is still as much of a risk as it was from a few years ago? >> it's still as much a risk as it was a few years ago. since a few years ago there have been things put in place sanctioned by the u.n. security council resolutions which make it harder to proliferate. nevertheless this new uranium enrichment program is dangerous and is easy to proliferate this technology and very difficult to find inside north korea. it doesn't have the signature their plutoni

well you know they got the call, north koreans want to have a meeting again, they met, and from whatday, but it looks like that is going to move forward and we will get progress here, and i think that's a good sign. it doesn't mean everything is wine and roses but that's a step in the right direction. jenna: navigating what's happening in the world today, that's an understatement, saying that right now, but with north korea, they do make themselves known, you know? every maybe 6-9 months, something happens over there, there's something that goes on, and i'm just curious, at this point, under new leadership, what kind of threat do you think they pose the united states, if any, and what potential partnership are you watching with them in some other countries around the world? >> well, jenna, i think you're right about each of those points that you make. you know, the key that you put your finger on is they are undergoing a leadership change. that's always difficult. but you know, it's compounded in the north korean case because you have a young person, the person in his late 20s, who h

it seems us politicians have more than most from lose becky becky becky stay out of fan to our north korean allies are politicians really that ignorant are they just sticking to popular talking points that story next. r t is the state run english speaking russian channel it's kind of like. russia today has an extremely confrontational stance when it comes to us. at first break that just burns your eyes right right i mean it's like a derivative of actual pepper it's a food product essentially. this is much stronger than anything you'd be by a lot of. thousands of times stronger than any kind of ever put you know. well campaign season is in full swing as the g.o.p. presidential candidates now hone in on a vat of what the caucus coming up there this weekend and from embarrassing debate performances to be will during interviews when it comes to foreign policy it seems some of the candidates don't really know what exactly is going on abroad and this as one of these men quite possibly could be the next commander in chief of the world's most powerful country r.t. correspondent we're going to pour

s earlier adopted a resolution calling on beijing to stop deporting north koreans back to their homeland the group of thirty four were arrested earlier this month but human rights activists fear for their safety if they're forced to leave the rule. as said for the main news this hour business up next with dmitri stay with us. thanks matt a bank funded exclusively by emerging nations is being discussed by the brics group of nations brazil russia india china and south africa suffered as western lenders pulled out billions of dollars in the wake of the credit crunch the brics bank would fund infrastructure projects in those states the fastest growing economic bloc in the world also counterweight the dominance of the i.m.f. and the world bank which have always been headed by politicians from europe and the u.s. . it's bank bonus season that annual right of big money and even bigger egos for the party may be over in the russian banking sector the country's central bank is taking steps to avoid excessive payments it will make the fees depend on the lenders financial performance and that's just

it's worth noting that 2.36-inch bazookas the task force smith fired at the north korean t-34 tanks just bounced off and had no effect. the modernized 3.5 bazooka had been developed at the end of world war ii, but was terminated because of budget cuts. the point is, you can have a well-led trained and equipped force and it can still be hollow if it isn't properly modernized and if you can't get it to the right place at the right time. please help the members of this committee understand in the context of the budget, that the army is prepared to avoid the mistakes that led to task force smith. finally, and i really mean this, i can't think of a better team than secretary mchugh and general odierno to lead our army during these challenging times. again, thank you both for your selfless service, and i look forward to your testimony. ranking member smith. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i too, want to join you in your thanks and praise for the general and the secretary. we could not possibly have two more capable folks leading the army. appreciate your hard work on behalf of our country. we part

s earlier adopted a resolution calling on beijing to stop deporting north koreans back to their home when the group of thirty four were arrested earlier this month but human rights activists fear their safety if they're forced to leave. little sports update coming your way later we'll meet some formula one stars happy to swap the as fault for ice that. we were apart from the moscow hippodrome or this winter course made way for ports power among those behind the wheel for time f one champion allan pros to. rub shoulders or other bumpers with racers who really know the snow used to figure that one out in russia coming your way in about twenty five minutes but first. the hour's business next with dimitri stay with us. thanks madeleine welcome to business artsy and it's a bank bonus season that annual rites of big money and even bigger egos but the party may be over in the russian banking sector and why is that the country's central bank is taking steps to avoid excessive payments it will make the fees depend on them and its financial performance that's just the beginning reward systems

while it is good that it mentions the uranium enrichment program, whose existence the north koreans had so long denied, we must recall that regime's constant duplicity. we have walked this bridge several times before. one troubling new aspect is the discussion of nuclear issues and food aid in the same announcement, which blurs the separation of humanitarian aid from the nuclear negotiations, which has been maintained since 1995. the north koreans will view this food as payment due for their return to the bargaining table, regardless of the transparency and monitoring we hoped to secure in the future. again, madame secretary, thank you so much for making yourself available today. i look forward, and the members do as well, to receiving your testimony. and now i'm pleased to recognize my friend, the gentleman from california, the ranking member, mr. berman, for his opening statement. >> well, thank you very much, madame chairman, and madame secretary, welcome. thanks for being here. at the outset, there were some differences in our view. i would like to commend you for your hard work on

very harsh statements using the terms of war and the lation etc when indeed you mention the new north korean leader i mean do you think this could be happening in a sense to test him. well in death case i don't really know what the meaning of that test should be if you want to force him into a corner where he is lawless where he has no other option but to have a hard line position fine because he is not only being watched by us he's also watched by his own people he is surrounded by generals who want to find out that it is man is really fit to lead the country or not and b. are not forcing him to take such a hard line or oriented stance and thereby we are basically blocking all other options that might have been on the table what about the involvement of the us ham some would say washington is trying to deliberately provoke young and isn't a sense of that. well i have no idea what the intentions of washington are of course the options for policy are limited we have an election coming up in the united states that is important and in such a context a democratic president will not take any risk

north korean media is reporting on the letter. the document calls on the south to offer an apology for not sending an official mission to the north to express condolences over the death of kim jong-un's father, kim john-il. the letter presses the south to can sell upcoming joint military exercises with the united states. the drill scheduled to start the end of this month. as we mentioned, the letter contains questions for the south. the north asks it to promise to stop criticizing it for the sinking of a south korean war ship and shelling of young popping island in 2010. the south car kor ian government has shown more flexible attitude to the dialogue. the letter is apparently aimed at increasing pressure on the administration of south korean president before the general elections in april. south korea's unification ministry says the government won't respond every time the north tries to push through demands at a critical phase of inter tori and ties. >>> that wraps up this edition of "newsline." of "newsline." thanks for joining u

they'll be based on a scenario of the north invading south korean islands. the north shelled at pinning i don't think. they conduct joint drills around this time every year. military leaders say the exercises are defensive in nature. north korea leader kim jong-un ordered his front line troops to launch a powerful retaliatory strike against what he calls the enemy, if it intrudes into the country's waters. it covers the western border. they carried out shelling of the island in late 2010. kim gave binoculars and automatic rifles to soldiers and took photos with them. he also viewed south korean territory from a lookout post and confirmed locations of the country's military units. kim ordered his commanders to carry out retaliatory strike if in his words the enemy intrudes, even a fraction of a million i meter into the north's waters. they have a new regime under kim jong-un and reacted sharply to the military drill. it is believed north korean leadership is trying to show kim as the supreme commander and to send a warning to washington and seoul. >>> syrians

north koreans throw a party without the guest of honor. but think about your heart. 2% has over half the saturated fat of whole milk. want to cut back on fat and not compromisen taste? try smart balance fat free milk. it's what you'd expect from the folks at smart balance. >> bret: now some fresh pickings from the political grapevine. e-mail exchange shows tension at the justice department over how it deals with mexico's drug problems. the e-mail was released as part of a congressional probe in operation fast and furious. then u.s. attorney dennis burke wrote to a colleague in new york saying, "the chucklehead at the d.o.j. public affairs office called my office to complain and values the word "war" about the current circumstances in mexico. sure we can have a war on obesity, but please don't refer to 30,000 people dieing in mexico at the hand of drug cartel as a war." today, the public affairs office said it does not encourage the term "war" and pointed us to attorney general eric holder's use of the term back in june of 2010. updating a

north korea's birthday. thousands of south koreans and u.s. soldiers are taking part in military exercises across the south. the maneuvers went ahead in the face of a warning from the north korean leader kim jong un. we have a report from seoul. >> reporter: commanders name these exercises key resolve. they want to check their chain of event in the orders in battle. they want to test procedures for supplying weapons. these drills will continue for 12 days. 200,000 south korean troops and 2,100 personnel are taking part. north korea's tv broadcast these pictures ahead of the drills. they show kim jong un inspecting front line troops. the unit he visited carried out the shelling of south korea's island in 2010. the report says kim ordered his soldiers to in his words, make a powerful retaliation in the enemy intrudes by just 0.001 millimetre. >> translator: the scoundrels are making an out of mind military exercise during the period of mourning for our leader kim jong il. it's tantamount to a silent declaration of war. >> reporter: the u.s. and