paula hancocks is live for us in seoul with the very latest. missile landing very close to the japanese coastline where ships and planes operate getting very strong words from japan. >> reporter: that's right. we 4erd from gentlemheard from secretary that it was extremely problematic that this is a busy shipping lane, the fact that there are a number of aircrafts and ship in the area and clear areal clearly north korea does not give warning. so once again shinzo abe had strong condemnation saying that he would take concrete action together with the united states to try to make sure that they can deter north korea. not giving any indication of exactly when that is, whether or not stronger sanctions, further sanctions and of course what part beijing would play in that. so up in the air at this point what exactly that means. we heard from south korea as well saying that they condemed what happened, that takes severe threat to the peaces and stability not only of the korean peninsula, but of the entire international community. there is fair areally

we thank you paula hancock. thanks, george. >> u.s. defense secretary james mattis says diplomacy is critical, warning that could be disastrous. listen to what he told cnn's barbara star about that earlier this month. >> we're going to continue to breed the same kind of pressure internationally -- that we've been trained to. we'll continue to work the issue. as you know, if this goes to a military solution, it is going to be tragic on an unbelievable scale and so our effort is to work with the un, work with china, work with japan, work with south korea to try to find a way out of this situation. >> all right. so all of this happening. the first week back at the white house for the u.s. president and aside from his twitter habits. clear hi he has a lot to do, considering a staff shakeup. he's set to decide whether or not to withdraw. >> sunday he held staff meetings amid the latest revelations involving his son-in-law. here is ryan nobles with more about that. >> the white house has yet to confirm or deny the report that jared kushner,

let's get more from paula hancock who joins us live from seoul with this significant development. good morning to you, paula. >> reporter: well, hello, dave. u.s. officials have described this as high-speed effort to hit one bullet with another bullet, specifying just how difficult it is to take out even a mock up icbm in mid-flight. they say it was a success. we heard from the pentagon and also the missile defense agency saying it's not just because of north korea that they are making sure this intercept missile is successful but the fact is north korea is pretty much the only sovereign state around the world at this point that's threatening the united states. we heard at the beginning of the year the north korean leader, kim jong-un saying he was close to test launching an i c.w. m. he wants to be able to hit mainland united states with a nuclear hit icbm. clearly this is the concern when the u.s. is thinking about these kind of programs, $40 billion program. experts saying it's still not perfect, success rate of two out of five in recent years and certainly moving forward but th

cnn is across the region let's start with paula hancocks live across the region. good to have you this hour. it marks the second time south korea has been tested, a new president who has expressed interest with more engagement with the north, how is the government reacting to this? >> well, george, the official line is that the officials are calling this reckless and irresponsible. so they are condemning it, so exactly the same way that the previous government here in south korea condemned it. but, of course, it is a different precedent. the former had a more hard line approach to north korea. we know that the new liberal president is proengagement, he's prodialogue with north korea, of course, it makes it very difficult to see how that would happen when you have two missile tests. we did a week in this respect. we do know what we'll say for the defense ministry here. they say angel lens shows that they are making progress. they say that north korea has secured meaningful data for improving the credibility of its missile technology, so this missile launch that we

cnn is across the region, let's start with our paula hancocks.two missile test within a week and now north korea telling the world it's ready to deploy and mass produce media range, how likely is it that he has progressed that far and how concerned should we be? >> well, rosemary, we heard just a week ago, experts saying we believe that that particular missile launch one of the most successful missile launches carried out. clearly there is progress being made, experts and officials in south korea and united states are admitting that there has been significant progress made, the defense ministry here in seoul the spokesperson just this monday morning saying u.s. and south korean intelligence showing that north korea has secured meaningful data improving the technology of the missile. they're accepting that north korea is making progress. one interesting part of the missile test that happened on sunday, is what we're seeing on the front page of the north korean newspaper this monday morning they have images, of course, as north korean leader deligh

cnn's paula hancocks following the developments. she joins us live from seoul. u this morning, paula. now, the u.s. arguably, in our involvement with north korea, on the ballot as well. how pivotal is the involvement with north korea regarding these elections? >> reporter: well, dave, certainly, if you're outside of south korea, you assume that it has to be the number one consideration for south koreans when they're voting, the fact of national security, but it's not. according to recent polls, it's number three. people here are more concerned with corruption and reform considering these elections have had to be called forward because the former president has been impeached, indicted, and is currently on trial for corruption. that is the number one issue for people. then it goes to the economy and jobs, but then it does go to north korea. now, as you say, the one front-runner, moon jae-in, who recent polls put him at 40% of the vote, he has a very differing opinion to the previous government. he is pro engagement with north korea, he's pro dialogue, which could p

. >> will ripley, paula hancocks, we thank you both. >>> angela per abomerkel says i time to stop dependingn traditional allies. >> she shared that message during a campaign stop in munich sunday. the chancellor didn't mention donald trump by name, but said her experience at the recent summit was telling. >> translator: the times when can completely count on others are over to a certain extent. i've experience canned this in the last few days and that is why that i can only say that we europeans must take our fate into our own hands. >> merkel's comments come after president trump criticized nato allies and refused to endorse a global climate deal. >> for more on what foollows th g7 summit, let's bring in fred pleitgen. let's talk about the context first. miss merkel is running for re-election. but these comments that sheseis. >> reporter: yes, they absolutely seismic. i've been covering angela merkel since the summer of 2000 and she doesn't make piece comments oth the cuff even in a campaign. she won't use populist rhetoric. she certainly takes everything she says very seriously. and i thi

cnn's paula hancock is following developments live for the united states.s is about the thaad missile system and talks with north korea. but is that the case for people in seoul, or is it altogether different issues? >> well, dave, it is one of the issues certainly concerned with north korea. but the fact is south korea has been technically at war with its northern neighbor for decades now, so it is a constant but distant threat. a recent poll says it's number three when it comes to the concerns of voters here in south korea. the number one concern at this point is corruption. remember, the previous president was impeached because of corruption. she was in prison, she's currently on trial on charges, and people here want to make sure that the next president is clean. so that is the number one issue they're looking at. on top of that, they're also looking at economy and jobs, the usual things you would expect voters to be looking at. but, of course, north korea cannot be ignored. the frontrunner at this point, liberal moon jae-in is pro dialogue with north k