obama came to seoul after meeting with japan's prime minister.th korea still calls on japan full toy to address the abuse of comfort women or forced prostituted by japanese soldiers during world war ii. >> there was a terrible egregious violation of human rights, and certainly the japanese people recognize that the past is something that has to be recognized honestly. >> reporter: truthliful facing up to history are words used by president park. the fact that president obama chose to use a similar phrase is something that will go down very well here in seoul. perhaps in return president park held out the prospect for improved ties with japan. >> >> translator: i think we go back to the promise that were made, truthful actions need to be implemented by the japanese side. >> reporter: the obama administration has been billing this four-nation tour as rebuilding relations in asia. but it's not just friends who will have noticed ukraine's current polite, a country that gave up its weapons in 1994 in return for security. trp the message that this can

join the tetons chum limited a new of the heart of seoul drying time. what texture is opposition party has backtracked on its pledge to abolish a party nomination system ahead of june local elections it said it will finalize its decision within this week after taking into account the votes of party members and the opinions of the the comic and reports the main opposition new politics alliance for democracy has said he'll reconsider a previous pledge to abolish the party nomination since then i've been to the local elections speaking to press on tuesday and turns to the holy year of the newly formed opposition party and its coalition would make a final decision after taking anti equal account balance by party members and opinion. this isn't the main opposition party the original stance. i've previously said it was going to do away with the party nomination system completely as they can be a breeding ground for bribery and corruption. what a relief to many party and the opposition politics alliance for democracy plans to scrap the party centered nominatio

a defense expert in seoul shares his analysis of what it could mean. >>> separatists in eastern ukraine expand their reach as russia's president again denies he's behind the unrest, and criticizes western sanctions. >>> and japanese leaders are doing what they can to make japan an easier place to do business. north korean officials have issued a statement on their threat to conduct another nuclear test. they first warned of the test last month after the u.n. security council condemned their ballistic missile launch. >> translator: there's no statute of limitations on our declaration to not rule out a new form of nuclear test. such a test is our right to self-defense that no one can prevent. >> analysts at a u.s. research group have reported more activity at a nuclear test site in the north. and south korean government officials believe north korea has completed preparations for a possible nuclear test. north korean watchers say the statement could mean pyongyang will not carry out a test any time soon. but they also say it might be trying to confuse other countries. the korea institute

more than 300 were high school students from near seoul. coast guard officials sent helicopters and ships for the rescue operation. they say they've recovered three bodies. a male student, and a female crew member are among them. one male has not yet been identified. the toll of the missing was revised upward dramatically after confusion in the wake of the accident. authorities say military personnel and special rescue teams including 160 divers are now in the area to search for the missing. >> translator: an announcement said we should stay where we were. but the ship was already sinking. many students could not get out. >> staff at a meteorological observatory on jindo island say there was fog at the time of the accident. the ferry operator says due to the fog the vessel left port three hours behind schedule. >>> we now have a live report from seoul. nhk world's anna jung is at the government's central disaster relief center. anna, can you tell us how the rescue operation is going and any updates on casualties? >> the minister of security

dealing with north korea means dealing with two allies in seoul and tokyo at loggerheads over history. obama came from a meet we are japan's prime minister? a week that honored war criminals honoring the dead. such behavior has infuriated south korea, still calling on japan fully to adz dress the abuse of south korea's so-called comfort women, or forced prostitutes by japanese soldiers during world war ii. >> this was a terrible egregious violation of human rights. >> reporter: truthfully facing up to history is a form of works used repeatedly by president park. the fact that president obama chose to use a similar phrase is something that will go down very here in seoul. president park held out the prospect at least of improved ties with japan. >> translator: i think what is most important that we go back to the pledges made by the prime minister, and that truthful actions will implemented from the japan side. that is very important. >> reporter: the obama administration has been filling this four nation hour as demonstrating its commitment to its rebalance to asia after allies here a

south korean media is also reporting that the us president will likely arrive in seoul. along with a set of korea's nine last oil seals from the late nineteenth century. the artifacts considered national treasures are thought to have been looted by us troops during the korean war. obama's upcoming asian tour which also includes stops in japan the philippines and malaysia has garnered a lot of attention as it comes amid strained ties between seoul and tokyo over historical differences. and the us korea and japan will hold their first a working level talks on the so called comfort women issue in seoul on wednesday at the upcoming taco reality and only if the demand for an official apology and meager compensation from japan for the japanese military's wartime sexual slavery of cooking and when it claimed the issue was resolved to lead nineteen sixty five treaty. when the two countries normalized diplomatic ties. wednesday's meeting if it is also the nickname into his head at that time the sun that indicated he think of me and japan and the united states last month. about tw

smoke raises over a ukrainian air base and in seoul, the president says that he stands shoulder to shoulder with south korea. and the nation's largest gun lobby opens it's national convention in indiana. we examine their growing influence. and a group of young men in illinois tackle an issue that could profoundly change college football. >> threats fly . as the situation in ukraine turns explosive on the ground. the ukrainian defense ministry says that one of their military helicopters was hit by a rocket propelled grenade today . in the country's east. and in a western town . off the black sea . another grenade attack . injuring seven people . at a government checkpoint. russia and ukraine . pointing fingers at each other. the west wants - and this is how it all began - to seize control of ukraine because of their own political ambitions, not in the interests of the ukrainian people. >> the world has not yet forgotten the second world war, but russia is already keen on starting a third world war. all responsibility for aggression on ukrainian territory and for undermining international sec

we are live in seoul with the latest. good morning and welcome back to "early start." i'm george howell. it is 5:00 on the east. >> happy friday. >> it is good to be here. >> good to have you with us. >> absolutely. >> i'm poppy harlow, april 25th, 5:00 a.m. on the east coast. we begin with the latest in the search for missing flight 370 and the new defense of the investigation by malaysia's prime minister in an exclusive interview with our richard quest. the prime minister of malaysia says that a preliminary report on why the jet disappeared will be released to the public after families' outrage boiled over. >> i have directed an investigation, internal investigation team of experts to look at the report, and there's a likelihood that next week we could release the report. >> reporter: why not release it now, prime minister? is there something in it that's embarrassing to malaysia? >> no, i don't think so, but i just wanted to be, you know, this team to go through it. but in the name of transparency, we will release the report next week. >> reporter: you will? >> we w

it's sunday already soured seoul tokyo relates to the brink after pulling a mistake. senior research fellow at the aspen institute for policy studies think you very much for joining us is today. well it seemed that sold so cute eyes took a step in the right direction last month when chris and i can punish on the second for the first time with kristin brought obama to summit but how damaging that you think the latest move is by tokyo the latest move by pope is detrimental to the improvement of a five run partnership between the two countries. i wouldn't say that won't move would push the entire screen to screen for long. because one of the dull moment on hope for improvement of the bilateral partnership has already created after the first summit meeting teaching them how to manage the premise of the essential puppet. and they'll japan's move scorer largely anticipated part of the sarkozy government. this action by the pastor he brings into question prime minister of the sincerity in countries all the ongoing historical dispute with that korea. of course on his true int

he was granted asylum and flew to seoul, where he has lived for the last two years. he still hides his identity because he's afraid of north korean agents discovering him. >> (translated): i graduated from high school in february this year. i'm currently looking for a job, but i'm not working yet. although i live in south korea now, it still troubles me to think about the north korean children who suffer out there like i used to. >> (translated): north korea is a society that has fallen ill. it's a diseased society that needs to be cured. our footage is forcing north korea to acknowledge the hardships that their people face. the authorities don't like it at all. because if the truth gets out, it would put kim jong un's power under threat. >> narrator: jiro ishimaru smuggles footage out of the country, but there is also a steady flow of information back in. jeong kwang-il is a defector living in seoul who smuggles foreign films and tv shows into north korea. >> (translated): the men prefer watching action films. men love their action films! i sent thskyfall recently.

we are live in seoul with the latest.

we want to take you live now to seoul south korea as you see on the screen.president obama is there as part of a four nation trip. he's in the middle of a joint press conference with the south korean president park. let's listen. >> we share the concern over the continuous attempt to advance it's nuclear capabilities so with a sense of urgency we will make progress in the denuclearization. we will continue our efforts to reduce response and active cooperation from the international communities. north korea's pursuit of two goals at once on nuclear arsenals and economic development are incompatible. they must realize that. later ground work for peaceful communication in the korean peninsula i explained to president obama my initiative presented last month. residents of both south and north korea will eventually become free citizens of an integrated process. due to conflict, distrust, social cultural differences eventually collapse. during that process, i believe we need to shower constant north korean residents with caring interest and deliver message of hope.

what is the latest in seoul? >> reporter: alex, good day to you. president obama just wrapped up a wide ranging news conference in seoul alongside the south korean president, president park. president obama said that the palestinian/israeli peace talks are at an impasse and he said he sees no signs of progress in the foreseeable future. on the topic of ukraine, president obama again insisted that diplomacy is the way to go, but he said vladimir putin is not, in his words, a stupid man, saying that the sanctions in place are already having an impact. on the topic of north korea, president obama said north korea is not just a threat to this region, but a threat to the u.s. as well. this, of course, is a country still reeling from the loss of so many lives in the wake of that ferry disaster, barely a week ago. president obama expressed his condolences, deepest sympathies, he said, and left his host in a moment of silence, presenting president park with the u.s. flag that was flying over the white house on the day of the disaster as a sign of solidarit

between seoul and washington are among the meetings for the north meets an outburst. if a bad life the exercises and later this month that tensions will also die down. would there be could there be on the other hand could be toxic and south korea north korea after the military exercises got to see that happening. despite the differing fallacies of satellite images of north vs nuclear test site. most experts agree that for the common is routine. it's merely a matter of choice not keep ability when he comes to conducting and other new contest. i can be so . us president barack obama is expected to visit both korea and japan later this month amid strained relations between seoul and tokyo over historical and territorial issues art and science as the american leader is most likely turn driving stolen april twenty ten. us president drop a bomb night is expected to visit korea but today is from a full twenty fifth for the twenty fifth. during his fourth a visit to thailand as us president obama will be a foreign national in washington alliance and assess the implementation

they were leaving from seoul and left the port serving seoul headed to a subtropical vacation for a schoolhe poignancy of the young people on board is adding to the sense of tragedy here. >> chaotic. we are showing pictures of wrapping up young children, teenagers put on stretchers and taken to a staging area for the casualties. what can you tell us about the search underway for the missing? is it hoped some of the missing may have been picked up by other boats? >> reporter: that is the hope. in the early stages of the rescue operation, much of the rescuing was done by civilian craft in small vessel fishing boats in the area. the hope is they were rescued and taken to different locations and haven't shown up at the central casualty clearing station in a stadium. however, hope is beginning to fade. this instant took place at 9:00 this morning, it's now 6:30 in the evening. as you can see behind me, it's beginning to get dark here. we haven't had word from the government for two and a half hours. last we heard, 293 people unaccounted for, two and a half hours ago. 293 people are still unacco

enjoy the tetons shot limit and ut head of the heart of seoul drying time. we caught three wide and ten the next deadline. my efforts for resuming the long stalled six party nuclear talks are underway once again the skills of a three way meeting that treating you the wrong voice of south korea and the us and japan earlier this week. seoul's chief delegate heads to china for two day meeting focused on north korea. i can reports an effort to make a brief tour of reasoning the stalled six party talks. south korea's chief delegate count and will visit beijing friday to meet with his chinese counterpart with the way likely discuss the results of trilateral talks he attended washington with the us and japan. the meeting is expected to draw specific mastery and thoughtful preconditions to bring pyongyang back to the negotiating table shortly after the bilateral meat will head to washington to discuss the outcome of its four day trip to north korea late last month and reopening the six party talks. the news of upcoming trip comes a day after south korea glance and j

broadcast in a bar where north korea traditionally makes provocations it's a crucial week ahead at seoul and washington and their annual joint military drills and come and celebrate the birthday of north korea's founder kim il sung the cigarette manufacturer may have won last week's supreme court ruling but the national health insurance service is now going after three tobacco companies for smoking related diseases russia and ukraine point finger at each other during an emergency un security council session with the escalating prices. yep wants to root out what that stands apart from what the terrorists prime time it begins. the need to be with in korea and look to those of you but watching from around the well that many people which you can sell it and she found them sean limping so much for joining us. while north korea will be celebrating the birth of its elite founder kim il sung this week in south korea and the international community will be watching with anticipation to see if the regime launches another provocation its history is any indication. our foreign affairs correspondent.

there was a drizzly day here in seoul and weather conditions are dampening for the progress on rescue operations agenda thirty thousand attendees of a two x singled out as to whether santa pulled out that is the rain has picked up again now on sin though well so far that area has already received about one hundred and twenty six millimeters of rain to wait another twenty millimeter is expected to follow overnight foggy conditions along with half of parents are still making things difficult for rescue operations. shifting gears now to other parts of the country the nation is under the influence of a low pressure trough from the west sea which is why we're seeing cloudy and threatening tight across the nation. in the rain is falling mostly over the central regions while the products hours are dropping over the south they'll be aware of the wet roads. the contest and i expect that the road tomorrow morning. however those down south may want to keep them from i can see the tuesday evening. will they not see that tomorrow's ratings saw like a blimp was ungreased eight teams in the spot unt

forces are still carrying out what they call the second phase of an operation to seal the city of seoul. don scott now with this levy on some people are like giving it to a blockade and some other residents have expressed sentiments at the likening it to the blockade of twenty grab the seat of leningrad during world war two and it shows just how shock right now that's a siege mentality is growing even forgot it's not the reason it has been the center of these operations. by the ukrainian security forces is because it tends to be the most heavily infiltrated some of us die hard stuff that is are the ones who've taken up positions in buildings with in that town at the checkpoint on the outskirts of town checkpoints roadblocks which the ukrainian state. they are now dismantling what they call them illegal road trucks they did try to take down we saw one of those operations yesterday on a highway between sled dogs and a town called his heels. we are immobile checkpoint a few heavily armed ukrainian security forces was moving down the road we didn't actually see them dismantle any of those c

seoul, already.sident obama right now is about to address some of the 28,000 u.s. troops who are currently stationed in south korea. so, we're going to start msnbc special coverage of the president's live address to u.s. troops in seoul. >> the u.s. naval forces, korea, u.s. marine forces korea, special operations command. we have got our outstanding dod civilians. and we have our wonderful u.s. embassy staff here as well. yes! good job! in the house! and i know, and i know, we have got some outstanding spouses. [ cheers and applause ] and, and, family members, kids, in the house. and i want to -- and i want to thank you as well because you bear the burdens of service as well. whether it is separation from a loved one or transitioning to a new country. i just want you to know that america is grateful for your sacrifice and your service. now president park and i attended a briefing, led by -- general scaparatti with combined forces command. and i signed the guest book that sits on top of a table where

seoul when seoul is so unhappy with tokyo and stand shoulder to shoulder with japan at the same timehave the spectrum of china looming and entanglement we are talking about here means the u.s. is playing a very delicate game in which it knows and recognizes that the tides of change have long since been in motion and can it maintain this close relationship with south korea when the rise of china means that both economic and political reasons you've got this obvious friendship opposing japanese nationalism or whatever you want to call it. >> very difficult path to tread indeed and great to speak to you and thanks for joining us from south. >> my pleasure. >> the united states is not giving up on peace in the middle east, but that it may be time for a break. and these are efforts for a deal and lie in tatters and they suspended discussions with the palestinians a day after they agreed to form a unity government. and jordan has more from washington. >> reporter: back and forth from the u.s. to the middle east, 11 trips in all and secretary of state john kerry tried to help israelis and p

. >> mike viqueira joins us on the telephone from seoul south korea, what is the latest mike?well, in g-7 put forward this statement, john. previously the president signed executive orders, the europeans had gone along, but this is a unified movement and a unified statement. siting the fact that russia has taken no concrete actions in support of the geneva accords that were reached last thursday, matter of fact the situation has worsened significantly. the g7 leaders say it has continued to escalate tensions, by threatening military maneuvers. so the g-7 leaders -- >> mike let me interrupt you for one second. because president obama is just getting off marine one and getting ready to board an airplane just south of seoul to head to malaysia, but continue with this. and why was the decision to announce these proposed sanctions made on late friday night. >> well, there's an urgency and it is saturday noon mere this seoul, john. this is an urgency. clearly the vladimir putin continues to ignore and perhaps even thumb his nose at the west. president obama has talked about the calc

he will lay a wreath at the war memorial in seoul and visit the grandest palace in seoul you see behind me. then there's the meat of this visit when he has extensive talks with the president. this is an opportunity for president obama to do what his officials say he'll be doing throughout this tour around asia saying the momentum is still very much behind the administration's rebalancing of its political, economic and military efforts here in asia. that's something that people in this region have been, to some extent, doubting with what's going on in syria and, of course, more recently in ukraine. the united states having to deal with these very serious issues in more traditional areas of interest. so that's something that the white house has been saying will be a key component of this visit. he will also have more specific issues, of course, to talk about here in seoul. the likely threat it seems of another north korean nuclear test coming up. the south korean defense ministry said they defected increased signs of activity around the nuclear test site in northeastern north korea. that'

many on board were students, on a trip from high school to the capital seoul. >> parents are travelling to the area by bus. they'll have an anxious wait to find out if their child is among those rescued or not. >> translation: i felt like my heart stopped. i can't describe the feeling in words. i was too shocked. i can't talk about it. >> there are fears some of the people who remained may be trapped in the ferry. 95% of the ship is submerged under water. it's not known why it sank. >> all right, we can go live to our correspondent harry fawcett, on his way from seoul, the capital, to the scene of the accident in jay ju island. we see you are on the move. it's terrible to be talking about numbers at a time like this, but what are the latest in terms of numbers dead and unaccounted for. >> well, the only solid number is of the dead, a female crew member and a 16, 17-year-old male student. the number of missing has just in the last few minutes shot up considerably. the government acknowledged they made a mistake when calculating the number rescued i don't recall on, saying 368 people had

we are getting breaking news out of seoul. >> president obama is currently speaking in seoul, next toesident park. he is talking about ukraine now. let's have a quick listen in. >> the destabilizing activities that are taking place to the south and east. both the europeans and the united states have been consistent in calibrating sanctions that could provide a deterrent to the russians, providing support to the ukrainians, leaving open a path for resolving this problem diplomatically. now, as i said yesterday, what we have seen since the geneva agreement is the ukrainian government has been carrying out the terms of that agreement. it has introduced legislation providing amnesty to those that would lay down arms and exit from these government buildings that have been occupied. foras put forward a process constitutional reform that ensures the rights of all ukrainians. it is a credible document. it is one that has been presented to the council of input and is getting throughout ukraine, as well as from experts outside of ukraine on constitutional reform. what you have seen is the gover

anna jung, nhk world, seoul. >> all right that is going to do it for biz this hour. let's get you caught up with the markets. >>> nuclear power plant workers are trying to tackle the flow of water in to fukushima daiichi. they've begun pumping up groundwater to prevent it from reaching the crippled facility and becoming radioactive. groundwater is flowing from nearby mountains into the reactor buildings and mixing with highly radioactive water. the bypass plan has been developed to reduce the amount of newly contaminated water. the japanese government and the plant's operator tokyo electric power company started the new system after local fishermen agreed to the plan. tepco says groundwater will be punched up from 12 wells over several days. the water will be stored in tanks. it will take about a month for private organizations to test the water's radiation levels. if the water meets safety standards set by the government and tepco, it will be released into the pacific ocean. currently the amount of contaminated water accumulating at the plant increases by about 400

and citigroup are the portraits of north korean leaders in seoul. one member of the group says south korean skewed and north korea for firing ballistic missiles and threatening to carry out the fourth nuclear tests. a former us intelligence chief has welcomed the possibility of the jeep and exercising its right to collective self defense. dennis blair spoke to nhk world into account where served as director of national intelligence he was also the head and the us pacific command. he commented on crime is issued on its push to re interpret the japanese constitution past japanese government had maintained the constitution does not allow the right to try the self defense the restrictions on japanese military. actions related to japan's past and past agreements i think he could be gradually adjusted to redress the new realities the appointed hour the rest of the north korean missile attacks as a key issue in

president obama's trip to seoul is being overshadowed by last week's deadly ferry disaster. south koreans are mourning the dead or missing, about 300 people, a majority, high school students. across the country, people are wearing yellow ribbons. president obama is still pushing ahead with his agenda. he led a naturalization ceremony for military service members and their spouses. there, the president sent the u.s. congress a message. >> america is strengthened by our immigrants. we're a nation of immigrants. moving forward, we have to fix our broken immigration system and pass common sense immigration reform. >> reporter: mr. obama paused to remember the victims of the korean war, laying a wreath at the country's memorial.

we begin this evening on seoul's defence front the discovery of three drones in the less than a month which are most likely thought to be sent from the north and south korea on high alert defence ministry called for tighter vigilant against new threats defence ministry correspondent even been reports. key commanders from every branch of the military held an emergency meeting monday. this was the reason the patrician supplementary of vehicles. the pessimistic in loans and home of the meeting heard all the military to be at the ready for any threat of tongue out. kim emphasize that the three trials on the south korea recent days were for surveillance purposes. the war in the future once they'd use to carry out attacks. north korea has hundreds of amen area vehicles in its possession so there could very well be more found in south korea in the coming days and weeks. the south korean military says is well equipped to deal with an image of incursions and attack you the us. but as dad is much more difficult to take these types of units which are very small and soft seoul says it plans to pr

president is there in seoul on this visit? >> reporter: in some respects, it was almost expected by the south korean government. we talked to some officials before this trip and they said look, there were these warnings that the north koreans tend to give before they conduct a missile test. it's sort of a two-part process. they send one warning, then another warning, then there's a missile test. in this case, the south korean government received two warnings, so they've been waiting for this test. if it happened during president obama's trip to south korea, that might be seen by many as even more provocative with the timing. the north korean leader has been called the youngest, most unpredictable leader in the world. so there's no telling what exactly will happen here. but you're right, president obama gave that strong statement to a south korean newspaper that came out before his arrival here, saying north korea should expect a strong response from the international community. in the form of these resolutions demanding north

it's wednesday april nine here in seoul land to keep a central in things so much for joining us. we begin this evening in north korea where on this wednesday the regimes lawmakers showed up for the first day of its first parliamentary session under kim jong un as a convention is largely expected to serve as a chance to name new commission members all eyes are on the events of the world can get a glimpse of the isolated state policies and power structure i can use this fun funky reports your thirty s thirteen spring people of a family session got underway in town that on wednesday. it marks the first fashion that the rubber stamp parliament elected and academic leadership. as widely expected against him was to be present and as the chairman of the powerful national defense commission according to the state run korean central news agency agenda items at the meeting include appointing officials for the devon coast and deliberating on this year's budget plan. the first session of the country's highest legislative body is in a position to find out who was then and that was at north ko

came from the communist state the unidentified vehicles are likely to have taken photos of capital seoul and even the presidential office at ten mg l has more. early investigations showed the unmanned drone attacks in three south korean border ireland on monday is from north korea. the presidential office of time i dip resumes in that vehicle to be from the north as it was found after north korea fired scores of artillery shells in the waters south of the northern limit line as part of his life by a military drill. south korea's defense ministry is continuing its analysis of the drone and is devising contingency plans to shore up the country's air defects military and intelligence officials are known to have concluded that the drones were assembled and developed in north korea for reconnaissance purposes. i was floored and from the north. the light blue joan was found on pena little aisle in the south of the disputed western sea border between the two koreas to join its one hundred eighty three centimeters long almost two and a half meters wide and weighs around twelve point seven kilogr

week during a press briefing and that the ferry disaster it will take priority during a bus trip to seoul. in addition to this of a disaster president obama and president huckabee are also expected to discuss north korea's nuclear program rohde said the door to dialogue remains open for kenya. so long as the regime is ready and willing to be new parents. honey can i be on its. what president obama by this old this friday no after we added showing signs of preparing for the fourth new protests south korean defence ministry spokesperson kim in seoul said tuesday that increased movement has been detected at the north and eighty nuclear test site he added that kenyon is at a stage where he could carry out a nuclear test at any time. south korea and us forces are closely monitoring the situation and a self defence ministry and the joint chiefs of staff have also set up a crisis management task force to prepare for possible tax experts have speculated recently that a fourth nuclear test could be in the words ahead of obama's visit to tokyo and seoul this week. and on the eve of u s president ba

journalist andrew salmon joins us from seoul. what sdens have south korea have that -- evidence does south korea have that indicates the possibility of a nuclear test? >> reporter: they're saying they've seen increased activity at the underground nuclear test site in north korea. and we've had unconfirmed reports this activity consists of vehicles and increased numbers of personnel. but the south korean defense ministry are being very, very tightlipped about the source of the intelligence which is being shared with the americans. however, they are taking it seriously. they've activated a special task force which is keeping a close eye all developments. >> of course, we know that u.s. president barack obama will be traveling to seoul at the end of the week. how imminent is this possible nuclear test? can they work that out? any indication of when it might happen? >> reporter: i can't answer that. we can't be sure. it is, nuclear, a nuclear test. it could be an upgrade of activity. it would be the nancy simply doing what they often

it moved from the port that is the capital here in seoul, south korea, the trip usually takes about 13r 14 hours. we understand from the incheon port manager that this had been delayed for a couple of hours. it didn't leave until 9:00 p.m. because of weather conditions, because of fog. that is what delayed the effort. in seoul, that could be the same in the southwest coast of southwest korea where the incident happened. that is something that investigators will certainly look at. >> and just to correct my math, 474 on board, 378 rescued. 104 are not accounted for at this stage, the latest numbers we have, paula hancock in seoul, thank you, we'll be speaking to you again, soon. back now to our top stories, after the first mission was cut short on monday it is back in the ocean. >> yeah, the bluefin-21 is looking for debris that could be linked to flight 370. and as david mattingly reports, the success could depend on what happened the moment the plane hit the water. >> we've seen what happens when passenger jets crash. >> oh, my god. >> from the tragic and unexpected like last year in s

here we are in seoul, andrea. all focus seems to be on international affairs but elsewhere as far as this trip is concerned. >> our friend and colleague chuck todd in seoul, south korea. jim maceda, tensions have continued to mount. you yourself were hold up today by militants. tell me what happened. >> reporter: this is true. i didn't realize you knew that. we were detained by pro-russian militants, the same place where simon was detained and held under horrific conditions. it's almost embarrassing to talk about what happened to us. we were held for about an hour. tense at first. it became less tense over the course of the hour. they felt our documents -- particularly my document was not in order, though it was. the sense was in the early stages of this they were targeting me because i was american. but, again, doing a lot of standing and waiting. they told us not to come back. what i wanted to talk about was the opportunity today, and it's rare for a reporter to be able to cover both sides of a conflict. we did

the cd of them was two hundred fifty km south of seoul is surrounded by mountains. he may teach either a million visitors flock here for that to him fast. she is the name of a real historical figure. a beautiful woman who lived in dam on in the eighteenth century. it is due to her unbreakable people next to her lover. despite being kept apart from him for many years the story and romeo and juliet tale is white festival began in nineteen thirty one people now are collected money and built a shrine to honor the memory of the league each used on a great deal when he preaches cheese festival begins in one hundred garden. the symbol of the mall the eye the chance to reach one thousand two hundred middle and high school girls around. simple and compound interest has changed the and the old cannery paper lanterns. seven pm. the girls persist through the streets have no more huge crowds gathered the little lanterns create a festive atmosphere. eight pm the official start of the six day festival was announced for the shooting off fireworks. lulu long the link to a great numb

we wait to see how many more have been rescued andway the condition is. >> that's harry fawcett in seoul. we hope to getan update. today kiev launched an official operation against pro-russian separatists. soldiers landed at an airport. shots were fired. injuries were reported on both sides. kim vinnell reports from the ground. >> firing warning shots, ukrainian troops send a message to protesters at a military airfield. in the background a woman shouts that two young people have been wounded, but soldiers and special police forces hold their ground. outside the airfield pro-russian mobs barricade the xit and say they will not let the military leave. casualties have been reported on both sides, although the ukrainian defense ministry deny their troops have been injured. tensions taking its toll, with protesters wary of where allegiances lie. >> the goal is to defend the city so we can sleep well, to defend it from uninvited guests. >> we want to defend the city from the military. we don't want war or fights. we want peace. >> just as things appeared to die down, more shots warned protest

majestic express the deep end this year it's as if the station has landed smack dab in the middle of seoul it's kind of was designed plaza. the new mall type earth is complex facility that opened last month. niv on tv reporter suzanne didn't want to check it out. i want i'll be able to lead the fight. when design plus a few souls knew was lame the unique structure is over eighty five thousand square meters and soft. but many are criticizing the cost to the structure to more than four hundred fifty million us dollars to build. many are wondering if going to move to sun plaza is just a building that's pretty again. we got the chance to check out various aspects of the landmark to this report april first mark the tenth anniversary of korea's first ever free trade deal with electric volume between korea and chile has jumped more than a half times over the past ten years. economics correspondent not condone analyze the past ten years of that we actually fta and how it has benefited our economy the nation's automobile industry was the biggest beneficiary. but the agricultural sector took some pi

don kirk via seoul. apologies for the quality of the sound there with don. >> let's move on to other news, and a bomb from the 1940s exploded in the thai capital. it exploded earlier. it's the first such incident in bangkok and police are taking steps to ensure it will be the last. this report from bangkok. this devastating explosion caused by a 70-year-old relic, killing eight, levelling a shop in bangkok. all from a bomb brought during world war ii. it was dug up at a construction site and sold off for scrap. workers were taking it apart when it detonated. during the war, thailand alined itself with japan. the day pearl harbour was bombed japanese troops entered the country. three years later, retaliation from the allies began. >> by 1944, 1945 the allies started bombing strategic point in thailand. transportation, movement of the japanese in the south-east asian theatre. >> and one of those strategic sites right here, the railway station. hundreds of bombs fell during air raids, nearly destroying it.

speaking at a press conference, obama said washington and seoul stand united against north korea's nuclear program. korea, regard to north the united states and south korea stand shoulder to shoulder, both in the face of pyongyang's provocations and in our refusal to accept a nuclear north korea. threats will get them nothing other than greater isolation. we are united on the steps pyongyang needs to take to illuminate its weapons program and live up to their international obligations. >> that was barack obama speaking in seoul earlier. israel says it is holding peace talks with the palestinians after a unity deal between rival factions were reached. israel says it cannot negotiate with the government backed by hamas that does not recognize israel's right to exist. the move comes just a's after a u.s. deadline to reach a framework for peace in the decade-long conflict. >> peace talks between israel and the palestinians are suspended, not called off. the security cabinet decided to free the process after the party signed it unity -- signed a unity pack with hamas. however if the palestinian

we will go now live in seoul.t has been about seven hours now since this ship started to sink and more than 100 people are still unaccounted for, a real concern. how hopeful are rescuers that they will find passengers and crew. >> let me recap from my recent scenario, things looking far grimer than previously. there were 477 persons aboard the ship when it went down, of those 295 remain unaccounted for, as you said, seven hours now after the ship founded off the southwest coast. if you see from the pictures, weather is good, visibility is clear and there are a large number of vessels on the scene. what happened to those unaccounted for, are they lost, have they been taken to different locations or are they trapped in the hull. some of the school teachers said some of the teachers when they heard the crash when the ship hit something were ushered to the upper deck. some passengers say there was an announcement over the passenger system telling people to remain in sit you, not to get top side where they can get resc

it was sailing from inchon in the north near seoul to jeju island when it got into difficulties. it capsized here. 295 people are now missing. three bodies have now been recovered. that's according to the coast guard, including one student. the u.s. navy has sent a ship to join the search and rescue operation in this area. this is the rescue center on the island of jindo. that's where survivors have been reunited with family members. nick childs has the latest. >> reporter: a disaster. the ferry already lifting at a crazy angle, desperate to rescue those aboard. as a flotilla of rescue boats arrive, others are pluckeded to safety off the coast waters of south korea's southern coast. in the air above helicopters hover. again, we see frightened survivors from the deck. but there were nearly 500 people aboard the stricken vessel. more than 300 of them high school students. the ship capsized completely, divers joined the search. the urgent question, how many people were still trapped in the submerged hull? more traumatize ed survivors grately reached dry lands. many jumped or plunged

we are live in seoul. >> nigeria's president abuses boko haram over a rush-hour bombing killing 70 in the capital. plus... >> brazilia, the capital of brazil, where the biggest state-run company, petro gas is facing corruption charges at the highest levels. >> ukrainian crisis is clearly straining relations between the u.s. and russia. barack obama's phone call with vladimir putin has been described as frank. barack obama again an accused vladimir putin's government of supporting armed troops. he asked them to withdraw russia's traps from the border. 40,000 are thought to be stationed there. obama warned mr vladimir putin that russia would incur further costs on top of the sanctions in place. vladimir putin told obama accusations moscow is interfering in eastern ukraine are unfounded. turning the tables, putin called on the u.s. to prevent the use of blood shed. >> this is the moment pro-russian protesters stormed headquarters in an eastern city in ukraine. 100 men took part in the assault which, like many takeovers in the east, was streamed on live. ukraine's president said the milit

harry fawcett reports from seoul. >> reporter: on tuesday morning south korea's president was at thely opened memorial to the victims of the tragedy. she paid a personal tribute to the dead and later made this apology. >> translator: how should i apologize for the failure to prevent the accident and for the insufficient initial response and the pain and suffering of the victim's families, even for a moment. i apologize with a heavy heart to the nation's citizens that so many precious lives were lost due to this accident. >> reporter: the initial response has only by heightened as the captain stepped off of the ship more than 300 others were left to die told to stay put on board. there are questions over though cost guard's response as well as the delays on getting drivers inside the ship once it went under. >> reporter: the president recognized it wasn't just the initial response, but the conditions that allowed such a tragedy to happen in the first place. she promised a new national safety ministry as well as a government effort on safety to remodel this country from the ground up.

parents tried to march in protest to seoul from jindo at the site of the search operation.ou see here they were blocked by dozens of police. >> and again today divers are combing through the capsized vessel racing against time to find any survivors. nearly three dozen aircraft and more than 200 ships are aiding in the seven. >> passengers on this doomed ferry could not get to the life boats because it was tilting too much. >> cnn's paula hancocks joins us from the port of jindo. good morning to you. divers faced very rough conditions yesterday. how is it there today? >> reporter: well, randi, it was rough yesterday. we had to come in from our fishing boat but today another cnn team on the water said it was a lot calmer and said the divers were able to continue the search throughout the day. that is being reflected in the sad fact this death toll is rising, the fact that bodies are being retrieved from the sewol and they are being brought back here to the harbor. they're being brought back on stretchers, covered and taken to tents, about 100 meters way from the waterside and

and that's why we're having all of this occur, especially while president obama is in seoul, because jong un needs to show some success. and what better way to do it than to embarrass an american president. >> all right. gordon chang, thank you very much. >> thank you. >>> and still to come, passengers' final messages from flight 370. a live demonstration of how they can be retrieved. >>> and is $60 billion too much to spend on pets? morgan spurlock "outfront." [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there. meet your biggest competitor: philips slimstyle led bulb. beautiful quality light with a slim design, at a slim price. predibut, manufacturings a prettin the united states do. means advanced technology. we learned that technology allows us to be craft oriented. no one's losing their job. there's no beer robot that has su

let's get to andrew salmon, who's live in seoul. so, let me ask you this.timing of this, this possible movement from north korea, kind of curious. >> reporter: kind of curious, you're right. what we can say is it's still spring here on the korean peninsula. always a tense time. this is when the south koreans and the u.s. carry out their joint maneuvers. two main exercises are finished, but even today and right through friday, there is the largest ever air defense exercises with aircraft from both the u.s. and south korea drilling in the skies above the peninsula. so, the north koreans are extremely sensitive to this, and we've seen on north korean news today kim jong-un himself visiting a north korean air unit and encouraging them to be prepared to defend their country. but of course, also in even bigger news, u.s. president barack obama will be traveling through the region. he's arriving in south korea on friday, leaving saturday. and the north korean foreign ministry have been berating this trip using a lot of rhetoric, including saying this will bring da