to invest cowl soul for the first time with mayor ed lee to foster a long lasting relationship with seoul that will generate cultural benefits loans with the our soul sister city san francisco has much in common with soul if their renowned art that residents take pride to tare historical moments and the parks our marches have much in no one they started as civil rights attorney mayor pouk is a good mayor that was imprisoned in that soul stand up for his right and our mayor led the first public housing rights strike in san francisco 38 their unexpected mayors are invented candidates that are here to serve their cities there are picture pictures of the mayor pco cleaning the students and our mayor was started the public works and when i met the mayor he was peppering cleaning the streets of san francisco and so those o both of them understand the infrastructure of the city but also understands what that means to be a public certificate your our commitments what they laborer look for they're ready to get their hundreds dirty on behalf of the city as we move forward i want to acknowledge mayo

she married a south korean man and now lives in seoul.im feels that unwed single mothers can lighten their burden by talking to people who have had the experience of being adopted overseas. soon hee still worries whether raising her daughter by herself was the best decision for the child's future. the government has taken notice. this support center for single parent families run by the city of seoul opened in 2009. there are currently 15 other such facilities around the country. three times a week qualified teachers offer lessons to help unwed single mothers to prepare for high school graduation. many women who become pregnant in their teens are unable to complete their education. without a high school diploma finding a stable job is extremely difficult. students aim to pass the high school proficiency exam after a six month course. the pass rate last year was 100%. lee young ho has been working alongside other groups to increase awareness about the unwed single mother issue. she believes that support for the women is still far from suff

despite the occasional oasis, seoul suffers green space. most put it at 4-5 square meters, the world health organisation recommends 9 square meters. in london it has a figure of 27. so rather than tear down this overpass near the city's main railway station, the plan is to turn it into an elevated park at the cost of $36 million. >> by not tearing down the structures, but recycling them, we hope to make seoul an international city where people will come to enjoy the views. >> a bigger bit of recycling is due in 10 years im. the base is set to become a public park. work is not due to be completed until february 27th. >>> now, a reminder you can keep up to date with all the news on the website. there it is on the screen. all the latest on the mass graves found in a town in southern mexico, the i.s.i.l. advances in iraq and syria. the address aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. >> the rwandan genocide began twenty years ago. in 100 days, almost one million people were killed. today, rwanda is thriving. as the president credited with stoping t

kim said he would convey japan's concern to officials in seoul. tokyo plans to continue discussions with south korea to try to improve relations. officials hope to arrange talks between prime minister shinzo abe and president park in the coming weeks. >>> the japanese newspaper publishers and editors association has also protested the indictment. it says the move threatens freedom of the media and expression in south korea. which is a fundamental principle of a democratic society. >>> chong government officials have dealt a heavy blow to attempts to defuse a political standoff. they've canceled the talks scheduled for friday with pro-democracy student leaders. they stay protesters' remarks damaged the trust needed for the talks. >> i truly regret that we will not be able to have a meeting tomorrow, which will produce any constructive outcome. >> the city's number two official says student leaders have been shifting their demands. carrie lam says the students are now calling for beijing to reverse the decision to vet candidates for a 2017 election.

we will meet some of the children whose parents say they are missing out and seoul sees the light ashe south korea ian capitol rids itself of overpass eyeso eyesores. eyesores. >> i don't really know what's going to happen to me... >> of oscar winner alex gibney's hard hitting series... edge of eighteen >> i'm never going to appoligize for the type of person that i am >> facing tough challenges... >> we do feel cheeted, by the american university process >> taking a stand... >> it's gonna be on my terms, on how i want it to be >> boldly pursuing their dreams >> what did i do? >> the lives of american teenagers... on the edge of eighteen only on al jazeera america >> these are the global headlines on al jazeera. strategic battle grounds not far from the iraqi capitol are proving difficult for either isil or the government of iraq to hold on to. these are the latest pictures of the fighting in the town just north of baghdad. isil reportedly took parts of the town on saturday but the government now says it is in control there. these are the proceed democracy movements hong kong have had

like this, an artery in central seoul, now gone. the city government says they served their purpose. and the priority should be on making the city a more pleasant place to live. >> it was a bit of a symbol of the area. i miss it a bit. we have more light, i like that. >> it's more spacious and convenient to walk around now. >> it's far from the first project aimed at making seoul voib rant and end -- vibrant and engaging and a hardly beautiful city more easy on the road. this was a road in the 1960s, 10 years ago the road was ripped up, cleaned up and restored. >> despite the oasis seoul suffers green space. most estimates puts it at 4-5 square meters. it recommends a minimum of nine square meters and london has a figure of 27. and so rather than tear down the overpass near the city's main railway station, the plan is to turn it into an elevated park at the cost of 76 million. >> by not tearing down the structures and recycling, they hope to make seoul an international city where a lot of people will come to enjoy the views. >> repo

prosecutors in seoul say it defamed the country's president. the article questioned the whereabouts of park geun-hye on the day the sewol ferry sank in april. he wrote rumors that park was with a man. rumors say the government reflects the intentions of the park administration. they say the move may stall attempts to improve relations between the two countries. foreign ministry officials in tokyo summoned the minister from the south korean embassy. they jim yong kim the indictment is regrettable in terms of freedom of the press and bilateral relations. ki78 said he would convey japan's concern to officials in seoul. tokyo plans to continue excuses with seoul to try to improve relations. officials hope to arrange talks between prime minister shinzo abe and president park in the coming week. >>> the japan newspaper publishers and editors association has also protested the indictment. it said the move threatens freedom of expression and the media in south korea, which is a fundamental principle of a democratic society. >>> a now powerful sigh phoo

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the home rink of the anyang ice hockey team is located on outskirts of seoul.n this day, they are playing a preseason friendly match against local rivals. in the audience is the program director of south korea's national team and observing possible team members for the qualifying rounds of the next olympics. among the skaters are three players with dual citizenship. they were able to join their respective teams using the multiple citizenship system. anyang forward radunske played in the u.s. and germany. brian young also from canada is a defenseman on the team. his physique and strength have made him the pillar of defense. michael swift is brian's cousin and arrived from canada about a year after brian. he's the forward and top scorer in the asian league for two years in a row. they've been doubled the three musketeers and hailed as players that will bring the south korean hockey team success. >> it's a process for a national team to pick a national team, he helped with that first goal for them, strong on the puck, big body. he'll go to the front of the net and

ansan is some 30 kilometers southwest of seoul.n the district of wongok-dong, over 35% of the population is made up of foreign residents. wongok-dong immigrants hail from 15 countries. including china, vietnam, indonesia and places as far as way as uzbekistan. on weekends the town's center is a melting pot of different ethnicities. >> hey, how are you? >> recently many stores offer a wide range of products from all over asia, making life easier for the foreign population. foreign laborers are permitted to stay in south korea for up to four years and ten months. as long as they are working they are under no particular restrictions. the south korean government introduced the employment permit system in 2004, one that is unprecedented in the world. up until then the nation only accepted foreign workers as interns. because of low wages interns would suddenly quit their jobs, leading to an increase in illegal immigrants. south korea needed a new foreign labor policy because its own high school graduates, 70% of whom go onto college, rar

markets like seoul faced downward pressure. others like tokyo, though, managed to finish the day higher. the nikkei climbing 1% today, it finished at 15,291. the highest close in two weeks. the index managed to post a weekly gain. still we had profit taking outcapping the advance. the shanghai composite finished flat at 2,302. it has fallen for three straight sessions through thursday. some players bought back recent decliners despite the segive sentiment stemming from the weak home price data. in seoul the kospi seeing declines of 0.3%, 1,925. that makes for a second consecutive loss there. before the market opened investors saw that the country's gdp growth figures did not meet market consensus. >>> well, engineers in the united states have started work on a project that will provide cheaper energy to people in japan. they're building a liquefaction plant in the state of louisiana that they'll use to export millions of tons of natural gas. >> one, two, three. officials at japan's leading trading houses mitsui and mitsubishi t

mainland china and seoul, as you can see there, were shut today. tokyo's nikkei average rising 0.3%, it hit 15,708. reversing earlier losses. a weaker yen supported the market, leaving the advance today, fast retailing after it released strong sales figures at its eunuch chloe stores. taiwan surging 1.5%, 9,106. that is a two-week closing high there. investors speculated it was supported by bonds backed by taiwanese authorities. shares of apple products went higher on strong demand for new iphones in china. >>> the head of the international monetary fund says the global economy is weaker than many people thought. christine lagarde delivered a speech in the run-up to next week's imf and world bank meetings. >> the recovery is much more modest in japan, and it's the weakest in the euro area. she said japan has been struggling since government officials raised the consumption tax from 5% to 8%. lagarde has called for both japan and europe to implement more structural reforms and spending on infrastructure to try to drive growth. but she said the unite

from north korea to seoul is a considerable distance, says this spokesman. soil structure contains a lot of granite. so it's not an easy dig like it was digging tunnels in vietnam, for example. north korea has said in the past the tunnels are not for invasion, but part of their mining industry. with pyongyang's nuclear ambitions and long-range ballistic missile, the focus is no longer on these tums. the military still officially looks for them, but the budget is small leaving tunnel hunters frustrated, believing that their concerns are simply not being taken seriously. paula hancocks, cnn, seoul. >> now thought to be confused with errol the human, the aral sea was once the fourth largest lake in the world but now it's 10% of its former size. ivan cabrera explains why and high. >> yeah, you know, we show you pictures, a lot of the ice sheets and melting due to climate change but this nothing to do with climate change. this was back in the 1960s during the ussr, they undertook a major water diverse project here and fly you into the area where we find the aral

i want to bring in paula hancocks live in seoul., looking from the outside, there is so much we don't know about this closed society. we can parse when he is there and when he is not. there is something happening behind the secenes. >> reporter: that's right, christine. it has been five weeks since he was last spotted. this is a man who is not afraid of the cameras. he is talked about in the media and in the spotlight. it is unusual he is not seen at all. he was expected to be seen this friday. the last couple of years, we have seen him at this important ceremony. the anniversary of the ruling workers party foundation. the fact that an he wasn't here this year is significant. it will continue the speculation. he was limping in july. state run media tv acknowledged he was experiencing discomfort which was an unprecedented statement. the assumption is he has health issues. it is not clear at this point how bad the health issues might be. we know a north korean delegation came to seoul last weekend and they did say that kim jong-un was

harry fawcett is in seoul. any sign of the dictator tonight? >. >> no, nothing so far, that is interesting. in the last couple of years when he takened the event he began at midnight, at the beginning of the day with a visit to the mausoleum where his father and grandfather lie in state, and by now after midday korean time we would have seen reports of his attendance at such an event. no such report has been forthcoming. that will add to the speculation swirling about his health, his bonings grip on power. but it looks like the south koreans at least are trying to get that played down. there has been a statement from the unification ministry, a government body that manages inter-korean relations and spokesman saying as far as the south korean government is concerned. it seemed there was stability in terms of kim jong un's rule and it was operating normally, and they sited as reason for that belief in part the visit by three senior north korean leaders to south korea last weekend. they said that they brought a message from kim jong un to the sou

paula hancock, live from seoul. thanks for helping us there. >>> we're going to turn our attention to the fight against i.s.i.s. turkey says it's not getting involved. i was out for a bike ride. i didn't think i'd have a heart attack. but i did. i'm mike, and i'm very much alive. now my doctor recommends a bayer aspirin regimen to help prevent another heart attack. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. has a new easy-to-swallow coating... so the nutrients for your eyes, heart and brain go down easier. for a limited time, get your four-dollar coupon at centrum.com. when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it

let's get more from paula hancock who joins us live from seoul. so we're hearing that he may have been absent from the celebrations after all. how significant is that? >> reporter: there was one occasion this morning, the past two years he has actually attended. he did not attend this friday morning. this was the first ceremony of the day. it was attending at the palace of the sun which is where his father, kim jong-il and his grandfather, the founder of north korea, are embalmed. since he has taken power he has always led that delegation of military officials, of political officials and workers to go and pay respects there. now we know he did not attend that early this friday morning. we know that there was the head of the military who actually put forward a basket of flowers in his name. it had his name written on it. so this is going to increase the speculation as to where the north korean leader is. the assumption here in south korea among many experts is that he has health issues. we heard an unprecedented comment saying that he was suffering

nhk world, seoul. >>> let's take a look at the latest market figures. >>> here is the weekend weather forecast. >>> that's all we have this hour on "newsline." thank you for watching. >>> this week on "moyers & company," christian and climate scientist katharine hayhoe on ending the gridlock between science and religion. >> climate change is a casualty of much larger societal issues. it's not a scientific issue. it's not a matter of one more report will do it. one more new analogy, and people will get it. information is not the answer. the answer has much more to do with who we are as humans, and how we function politically. >> announcer: funding is provided by -- anne gumowitz, encouraging the renewal of democracy. carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org. the ford foundation, working

from seoul, steve evans reports. >> reporter: he's back, all smiles. kim jong un in public view for the first time in 40 days. so ending speculation about who's in charge. su the north korean leader now has a walking stick. these are still pictures, so it's impossible to say how easy he finds it to walk. before he disappeared from public view, he was filmed hobbling with difficulty, his limp very pronounced. it's impossible to say if he's had surgery between then and now. and it's impossible to say how fast he'll recover. ten days ago, his inner circle arrived in south korea, prompting speculation if these were the new men in charge. today's pictures show that they were not. their leader was back in pyongyang. on friday, balloons with messages against the north korean leader were launched from south korea over the border. prompting north korea to shoot at them. it's a relationship which blows hot and cold. kim jong un remains the focus of anger from the united states and the west. he is clearly not fully physically fit, but his power is undiminished. s

. >> north korea decided to send three of its top officials south of the border informing seoul just hours before their arrival. >> reporter: i made this trip with the hope that the occasion would be a turning point for north and south korean relations. i'm glad to sit and share this warm meal with you. >> a few weeks ago north carolina was calling south carolina a military gangster and traitor part of the extreme hostile language. on saturday it was all smiles. >> today those in special positions have come here at the delegation from the north. we must work together so north and south korea's relations improve. >> this visit was an opportunity to attend the closing ceremonies where athletes have done unexpectedly well. wildly regarded as the second most senior member of nort nortnorth korea's leadership. north korea's president kim jong-un has been out of the public for a month. new england, human rights, the u.s. military presence on the peninsula, they appear to have done little in these talks other than to promise to talk again soon. but here that in itself is progress. harry p f

. >> we have reports from seoul. >> reporter: top table talks between north- north and south korea. it seems that north korea decided to send three of its top officials to south of the border without agenda. they talked about improving korean ties. >> i made this trip in hope that this would be a turning point for north and south korean relations. i'm glad to sit and share this meal with you. >> they are called the adviser a military gangster and trader. part of the extreme hostile language. on saturday it was all smiles. >> today those in special positions have come here at the delegation from the north. we must work together as north and south korean relations improve. >> reporter: it was an opportunity to attend the closing ceremony for the asian games. the threats have done unexpectedly well. more unexpected, the arrival of the second most senior member of thof north korea. north korean media reported about his kim jong-un's discomfort. issues remain entrenched, nuclear weapons, and rights of the peninsula. they've done little in these talks other than to talk again soon. but he

it pulls out of a home in central seoul. it's set to become a park. work is not due to be completed until 2027. >>> keep up to date with all the news on the website. there it is, aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. >> i had an american sitting here and he said to me are you actually running a holiday camp for criminals? and my answer to him there immediately was 'so what'?

from south korea, seoul, steve has the story. >> reporter: members of parliament were told in seoul the north korean leader had noticed the cyst on his ankle in may and suffered increasing discomfort. in september or earlier this month, a team of doctors from europe have been flown to pong yang to remove the cyst from his ankle. the intelligence official didn't specify which countries they had come from, simply it was a european medical team. the officials said it had derived from what's known as tarsal tunnel syndrome. that's an ailment that comes when the nerves are pinched in the ankle and a swelling then erupts. what the official also said was that the condition could reoccur. it's been removed but it could reoccur. there's a health warning with this. the tintelligence agencies deal with information and disinformation. having said that though, south korean intelligence agency does have a reputation for what's called human intelligence. in plain english, spies on the ground. this official was giving information or disinformation to a properly constituted group within the parliament.

i want to bring in an paula hancocks live in seoul. reporter: good morning, john. we are on the phone to the defense minister. they are working to confirm the report on local media that north korea and south korea are exchanging fire. what we understand in south korea, there were a number of defectors and activists launching propaganda balloons. balloons that they launched filled with dvds about the kim dynasty and his father and grandfather. they try to send those over the border so ordinary people can find out what is going within the country. this infuriates the north koreans. they threatened they would retaliate. it appears to local media, that has happened now. north korea has fired shots in the air. it has landed into south korea. we are trying to get confirmation on that now. it comes at a crucial time where we are five weeks without seeing the north korean leader. nobody knows where he is. the assumption is he has health issues. he has been limping in recent footage. he has suffered discomfort. unprecedented that something is w

harry faucet is live from the south korean capital seoul and so much public anger of this case and whatas been happening in court? >> well, as you are just saying the prosecution has made its case now and at the end of that case arguing for the sentencing as follows, the captain that say he should be given the death penalty, three other senior crew members like the captain charged with homicide with willful negligence should be given life in jail and 11 crew members including the inexperienced third mate who was in charge of the bridge at the time of the fate ul term and led to the cab size the prosecution said they should have sentences of 15-30 years and the captain has apologized in the past to the families and said he didn't order a evacuation because he was worried if passengers went in the water they would be swept by currents and no ships to rescue them. during the case he said he did order an evacuation and prosecution accused him of lacking remorse and say he should be given the death penalty. sentencing taking on the 11th of november and it may not be carried out because there

also in seoul the kospi seeing declines of nearly 1%, 1,900 at the close there. that makes for a weekly drop of 2%. the lowest closing level, as well, since early february. key exporters like samsung electronics were down. and in hong kong, the hang seng index was higher, more than half a percent, 23,023. that did erase some of thursday's losses. telecom shares like china mobile were higher due to the launch of the iphone 6 in china. >>> well, officials at japan's transport ministry have given the go-ahead for the construction of a high-speed train line that uses magnetic levitation technology or maglev. it will connect tokyo and nagoya in just 40 minutes. that cuts the travel time by more than half. transport minister akihiro ohta handed the approval document to the president of central japan railway. the rail operator had submitted the application back in august. since then, people at the ministry have been studying the maglev's technical feesibility. the cost and time needed for building, as well as other factors. >> translator: this is a mega project. it can

kim chan ju, nhk world, seoul. >> that's all now for business news. i'll leave you with a check on markets. ♪ ♪ >>> every morning investors turn our attention to asia. the tokyo market leads the way and markets around the world follow. >> from the decision that could change the course of an economy. >> to the companies at the forefront of change. >> up-to-the-minute market reports. >> and analysis by specialists from around the world. >> get all the latest business news and insight every day. here on "newsline." >>> silk worms in japanese labs are spinning a new kind of fabric p they've been genetically engineered to produce silk that glows and researchers hope the worms will help revitalize the industry that played a big role in the modernization of japan. >> reporter: the splendid colors of a magnificent kimono. what makes this piece so special is that the threads of silk are luminescent. they're the ruflt a research project that could revolutionize japan's silk industry. the project is led by the national institute of agrobiological studies. resear

bucking the trend today, though, was seoul. the kospi down almost 0.2%, 1,925. the bank of korea cut its key interest rate for a second time this year. and trimmed its economic growth forecast. >>> well, managers at some small and midsize companies in japan are having a pretty tough time coping with higher raw material costs. they are more expensive now because of the weaker yen. government officials want people in the financial services industry to help those firms to deal with the situation. the weaker yen and other factors have pushed up the cost of raw materials. some smaller firms are finding it hard to raise the prices of their products and services to reflect the additional expense. officials at the financial services agency have asked industry groups like japanese bankers association to lend a helping hand with this. the agency wants financial institutions to give smaller businesses advice on financing. it also wants lenders to be flexible when it comes to setting terms for loans. >>> robots that can talk, walk, and even care for elderly people, are amon

in seoul we're also seeing the costs be down about .3%. well, government officials in south korea have released figures for their gdp in the july to september quarter. they say the economy expanded 3.2% from the same period last yeah, which was slower than the previous quarter. exporters in south korea account for more than 50% of gdp, and they send many of their goods to china, but now they're feeling the effects of slower growth in the world's second biggest economy. government officials say exports rose just 2.1%. consumers have been more frugal since the is sewol ferry disast in april. officials have been trying a range of things to make them spend more but they only managed to lift private consumption by 1.6%. the officials were hoping growth in the third quarter would be stronger. for more let's speak with shin segon. he teaches economic at suk myong women's university in seoul. professor shin, thank you for your time. why didn't we see better figures? >> well, 3.2% growth this quarter seems to be a little bit of a surprise to many p

standing by live in seoul, cnn's paula hancocks with the latest on this surprising development. good morning, paula. >> reporter: good morning, john, well, this was a very sudden and seller unexpected decision by pyongyang, at least on the surface of it. we did know that the state department was in discussions indirectly with north korea, to try and get these three u.s. citizens released. but what many experts were expecting say high level level delegation to go to pyongyang. like we've seen in the past, jimmy carter, bill clinton having to travel to pyongyang to pay lip service to get them released. that didn't happen, as far as we know. what appears did happen, pyongyang said we're going to release jeffrey fowle, you have to come and pick him up. the department of defense sent a plane over to pyongyang. there was a u.s. plane sitting on the tarmac there which is something very unusual itself. and took jeffrey fowle to guam where they refueled and he was vat walled. the state department said he was in good health. obviously there will be a lot of support for him in the future.

paula cox, cnn, seoul. >> no surprise there's no information coming out.stant professor at the graduate school of international studies and joins us from seoul. thank you for making the time. >> you bet. >> no surprise, running rampant, it's an opaque nation. we don't know what's going on with the regime. the speculation is it kim jong-un really ill, that's what south korean officials believe, or has he been disposed? what are your thoughts? >> well, until now i think the least-interesting explanation is the most likely. in that this is some physical problem. north korean state media has alluded to that. and your viewers have seen there's footage of him walking with great difficulty. the way they work, to show his leader in their early 30s, he's supposed to be virile and die nam pic namic. and to put him on stage on crutches or in a wheelchair does not work. that could explain the absence. >> the state-run media in north korea is showing these images as we see kim jong-un limping there. if they're willing to show some kind of limp, some kind of illness, wh

and in seoul the kospi really surging ahead today more than 1.8%, 1,961. that works out to a three-week closing high. shares of lg electronics surged after its profit had more than doubled from a year earlier for the three months through september. and in hong kong, the hang seng index seeing gains for a second straight day today. shares of casino operator nguyen macau shot up after posting better than expected earnings. this also pushed up sector peers such as galaxy entertainment. >>> negotiators taking part in the trans-pacific partnership free trade deal ended their latest meeting just two days ago. but they'll sit down again at the end of next week. minister in charge says top trade officials of the 12 countries will be meeting in beijing on november 8th. akira amari met with members of a panel from the ruling liberal democratic party. he briefed them about the talks that ended in sydney on monday. he said japanese and u.s. negotiators made progress on some outstanding issues. those include tariffs on five categories of farm products. >> translator: a

and they are as usual any you be of competing theories circulating around such circles in seoul. most extreme one being that there has been some kind of coup or leadership crisis in the north korean capital. some people point to go the fact that three very senior north korean leaders came south last weekend to make an unexpected last-minute visit to south korea. but the opposite line really has been taken by the south korean government, they are saying that this shows that north korea is still very much in the grip of the rule, the stable rule of kim jong-un they came bearing a message from the president of south career and his rule seems to be operating normally. that gives greater weight to what is mainly being talked about which is there is some kind of health problem that perhaps his apparent recent weight gain, combined with some activity has given him injuries to one are both legs oranger little and it's that that's keeping him out of sight because it's very important for the north korean propaganda machine to have the usual energetic jolly figure of kim jong-unspares doing

in seoul, south korea, joining us live.ow better than anyone else about the rumors swirling around. what exactly is going on in the north korean regime? what are you hearing? >> reporter: we have heard something from the south korean government, the defense minister friday seemed to suggest that he believed that he was staying in one of his homes near a hospital in pyongyang, with his wife and also his sister. it's a very high-tech hospital, as you might imagine. it is one that has basically only treatment for the elite of pyongyang. his father, kim jong il and his grandfather had been treat there had in the past. this is the assumption that the south korean government is making. of course, they put caveats before that, as anybody does, when you're talking about north korea. quite frankly, we don't know for sure. officials here in the south, at least, assume it's a health issue we're dealing with here, not a coup. that's something i've heard replicated from many experts in this country as well. most people assume that he is

fans came to seoul from around the world. what's the appeal?> well, when you really appreciate a game, when you enjoy playing a game, you can just come here, appreciate other people playing it way better than you. and it's universal, no matter where you're from. >> reporter: a bit nerdy? >> i don't think so. right now it's mainstream. look at all these people here. if this is nerdy, then what's not nerdy? >> it's totally nerdy. it's definitely nerdy. but i don't care. it doesn't matter. >> reporter: this is professional sport with sponsored teams, who live and practice together. it's sleep or play mostly. these people are stars who are mobbed by fans. it's not about strength. it's about hyperspeed on the mouse. and tactics. >> translator: my life is a bit different from others. i get up when other people start to have lunch. all this practice is the least i can do. at the end of the games, fans come to me and give me snacks and approval. >> reporter: at the final, there were the usual accoutrements of big-time marketing. league of legends is al

the bbc's seoul correspondent steve evans has been watching. >> reporter: he's not been well, walking with a bad limp before vanishing altogether from public view. his weight had been going up. then a series of big events in september 3rd, where the supreme leader has been absent. an empty chair at the meeting of the people's assembly. and today, on north korean television, documentaries featuring old pictures of his father and grandfather. kim jong un was out of the picture, prompting speculation that he's been having medical treatment. >> well, there has not been any official confirmation or denial of the rumor that western insurgents have been invited to north korea. but in the past when kim jong un's father, the past leader kim jong il collapsed with a heart attack, the french doctor was rushed to be brought to pyongyang. and the intelligence was intercepted. >> reporter: who's in charge matters, because north korea remains heavily armed, and has developed nuclear weapons. though not small enough yet to be carried by rockets. here in seoul, the capital in south korea, the governme

our paula hancocks joins us live fro seoul, south korea.do you make of these new comments about the country's ambassador? >> reporter: well, errol, we've been seeing a bit of a charm offensive from the north koreans recently. it's clear they would like some kind of negotiations. we've heard they would like these six-party talks to continue or at least to resume. they haven't been going since 2008 and this is what we're hearing once again from so se pyung and says russia and north korea and china is ready to start the talks, it's just the united states and air allies which are holding things back. we did hear from the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov. he just met with his north korean counterpart and said it was possible these six-party talks could resume soon so this isn't coming out of nowhere. it's certainly the sense among many experts and those that observe north korea closely that pyongyang wants to re-engage with the world at this point. that's what we've been seeing from the different things they have been carrying out. and it'

paula hancocks reporting from seoul, south korea. a leader mysteriously out of the public eye. those are just some of the factors fueling lots of speculation and concern about what is going on in north korea. let's get some insight from gordon chang, author of the book "nuclear north korea takes on the world." thank you for joining us. how significant is it that kim jong-un hasn't been seen in public now for about five weeks? >> i think it's very significant. this is his longest absence ever and although the government says it's not a big deal, we have to put this into context. while kim has been out of sight, we've heard about a lockdown in pyongyang, the number two official in north korea got a big promotion and state-run media warned of a potential reb rebel general. commonsense, if nothing else, says that there's really something wrong with the north korean regime right now. >> it's a big deal, he didn't show up at this major party event today in north korea. he almost always should be there, right? >> yes. and he didn't show up on tuesday. and that was the 17th anniversary

. >> analysts in seoul grey. it's unlikely the north will dismantle its programme soon. >> the powers - the international society. the reason why north koreans will be shouting loud about war. that's the only way that kim jong un can rule the society. >> reporter: the latest military talks are a step forward. the road to a formal petitions here is long. >> we'll target those that provide a base or send military assistance to the u.s., japan and south korea, to ipp vade our country. we'll -- invade our country, we'll target them to wherever they are. threats and provocation make it difficult to imagine, and a war that divided korea six decades ago. >>> hunger and malnutrition is said to be a widespread problem in north korea. one-third of the people there do not have enough to eat. once again here is teresa bell. >> this is the cooperative farm. it's portrayed as a model farm in north korea. >> kim jong un came here, and came here eight times. 16 times. >> our dear leader provides us with fertilisers, and we said

analysts in seoul agree. it is unlikely that north korea will dismantle its nuclear program any time soon >> only the time, the renal why the north koreans were shouting louder, that's the only way that kim jong-un can rule the society. >> the latest military talks are a step forward but clearly the road to a formal peace here is long. >> translator: we'll target those who provide a base or send military assistance to the u.s., japan and south korea to invade our country. we'll target them wherever they are in the world. >> reporter: threats and provocations by both sides make it difficult to imagine and then to a war that divided the koreas six decades ago. al jazeera, north korea. >>> hunger is said to be a widespread problem in north korea. the united nations estimates that one-third of the people there do not have enough to eat. once again teresa bell. >> for trade as a typical model farm in north korea. >> translator: kim jong-un came here and kim jong-il came here eight times. now our dear leader provid

analysts in seoul agree. it is unlikely the north will dismantle its nuclear programme soon. >> these priorities - these are the powers. the reason why the north koreans are shouting loud about war is dead. that is the only way that kim jong un can rule the society. >> reporter: the latest military talks are a step forward, but clearly the road to formal peace is long. >> translation: we'll target those that provide a base or september assistance to the u.s., japan or south korea to invade our country, we'll target them wherever they are in the world. >> threats and provocation make it diff to imagine an end to a war that divided korea said six decades ago. >> what we heard the lieutenant colonel say at the border, what the people in pyongyang a, that it's necessary for north korea to have a nuclear weapon programme. that's a deterrent, the only way to protect themselves from a foreign invasion, and that is raped again and again. the other issue we heard about was reunification, everywhere in north korea, eve

joining us in seoul, south korea is cnn's paula hancocks with the very latest.ood morning, paula. >> hello, john. it just could be a number of hours before jeffrey fowle is reunited with his family. it was almost six months that he was detained in north korea. his crime, according to authorities, he had left a bible in a seaman's club in the north port city. this is seen as a serious crime. they have state-controlled churches, but they certainly do not condone any nonstate sponsored activities. the kim regime very nervous about christianity and any other religions that they don't control. now, certainly what we have seen is something quite sudden and quite surprising. it effectively said as if pyongyang said, we're releasing him so come get him. washington sent a department of defense claim over to pyongyang. we saw it sitting on the tarmac that you don't often see, a u.s. plane sitting there. and he was taken to guam where the united states said he did undergo some evaluation and found to be, it appeared to be in good health. but they did also point out that he

north korea boycotted the '96 asian game and "88 in seoul. there was a breakthrough in 1991 when the two nations competed at an international table tennis championship and football tournament. in 2000 historic summit meeting was followed by the two delegations marching together at the opening ceremony at the sydney olympics, and in athens in 2004. relations faltered following the games, and improvement when the south were invited to compete in a weightlifting competition in pyongyang. in 2004 the north koreans sent a team of 150 to the asian games. earlier i spoke to kim, a professor at the women's university in seoul, telling me that sport played an important role in keeping channels opened between the two countries. >> sometimes when a relationship is not so good, this can be a good trigger to make a better relation. sometimes it can be a good trigger to have a better relationship between the south and north. it could be in the future. >> major league baseball, san francisco giants smashed the pittsburgh pir outs. the wildcard game was scor

there were about 700 people at the outdoor concert in seoul.is the latest in a string of accidents this year causing south koreans to question safety measures and oversight. a ferry sinking back in april which killed more than 300 people, many of them school children, caused nationwide anger among south koreans and many questions are being asked as to why safety measures and regulations are not keeping pace with very fast economic developments in the country. pau paula hancock, cnn. >>> tourists peered through binoculars to catch glimpses of the people who lived in north korea. the peculiarities don't end there. cnn's david mckenzie reports. >> reporter: getting ready for the catch in the yanu river. a pre-dawn exercise for a cigarette. ordinary routines but nothing is truly ordinary in dandong china because on the other side of this bridge china's secretive neighbor, north korea, where patriotic music plays. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: north korean currency, he offers, a stack of supreme leader notes. >> so i got minority korean money. he swears it's rea

paula hancocks, cnn, seoul. >>> some 50 homes are threatened today by a river of lava on hawaii's big the flames are creeping toward the town of pahoa. in some places, the lava is chest-high. some people evacuated today. others are staying put. lava from the kilauea volcano is about 2,000 degrees and there's no way to stop it. the national guard is patrolling the streets but so far no mandatory evacuations are in place. >>> hundreds of people are missing in vir lan ser sri lank. 140 homes were destroyed. emergency crews are trying to reach areas buried by mud and rock looking for people who may have trapped. >>> a horrific discovery in mexico. 43 college students disappeared more than a month ago. human remains have been found buried in a mass grave not far from where the students disappeared. forensic experts have been examining the remains. so far none of the students has been identified. the students went missing last month after clashing with police who are suspected of handing them over to a drug dang. >>> critical midterm elections less than a week away here in the united states

and relatives gathered outside calling for maximum punishment and correspondent harry faucet is in seoul family asking for the maximum punishment and not just for the ferry captain as the prosecutors are but the entire crew. >> that's right, that is what they were asking for when they went in and there has already been some reaction from the lawyer, some of the founding members and indeed according to the news agency one of the family members saying the sentences as heavy as they would be if they were put in place by the judge, the panel of judges in november that they are not enough. one apparently saying the death sentence itself wasn't enough for the captain and that the maximum had not been given in all the other cases. just to take you through what the prosecution is arguing for they want the death penalty for the captain and life in prison for three other senior members of the crew who like the captain charged with homicide by willful negligence and case of 11 other crew members charged with lesser charges, breaches of maritime law and the like 15-30 years. we did hear from the cap

one coming here to seoul, which is effectively enemy territory. so this is the latest we are seeing in that flurry of diplomatic activity. so jeffrey fowle, we understand, when we spoke to him, cnn spoke to him at the beginning of september, he said that he was asking for help from the u.s. government, that he wanted them to get involved more to try and secure his release. this is what pyongyang wanted. they wanted the united states, they wanted washington to engage with them to talk about how they were going to get these three american citizens back, at least one we know has been released tonight. >> i know we're monitoring north korean state television media. has there been any official word. public word from new york as to why they let this american go? >> no official word at this point. and it will be many hours before we expect -- north korea very rarely breaks in with breaking news as most other networks around the world do. they have very set times where they have their news bulletins and to be honest, it's about nine or ten hours until we'

david sheer and daniel russell are visiting seoul. they met with the depp it foreign minister to discuss possible changes to the way japan and u.s. cooperate on defense. he says the changes would strengths relations and contribute to peace and stability in the region. one purpose of the review is how the guidelines should be revised to reflect the interpretation of the constitution to allow the right to collective self-defense. south korea is weary of the change. russell has suggested that the u.s. wants the leaders of japan and south korea to meet and mend strained ties. he said the topic of japan/south korea relations came up in monday's discussion indicating the u.s. pressed south korea on the issue. the two u.s. officials will next stop in tokyo to draw up an interim report on the defense review wtih japanese foreign affairs and defense officials. >>> u.s. military leaders have added their most advanced stealth fighter. they're testing u.s. readness as china continues in the asia pacific region. nhk world's charmaine deogracias re