or were diverted to seoul. house to house or city fighting is difficult no matter where you are. you either defeat them in place or surround them and they surrender. those are about the only two options. >> the enemy situation was terrible. they came through seoul like water through cheese. they were all around. the situation was bad. when we went into seoul, yes, there was opposition. yes, they were sending reinforcement down to pyongyang and in the north. they had air lot of these like railroads that were elevated. underneath they had underpasses like. they had sandbags made out of rice. >> barricades. they would fill the whole thing up. you couldn't get through. they brought tanks in and blew those rice bags out. then you'd go underneath. >> frank, tell me what it was like when your squad entered seoul. >> it was a lot of smoke and fire going on. we were getting fire from above and fire from door way, windows and what more. it was pretty hard to see. we followed persian tanks firing a 90 millimeter. justike

you had people coming down from the north and people this seoul.n you had people coming up from the south. >> we had hundreds of thousands of tons of supplies coming in to build force rapidly and sustain which is very important. >> the army came in three or four days later. the 32nd division of the second. >> he served twoears in japan in the infantry landing in inchon, the 32nd tasked to help retake the capital of seoul. >> there's only one road going east. we walked out and were walking to our destination. >> what happened, the infantry pushed them back quickly towards seoul. the furtherer they went toward seoul, the more they regrouped and got stronger as we moved closer to kempo. >> we had to capture kimpo airfield. the great supply depot previous to the war. >> we needed an airfield. >> we had a fight in that city. the following day we captured the airfield against stiff opposition. >> so in a relatively short period of time, we had planes land on kimpo. when mcarthur came over the first time, he landed on kimpo. >> morning of 7th of september

more surrounding seoul. seoul very close to the demilitarized zone. the vice president still going to be arriving at about 3:00 a.m. he expects to be attending some easter services there and other meetings of course with leadership there in south korea. we also understand that the national security council of south korea will also looking at what their next considerations are. we understand that they will be having this meeting in the next seven or eight minutes. all right. i do want to bring in now ambassador chris hill who is the former ambassador of south korea on the phone with us right now. ambassador, you're getting information in as we are reporting it as well. have you heard anything in addition or that is different than what we've been reporting so far? >> well, i just got back from south korea a few hours ago and there's wide expectation in south korea there would be something in connection with this holiday, this 105 anniversary of kim il-sun. there's been expectation of a nuclear blast and there

tomorrow the itinerary in seoul, south korea, includes visit seoul national cemetery and attending easter church service with u.s. and korean service members, also vice president pence will attend a fellowship meal with military families where he will be making remarks. of course vice president pence will remain in seoul, south korea, through tuesday but he has a long list of other countries and foreign leaders he will be meeting with. vice president pence will make the trek to japan, indonesia, as well as australia, before making his way back to the united states with a stop in hawaii. but, of course, at the top of the list on vice president pence's itinerary and remarks, will be north korea. of course, martin, this is the chance for the administration to lay out their plans and policies to u.s. allies in asia. martin? >> all right. jessica snyder with a view down there from the southern white house, let's get perspective from the region. paula hancock is live in seoul, south korea. good to see you. north korea wants to send a message with the new missiles it's put on display. can you pu

welcome to seoul!ny: my new friend marc helped popularize western style hip-hop in korea. an event that led directly to me eating silkworms in a tent. >> anthony: marc, how you doing? >> marc: nice to meet you. >> anthony: good to meet you. >> marc: thanks for having me out. >> anthony: oh, man. so, where are we? that cause all your symptoms, including nasal congestion and itchy, watery eyes. flonase is an allergy nasal spray that works even beyond the nose. so you can enjoy every beautiful moment to the fullest. flonase. 6>1 changes everything. [ laughter ] >> anthony: hand position correct? >> nari: ready? >> anthony: are you complaining about your hours, nari? >> nari: holler. >> anthony: number one selling liquor in the whole world. you have to kick the prostitute so many times. >> nari: that doesn't count. >> anthony: get in my mouth and stay there. [ laughter ] >> nari: she's already dead. >> anthony: come on. >> anthony: i'm getting this, like, weird sense of déjà vu. like, haven't we been in a

south korea our vice president pence hours away from landing in seoul south korea, so is that how it would happen? >> well that is the -- the narrative, judge but the fact is we know exactly where those hardened artillery sights are we call thermal hart sights latitude longitude with gps we've ways of attacking sites you can imagine if five or six moabs were dropped in an area over there we had b-2s can drop 8500 -- bombs we can put a lot of firepower the readiness of those artillery sights don't fire aren't exercising them they have been there for years so there is a readiness issue. >> colonel hunt shaking your head 0 seconds. >> -- 30 seconds. >> every one we run 6 minute withed yes a lot of capabilities i get it but there are 6 minute issue, as soon as they discover something in the air can punch buttons 30 miles south of seoul, no one thinks that if north korea would not get shots to the south we are a better military for sure unstability of north korea closeness of seoul makes the option very, very limited, and usually every war game goes to "nuclear option". we can't be consid

reporting from seoul, south korea, co-anchor martha raddatz. >> hello, from seoul, south korea. it's evening here in the city of 10 million people. on high alert on a weekend of escalating tensions. hours ago, yet another north korean missile launch. the fifth of 2017. this time, it blew up seconds after leaving the launch pad. u.s. officials believe it was likely a medium-range ballistic missile, the kind we have seen before. still, the latest launch rattled nerves, especially after the sudden appearance saturday of what could be new long-range weapons at north korea's big anniversary parade. canisters that appear large enough to house a missile capable of hitting the united states. you can see them there rolling past north korean leader kim jong-un. green camo on huge transporters. if he, indeed, has a missile big enough to reach the united states, and if he can make a war head small enough to fit on it, will the u.s. be forced to respond? this hour, all the angles on the most important story in the world right now. and the urgent questions. how far along is north korea's nucl

the city of seoul is 30 miles from the dmz and artillery pointed for seoul could be easily done and do a lot of damage if north korea felt they were in a corner here. not a type of scenario you could launch an air strike on a military target and expect that nothing will happen in terms of retaliation because north korean official i've been speaking with here said they will retaliate with force if the united states launches some sort of preemptive strike on this country. another interesting thing i learned at the military parade on saturday, speaking with a government official, there was a special operation that was conducted in north korea on thursday where there were commandos jumping out of airplane and they put out photos of that special operation. the official told me that was in direct response from tweets by president trump about north korea. >> thank you so much to you both for that great context. >>> "saturday night live" shows president trump hitting his top two advisers against one another in a contest. watch. ♪ >> that is jimmy fallon as jared kushner against a skeletal stev

his first stop will be seoul. the other big headline here tonight, white house officials announcing they won't immediately make public the names of people visiting the white house on official business. breaking with an obama era policy. it's a matter of national security, because they want to protect the identities of people who might have sensitive information. watchdog groups are slamming the decision saying it shows a lack of transparency. a senior official arguing national privacy concerns come first. and even the obama white house made exceptions. lester? >> kristen welker, thank you. >>> we're getting new details about the u.s. strike on isis in afghanistan, and the unpress dented battlefield use of that massive weapon dubbed the mother of all bombs. dozens of isis fighters were killed, afghan officials claim. we get incredible new video from the moment of impact. richard engel has that for us. >> reporter: new images tonight of the biggest nonnuclear bomb in the u.s. arsenal splashing down on an alleged isi

we'll go to seoul next.ey allergy muddlers are you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool? try zyrtec® it's starts working hard at hour one and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. stick with zyrtec® and muddle no more®. so you'rhow nice.a party? i'll be right there. and the butchery begins. what am i gonna wear? this party is super fancy. let's go. i'm ready. are you my uber? [ horn honks ] hold on. don't wait for watchathon week to return. [ doorbell rings ] who's that? show me netflix. sign up for netflix on x1 today and keep watching all year long. >>> president trump sending a warning to nuke after pyonyang threatened a nuclear attack on the u.s. for any, quote, reckless acts of aggression. >> we are sending an armada, very powerful. we have submarines, very powerful, far more powerful than the aircraft carrier. that i can tell you. and we have the best military people on earth, and i will say this. he is doing the wrong thing. >> let's go to cnn national correspondent p

>> janice mackey frayer in seoul tonight. >>> the u.s. is monitoring developments, kristen welker is in washington. kristen, what's the latest from there? >> reporter: good evening. the trump administration is on heightened alert. the president monitoring the situation from his resort in mar-a-lago where he will make time for golf and getting updates for national security st with him. the issue isn't preventing the vice president from traveling to the region for an 11-day trip starting tomorrow. his first stop will be seoul where senior officials say he'll reiterate america's commitment to allies. meanwhile, the other big headline tonight, white house officials announcing they won't immediately make public the names of people visiting on official business and obama era policy. national security because they want to protect the identities of people that might have sensitive information. some are slamming the decision saying it shows lack of transparency. a senior official arguing national security and privacy concerns come first and notes

away from landing in seoul, south korea. is that how it would happen? >> that's the narrative. but we know exactly where those hardened artillery sites are. we have their latitude and congress tude with gps. we have ways of attacking those sites. you can imagine if five or six moabs were dropped in an area over there, and we had b2s that can drop 8,500 pound bombs independently targeted. in addition the readiness of those artillery sites, they don't fire. they aren't exercising them. they have been there for years. there is a readiness issue. judge jeanine: colonel hunt, you are shake your head. >> we have a lot of capabilities. but there is a-minute issue. as soon as they discover there is something in the air. they can punch buttons. no one thinks that if north korea would not get shot to the south. we are a better military for sure. but the uncivillity of north korea and the closeness of seoul make the options very, very limited. we just can't be considered. it's a bridge too far. it will have to be china that gets fat no

but asjohn seoul which will come to nothing. but as john pointed seoul which will come to nothing.n pointed out, the different element in all of this is the new president in the white house who is talking very, very firmly and toughly. will he do what his predecessors from clinton on words have done and decide that the potential cost of fitting north korea is simply too great in terms of the risk of war? or does see have a different perception of risk? we simply don't know at the moment. the failed missile test comes as washington steps up the pressure on the isolated north, with president donald trump saying that the us is ready to act alone to deal with the nuclear threat. our correspondent laura bicker reports now on the american response to events in north korea. pyongyang is being warned. these naval warships are within striking distance of the north korean capital. the message — the us is ready to act if provoked. north korea is a problem and the problem will be taken care of. north korea has to change its behaviour. the key time for action is now. china is the key. these tal

it is good to talk to you, steve evans, live in seoul, giving us steve evans, live in seoul, giving us the latest in what has been a very active location in the last 2a hours. so, that missile launch came just a day after the north held a huge military parade, where what appeared to be new ballistic missiles were displayed. our correspondent, john sudworth, is part of a group of foreign journalists invited to pyongyang to witness the parade. his movements are being tightly monitored. as the parade began, the ground shook, and a city at the centre of a mounting crisis echoed to the sound of marching feet. presiding over it all was kim jong—un, apparently untroubled by the international pressure over the now realistic prospect of this most totalitarian of states becoming a fully fledged nuclear power. and while president donald trump may be promising to stop it, north korea has other ideas. it's an extraordinary sight. this is state power expressed as mass unity, and it's meant to send two key messages — to the north korean people that their young leader's grip on power is unassailable,

she is in the south korean capital of seoul. so, miss lee, this morning, we've had pictures of the big parades. thing that everyone was very concerned about, any sort of a test of a nuclear missile. that did not happen. >> that doesn't mean it won't happen. i think it's not a matter of whether it will happen. i'm fairly confident that it will happen at some point. north korea has made it very clear that they are going to push ahead with their illicit ballistic missiles and weapons program. and certainly what we saw in the parade here, in pyongyang, earlier this morning, showed us that they are continuing to build some pretty fearsome-looking weapons despite u.n. security council resolutions that ban them from building these weapons. >> sreenivasan: how tense was the situation over the last 24, 48 hours? in some ways, south koreanss, they've been through this drill before. >> south koreans are largely unfazed. the people of south korea are largely unfazed. you would be hard pressed on the streets of seoul today to tell there is t

cnn's paula hancocks live in seoul, south korea.nd north korea clearly sending a message with these, at least, canisters of these icbms. give us some context here. >> absolutely, victor. it's a good point that you make that they are canisters. we don't know what is exactly inside, if anything was inside them. but experts around the world, intelligence agencies around the world will be pouring over these pictures right now to try to ascertain exactly what the capability of north korea is. the thing that we're focussing on that most experts find the most interesting is two new icbms, the intercontinental ballistic missile canisters appearing to be those, at least that of course would worry the united states the most. kim jong-un, the north korean leader made it very clear what he wants to do is to be able to hit mainland u.s. with an icbm with a nuclear warhead on top. and he said just at the beginning of this year that he was going to test launch an icbm and he was close to that. so this is what everyone is looking at right now. you

south korea is -- host: 22 million people live in seoul alone. guest: north korea is about 50% the size of south korea overall. i think my estimate is off. host: i think the population is 24 million. let geas to steven in ohio. -- let's go to steven in ohio. good morning. caller: good morning. was in the second infantly pa talon. -- battalion. we were north of there and we saw like the whole propaganda village every morning. you wake up and do your run and it's used it scare the heck out of me. that whole mountain is loaded with artillery piece that is got you scoped in and also got seoul scoped in. if you have a president, like a kid with cherry bombs in his pocket, it scares the pants off me that cooler heads sometimes do not prevail. host: thank you. we will get a response. guest: well, the artillery in place are still there and probably been reinforced. the issue of the north koreans having weapons -- the caller indicated he was there in 1976. n 1976, two u.s. soldiers were killed because they went out to basically clear a tree and the north

she lives in seoul but grew up in a remote region of north korea. narrator: her father bought the family a radio, which he modified to pick up foreign stations. (translated): my father was preparing to come here since i was nine years old. living constantly in fear like that was really difficult. if we got caught, the whole family would get taken away. i was exhausted by it all so i asked my father, "even if it's north korea, can't we just live safely?" but he said, "no. i want your generation to learn freely." narrator: when chanyang was 17, her family decided to defect. to avoid raising suspicion, they left at different times. she was the last to leave. (translated): i was always being watched. the people watching weren't just from the government. the people who were watching me were my friends and neighbors. i knew all of this, but had to act as if i didn't. narrator: after two years laying low, chanyang escaped through china and reunited with her family in seoul. (translated): my brother and sister had grown up so much when i saw them, and their

in seoul. and if it became a nuclear war, which is likely, millions of lives would be lost, and that's the reason we haven't pulled the trigger. >> you know, he's a great man, leon panetta. i've known him forever. he used the word pull the trigger, an unfortunate metaphor. the question a lot of us worry about and we talked about earlier, what happens if this guy over here gets nervous and he hears talks coming out of this country about preemptive strikes and says, well, there's my excuse. i'm going to release my artillery on seoul. this is my pretext for doing so. to me, that's scary. >> yes. so i think a lot of people right now are focused on whether or not north korea is going to do a nuclear test. >> tonight. >> tonight or potentially an icbm test. >> an underground test, the sixth they've had. >> this would be the sixth test they've done. the last was in 2016. i think that is less of a concern than their testing an icbm successfully, a kn 08, for example, something that could reach the unit

troops who are stationed here in seoul, south korea. he did give brief remarks. we played some of them at the top of the show. he did give passing reference, but pretty clearly was talking about the failed missile test that happened this morning. he said, this morning, provocation is a reminder of the risk you take. talking about the focus of the world being here on this peninsula where these u.s. troops are stationed. now just about an hour after we took off, i was on air force two with the vice president, took off from a refueling stop in alaska that they got word of this failed missile test in north korea as we were heading toward the korean peninsula. the vice president was in touch with the president and others back in the u.s. getting briefed on the situation. as we were in flight, white house foreign policy adviser said pretty early on that they felt confident that this was not only failed but it was not icbm, it was not a test of a missile that, you know, was destined or it was supposed to go across continents. obviously, they have been trying to missiles

—— seoul.thing happens, seoul, with 10 million souls, would be in the crosshairs. that's it for the papers tonight. don't forget, all the front pages are online on the bbc news website, where you can read a detailed review of the papers. it is all there for you seven days a week at bbc.co.uk/papers, and you can see us there too, with each night's edition of the papers being posted on the page shortly after we have finished. thank you, john and tim. now it is time for the film review. hello and welcome to the film review on bbc news. to take us through this week's cinema releases is james king. what do we have this week? first up, fast cars and tight t—shirts. it is the return of vin diesel in the fast and the furious 8. from the ridiculous to the sublime, park chan—wook‘s glamorous and amorous the handmaiden. and broadbent and rampling re—live their teenage years in the pensive the sense of an ending. so fast & furious 8. have you seen the other seven? a couple. so we are onto number eight but

. >> they can attack seoul with both nuclear and nonnuclear assets. this is the reason this problem hasn't been solved in the past 20 years. the distance between the northern and the demilitarized zone where you saw mike pence visiting earlier today, and downtown seoul, one of the most prosperous cities in asia, is about the distance between baltimore and washington. so it wouldn't take much for the north koreans just with conventional artillery to completely destroy seoul. it's gotten worse because seoul like every other major city that you know, has had urban sprawl, and when you land in seoul these days, notice there's suburban houses being built right unear the north korean border which still made it even easier for the north koreans to hit them. >> how smart is it in your view. it seems the trump administration is outsourcing the solving of this problem to china. is that going to work? >> i suspect it probably won't. they're not first administration that believes that the chinese are the key to it. it depends on whether the chinese are truly will

nbc from seoul, south korea. >> reporter: a showcase of north korea's capabilities, including its first what experts believe is a prototype of a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to potentially reach the united states. north korea's leader on display for the military might that came with a public message. the regime warning the u.s. we will respond to all-out war with all-out war. state television calling president trump the threat with his so-called messages to north korea. >> treat us as a nuclear weapon state. >> reporter: for weeks concern has mounted that kim jong-un was preparing a sixth nuclear test or a missile launch. >> north korea is a problem. the problem will be taken care of. i think china has really been working very hard. >> reporter: china has urged both sides to back down cautioning it could spiral out of seoul within striking distance of north korean missiles. one mistake could trigger disaster and u.s. officials say north korea has issued a notice to mar anywheres off the coast in the sea of japan to be on alert. that uncertainty loomed over the parade

military personnel in seoul, south korea.n the raised tensio tension in the korean peninsula and what it means for the united states, let's bring in the senior lecturer in international relations. thank you so much for being with us, leslie. we know, first of all, the official statement from the united states. it has been sparse. it has been very short. only a statement coming from the defense secretary james mattis. but given the statement has been so short, what do you take from it? >> well, remember, this was a failed missile test, and it took place while vice president pence was on his way to the region. so -- and there's been a real focus on the administration's likely response to north korea. of course, the real concern is north korea will develop the ability to launch a missile that could reach the continental united states within the next three years, if not sooner. now, there's been an aircraft carrier sent to the region, which is clearly intended to deter as well as monitor and perhaps pave the prospect for a respon

try again, the seoul, the dwedged -- defending arena champs. five touchdowns. seoul win 56-52.hat's sports, happy easter, everyone! >> there's more to come on sunday morning edition of "action news," an emotional ceremony for a new trenton firefighter why her badge number means so much to her. >>> one of the hottest toys gets a freakish makeover. we'll tell you what it used to be and now it looks like that. >> meteorologist chris sowers has the exclusive accuweather seven-day forecast on this easter sunday. in the middle of a storm destiny struck. did may imagine april showers bringing her fashionable, flowers at such a sunny price? never but that's the beauty of a store full of surprises. you never know what you're gonna find, but you know you're gonna love it. meatball on white! next! you want mustard on that or not! come on, come on. i haven't got all day here! it doesn't come with peppers! they're extra! sunday, april 16. in the news, a shooting overnight claims the life of a woman in the kensington section, we'll take you to the scene. >>> plus, a police chase end with a w

another saturday, another protest in seoul.run conglomerates, 01’ of massive family run conglomerates, or chaebols, as they are known. translation: right now, cables monopolise to much of the wealth in south korea and it isn‘t being used properly. i think this needs to be corrected. —— chaebols. properly. i think this needs to be corrected. -- chaebols. one of frustration, a sense that the system is stacked in favour of the chaebols. south korea‘s president and the heads of samsung and lotte have been charged with bribery. but at the top of the country‘s tallest tower, built by lotte, we can see how far this has brought south korea. here, south korea‘s marvel at what the chaebols have built in just a few decades. you know, it occurs to me, as i looked out from this building, towering over the city of seoul, that it is like the relationship between chaebols and how much they dominate the south korean economy. 0n the face of it, you would never know that scandal had hit lotte. but there is recognition in the sprawling empire that

pence left for seoul, south korea. mike pence's visit to four countries planned for two months takes on new urgency. pence will visit troops both american and south korean who could become a target for aggression. with no nuclear test, no reaction from the white house as the president spends the holiday weekend in palm beach. experts say president trump delivered his message by bombing syria's airfield after its chemical attack this month. >> reporter: the missile strikes changed the equation which meant that probably china decided to start to reign in north korea. >> reporter: beyond u.s. military power, president trump who hosted president xi in palm beach may have induced china's help now by exerting economic pressure. the president used trade as leverage. >> i said you're going to help us with north korea or we'll going to go it alone. >> reporter: china remains north korea's closest partner, it wants a relationship with the u.s. >> china has a lot of reasons to corporate with president trump right now. the economy

case in point the vice president in seoul. listen to what he had to say about not testing trump. >> just in the past two weeks the world witnessed the strength and resolve of our new president in actions taken in syria and afghanistan. north korea would do well not to test his resolve or the strength of the armed forced of the united states in this region. >> and then you have him saying all options are on the table. this is tough talk toward north korea. is the u.s. at risk of miscalculating this whole equation and instigating something that's already there but racheting it up to the point of no run? >> well, look the vice president does a little bit too much look out for trump talk for my taste. basically you want to do it in terms of the united states. republicans used to criticize president obama for saying i and my team. they might be careful there not to make it that way. but for the last 20 years we tried all sorts of different tactics. diplomatic. we bought them turbines and reactors. >> we made all sorts of agreements

seoul's night sky was lit up. stay with us, plenty more to come.

i think it's very notable that in seoul you don't see people panicking.eople fleeing the capital. seoul is within artillery range of north korea's artillery, and so if you don't see that panic, that tells you something. on the other hand, i think that's the big picture we all need to be looking at here, a war, if there is a war, would be just devastating, so this talk of you know, war, the saber rattling going on between the white house, including north korea, is the underlying issue is there's millions of lives possibly at stake here, so i think that's one thing we've got to keep in perspective. >> quickly, they're telling me to rap, but do you think that the leader of china was as re p receptive to president trump as he said he was during their meeting at mar-a-lago? >> i think he certainly listened to president trump and he certainly wants to influence president trump and influence the way he thinks about china and the region. >> michael forsyth for the "new york times" thank you very much. appreciate it. >>> all right, so that was then. this week the

mike pence landed in seoul hours after another failed missile launch by north korea.ides to the vice president says he has been in contact with president trump. the launch was made from the port city of sinpo on the east coast. the type of missile has not been identified. but the u.s. military does not believe it was intercontinental. a u.s. official says the land-based weapon malfunctioned almost immediately and exploded. our will ripley is one of the few western journalists currently reporting from north korea. and alexander field is standing by, south of the demilitarized zone, in south korea. thank you for joining us at this hour. will, a go to you first in pyongya pyongyang. were you surprised by reports of this missile launch? and does anybody else in north korea know about it? >> the answer to your first question, was i surprised? yes and no. we've been talking about the possibility of a sixth nuclear test. and even at the parade yesterday, when i was chatting with don lemon, i said north korea has a possibility of rolling out a missile launcher and a we could

live in seoul. if it became a nuclear war, which is likely, millions of lives would be lost. we have used containment and det deterence. it was containment and deterence that resulted in soviet union self-destructing. >> u.s. intelligence oe feshls tell nbc news the military has positioned two destroyers capable of shooting tomahawk missiles in the region. one 300 miles from the nuclear test site and heavy bombers are in position in nearby guam. they have diverted "uss carl vinson" strike group to the area. vice president pence is about to embark on a ten-day trip in the region scheduled to arrive in korea on easter sunday. the vice president is going to show president trump's iron-clad commitment to support our allies and rally the international community to take the necessary steps to grow long-term faes in the region. joining from us seoul, nbc news foreign correspondent janet mackey. you look at all the signal, the u.s. is deploying forward power with the strike group, the mother of all bomb tes

steve evans, in seoul in south korea, thank you.d missile test comes as washington steps up the pressure on the isolated north, with president donald trump saying that the us is ready to act alone to deal with the nuclear threat. our correspondent laura bicker reports now on the american response to events in north korea. pyongyang is being warned. these naval warships are within striking distance of the north korean capital. the message — the us is ready to act if provoked. north korea is a problem and the problem will be taken care of. north korea has to change its behaviour. the key time for behaviour is now. china is the key. these talks lay the groundwork. donald trump said he received assurances that they would help put an end to the nuclear ambitions of north korea and believe that is why he has dispatched warships. china is already applying pressure at its border and placed a ban on imports of north korean coal. if president trump is weighing his options, his best hope is in beijing. the us could also push for more un sancti

—— seoul.

nada tawfik, in new york, and steve evans, in seoul, joining us there. have executed the first of two inmates due to be put to death on monday — the supreme court failed to grant a last—minute reprieve. first to be executed was jackjones, convicted of rape, murder and attempted murder. they're now preparing to carry out the death sentence on marcel williams — convicted of kidnap, rape and murder. they are among eight inmates arkansas originally planned to execute in just 11 days this month — because one of the drugs used as a sedative in the lethal mixture is about to become date—expired. france has now entered a period of intense political campaigning between emmanuel macron and marine le pen — the two remaining candidates for the presidency. it's a race that's already transformed the old patterns of french politics — with potentially significant consequences for the future of france and the eu. our europe editor katya adler has the latest. emmanuel macron, looking presidential. a bit prematurely, perhaps. there's a lot of glad—handing still to be done,

absolutely, seoul in artillery range, 13,000 artillery pieces within range. use of chemical weapons, and this is a regime not afraid of causing mass casualties. what of north korea's intentions? clearly the intent is there, even if the execution of this failed missile wasn't on this occasion. i think, at failed missile wasn't on this occasion. ithink, at the failed missile wasn't on this occasion. i think, at the worst, they want to check nuclear deterrent from the us in order to continue provocations with the south. you could argue that the military still carries dreams of unification at their hands. that's a worst—case scenario. 0n the more benign side, they want to survive, the kim family wa nts to they want to survive, the kim family wants to stay in power. they use the promise of a strong state with a military to keep the support of the military, so i think itjust depends on that range of things. if you are a planner in washington, seoul or tokyo, you may have to think worst—case scenario. tokyo, you may have to think worst-case scenario. what do you thi

south korea,s it in the wee hours of a sunday morning there in seoul, south korea. he will be arriving on a sunday morning and of course the hope from mike pence as well as president trump that nothing will happen overnight. somebody that can help us understand what that thinking might be in north korea, barbara democrat demmick. thanks for being here. you were right in the heart of it when you were bureau chief there. what is the thought you think is going through kim jong-un's mind? again we have to remember he's seen as son of a god there. >> yes. well, kim jong-un is sort of following this old playic of the north koreans to bluster and threaten and try to get his way. i think what is different this time is he has somebody on the other side who is as blustery as he is. and so i think kim jong-un is not qui prepared to deal with president trump. this is something new. >> and the question is, who is in control here? is it really kim jong-un? or is it the generals that surround him? that's always been the question. >> he's very young. he's in his early 30s. a baby.

we are live in seoul. >>> executions halted. >> what do we want? >> protesters including actor johnny depp asking to spare the lives of 11 inmates. but the legal battle isn't over yet. >>> panic at penn massive hysteria at one of the biggest train stations after an incident involving a taser sends commuters fleeing fearing a terror attack. the stampede leaving scores injured and shaken this morning. >>> and the last jedi. the force is strong for "star wars" fans celebrating 40 years of the franchise. a bittersweet celebration as fans remember one of their favorite princesses, "today," saturday, april 15, 2017. >> from nbc news, this is "today" live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> and good morning and welcome to "today" on this saturday morning. i'm sheinelle jones. >> glad to have you with melvin. dylan dreyer is here with us as many people are concerned for easter. >> this year across the country, it looks pretty nice. >> good news. the top story this morning, in north korea where a show of military force was on full display during a parad

our seoul correspondent stephen evans reports.he american vice president went to the front line, the demilitarised zone between north and south korea, what he called the frontier of freedom. for him, the visit was personal because his father fought in the korean war. from the other side today, north korean guards looked back and took pictures. vice president pence‘s mission today, to affirm support for the alliance between the us and south korea. we will defeat any attack and we will meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective response. over the past 18 months, north korea has conducted two unlawful nuclear tests and an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests, even conducting a failed missile launch as i travelled here for this visit. the era of strategic patience is over. on saturday, north korea displayed row upon row of missiles. on sunday, a day later, they fired a dud, anotherfailure, and some experts wonder how many of the missiles on display would actually work. in the far nort

we're live in seoul. >>> executions halted. >> what do we want? >> mercy! >> protesters including actor johnny depp pleading to spare the lives of seven inmates scheduled for death after 11 days. delighted after the judge sided with the condemned. but the legal battle isn't over yet. >>> panic at penn station. [ screams ] mass hysteria at one of new york city's biggest train stations after an incident involving a taser sends commuters fleeing fearing a terror attack. the stampede leaving scores injured and shaken this morning. ♪ >>> and "the last jedi." the force is strong for "star wars" fans celebrating the 40th anniversary of the film franchise. a bittersweet celebration as fans remember one of their favorite princesses, "today," saturday april 15th, 2017. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning. welcome to "today" on this saturday morning. i'm sheinelle jones. >> glad to have you with us. i'm craig melvin. dylan dreyer with us as well. a lot of folks on this easter weekend concerned about th

let's go there now to cnn's paula hancocks there in seoul. paula, this is an annual celebration, the day response t we're seeing to -- or at least in seoul to what we saw those canisters, potentially, of icbms? >> reporter: victor, the intelligence agency here is working hard this evening and around the world, i'm sure. experts pouring over those images looking at serial numbers, looking at the size, the shape trying to figure out what the capability of north korea is. of course, the analysts are saying there are two new icbms, which they believe should be of note. they don't know if anything is inside them or whether or not it's a mock-up or whether or not it's actually functioning at this point or whether there's more work to be done on it. but it is a very clear message from north korea to south korea and to the united states saying this is what i have and this is what i can hit you with. it's a very clear message we're hearing and we know that officials were watching this day very closely, victor. >> paula hancocks there for us in seoul,

we don't have to worry about them using the artillery on the southern border against seoul? i see that as the more imminent danger. >> that's definitely tactically strategically -- what they do with their nuclear arms. this is a pattern donald trump certainly won't like. the iranian deal, people like it or they loath it. the state department said the other day that it's working. donald trump is skeptical. but the hard liners in iran think that the iranians gave away too much when they allowed the amount of inspection and control that they -- we now have in that country. maybe as controversial as it is, there is a model there in iran that we could use in korea. >> except let me go back to you, david. the whole issue about -- i mean, they're just not going to give it up. they see what happens to gaddafi when he went up, everyone went in and qaddafi is dead. >> that struck a note with them. to howard's point on inspection, one of the advantages that everybody had in the iran nuclear deal, whether you like the deal or hate the deal, is they hadn't built weapons yet. and we knew