government support for match making activities like this one is a fairly common practice in south koreaparticipants pay only around $20, the cost of a train fare to join. nine men and four women are taking part, all in their 30s or early 40s. the average marrying age among south korean women is also rising. one reason is the growing number of women seeking a career. all four of the female participants are financially independent. joung ki ho is 39. he found his full-time job only two years ago and is now thinking abol ho is 39. he found his ful the two and a half hour train ride brings the tour group to the it's time for the match making activities to begin. monk tries to stir everyone's enthusiasm. to break the ice everyone sings a famous korean love song. ♪ ♪ >> now it's time for several introductio lveral introductions.fveral intreral introductiral al l introducti >> the women seem much more confident and forthcoming than the men. the men out number the women, so he needs to make sure he didn't miss out on meeting someone. the tour continues with a boat trip on the lake. to loosen up

what was that war about and what was south korea then compared to north korea? >> guest: well they were both poor and they were both recovering from the ravages of world war ii. and that war the united states divided the korean peninsula in the wake of world war ii between the north and the south and the south was sort of a military dictatorship aligned with united states and the north was a military dictatorship aligned mostly with russia. kim il-sung was the leader who emerged in north korea and he over period of 10 years created a cult of personality around himself. he modeled his state after stalin state and then he invaded south korea in 1951. and made some real progress across south korea. there was a counterattack by u.s.-led forces and united nations forces that ran over the course of three years. they fought for a stalemate in the same line was returned in north and south korea have been deprived ever since. north korea remained allied with russia and with china but north korea developed a brand of totalitarian leadership that became increasingly isolat

. >> joint military exercises between united states and south korea are regular occurrences. this one, codenamed max thunder - took place in november at the kunsan air force base 150 miles south of seoul... >> this type of exercise takes place every year but for the north korean government they consider this a provocation and a threat. >> north korea is still a flash point. we're still at a state of war with north korea. this is 1953 armistice. >> if there was someday heaven forbid a real war here we would need to work very closely. we are always practicing together always working together >> thankfully we have helped stabilize and ensure the security of the peninsula for the last 61 years, but in spite of that long time we have to be ready to fight tonight and that really is our mantra. >> north korea is under new leadership. >> kim jong-un looks funny he is overweight and sometimes does strange things. but he is smart. when his father died 7 top officials, 4 generals and 3 civilian bureaucrats, walked next to the coffin of his father in december 2011. in two years time, none

there are 28,500 american troops in south korea. further aggression by north korea would bring the united states into a major costly and dangerous war. north korea is a threat to their own people. 100,000 political prisoners held under horrendous conditions. north korean cyberattacks against sony are not new. north korea regularly attacks south korean banks and businesses. also, there's a changing view of north korea by its neighbors, and only economic sponsored. china and south korea changed their views. the south korean president used to be lukewarm to talk about a unified korea. today the south korean president speaks openly of reunification and of the enormous economic benefits of that unification. china is frustrated that north korea ignores its request to freeze or dismantle its nuclear program, but the nuclear armed north korea, south korea and japan will want object need to develop a nuclear weapons program. china increasingly is viewing north korea as a strategic liability, not an asset. china views north korea as a growing

. >>> government officials from japan and south korea want to mark a major anniversary by deepening theiries. they've agreed to collaborate on energy and tourism projects for the 50th year of normalized relations. japan's deputy foreign minister met with his south korean counterpart in seoul. they confirmed officials from both sides will work on energy ventures in other countries and they agreed to do more to boost tourism going both ways. he called for an end to south korea's embargo on seafood from fukushima and seven other prefectures. officials introduced the restriction on concerns over contamination in 2011. ann called on japanese officials to cooperate with a second round of surveys next week. he said people in south korea need assurances that the seafood is safe to eat. >>> the people who run one of japan's bigs discount store chains want to woo more customers from aboard. executives say they'll make it easier for tourists from china to spend money at their outlets. the executives held a conference in beijing to explain. they say they'll accept payments with china union pay cards

barack obama has ignored south korea is cool. it has gone from one of the world's poorest countries to one of the world's richest. at the same time, a wave of korean culture is washing over the globe. families from iran to cuba watch korean soap operas on television. what is the link between a booming economy and pop culture? the cree government has taken a role in promoting the music and cinema industries abroad. it is even supporting the spread of korean food in the believe that it will also boost exports of smartphones and cars. my guest today has written all about it. how one nation is conquering the world through pop culture. welcome to the show. talk about what it is. >> it leaves the korean way and it refers to the package of korean popular culture, movies film tv dramas, video games, even cuisine is being packaged and exported. >> and how big is this industry? now korean entertainment and the korean cultural industry is worth billions of dollars. >> yes, export figures for 2012 were $4.7 billion and they expect to double

it's a different situation when it comes to how politics affects coverage than in south korea. in international community i think because north korea by its own actions has really turned itself into kind of a rogue state, that political situation has seeped into the coverage as well. for a lot. >> i want to ask you about some of the unique challenges to an organization or like nk news, chad where you are reporting on a daily basis. i mean that's everything you do is report on north korea. but you're also working, the people you're working with are not trained journalists. how do you adhere to the same standards and how do you strive to and what are the unique challenges. you do work with a lot of scholars that are not reporting necessarily on a contemporary issues, so there's a variety. i mean ate great resource for, you know -- there's the aggregator portion, there's a lot of great tracking devices that you work with specialists to develop but then also a lot of reporting on contemporary events but, again not everyone has the same training. what are some of the unique challenge

let's stick with korea because after years of delay, south korea is finally launching a carbon-creatingtem. more than 500 companies will join efforts to curb greenhouse in 2020.ions by 30% >> they are starting today at korea exchange open. 525 companies will be trading. they have a quota of $1.6 billion -- 1.6 billion, the korea allowance unit, where one unit is equal to one ton of carbon dioxide. south korea is one of more than 30 countries that are implementing this market-based , includingal system countries in the european union, new zealand, and switzerland. one developing country status in the kyoto per call, which means they are not obliged to set emissions targets, but the former president made a key strategy in his administration, and this new administration is pushing that through. >> how does the carbon trading system actually work here? >> first of all, they will set the pricing, so companies are trading based on that system. that will be the platform. the government, first of all, set the initial price, and then company start trading. there's no guideline on the which would

in other markets in the asia-pacific region south korea's kospi down just a touch. let's see what's happening down under. australia's benchmark index trading lower below .6%. >>> many japanese business leaders say the private sector should raise workers' wages to boost consumption and end deflation. the head of the leading furniture maker and retailer agrees. he wants to raise mothly wages of the firm's employees by more than 3%. that meeths all employees would see a basic pay increase. wages would also be raised based on seniority. labor and management at the firm last spring reached an agreement on a monthly pay raise of more than 2%. he said raising wages will boost consumption and help the overall economy. >>> officials at mcdonald's japan say there haven't been any more reports of foreign objects in a popular chicken dish. a customer last week discovered a piece of blue vinyl in a serving of chicken mcnuggets. the object was found on saturday in an outlet in the northern prefecture of aomi. mcdonald's halted sales at a plant in thailand the same day as those co

here in south korea, it's a full-grown democracy and we have the public trying to judge the performance of the leadership. conservative-sized arguments, we get certain steps to be taken on the side of north korea. for instance aiming and shooting killing of a tourist back in 2000, and sinking of a ship here. and also bombardment of ireland. there has been no apology... >> okay i understand what many of the difficulties are, but what i'm keen to find out is whether there is a determination. you know as well as i do that if they were determined to significant dialogue that this will happen. do you think they are prepared to engage in the diplomatic manoeuvring necessary for them to get together and start this dialogue? >> i think judging from the statement, they seem to families... if it does it... >>> hello again, you are with al jazeera, let's have a look at the top stories. a court in cairo has heard appeal from the lawyers of peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed. it's unclear when they'll be back in court >>> there has been a tragic start to the new year for china, at l

there are 28500 american troops in south korea. urther aggression by north korea would bring the united states into a major costly and dangerous war. north korea is a threat to their own people. 100,000 political prisoners held under horrendous conditions. north korean cyberattacks against sony are not new. north korea regularly attacks south korean banks and businesses. also, there's a changing view of north korea by its neighbors, and only economic sponsored. china and south korea changed their views. the south korean president used to be lukewarm to talk about a unified korea. today the south korean president speaks openly of reunification and of the enormous economic benefits of that unification. china is frustrated that north korea ignores its request to freeze or dismantle its nuclear program, but the nuclear armed north korea, south korea and japan will want object need to develop a nuclear weapons program. china increasingly is viewing north korea as a strategic liability, not an asset. china views north korea as a growing t

that puts japan behind china and south korea. government officials want to speed up negotiations on other such deals, including the transpacific partnership. >>> and that's the latest in business news for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets. >>> some south koreans are trying to take an extreme sport to next level. they have been donning metal spikes and metal axes to dominate ice climbing. and while the sport won't be in the 2018 olympics they are pushing to have it in future games. nhk world's kim chan-ju has the story. >> reporter: winter turns a water fall into the country's largest ice wall. ice climbing requires a pair of axes and metal spikes known as crampons. the equipment costs between 900 and $1800. but it's not enough to deter the 300 or so climbers who gather here on weekends. >> ice climbing is about thrills and great joy. >> translator: it feels like a communion with nature. i get a great sense of peace when i'm climbing. >> reporter: ice climbing is more than a recreational pass time. it's also an ath

the missile that can go from north to south korea do they have that capability? > yes. >> the united states used to have north korea on a state sponsor of terror list. they were moved in 2,008. based upon what you no the you think it might be a good idea to put them back? >> as you know, there is very clear criteria. >> do you think they should be back on the list? this is a yes or no question >> my personal opinion -- >> that is what i want to know, your personal opinion. >> there is a criteria a process, sir. >> how long we will that take? they are hacking into cyber security. do do you have a time limit? >> i i understand your concern and frustration, but the secretary of state must determine the government has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism. >> do you think that hacking in to our system is an act of terror not? >> i believe that is beyond my -- >> you don't have an opinion. general coming you are in the military. people are afraid to say it is. i just want your opinion. >> as we take a look, it is something that should be part

. >>> north korea's leader says he is open to talks with south korea. >>> from fiber optic fashion toyes in the sky, we check out the hottest tech toys for 2015. ♪ >>> we begin in egypt where the first day of the new year has offered the prospect of a resolution for three al jazeera journal journalists who spent all of last year in jail. but they will remain in custody. the retrial could get underway within a month, but there's no telling how long it could take. their lawyers say they will seek bail for the three who were falsely accused and convicted of spreading propaganda in support of the muslim brotherhood. >> reporter: they never saw a minute of freedom in 2014 and with the start of a new year they remain imprisoned. despite an appeals court in cairo, granting the retrial, baher mohamed, peter greste and mohammed fahmy are still behind bars. the judge said it was not in his power to grant bail. >> translator: we welcome the court's decision to accept the appeal of our journalists, but at the same time we demand that they are immediately released. everything is politicized, their

. >> south korea oh welcome the overture and suggested dialogue should begin as soon as possible. >> after the recent attacking rhetoric coming out of north korea, the country's unpredictable leader started off 2015 with a more conciliatory tone, reaching out to the south. >> we sincerely want to reprove relations between the north and the south. we can resume stalled high-level meetings. >> he held out the possibility of a summit with south korea's president. >> there is no reason not to hold a summit at the highest level. we will make every effort to advance dialogue and cooperation. >> kim made it clear that the environment he wants to see would include an end to the military exercises which south korea holds periodically with the u.s.. pyongyang has repeatedly condemned the maneuvers. kim's comments come amid deteriorating relations with the u.s. over the release of an american comedy film about an attempt to assassinate kim jong-un. pyongyang has called the film an act of war. the leader of the impoverished nation made it clear he has no intention of abandoning his country's nucl

cigarette packs in south korea do carry a warning but it is rather mild.ictures on boxes like this. such a move is under consideration. campaigners say price rises aren't enough to cut south korea's sky high smoking rate. >> translator: if people can see the impact of smoking on healed causing various diseases such as oral cancer or lung cancer it could lower the use by 20 or 30%. >> special smoking areas a few days ago an everyday feature now stand empty. and there's an increase in things like e-cigarettes. kim i don't think unisment. >> better than iteming entirety but there are some requirements. >> 15% reduction in the smoking rate in the next five years. harry fawcett, al jazeera seoul. >> coming up. we venture into ali baba's cave. why else? >>> a match to forget, we'll tell you why top of the english premier league. >> well, it's time for the sports news and find out why assassina issana is happy. >> the former england's captain will not move to another english club and has been linked with few are at the club. after gland's. two penalties in liver

industry. >> translator: we're interested in small firms with new technologies. >> reporter: in south korea, big firms related to conglomerates tower over others in technological development. some small businesses consider japan as a steppingstone for advancing overseas. >> translator: if we combine the originality and ingenuity of south korean firms with japan's organizational skill and global network, we can enter not only the japanese and south korean markets but also the entire global market. >> reporter: two years ago jeon jaewoong set up a venture business targeting the japanese market. his firm has developed an original 3-d animation technology. it can show anime characters in three dimensions on a smartphone screen. jeon thinks this technology and high-tech eye wear will be a perfect match. >> translator: we can make everything appear very real before your eyes. from film and manga characters to trains. >> reporter: he has already obtained nine patents in other countries. >> translator: we spent a lot of time trying to make it easier for people to use our complex technology. >> repo

saying also that things are improving when it comes to the property market in south korea as well. geun-hye talking about the north and south coming together and talking and having better ties. it is now even easier to stay in touch with us here on "on the move." you can follow me and my colleague, angie too. also, everything you do here, you can also get it at bloomberg tv as well. just to tell you what we've got coming up, volcvp looks to shake up the u.s. auto market. details coming up. it is also the start of the trading week in hong kong and shanghai. we got the opening numbers. ♪ ah, got it. these wifi hotspots we get with our xfinity internet service are all over the place. hey you can stop looking. i found one. see? what do you think a wifi hotspot smells like? i'm thinking roast beef. want to get lunch? get the fastest wifi hotspots and more coverage on the go than any other provider. xfinity, the future of awesome. >> headed back on top in asia. li ka-shing's flagship companies surging in hong kong. made in china, sold in the states. volvo plans to turn up the heat on det

in in a moment we'll be reporting from south korea on higher cigarette prices, but first, influenceri reports from the chinese capital on new measures there to cut influence. >> reporter: it's rare that you get to see a clear blue sky in beijing, more often than not the city is enveloped in smog the main causes of pollution are vehicle and factory he minutes as well as colborneing. most people here start their day by checking the air quality index a measurements of certain pollute tappeds inpollutant in the air. starting this year, real time air quality. the public may choose to read them skip tim i can skeptically most rely on the u.s. embassy. with the chinese data showing lower levels of pollution think the chinese say it's more accurate because it's take friend several location as cross the city. the latest attempt is trying to show it's serious and transparent about influence. the new laws will allow. courts to impose stiffer penalties and to bring charges. and an indication that they are serious about getting tougher on polluters is a recent court decision that fined several co

s greatest perceived threat remains its neighbor south korea. ts as well as artillery pieces that the south says would allow for the cyber warriors south kreep says used to launch military entities in the south. this is what the u.s. experienced as well the cyber attack on sony. so why is kim jong-un building up his military now even as he offers renewed talks with his south korean neighbor? >> he has to double down on his resolve by showing that he is strong first before he can offer any kind of an olive branch he has to have a very clear sword in the other hand. >> there is a broad gap between possessing the technology and perfecting the ability that the u.s. and russia used to perfect the capability putting a nuclear warhead on a missile that you can target properly. the president has said he has to prepare for every contingency. that's why you are seeing the u.s. with anti-missile capability. >> a dangerous situation. let's not forget there are still 30,000 or so along the dmz. thanks very much. let's get to more. joining us the deputy spokes

they are expecting a south korea ian victory in the semifinals.ched the finals of the world cup in the past. they haven't won this particular competition since 1960 and in an asian cup full of surprises, it will have the iraqi team believing anything is possible. al jazeera italy. >> arsenal have continued their defense of the fa cup beating brighton to reach the 5th ground. gunners led .2-nil at ha at the waldecott. bryceon score after the break the hosts pulled another as arsenal hang on for a 3-2 win. now number 3, rafael nadal, the spanning yard over came a slow start before pulling apart in south sfren opponents, kevin anderson pretty much the chanthsz of winning a second title in melbourne is over two hours to be the 14th seed 7-5-60-1-6-4. in the quarter and then he battled his way into husband 16th grand slam quarterfinal. the number 6 seed advanced last year's wimbledon quarterfinals. he beat dimitrov in four sets. nick terosk became the first australian male to reach the quarterfinals since 2005. he beat andre city in five sets becoming

some of them are from china and south korea. they are confident that trade will continue to grow. >> translator: this town will benefit most from the foundation of the economic community. the growth will continue. >> reporter: myanmar's government is trying to encourage business development. it has boosted the capacity of its customs office to handle the growing number of freight and document applications. thailand's deputy minister inspected the facility. both countries agreed to keep working together to further boost trade. >> i think the impact of aec is not only for trade for thailand but for our neighboring countries. not only for myanmar. we can travel to india. you can see that we are expecting more investment to this border land. >> reporter: setting up an economic community by the end of this year will not be an easy task. but many people are becoming excited about the bright prospect for business. >> that wraps up our bulletin. >>> police in hong kong have detained some organizers behind the protest and their move coul

. >>> the president of south korea south korea says she is ready to hold a summit with kim jong-un. al jazeera's harry faucet faws fawcett fawcett is in seulseoul. now, the president of south korea says she will talk to him without any preconditions whatsoever. the change seem to be brought about by the fact that kim jong-un himself made a statement that said he would be open for a summit if conditions were right. and this year is the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war the end of the japanese occupation of the korean peninsula it would be a symbolic time to meet. >> translator: i am willing to meet with anyone necessary to solve the pain that has been caused by the division of korea and open up a way of peaceable unification. we cannot discuss peaceful unification without solving the issues of denuclearization. >> president park also in her news conference on morn said that north korea had been passive in its response to south korea's overtures for high level talks which it made at the end of november. and south korea has been extremely open to a summit there's plen

and it's good that south korea is reaching out, too. the move toward unification has strengthened a bit with their population. >> you mentioned a cyber attack on sony pictures which the fbi is blaming on north korea. do you think north korea has the technical capability. would kim jong-un get so upset about the movie "the interview"? >> well, on the first point, he would be enormously upset. they get very upset at those personal slights him and his father. on the second point, i always said in interviews that i don't know if north korea act aided alone. i said there was probably some disdent within sony that assisted in the north koreas or doing the dirty work. i don't dispute the fbi and our technical people. i think north korea didn't necessarily have the capability. why would they carry about salaries of sony employees and the gossip? i just think that we need to look into it further. but there is a hand by north korea. and possibly china assisting them or turning the eye. because a lot of north korea telecommunications equipment and

and development programs will be high on the agenda when officials from japan, united states and south korea meet in tokyo next week. six party talks on the north's programs have been suspended for over six years. >> translator: the officials will exchange views on recent developments in north korea and confirm to work together on various issues regarding the north. >> joining the meeting next thursday will be the u.s. special envoy for north korean policy sun king and the two other officials. they will review the north korea's council's discussion of the north korean rights. and the cyber~ attacks on sony picture s pictures allegedly conducted by the north and they have proposed sanctions in response. >>> chinese president ping is dealing with a dilemma. he has made the country's worsening air pollution a top priority but some of his tough measures are impacting the economy. >> reporter: these masking are equipped with high-tech filters and cost more than $40 each. there is no shortage of customers. >> translator: i think it's good for my child's health. >> reporter: china's air pollution p

deputy foreign minister. >> translator: by cooperating closely between japan, the united states and south koreall press north korea to implement promises faithfully and completely including u.n. security council resolutions. >> we agreed that it's important for us to continue to enforce our sanctions in light of north korea's continued violation of international obligations and commitments. >> the six-party talks on north korea's nuclear development have been suspended for more than six years. officials in the north have suggested the talks resume without any conditions. >>> police in thailand have made an arrest in a fraud case targeting japanese men. they say utsaya nansakan dressed up in women's clothes and deceived the men into giving him money. police made the arrest in bangkok. they say he used a credit card belonging to a japanese machine without authorization. they say he preyed on men in a part of bangkok where many japanese live. officials say the suspect talked to more than 100 men into lending him money but never paid them back. and he defrauded more than 1 1/2 million dollars. the

plus why buying a packet of cigarettes in south korea has become an expensive drag.y with us. ♪ ♪ >>> welcome back. i'm shiulie ghosh, you are with al jazeera. let's take a look at the main stories, a cargo ship off of the coast of italy is being towed after its captain and crew abandoned hundreds of migrants on board. [ gunfire ] >>> in northern iraq kurdish peshmerga troops have been engaged in house-to-house battling with isil fighters. they recaptured a strategic road on the way to mosul. >>> and the high court in sennia has suspended parts of a controversial new security law which caused a fight in parliament when it was passed. the law gives police sweeping powers to deal with terrorist suspects. opponents argue it violates human rights. >>> in sweden hundreds of supporters are reaching out to the muslim community, after the third attack on its mosque in a week. it comes over a time of heightened debate over race and immigration. >> reporter: this is the mosque in the town not far from stockholm, where on new year's day on arson attack took place by a person th

. >>> south korea is painting an alarming picture of north korea's growing military capabilities. lude a force of cyber warriors a growing invasion force to attack the south. and progress on minitiarizing a war head. >> reporter: it is a nightmare scenario north korea with the capacity to launch a nuclear-tipped missile threatening the u.s. coast. the defense ministry founds pyongyang has edged a step closer to that capability. the north's ability to nuclearize a weapon appears to be closer. south korea assesses that north korean missiles already have the range to reach the u.s. mainland. and that pyongyang is now developing subs that can fire ballistic missiles. the u.s. continues to believe as they tell cnn that they do not have the capability to strike the u.s. with the nuclear armed missile although it has positioned missile defense systems close to monitor the threat. >> we remain steadfast in our commitment to our allies certainly in korea. >> reporter: the u.s. ally's south korea, has set up military posts and forces that the u.s. says would allow for a quick invasion. there

this is going to bring some rough weather across portions of south korea as well. hering in some warm air from the south, that's going to combine with some cold air, we are already seeing aloft out there, looking at unstable conditions through caboshima. you could see a threat of tornados wednesday evening into thursday morning, this whole system is going to be working its way off toward the north east, if you're in tokyo, thursday, i would have an umbrella with you throughout the day, it is either going to be raining or possibly further inland, especially after sunset we're looking at that threat of some snowfall as this does continue to push overhead. this is something we want to watch over the next 24 hours, at least near the coast, you're going to be looking at windy weather as well. let's take a look at the three-day forecast for you. further toward the north, looking at snowfall definitely in the higher elevations on your thursday tokyo, that rain will be setting in as i mentioned, it could be mixed in with a few flurries there, and also over toward osaka. sto

australia or uae joining south korea in the asia cup and this is later on in sport.th us. ♪ ♪ welcome back and top stories all foreign airlines flights to baghdad cancelled flights landing at the city's international airport because of security concerns. a passenger plane was hit by bullets as it came in to land at the international airport. greece's new prime minister due to announce cabinet minister in the coming hours and was sworn in on monday and he formed alliance with the right wing independent greek's party. a shortfall in pledged donations to rebuild gaza forced the palestinian refugee agency to suspend assistance to rebuild damaged home and 96,000 palestinian homes damaged or destroyed in israel 50 day offensive on the strip last year. the u.n. agency received only 135 of 720 million dollars required to rebuild. and we have a spokesman for the relief work's agency joining us from from gaza and this is such a shortfall, what is it going to mean? >> it means that the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people will increase. it means the whole process of rep

he did a good job for them. >> see south korea has been beaten. they were eager to reach the time for the first time since 1998. >> now south korea from the four top seeded is in the challenge. if you go over the street and look at melbourne park roger federer is also out of tournament. sport is full of surprises. >> south korea, out in full force, and they expect a south korean victory. the team that reached the semifinals of the world cup in the past. they have not won this competition since 1960. in an asian cup full of surprises, it will have the iraqi team believing anything is approximately. >>> arsenal defends the cup beating brighton they led 2-0. will cot getting a goal. risiki's volley established arsenal's lead. barca hang on for a 3-2 win >>> tennis and rafael nadal is through to the quarterfinals, overcoming a slow start before pulling apart his south african opponent kevin anderson. rafael nadal, who pretty much wrote off his chances of winning a second australia answer won. he'll face number 7 seed tomas berdych. andy murray battled

the current president of south korea, her mother, was assassinated by north korean agents. we looked at that u.n. report that was recently filed after the evidence and interviews with many of the survivors defectors out of north korea. this was the conclusion of the report. the united nations has found no parallel in the contemporary world for the treatment of people in north korea. that's quite a statement. in the mean time, of course, instead of assisting that population the resources that north korea gets its hands on continues to go in to its nuclear and missile systems, and of course, cyber weapon capability, as well. and third the third point north korea's weapons are not nearly for show. we and our allies in northeast asia are facing a brutal and dangerous regime, one that not only is trying to miniaturize nuclear weapons to put them on icbms. but also one, as i said earlier, that has been involved in the past in central asia and in the middle east, in proliferating these weapons -- different types of weapons missiles and other types of offensive capability as well as

the current president of south korea, her mother was assassinated by north korean agents. so we looked at that u.n. report that was recently filed after the evidence and interviews with many of the survivors defectors out of north korea. this was the conclusion of the report. the united nations has found no parallel in the contemporary world for the treatment of people in north korea. that's quite a statement. and in the meantime of course instead of assisting that population the resources that north korea gets its hands on continues to go into its nuclear and missile systems and of course cyber weapon capability as well. and third, the third point north korea's weapons are not merely for show. we and our allies in northeast asia are facing a brutal and dangerous regime, one that not only is trying to miniaturize nuclear weapons to put them on icbms, but also one, as i said earlier, that has been involved in the past in central area that and in the middle east in proliferating these weapons different types of weapons missiles and other types of offensive capabilities as wel

kim said he is open to a high-level summit with south korea.on monday south korea also proposed resuming stalled talks to with its neighbor to the north. >>> 5:15 now. the nbc10 investigators have some new information about this airport emergency at philadelphia international that happened last march. it turns out the pilot should not have been flying this plane. a new report government reveals the takeoff in march, it reveals the captain had taken a sedative and narcotic under doctor's order after a stress test. he wasn't supposed to fly after 60 hours but he got in a cockpit after 45 hours. >> these drugs have the ability to impair one's attention. technically, he was illegal to fly because of the medication. >> report says the captain and first officer did not enter necessary data into the plane's computer. and the pilot warned the plane's warning signals before takeoff. two passengers had minor injuries when the plane slammed back down on the runway after briefly lifting off. us airways declined comment on the report saying they're waiting

but south korea invested 30% more.investors around the globe have been taken by the swiss central bank's surprise move. the bank scrapping of its currency cap against the euro says the swiss franc soaring against europe's ingle currency. other currencies and stocks followed right behind. one day after the abrupt announcement major benchmarks in europe are looking fairly mixed at this time. we're seeing a slight declines for paris while london and frankfurt are both showing modest declines. earlier in asia the shockwaves from switzerland swept across the region. japan's nikkei closed down 1.4%. the stronger yen hammered japanese experters like sony. australia's main index dropped to a one-month low as lower crude prices triggered selling of energy stocks. bucking the trend, though was shanghai closing at a 5.5 year high. investors there bought shares on hopes for more policy stimulus. moving on to currencies now the euro has recovered a bit against the dollar after briefly falling to an 11-year low. we're seeing euro do

to stop its annual joint military drills with south korea. he said if they do north korea will suspend its nuclear tests. ahn was repeating a message pyongyang sent to washington last week. he suggested the move could improve interkorean relations. he said if the u.s. calls off the drills many things would be possible in the korean peninsula this year. the u.s. has already rejected the proposal. ahn did not say whether north korea will go ahead with a nuclear test if the u.s. sticks to its decision. >>> japan will be spending billions more next fiscal year to prop up the economy. and ron madison is here from the biz desk. ron? >> that's right, gene. the japanese cabinet has approved the draft budget for the next fiscal year. it totals more than 96 trillion yen, about $816 billion u.s. dollars. it's up just about $4 billion from the current fiscal year which ends in march. policy related spending will total about $618 billion. that's up by about 2.4 billion. this includes spending on social security worth about $267 billion. much of that will b

south korea's kospi also losing 1.7%. its biggest one-day percentage fall there in a year. currency traders are trying to protect themselves from the fallout on the markets. they're seeking out the safety of the yen, as a result dollar/yen is down below 120 now. in fact it's at 119.03. traders are also responding to reports that greece might leave the eurozone. they're selling the euro against other major currencies. the euro hit nine-year lows against the dollar on monday. and right now is just slightly higher than that. it's also at two-month lows against the yen. >>> the head of japan's largest business lobby has a message for executives across the country. he said they should give workers a basic pay rise. he said executives should offer the same 2.2% increase that they gave their employees last year. he was speaking at an annual gathering of almost 2,000 people from across the business sector. the keidanren lobby hosts the event with the japan chamber of commerce and industry and the japan association of corporate executives. >> translator: this year we must raise wage

but south korea would not budge on one issue.two years ago it banned imports of seafood from fukushima and seven other prefectures in japan. it was concerned about radioactive contamination following the 2011 nuclear accident. nagamine called for the ban to be lifted but ahn said people in south korea need assurances that the seafood is safe for consumption. the south korean government sent experts to fukushima in december to observe radiation tests at wholesale fish markets. now it is planning to send another delegation to the prefecture affected by the embargo. officials with the japanese agriculture ministry say the south korean experts will spend four days visiting seafood markets in affected prefectures to review whether the ban should be lifted. >>> mount sakurajima is one of the country's most active volcanoes. an eruption 100 years ago was one of the most powerful in japanese history. experts predict that another cataclysmic eruption could happen any time and people living nearby are trying to prepare. the massive eruptio

. >>> and south korea welcomes north korea's proposal to hold talks. it hopes for a dialogue to be open soon. >>> hello. egypt's top court has ordered a retrial of three al jazeera journalists jailed for spreading false news. the decision is the result of an appeal by the three. they all deny collaborating with the banned muslim brotherhood and say they were simply reporting the news. one of their brother. >> i was expecting a retrial, but i was expecting with that a release today. we were really hoping for that. we want them to come home with us today. >> the three journalists were sentenced to between seven and ten years in prison. they've now spent a year in jail. with no bail granted it means they will stay in custody until their new trial, which defense lawyers say could take place within the month. this high-profile case has led to an international campaign driven by fellow journalists, colleagues, and friends of the three on social media and elsewhere calling for their release. our correspondent is outside court in cairo. >> reporter: in a very