we will continue to closely consult with south korea and your leadership as we make decisions moving forward. we also call on other regional powers and the entire international community to join us in the fight against north korea. to turn away from the renewed hostility and you and the oppression of its own people. translator: [speaking foregin language] v.p. pence: earlier this month, president trump met with chinese president xi. the two leaders noted the threat of north korea's weapon programs. each of them reaffirmed their commitment. they will fully implement security council resolutions and increased cooperation to convince north korea to abandon its illicit weapons program. it is heartening to see china commit to these actions. the united states is troubled by china's economic retaliation against south korea to take appropriate steps to defend itself. the better path would be to address the threat that is actually making such defensive measures necessary. now, while issues like that remain, the president and i have great confidence that china will with north korea. if china is

, the commitment of the united states to south korea's safety and security will remain unchanged. my message to you guys is we are with you 100%. the united states of america stands shoulder to shoulder with the republic of korea. and the service and vigilance of some 37,500 u.s. soldiers, sailors and amit and reads on the frontier of freedom stands as a testament to the enduring partnership between our people. the alliance between south korea and the united states is the linchpin of peace and security on the korean peninsula and indeed throughout the asian-pacific. the united states commitment to south korea is ironclad. and immutable. under president trump's i know our alliance will be even stronger, our nations will be safer and asian-pacific will be more secure. nowhere is that more evident fight theommitment to threat, thebiggest regime in north korea. we hope to achieve this objective through peaceful means but all options are on the table. just in the past two weeks, the world witness to the strength and resolve of our new president syria and taken in afghanistan. north kore

it's after 9:45 there in south korea. their national security council is meeting right now. we'll give you more information on what they might be considering. >>> plus, the potential possibility here of a nuclear test in north korea. we'll give you more on that after this. un-stop right there! i'm about to pop a cap of "mmm fresh" in that washer with unstopables in-wash scent boosters by downy. because this scent lasts up to 12 weeks, which is longer than any relationship i've ever been in. freshness for weeks! there's nothing more than my vacation.me so when i need to book a hotel room, i want someone that makes it easy to find what i want. booking.com gets it. they offer free cancellation if my plans change. visit booking.com. booking.yeah. >>> breaking news. we continue to follow the developments coming out of the korean peninsula. about four hours ago we got reports that a failed missile tested been deployed by north korea. this coming out of the northeast, the sinpo close to where north korea keeps its submarine submari submarines. we learned it is not an intercontinenta

the united states, we commend you personally for your steady hand in this time of transition in south korea. the president and our entire administration admire the south korean people's commitment to the rule of law and the democratic process and we look forward to the upcoming election with great anticipation. while changes coming on the may, the people of south korea may be assured, whatever change happens in your elections, the commitment of the united states to south korea's safety and security will remain unchanged. translator: [speaking foreign language] v.p. pence: on behalf of the president of the united states, my message to the people of south korea is this "we are with you 100%." the united states of america stands shoulder to shoulder with the republic of korea. and the service and vigilance of some 37,500 u.s. soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines on the frontier of freedom stands as a testament to the enduring partnership between our people. the alliance between south korea and the united states is the linchpin of peace and security on the korean peninsula and indeed througho

this peninsula and for the long-term prosperity and freedom of the people of south korea. let me say that it is also very humbling for me to be here because my father served in korea in the united states army more than 64 years ago. favored me with a few reflections on my father's service here and it seems fitting that as vice president, i could be here to personally express the timeless bond between the people of south korea and the people of the united states of america. people across the world should know that the bonds between our people are not simply strategic in military and economic but they are personal. they span generations of americans and south koreans and seehat foundation we will freedom through. we will see the interest of the security and prosperity of the people of south korea. in a word, we go together. >> he said everything is still on the table, does that include a potential u.s. potential strike? what did china do to dictate that they were putting pressure on north korea? mike pence: i think that president trump and president president xi had a great t

denuclearization of this peninsula and for the long-term prosperity and freedom of the people of south korea. let me say it is also very humbling for me to be here. my father served here in korea in the united states army more than 64 years ago. the general favor to me this myning with reflections on father's service. it seems fitting that as vice president, i could be here to personally express the timeless bond between the people of south korea and the people of the united states of america. people across the world should between oure bonds people are not safely strategic and military. they are personal. and they spanned generations of americans and south koreans. and on that foundation, we will see freedom through and we will see the interest of the security and prosperity of the people of south korea. and in a word, we go together. >> he said everything is still on the table. does that include a potential u.s. preemptive strike? and on china, what did he lay out to president trump that made him believe china is working hard to put pressure on north korea? vice president pence: they had -

greetings to the soldiers of south korea from the president of the united states. solve of the people of the united states of america to stand together in the months and years ahead for the people of korea to both preserve their freedom and ensure the icedtive of a the nuclear denucularized korean peninsula. it is an objective shared by our allies across the globe. our allies across the asia-pacific like china will continue to advance. i'm here to achieve that objective through peaceful means , through negotiations but all options are on the table as we continue to stand shoulder to of southith the people korea for the long-term prosperity and freedom of the people of south korea. it is very humbling for me to be here because my father served here in korea in the united states army more than 64 years ago. the general met with me this morning with a few reflections on my father service here. father's service here. i'm here to express of the timeless bond between the people of south korea and the united states of america. the bonds between our people are not simply st

the alliance between south korea and the united states is ironclad. we will fulfill that alliance for the sake of our people and the people of south korea. and we will continue to stand strong to achieve our shared objective across this region and across the world. a denuclearized korean peninsula. >> mr. vice president, how is that thefferent policy trump administration is pursuing compared to the obama administration and why do you believe you can trust china at this time to follow through? half the imaginations have sought help from china and they often have not come through. president i know that trump is very hopeful that china will take action as necessary to bring about a change in policy in north korea and abandonment of its nuclear weapons program and its ballistic missile program. we are hopeful they will use the they haveary leverage an relationship they have with north korea in order to achieve that objective. president made very clear, either china will deal with this problem or the united states and our allies will. change, we have liter

that's a very important issue to people here in south korea. ey do know and understand very clearly that any kind of pre-emptive strike on north korea could put them in harm's way, ivan. >> that's right. we do have to point out that south korea has perhaps more to lose than anybody else with the capital where you are right now within artillery striking distance of the north korean military. that's alexandra field live from south korea. thanks very much, alex. and i'm going to hand it over to natalie and george at cnn headquarters for more news. >> ivan, thank you. >>> here in the united states, the u.s. defense secretary james mattis issued this statement about that failed launch. >> it said, the president and his military team are aware of north korea's most recent unsuccessful missile launch. the president has no further comment. let's talk more about these developments with scott lucas, professor of international politics at the university of birmingham. he joins us via skype. thank you for joining us. where do we pick up from here? we've jus

as i reassure you today, well eel continue to closely consult with south korea and your leadership as decisions moving forward. we also call on other regional powers to join us to confront north korea and demand it demand its nuclear and ballistic programs to turn away from renewed hostility towards his neighbor and end to presentat n oppression -- and to end to presentation of its own people. earlier this month president trump met with chinese president at the southern white house. the two leaders noted the urgency of the threat posed by north korea's weapons program and each of them reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearize peninsula during that meeting. they committed to fully implement un security council resolution and convince north korea to abandon weapons missile program. it's hard to get china to commit to -- for taking appropriate steps to defend itself. the better path would be for china to address the north korean threat that is actually making such defensive measures necessary. now, while issues like that remain, the president and i have great confidence that china wi

on his trip to south korea u.s. ce president mike pence vis tid the demilitarized joen and warned north korea that the strategy of strategic patience is over. the u.s. is also sending a carrier led navy strike group to the waters off of korean peninsula. let's bring in duncan hunter. he's a member of the armed services committee. served with the u.s. marine corp in afghanistan and iraq. thanks for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> president trump has said military action is a possibility. all options are on the table if north korea conducts another nuclear test. would you support u.s. military action against north korea? >> yeah. and for one reason. this is a decision that's going to be made by the president. h.r. mcmaster, general dunford, the chairman of the joint chiefs and secretary mattis. if you can't trust those group of people coming to a decision, then there's nobody in the u.s. you can trust with our u.s. military. so if they decide that, then i will support that. >> but even if there's a limited military

north versus south korea. you can see the distinct difference between the capital city and the rest of north korea. how many people live there? guest: i have to admit, i don't know that off the top of my head. i think it's something on the order of 14 million, 12 million to 1 million. 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 pr

with that live report from seoul in south korea, 4:10 in the afternoon. many thanks to you. >>> for more on the tensions between the u.s. and north korea, we're joined now from rome by silivia. she's a reporter for politico, thank you so much for talking with us. no doubt you had the opportunity to watch that joint statement there with mike pence, the vice president of the united states and indeed the acts president there in south korea, a very firm stance that we're united here. the u.s. saying, we're with you 100% and a clear message to north korea and, indeed, to china, don't test us. >> exactly, rosemary. pence did once show, once again, the u.s.'s resolve in this situation with north korea. he wanted to reiterate that the u.s. is going to back south korea and, of course, there was a subtle message there to china because, of course, china here is key. what we've been seeing in the past few days is also a shift in president trump's attitude towards china, which in this situation is probably the only way and the only country and the only government that

military in south korea. the u.s. vice president mike pence just arrived in south korea. what kind of message is he bringing to this long-time american ally, which is right next door to north korea? >> reporter: look, everything about this trip, ivan, is designed to reflect and endorse the alliance between the u.s. and south korea. a very long-standing alliance, some 60 years now. this is the headquarters for the u.s. military in south korea. it's also the headquarters for the combined command here. so these are two militaries that work closely together, some 30,000 u.s. servicemen and women who live here, working hand in hand with hundreds of thousands of korean service members. that's the reason why vice president mike pence is coming here. he's having an easter service with the troops, both from the u.s. and south korea, then having a dinner with them. it is an affirmation of the alliance between these two countries. it's also a personal trip to some extent for vice president mike pence, who's escorted by his family. his father is a korean war veteran. this trip started

robert kelly is associate professor in busan, south korea. professor kelly, thanks as always for being with us. president trump said late this week there could be a major, major conflict with north korea. the secretary of state said maybe it's time to sit down and talk with this regime. what do you make, first of all, of those messages, kind of mixed messages from the administration? >> i think that's become a real problem in this current war scare, there's been a lot of inconsistency from the u.s. government. in 2010 and 2013 -- we came into this saying how there was going to be a strike after the first test. then vice president pence said we'd have discussions. secretary tillerson has been all over the place in this. it's hard to know what the trump people are trying to do. i wonder if this is trump's strategic unpredictability or if you have groups inside the trump administration who haven't into brated their positions yet. it could help a great deal if we would be more consistent. >> absolutely. you never know from one turn to the next wha

gum brand. >>> we are following breaking news, south korea's news agency and u.s. cials now confirming that an attempted missile launch by north korea failed. and another new development, a senior u.s. official says the status of the north korean underground nuclear test program as of tonight still remains unchanged and they say the regime could conduct a test at any time, talking about a nuclear test. again, a failed missile launch that we now know has just taken place in north korea. meantime, we were there less than 24 hours ago during this massive military parade that included two canisters that you're watching on your screen. these canisters are big enough to hold intercontinental ballistic missiles. that's the type of missile capable of reaching the united states. now this is the first time pyongyang has ever shown off canisters this size. and we could just be looking at empty shelves, we just don't know. l let's talk about this with the former lieutenant governor of north carolina, a republican. charles, to you first. you wrote a column this week in which you

and south korea. this is the sixth time since the start of the year that north korea has pulled off such a provocative measure. let's not discount the timing either. it came just hours after that special meeting of the u.n. security council led by secretary of state rex tillerson in which he said that there could be a catastrophic outcome here if other parties did not work together right now to try and rein in north korea and its nuclear missile ambitions. you have had quick reaction, of course, as is common in these cases, from south korea and from japan. south korean officials saying that further provocations will warrant a response. japanese officials calling a meeting of their security council, and also something we haven't seen before, george, they even stopped the subway trains for about ten minutes once word of the launch reached japan. they then quickly restored service. does seem to underscore the mounting concerns here in the region. george? >> alexandra field live in seoul, south korea. than

as i assure you today, we will continue to closely consult with south korea and our leadership as we ke decisions moving forward. we also call on other regional powers and the entire international community to join us to confront north korea and demand that it abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, to end the repression of its own people. [ translator speaking ] [ translator speaking ] >> earlier this month president trump met with chinese president xi at the southern white house. each of them reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearized korean peninsula during that meeting on april 7th. they also committed to fully implement u.n. security council resolutions and increase cooperation to convince north korea to abandon its illicit weapons program. it's heartening to see china commit to these actions. but the united states is troubled by china's economic retaliation against south korea for taking appropriate steps to defend itself. the better path would be for china to address the north korean threat that is actually making such defensive measures necessary. now, while is

ambassador to south korea, chris hill, joins us. as the u.s. oint military exercises. we'll discuss what opgs america has to respond to this crisis. what's it like to be in good hands? like finding new ways to be taken care of. home, car, life insurance obviously, ohhh... but with added touches you can't get everywhere else, like claim free rewards... or safe driving bonus checks. oh yes.... even a claim satisfaction guaranteeeeeeeeeee! in means protection plus unique extras only from an expert allstate agent. it's good to be in, good hands. hi, i'm frank. i take movantik for oic, opioid-induced constipation. had a bad back injury, my doctor prescribed opioids which helped with the chronic pain, but backed me up big-time. tried prunes, laxatives, still constipated... had to talk to my doctor. she said, "how long you been holding this in?" (laughs) that was my movantik moment. my doctor told me that movantik is specifically designed for oic and can help you go more often. don't take movantik if you have a bowel blockage or a history of them. mova

thank you for joining us. >>> vice president pence on the border between north korea and south korea,the demilitarized zone, the dmz. the administration speaking with one voice, all options are on the table. the visit comes amid growing tensions with north korea and hours after the regime's failed missile test launch. with the united states pressing china to get its client state under control, pence echoes tillerson's words from one month ago today. the era of strategic patience is over. >> we seek peace. the united states have always sought peace through strength. the people of north korea, the military of north korea should not mistake the resolve of the united states of america to stand with our ally. the alliance between south korea and the united states is iron clad. we will continue to stand strong, to achieve our shared objective across this region and across the world of a denu denuclearized korean pen lanes. >> once again, deliberately low key, defense secretary jim mattis put out a very brief statement. quote, the president and his military team are aware of north korea's mo

and south korea. part of a readiness posture. you have the joint drills between the u.s. and japan. and you have u.s. president sending strong words across the world, telling a group of conservative journalists that kim jong-un is a strong leader that he purports to be. those are not the words that kim jong-un takes kindly to. he had his own rhetoric over the weekend. threatening he can sink a u.s. aircraft carrier as a deterrent. >> a belligerent and unpredi unpredictable hermit kingdom. nice to see you from seoul. >>> the trump administration is imposing sanctions on 271 syrians, all believed to be the connected to the making of poison gas. they work for the scientific studies and research center, that produced the sarin gas that killed people earlier this month. the sanctions freeze any money the employees might have in u.s. financial institutions. but it's the naming of the employees. those individuals are more likely to be targeted in postwar investigations. tough to watch those horrible pictures

is your priority when you're on the ground in south korea? eassure the south koreans the united states south core can alliance is strong. they recently impeached their president. they're a month away from their elections and how the u.s. is handling north korea is a critical issue in those elections. this is a very, very complicated environment that vice president pence is stepping into. >> do you think it was odd that the president of the u.s. department come out and issue a statement himself? >> it was odd but everything is odd that this president does, and so we're certainly -- if there is a playbook, it's a different playbook than we've known or the world has known. and right now -- >> yet he hasn't withheld from tweeting. >> yeah, well, who knows what he was -- as a matter of fact in the car over here we were looking at his twitter and it was the wrong twitter, like a fake donald trump account talking about who would trust somebody who has a bad haircut. and we were thinking, did president trump really tweet that? we just don't know. in t

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 put that message into context for us and i'm wondering what is the reaction from south korea? >> well, martin, i think many experts are saying that this is really quite a significant array of missiles that we saw this saturday from pyongyang, some -- two in particular, experts are watching closely believe could be new icbms, intercontinental ballistic missiles that kim jong-un has said clearly that he is working on to try to be able to hit mainland united states. now he's already said at the beginning of the year he was close to test launch one of those so we have intelligence agencies and exports pouring over these images to try to clean information they can about the capability that north korea has. of course, one thing they're focusing on closely, they're within these canisters, they don't know whether or not or what was inside those canisters, of course, for the purposes of this parade, but it lo

the secure and prosperous south korea. also we will see a korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons. >> the era of strategic patience is over. >> it was the policy of the united states of america during prior administrations to practice strategic patience. that is hopeful to get support and end to the ballistic missile program of north korea. that has failed. the advent of nuclear weapons tests and the nuclear program and this weekend to see another attempt at a ballistic missile launch. all confirms the fact that patience has failed. >> what does it mean to end it in practical terms? it is either use military force or find a diplomatic solution that has alluded predecessors? >> we will abandon the failed policy of strategic patience, but we're going to redouble our efforts to bring diplomatic and economic pressure to bear on north korea. our hope is to resolve this peacefully. i know the president was hartened with his discussions with president xi. we will take actions to bring pressure to north korea. there needs to be m

also echoed by south korea's acting president. this after north korea test-fired yet another missile. this coming from the last one 11 days. and certainly, yes, it failed according to military officials in south korea and the united states, but certainly succeeded in terms of getting the global attention and also hiking tensions here on the korean peninsula. and get something reaction out of donald trump as well. he tweeted over the weekend saying the united states military is building, becoming stronger than ever. so, certainly, not ruling out the military reaction in all of this, guys. >> chery, is this meeting takes place. clearly, it's not the president himself? and the other side, the south korean president is just a temporary president at the moment. so, are people suggesting that this meeting is as significant as the headlines suggest? and whatever comes out of it will be acted upon? or is there a level which say it's not in fact the two main people at hand anyway? >> reporter: certainly, i think it would have carried more w

the american vice president visited south korea's national cemetery where the names of 104,000 soldiersea nearly 70 years ago are listed. mr pence knows this history because his father served in the war. his big message now — the alliance remains. this morning's provocation from the north is just the latest reminder of the risks each one of you face every day in the defence of the freedom of the people of south korea and the defence of america in this part of the world. he landed a day after a fearsome display of weaponry, 100 miles to the north in pyongyang. but as though to undermine that image, north korea today tried and failed to fire off a missile. us officials said the launch came from the sinpo region, the second such launch from land in that area which also has a submarine base. talk of war is now ramping up. it's not clear though if mr trump has decided on attacking north korean nuclear facilities. south koreans are watching developments closely. 25 million south koreans live within range of north korean artillery. all the same, south koreans tend to assume war will not happen

that's the heavily fortified area between south korea and north korea. k to our global affairs correspondent elise louisialab et. it's a real show of unity with the south korean government. had which is really in the midst of a lot of turmoil right now. in addition to this great north korean threat and growing nuclear threat and the tension and increased rhetoric between the u.s. and north korea, you also have south korea in the throws of political chaos in the wake of the president's impeachment so vice president pence is really there for two reasons. to show unity with the utah u.s. and south korean ally. this comes in the wake of strikes in syria and in afghanistan and clearly this is a a message to north korea that the u.s. is taking this threat very seriously. this is really seen as one of the gravest threats that president trump assumed when he took office. you can see in the last week and several months and weeks that this u.s. government is taking this threat very seriously. >> here's what we're learning about this planned visit to the dmz. i'm re

but the way china has gone after south korea for the fact that south korea and the u.s.eed to put in an anti-ballistic missile system, the way china has gone after south korea and try to punish them is not a good way to treat neighbors, who after all are going to be there for the next 1000 years. charlie: i assume they are against that because they think it questions their own use of weapons if they should find it in the national interest to do so. >> i think from china's point of view, putting in the so-called terminal high aerial defense system has a very robust radar. the chinese are worrying, although nominally it is there to deal with the north korean threat, ultimately it gets information against china such that it would diminish china's own deterrence. the chinese worry about those kinds of things. if they want to worry about them, they ought to talk to us about them and the south koreans and not just try to make life miserable for the south korean state, which after all is going through tough times. the president was impeached and now in prison. they have an elec

and south korea believe the nar tuc test site is ready. we saw a military parade more missiles on display be north korea has ever shown before. there were two types of icbms unveiled at this parade and likely mock-ups because real missiles are not put on parades for military displays. given the pace and frantic testing that has occurred, it could be just a matter of a couple of years before north korean leader kim jong-un reaches his goal of a warhead capable of striking the mainland u.s. missile launches is one aspect they are testing and this nuclear test is another way the scientists in north korea get their information to get closer to that goal of having that weapon. >> will, thank you, reporting for us from pyongyang. >> dana bash is in seoul and joins us on the phone. you're traveling with the vice president, dana. how is the white house reacting to this latest jab from north korea right now? >> reporter: good morning, rene. first, i should tell you that i'm at a military base with the vice president who currently is having an easter

you will regional range missiles both land and sea based that could potentially attack japan or south korea. that is a big more near term worry right now. the u.s. has missile defense in the region, if either of those countries were to come under attack from north korea. right now what everybody is also watching for is north korea about to have a sixth underground nuclear test. pentagon officials say it still happened. chris, poppy? >> appreciate it, barbara. we bring back dana bash in seoul, south korea. joining us gordon chang author, and chris cillizza, reporter and editor at large for cnn politics. gordon you made the observation what was in the canister. this notion of what happened with the latest missile test, was it u.s. cyber skills that took it out or could it could have an being else? what is your take on the issues? >> certainly it could have been cyber sabotage. we've obviously developed a lot. there have been a lot of unexplained failures of north korean missiles but also another aspect. i actually don't think the north koreans were really thinking of testing a missile now. i

japan and south korea may reassess their nuclear status. is it is a point of near term optimization from north korea, which preserves the and for china, it maintains their buffer state. for the united states, it makes the best of a bad situation. it is an interim agreement that we would characterize as a down payment for the long-term delocalization -- de -nuclearization of the korean peninsula. host: let's see what our viewers have to say. caller: i have an additional track i would like to see your opinion on. i think china is the key. we go into parallel negotiations with japan and south korea? we do not want proliferation where they develop their own systems, but we would lend or lease them nuclear weapons systems and additional with what north korea has. at the juncture where north korea eliminates their weapons, then we eliminate release with these other countries, so that they do not have it on their own. we come now they -- we kind of have a dual key system. it is something that we work in conjunction with. when the threat has ended,

and leaders of south korea. paula hancocks, thank you very much. >>> earlier i spoke with former new mexico governor bill richardson who's negotiated with north korea on several occasions. i asked him if he thought that korean leader kim jong-un was different than his father and grandfather who ruled the country before him. >> yes, he's different. he's totally unpredictable. with the father you could eventually make a deal. you know, bargaining chip. he'd take an american prisoner or he'd provoke the united states with missile tests. in exchange he would take a deal where he would get food and energy assistance. you could work something out with him for the release of an american prisoner. with come jong un, you don't know what he's going to do. he doesn't talk with foreign leaders. he seems isolated. he's worried about his own internal stature within the country. he perjures members of his inner circle. nobody seems to know what he's up to, what he wants to do. possibly except the chinese. but i think the chines

one is placing nuclear weapons inside south korea. the other is killing kim jong-un. joining me now is kelsey davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the arms control association, a nonpartisan group. i wanted to get your thoughts on those two options, but first, what do you make of putting nuclear weapons in south korea? >> well, i understand why the trump administration is considering these options. as part of a policy review, it's good to cast a wide net and to become familiar with the costs and consequences of certain activities. but i think putting nuclear weapons back in south korea would be dangerous and overly provocative. first, it sends the wrong message to north korea that the united states is committed to denuclearizing the korean peninsula. also it's unnecessary, because u.s. strategic assets can protect south korea both with our nuclear weapons on submarines and bombers but also through our conventional forces. >> what about the assassination option? how likely is this? >> well, i think that's extremely unlikely. not only is that illegal, but

could already hit south korea. they have the submarine launch ballistic missiles they were showing these solid fuel missiles. a lot easier to be able to move. a lot harder to be able to at the detective by the west. there was a message that north korea is becoming stronger by the way militarily. we know from experts and analysts and officials here in seoul and also in washington that the pace of the improvements in north korea is significant. they do believe that they are getting to where they want to go and where they want to go is to be able to have a nuclear tipped intercontinental ballistic missile that can hit mainland united states. obviously analysts and experts, intelligence agencies around the world will be poring over these images trying to figure out if those two potentially new icbms are in the process of being built, whether or not they may have been built. kim jong-un at the beginning of the year said he's close to test launching aicbm. there will be a lot of investigation going on from pictures that

meanwhile, vice president mike pence is in south korea where the second family celebrated easter with u.s. and south korean troops, pence delivering a message of unity just hour after north korea's provocation fell flat. one day after staging an elaborate military parade, kim jong-un attempted to launch a missile but it fizzled out. it all means there's lots to discuss here and we've got team coverage cnn correspondent jessica schneider is in west palm beach, florida. cnn senior international correspondent in this case payton-w payton-walsh is in russia. take a listen. >> all options are on the table undergoing refinement. >> how close do you think north korea is to having a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the united states? >> well, you know, estimates in these sorts of things vary widely. what is clear is as long as their behavior continues, as long as they continue missile development, even though this was a failed missile, they get better. and they learn lessons. and so what's critical is for them to stop this destabilizing behavior, stop the development of these weapons, and d

japan and south korea are always looking at these scenarios because this sort of tension or crisis with north korea is very familiar to them. south korea military had already been involved with the u.s. and joint military drills over the past couple of months and japan's navy was preparing to be at a state of higher readiness with the arrival of the uss carl vincent that is being dispatched toward the korean peninsula. japan maybe will be joining the carl vincent in the sea of japan. there was already moves towards a stepped up military presence among the u.s. allies in the region. what remains to be seen, of course, is the reaction. there was the suggestion by kelly o'donnell and others who were closer to the president in suggesting that there probably won't be much of a reaction, that there will be a hesitation to give kim jong-un the sort of platform that he's looking for and the attention that he wants. in speaking with south korean observers, there's the sense that having been to the brink and back before that this is just the game that north korea tends to play, that it's less mil

the more persistent threats this region faces. >> reporter: the war being waged in this corner of south korea today won't draw a drop of blood. americans and south korean troops engage in mock urban combat less than 15 miles from the dmz, and running through the playbook of a potential war that has haunted this peninsula far too long. >> we think we could see everything from conventional total war here and also experience civilian operations after victory, whether attack in urban strong point. >> reporter: as if on cue, the colonel was interrupted by a rescue chopper swooping in to pluck mock casualties from a rooftop. the americans and south koreans are taking part in an annual joint exercise kim jong-un has long decried as a provocation but what was seen on this side as a deterrent. still, the status quo that has gingerly maintained peace is threatened as kim jong un rushes towards a nuclear weapon capability. it raises the question what about seoul and it's suspected north korea would reign down thousands of artillery rounds on this sprawling metropolis, but won't go unpunished. >> this is

lester holt will anchor "nightly news" from south korea tomorrow and tuesday nights with more on the rth korea threat. with the trump administration cracking down on undocumented immigrants, one group that has not received as much attention in this debate is asians who are here illegally. their numbers have grown in recent years. in los angeles, jacob soberoff spoke with some. >> reporter: president trump wants to build a wall with mexico to keep out undocumented immigrants. but the reality is in recent years, people are coming from a different continent and on a different mode of transportation entirely. >> i'm asian america, i'm korean. when i tell people i'm undocumented the first thing they do is nothing because they're confused. it is kind of a conflicting thing. >> reporter: because most people associate the issue of undocumented immigration -- >> with the border. >> reporter: with the border, are latinos primarily with mexicans. after peeking at 12.2 million in 2007, america's undocumented population stands just over 11 million today. the number of undocumented people from mexi

there are 50 million people in south korea. about half of that many in north korea. because it is a small place, it means any type of ground war over there will be devastating to both countries. the thing we have in the united states is when we get tired of it, we can always leave. the people in korea, you know, they will suffer the most. a very complex situation. yep china that shares a border with north korea. you have russia that shares a border with north korea. and yeah the south koreans and the north koreans in the middle. it is a very complex situation. i would suggest that the president is very careful with the rhetoric he spews out about the possibility of going to a major war over there. the last thing we want is a major route more in south korea. on groundo very well wars in asia. it is no different now. it would be very difficult for us to conduct any type of major ground warfare there. and you cannot win it in the air. the terrain is not about you to do it. feelu want to get a good for what more would be like over there, just fly over there and take a lo

and south korea together. 's a tough proposition. >> i know you listened to general mcmaster there, what are you hearing that is encouraging you? besides what you talked about with vice president pence? very encouraging that they are in close quakt the chinese. they seem to be trying to work things together with china. that seemed to be an elusive concept at a certain point if time. yet, that, i think, is very much happening. secondly, of course, is -- the vice president's visit because, south korea's some 20 million people within artillery range of north key xwrap they essentially worry about two things. a preemptive action by the u.s. where they were not included in it. they also worry about talking to the chinese. over their heads, and they kind of take the view of, look, there shouldn't be anything about us without us. so i think the effort to kind of clue them in, to be close to them, to listen to them, to discuss the strategy, think is very crucial. i would like to see, at some point, a u.s. ambassador na

they have been leading the recovery in south korea as well asa number of the recovery in south korea such as japan and taiwan. we heard from a high—ranking south korean finance ministry official who declined to be named, telling reuters the trump administration had not requested anything from them yet so they are just waiting and seeing. we will do a u—turn. he's done that and everything else. cu, sharanjit. follow me on twitter. i will be back with james did look —— to look at some of the newspapers from around the world. the general election will be a tipping point the education, with head teachers warning the stability of the whole system is at risk. a survey by the national association of head teachers found that nearly three—quarters of heads say their budget will be untenable within two years. it comes as economists predict it would cost £2 billion to freeze school funding in real terms over the next five years. 0ur education correspondent marc ashdown reports. but the corbet school in shropshire top of figures. but they are struggling, some of them. many have had to make saving

he'll have meetings with leaders from south korea, japan, indonesia, and australia. >>> and this morning, north korea had an unsuccessful missile launch. vice president pence says it was probably a medium range ballistic miss that will blew up within four to five seconds. the missile was launched less than a day after north korea's staged this huge parade displaying it's latest military hardware. defense secretary jim mattis says president donald trump who is in palm beach right now, is aware of the launch, but has n trump has been leading on china to put pressure on north korea. >>> wait until you see this. chaos erupting during a pro trump rally. this was in berkeley, california. because of that, police arrested 20 people after trump supporters and counterprotesters clashed. only an orange barrier separated the two groups. you can see that there. police say things escalated when heated words were exchanged, some of the activists threw anything they could get their hands on. including fireworks. about a dozen people got hurt. >>> things label the calmer at other rallies including this o

tu rkey‘s south korea is charged with bribery.key's president moves to consolidate power after this disputed victory means a state of emergency is extended for three months. and taking on the headscarf taboo. it is eight in the morning in singapore, 1am in london, and 8:30 a.m.. in pyongyang, singapore, iam in london, and 8:30 a.m.. in pyongyang, where a senior north korean minister has told the bbc that this country would act to the pre— empty of us strike with any attack on them. —— pre—emptive. they also said more missile tests would also said more missile tests would also be undertaken on a weekly basis. mike pence said the air of strategic patience is over. john sudworth is in the capital of pyongyang. north korea is all about shows of strength. the first today came in this tae kwon do demonstration. the next, in kim il—sung square, close to the centre of power, by way of a rare interview. translation: if the us is reckless enough to use military means, it would mean, from that very day, an all—out war. 0ur nuclear weapons pr

he's on his way to seoul in south korea. >> paula is joining me live in seoul, south korea. paula. >> reporter: it is been an interesting day on the peninsula. those interesting pictures from pyongyang of a massive military parade and analysts around the world are looking at those pictures to see at what kind of capabilities they can deduct if the -- from the images. these intercontinental missiles. >> kim jong-un made it clear he wants to be able to hit the united states. he said earlier this year, january 1st, he was close to test launching an icbm. that's what analysts are looking at. it appears larger than previously and potentially a designing concept and telling the world what he's going for and what sort of capabilities he wants. vice president pence is coming here at an interesting time. he will be coming to confirm the alliance to reassure south kore korean officials that the united states is standing side by side with south korea. >> there is no official president. there is an acting president at this point. the previous president has been impeached and detained du

dana bash, cnn, seoul south korea. >> thanks, dana. >>> while pence is in south korea, the president's top security adviser h.r. mcmaster is in afghanistan. he's discussing ways to move forward with the war on terror. and also weighed in on north korea saying that all options are on the table. in how the u.s. could respond to the rogue nations growing nuclear weapons ambitions. take a listen. >> all options are on the table undergoing refinement and further development. >> how close do you think north korea is to having a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the united states? >> well, you know, estimates in these sorts of things vary widely. what is clear is as long as their behavior continues, as long as they continue missile development, even though this was a failed missile, they get better. and they learn lessons. and so what's critical is for them to stop this destabilizing behavior. stop the development of these weapons. and denuclearize. >> cnn correspondent jessica schneider joins us from the southern white house in florida. president trump is breaking his silence on twitter. wh