while welcoming the announcement that they are ready to reopen the tourism links, the south korean government sees it as only a starting point for more talks at an official level. >> last year, south korea brought home the body of one of its citizens from the north korean special tourism zone. the 52-year-old had been shot dead by the guards. the south has long argued that the tourist trips will remain suspended until they get satisfactory explanations over death. -- over her death. they say that the divided families have not been able to be reunited, which might be a sign that the north is softening. or it might be more calculated. this garrison state has been seeking to mend fences with washington. closer ties width seoul could help. the north's military is falling on a strike if these drills infringed on their sovereignty. >> this is "bbc world news." the promise of gold treasure is sparking a dispute. calls for hem to be banned from children's -- ham to be banned from children's sandwiches. it is more than one week since a typhoon swept across taiwan, causing landslides that buried homes

last year, south korea brought home the dy of one of its tizens from e north korean special tourism zone. the 52-year-old hadeen shot dead by guards. the south has long argued that the turist trips wi remain suspended untilt gets a satisfactory explanation for her death. north korea says it also wants to resume the reunions of vided families which have al stoppedmid the worseng elations with its soutrn neighbor. it may be a sign tha the nort is softeningtstance, or it may be re calculated. this garrison state habeen seeking to men fces with washington, d to that end, closer ties with south korea could help. a reminde of teions, the north military as wning of "and annihilating strike" if south korean mitary drills and french on s sovereignty. -- infringe on its sovereignty. >> go to bbc.com/news to experience bbc news onle. it is all here. see the one-minute video rld ws summary. you can read the latest headlines, get the top ories from around the glo. discover morebout the subjects that really ierest you and fi outwhich issues the wld is talking aboutight now. for "bbc world news"online

the south korean capital is hosting its first visit by north korean officials and almost two years. yet, despite the overnight stay there are still no plans for direct talks with any member of the south korean government. alongside the visit, though, there other positive signs. north korea announced it will allow a cross-border cargo train to begin operating again and it will lift the restrictions on traffic travelling from the south to this joint industrial zone. although some have suggested that as international sanctions begin to bite, it is more interested in the hard cash that the factory complex provides. few people doubt the gulf between north and south remains a very wide. there are high hopes that his visit might mark a turning point, but in the end, it may prove stronger on symbolism than substance. bbc news, seoul. >> many of the victims of the lockerbie bombing were american passengers on the pan am jumbo jet. they are angered by the release of al-megrahi from the start of parisian -- from prison and believes libya is getting what was because it has oil reserves. our chi

. >>> south korean officials have postponed the first launch of their space rocket before liftoff. it is not clear when it will happen. south korea hopes to join north korea as one of the few countries to launch a satellite from its own territory. >>> the scottish justice secretary has made his decision on the fate of the libyan man convicted of the 1998 lockerbie bombing. he will announce thursday whether he will be freed from

de a former south korean president has died, at age 85. ce he was a dangerous radical, and then he won the nobel peace prize. we have more from south korea. ed >> this was the defining -- this was the defining moment of his remarkable political journey. the inter-korean summit in 2005, the first time the leaders of the north and south had met since the korean war. 20 years earlier, facing charges of treason, he was sentenced to death by this court. he played a leading role in the struggle of military leaders and survived several assassination attempts. his election as a south korean president in 1997 marked the first democratic transfer of power in the country's history. in office, he transcended national politics and 1 d nobel peace prize -- and won the nobel peace prize. he became the architect of what became known as the "sunshine policy." this evening's newspapers reporting his death say all in all, the former president leaves a giant footprint. in recent years, his reputation became tarnished by allegations that his historic summit mee

. >>> north and south koreans came together today to remember south korean's former president. ten of thousands of mourners filled the lawn of south korea's parliament in seoul for kim's funeral. kim was a devout catholic but his funal today include christian and buddhist rites as a reflection of south korea's different faiths. kim died tuesday. coming up tonight americans receiving social security checks will not be getting a cost of living increase. we'll tell you why. plus, some lawmakers are calling for an airline passengers bill of rights. wee going to tell you a little bit more a >>> americans expecting to see more money in their social security checks are going to be disappointed. the millions of americans receiving their checks will not be getting that annual cost of living increase next year. this has not happened since the automatic adjustments went into effect back in 1975. they are linked to inflation. inflation is negative so no adjustment. trustees who oversee social security say the adjustment won't happen next year either. new york senator chuck schumer said he'

last year, south korea brought home a body of one of its citizens from the north korean special tourism zone. the 52-year-old had been shot dead by guards. the south has long argued that the tourist trips will remain suspended until it gets a satisfactory explanation for her death. north korea says it also wants to resume at the division's in families. it may be a sign that the north is softening its stance, or it may be more calculated. this garrison state has been seeking to mend fences with washington, in to that end, closer ties with south korea could help. in a reminder that tensions are running high, the military is warning of an "annihilating strike," if the drills infringe on its sovereignty. bbc news. >> hello, and welcome. >> go to bbc.com/news to experience the expert reporting of bbc news online. watch the one-minute world news summary. you can read the latest headlines, get the top stories from around the globe, and get the latest video reports. discover more about subjects that really interest you and what issues the world is talking about right now. bbc world news online

north korea currently detained several hundd south koreans. so of whom accidentally styed into north koran teitory. others thought to prisoners from the war of the1950s. >> caller:ar from being encouraged by the fact that these americans were let go, i think th south korea's posion might be, whyo they let these americans go? ying nothing about us? leaving usut in theold as usual. resing to talk to us. refusing to let ou people -- refusing to let our people go. and so i thi that this might actually be a soce of concern, if not angerongst people in south koa. >> for mo on this, we turn oncegain toharles armstrong, professor of korea studies and directorf the story for kore rearch at colombian university. good to have you back. >> nice to b ck. >> why now? why did the north koreans se do an about-face and suddenly become magnanimo with the news. >> it seems the north koreans have showed the worldhat they wanted tshow that kim jong-il's in chae that h's a tough leader that they have the capacity to produce a nuclear weapon to test their missiles.

south koreans and the japanese have their own issues, which are not the same, that the u.s. has with north korea. and they're not all that excited and enthusiastic about the u.s. dealing with north korea directly without them. but moving forward, no real substantial change in policy in north korea is going to happen without the u.s. consulting with its key allies in the region, south korea and japan. >> charles armstrong, thank you very much. >> thank you. >>> protesters took to the streets again today in iran, shouting death to the dictator, as president mahmoud ahmadinejad was sworn in for his second term. amateur video posted on the internet showed what was said to be groups of people gathering near the parliament building in tehran, where that inauguration was held. state run television reported that 5,000 security forces were deployed in the area. witnesses claim that police used tear gas and batons to break up the antigovernment rallies. >>> even with ahmadinejad now officially installed as president, iran's opposition leaders are promising more protests. itn's carl di

tony birtley, al jazeera, seoul. >> although that south korean missile was successfully launched, it failed to propel a satellite into the proper orbit. that satellite was supposed to observe the earth's oceans and atmosphere. >>> there was a huge and deadly explosion in afghanistan tonight. it happened in the southern city of kandahar, that's the spiritual center of the taliban. officials said at least 41 people were killed when five vehicles filled with explosives detonated at same time. it happened in an area where international aid organizations and a japanese construction company are located. >>> also in southern afghanistan, four u.s. soldiers were killed today when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. the loss of the americans set a grim mileen. >> afghanistan. this became the deadliest year for international forces since the war began in 2001. with 295 killed since january. of them, 172 were americans making this also the deadliest year in afghanistan for the united states. just over 800 americans had been killed since the war began. >>> although just a fraction

this comes after the north released a south korean worker held for months. relations between the two countries deteriorating after the election of a conservative south korean president. however, president lee did reach out to the north in a recent speech, offering a aid and diplomatic support if the regime abandoned its nuke program. the north rejecting the offer as it has done consistently in the past. >>> new violence in the middle east to tell you about. gun fire erupting in the gaza strip, nothing new there. but israeli troops are not in the cross fire this time. an al-qaeda-inspired group. al-qaeda clashing with hamas security forces. dozens are dead. including a child. now the very latest. >> hi, the group that calls itself the soldiers of the companions of god was targeted by hamas after criticizing them for not being strict enough with islamic law. the leader of the group said his group is idealcally link to do bin laden. in june, the group carried out a failed attack against israeli troops, using horses strapped with explosives. at least four of its

. >> the north korean leader has paid tribute to the former leader of south korea who has died.e sent notices to the grieving family. our correspondent looks back at kim dae-jung. >> this was the defining moment of kim dae-jung's remarkable political journey -- the injured-kirby and summit in 2000 -- injured-kirby and summit in 2000. -- inter-korean summit. kim dae-jung survived several assassination attempts. his election as south korean president in 1997 marked the first democratic transfer of power to an opposition party in the country's history. in office, he transcended national politics, achieving world wide acclaim and the no -- nobel peace prize for brokering peace with neighboring north korea. he became the architect of what became known as the "sunshine policy." this evening's newspapers reporting his death say it all -- the former president leaves a giant footprints. this headline reads that. ed recently, his reputation became somewhat tarnished by allegations his historic summit meeting in pyongyang took place only because of secret payments made to the north korean

first, a high-level delegation from north korea is in the south korean capital, joining those mourning the south links former president. relations do seem to be warming. >> it was are rare moment and one rich in symbolism. the six north korean officials arriving at south korea at's -- south korea and the links -- south korea's ministry. at kim dae-jung is lying in state. he organized the historic summit in june 2000, the first time the leaders of the two countries had met since the korean war. his hopes for reconciliation had been battered by months of rising tension. north korea had fired a rocket over japanese territory and conducted a second nuclear test. so could this moment of national unity through shared grief offer an opportunity to improve relations? perhaps. some detect a hint of the old rivalries out play. alongside the visit, there are other positive sides. north korea has announced it will allow a cross border cargo train to begin operating again and it will lift restrictions on travel to this joint industrial suburb. although some have suggested that it is more interested

and why was it a south korean prison? >> teaching english and i was based in seoul. >> what were the conditions? i ask you because what is interesting about this or what it compels people is it's so beyond most americans' imagination to be in a situation like you were in or, for that matter, the one the situation the women were just in. were you given food every day? was there a bed? give us a sense of the circumstances. >> in fact, it was interesting that conditions were pretty bare and primitive. >> did you have a bed? >> we slept on the floors on thin mattresses. >> did they give you food every day? >> food every day. >> three meals? >> three meals but rough rudimentary stuff, barley, rice. no hot water. not really much running water. plumbing, not much to speak of. pretty much third world conditions. so i think the journalists, it was interesting for me to see that even though north korea, of course, regard it as an axis of evil and so much tension there, but, in fact, the reports coming out of the way they were being

first though -- a high level delegation from north korea in the south korean capital. we have this report. at relations do seem to be warming. >> it was are rare moment and one rich in symbolism. the six north korean official arrived at south korea's national assembly where the former president is lying in state. there tribute is a clear sign of the esteem with which kim dae- jung held on both sides of the peninsula. he organized the historic summit in june 2000, the first time leaders of the two countries had met since the korean war. but his hopes for reconciliation had been battered by months of rising tensions. north korea fired a rocket over japanese territory and conducted a second nuclear test. so could this moment of national unity through shared grief offer an opportunity to improve relations? perhaps. some people detect the hands of the old rivalry at play. alongside the visible signs, there are other positive signs. north korea will allow across the border cargo trains to operate again and lift restrictions on traffic travelling from the south to this joint

there were north koreans who did go to seoul and met, in fact, with the south korean president. re you picking up as to the state of relations and what the north koreans really want from us. >> it was very interesting that they did come to pay their respects. they were not at the actual funeral where i was, but they had had a meeting with president lee of south korea just before we had our meeting. and the fact that they had a meeting with him was viewed as significant, because they had basically been ignoring him, and in fact, being quite rude to him. and they were interested in talking about north/south issues, which are, obviously, also very important. and kind of a sense that they wanted a different atmosphere. but, of course, as you pointed out, the united states is continuing to insist that whatever talks take place be done within a multilateral setting. >> did anyone reach out to you or were you carrying any messages in any way? did you have any contact at all, because you had been to pyongyang, and somewhat of a hero there, having gone there and warmed up relations before

north korea has released a south korean engineer for hyundai. he had been detained since march for allegedly insulting the north's communist leadership. there is no sign of the vessel that has disappeared from the north sea. it is believed it has been hijacked. russia has sent up to five navy ships in the search for the hell out -- in the search for the ship. 300 people are missing in just one taiwan village. latest official figures is growing public anger and there are plans to put more effort into the operation. 4000 troops will join the search team. we now have a report from one of the worst hit areas. >> it is a battle to keep moral high but the search goes on. even more soldiers joined the rescue effort. the water levels are still high and hundreds of people are still stranded. difficult to spot from the air. now troops are out on the ground, more are being found and air lifted to safety. these from one of the worst hit villages. people are being rescued however possible -- ropes, wires reaching into canyons. hear, a newborn baby is brought

south koreans will be allowed to visit the north with the resumption of tourist trips and family reunion visits. the news came after talks between the chairman and north koreans leader. confirmation of the death of a leader of pakistan's taliban. the news came from the main television spokesman who was arrested. he was killed in an air strike earlier this month. pakistan officials believe the group is now in disarray. >> another prize catch for pakistan security forces. troops taking the man away for questioning. the second high-profile captive in just 24 hours. >> he was the public face of the taliban, the official spokesman who often claimed responsibility for atrocities. but omar was more than a front man appeared he was also a close aide of the taliban and chief, now crucially he is reported to have confirmed that he is dead, killed in the u.s. strike. that is what officials here and in washington have been claiming for almost two weeks, but they haven't been able to prove it. these latest developments will be welcome news for washington's envoy richard holbrooke, who is in the regio

an asian newspaper proposed kim's envoy proposed the summit and the south korean president said yes ifo discuss the nuclear program. however, south korea denies talks of a summit saying they would only talk about discussions on improving regulars. >>> a malaysian woman scheduled to be caned in public is now free. she pleed guilty to drink a beer, an fence that breaks islamic law. 32-year-old trained nurse and mother of two never appealed her sentence. so far, officials are not commenting on why she was spared. the case has sparked controversy because malaysians are subject to islamic law while the large chinese and indian minorities are not. >>> soon, people would rely on social court checks to get by are going to have to rely on less. >> the bad economy could be good news if you are bargain hunting. self storage units turning into treasure troves for pennies on the dollar. sh shh! [ chattering ] delicious authentic iced lattes from dunkin' donuts. made with real espresso, milk, and whipped cream, to help you take a break from reality. treat yourself today. eric on nkin'. oh, i did it

south korean police commandos stormed bang yong motors factory this morning, which has been occupied by hundreds of fired workers for more than two months protesting massive layoffs. the raid comes after weeks of tension that has seen workers use sling shots and molotov cocktails against riot police, who have responded by dropping tear gas from helicopters. the car maker has been in bankruptcy protection since february amid falling sales and mounting red ink. ross? >> claire leka here in new york, thank you. >>> that cash for clunkers auto rebate program has hit a patch of rough road in the senate. the senate is considering a $2 billion extension already approved by the house, but many republicans remain skeptical. joel brown has the story 37 >> reporter: with time and money running out, supporters pushed the senate to refuel the cash for clunkers program before l lawmake lawmakers' summer break. >> we think another $2 billion can take the program through september, and that's a good thing. >> reporter: the white house and auto dealers want the senate to follow their lead and extend

police commando descending from a shipping container carried by a helicopter, they stormed the south korean auto plant where hundreds of fired autoworkers have held out in a battle with management for two months. police have been trying to end the stand-offs that threat eped south korea's fifth largest automaker with insolvency. >>> after eight seasons, paula abdul is walking away from "american idol." she said she is leading after not being able to come to terms over a new contract. she reportedly rejected an eight-figure deal from fox that represented a 30% raise. ross? >> claire leka here in new york, thank you. >>> just ahead on the "morning news," severe flash flooding in kentucky and in indiana. >>> plus, run for the hills. wildfire season let's up across the country. first, katie couric has a preview of tonight's cbs evening news. >> a new study raises serious questions about a costly back procedure. is it really worth it or could it leave you feeling worse? that's tonight only on the cbs evening news. all prescription nsaid pain relievers, like celebrex, ibuprofen and naproxen, help

. >>> south korean officials say a satellite they attempted to put into orbit in its first space rocketaunch likely burned up in the earth's atmosphere after missing its designated orbit. a protective cover failed to separate from the sellite causing it to overshoot its mark. >>> best-selling author and journalist dominiquedunn died after battling cancer. dunn was 83. >>> and new parents are still going for old-fashioned baby names. that according to the social security administrati's annual list of the most popular baby names. the top three names for girls, emma, isabella and emily. boys, jacob, michael, and ethan. >> and now here's a look at how wall street will ck off the day. the dow opens at 9,543 after adding four points wednesday. the s&p and the nasdaq were both up a fration. >>> tig a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei shot down 165 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng lost 213 points. >>>all street's annual summer slowdn is in fu swing with markets finiing mostly flat despite the release of eouging economic data. new home sales jumped almost 10% f

our other major also saw the game reaching a new audience, staying step for step with tiger, south korean y.e. yang denied the number one player and put asian golf on top of the world. we saw for eighth months so many spectacular performances. tiger took four titles before our cameras from jack's event to washington, flint and akron. phil loved l.a. and then felt the love of the entire golf community at colonial with the pink out saturday in honor of amy. another moment, private first class being escorted up the 18th on sunday. just beautiful. this was our world from january to today. we treasured the views from our office windows and we loved every minute of bringing them to you. the cbs golf team will meet again five months time. at torrey pines. liberty national debuting in such a big way. it will not be the site of this event next year. they declared that they are going to rotate it around the new york metropolitan area and plainfield will be the site. it is rich in history. ridgewood also the next couple of years. going to ridgewood again. that will be next up in the lineup. and the

. >>> south korean officials have postponed the first launch of their space rocket before liftoff. it is not clear when it will happen. south korea hopes to join north korea as one of the few countries to launch a satellite from its own territory. >>> the scottish justice secretary has made his decision on the fate of the libyan man convicted of the 1998 lockerbie bombing. he will announce thursday whether he will be freed from prison on compassionate grounds. most of the victims were american, and the u.s. administration opposes any early release. >> the decision has been made. what ever is, his fate has far reaching implications. in the last few days, the scottish justice secretary has found himself at the center of international tug of war. from washington, there have been pulling hard for the lockerbie bomb or to remain -- for the lockerbie bomber to remained in jail. a m i think it is wrong for him to be released -- >> i think it is wrong for him to be released, based on evidence of his involvement in such a horrendous crime. >> in tripoli, the anticipation is growing it will b

. >> a couple of other signals, south koreans going to launch a rocket, minutes of launching, they canceled. the north koreans sent a letter of condolence to the south koreans because of the death of the former leader and said they will send a dell takes about south korea. those exchanges are resuming. meeting of thedie executives, chairman -- chairwoman, i should say ofdie was in pyongyang over the weekend meeting with kim jong-il. what have you picked up about the health of kim jong-il? clearly, president clinton briefed the white house said he was in better shape and the succession was in the inially to the extent our own intelligence community thought? >> i haven't discussed that with him but did he look pretty healthy to me. i think this talk that he is -- he is physically ailing, he looked a lot thinner. we haven't discussed that i know kim, minister kim, the chief u.n. person for many years and he was very positive and restrained saying we want to have a dialogue. then the issue becomes how do you do what? do you do that within the six-party talks or do that bilate really? the next m

the former president also asked for the release of a south korean detainee and the japanese abduck tees, which we think would be also a great picture to see the reunification of those families, which we're very concerned about. so, no, i just think that we wanted to get those girls out, the north koreans gave us a path to that, and the president of the united states said we want these families reunified. they shouldn't be hel in captivity. and by the way, if we hadn't done that, we'd be having a different conversation tonight -- today because they would have said, well, you had an opportunity just to send the former president. >> all right. to that point, former president clinton, he goes to pyongyang, goes to north korea, gets this result. if you want a breakthrough with north korea, that breakthrough that's been so elusive to previous administrations, should president obama go to north korea and talk to the north koreans? >> that is -- the future relationship of our two countries wholly dependent upon the ability of the north koreans to understand where they are in terms of not only j

you notice the south korean hostages did not come out and neither did the japanese hostages. >> a desperateempt to find something negative here. i call him president clinton, not bubba. the idea surfaced in many conversations between north korea and the state department. basically, this is about saving face for the north korean regime. we've done it before. bill richardson has been over there freeing an american that was held captive. it may be acken ice breaker. maybe it will lead to a thawing in relations, maybe not. the president got important intelligence, i assume, picked up some sense of the health of this regime. both personally and the rest of it, intelligence that we wouldn't have had otherwise. there's nothing lost in this. >> i'll tell what you's lost. >> it's noise too see president clinton get a boost off the beating he took last year in connection with his wife's campaign. >> first ever all, in terms of stage craft this was pure clintonian brilliance. i'll tell what you was lost. there was a message being sent from kim jong-il to his business partners. i mean weapons trafficki

to the rest of t world, that country's leader kim jong-il, se condolees to thefamily of former south korean prese prident. he won t nobel peace pri. >>> american. >> jayo jintao arved day. jintaoietnam veteran has diabetes,sthma andccording to his ex-wife suffersrom postraumatic stress disorder. he was sentenced to seven yars ha labor after aizarre incidentn may when he swam across the lake of a home of the detained democcy leer suu kyi. suu kyi's sentce was extended anothe18 months. jintao's release fr prison. s allowed a ra visit tohe secretive country and t first time a u.s. senior politician had access countrs reclusive leader and a possible sign tha relations between the u.s.nd the mitary regime that controls burma might op up. tonight, wve got a glise insi burma an excet from the late edition of "wide angle." called "eyes of e storm." it's the storyf children orphaned by cyclone ngis last year a storm that kied more than 130,000people. and left million homels. >> reporter: these kids are on their own now. a parentless fam leech three. when the storm hithey were out playing while their

rest of the world, that country's leader kim jong-il, sent condolences to the family of former south korean president kim dae-jung today. he died yesterday. he won the nobel peace prize. in his efforts to reopen relations between north and south korea. >>> headed home today after three arrests in myanmar and also known as burma. he has diabetes and asthma and according to his ex-wife sufferers from post-traumatic stress disorder. he was sentenced to seven years hard labor after a bizarre incident in may when he swam across the lake of a home of the detained democracy leader aung san suu kyi. suu kyi's sentence was extended another 18 months. for allowing another american to stay in her home for days. it was the first time a senior u.s. politician had access country's reclusive leader and a possible sign that relations between the u.s. and the military regime that controls burma might open up. tonight, we've got a glimpse inside burma in an excerpt from the latest edition of "wide angle." called "eyes of the storm." it's the story of children orphaned by cyclone nargis last year. a storm tha

south koreans and make a plea on behalf of japanese citizens.can he substantiate any of that? -- can you substantiate any of that? >> i cannot. he may have had discussions about various issues with the north koreans. but i will have to refer you to his office. i don't have any details on various conversations. >> briefed reporters the other evening and said that president clinton did bring up the issue of japanese abductees and south korean detainees. >> i am not necessarily disputing that. i'm just saying that i was not privy to those conversations. >> did he have a license -- after all, he is an experienced former president -- did he have license to discuss whatever he liked to jong-il? -- whenever he liked with kim jong il? >> this was a humanitarian mission, and that was his brief and mandate. he is certainly capable of talking about those issues in detail, but he is not carrying or sending any message on behalf of the u.s. government. >> on the two journalists, have they had any debrief with state department officials thayet? do you know wh

. >>> former south korean jung has died. he was hospitalized last month for pneumonia. ght now yesterday we understand from a seoul hospital he passed away. kim served as south korea's president from the year of 1998 up until 2003. he won the nobel peace prize for his efforts in trying to bring peace with north korea. including an historic summit with north korean leader kim jong il, in 2000. >>> scotland's justice secretary will make an announcement by the end of next week on the fate of a libyan convicted in the lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people. the man is convicted in the bombing in 2001 and sentenced to 27 years in prison behe has terminal prostate cancer. libya asked he get out on compassality grounds to see his family before he dies. >>> if you're carrying money, bank notes, you're carrying drugs. there's a new study that shows that traces of cocaine taint up to 90% of paper money in the u.s. this is a lot more than what was found in previous studies. baltimore specifically has larger phrases of cocaine -- traces of cocaine than many other cities. scientis

have coordinated all of this by the way with the other allies, the chinese, the russians, the south koreans, the japanese. so the path is clear, and president clinton is a very convincing gentleman and i hope he was able to convince them. >> why do you think the north korean leader wanted to do this was he trying to convince his own people? was he trying to impress his military, look i can get a former president of the united states to come over here. that shows you i am still a strong and vibrant leader? or was he trying to impress the republicans of the world? what was that all about? >> you know, i would be guessing. you know, internally, he can manipulate this anyway he wants but as far as the rest of the world i think we are clear on what it was and what it wasn't. >> and what it was. >> what it was is a private humanitarian mission to rescue and obtain the release of two girls so they could be with their families and that is president obama's -- that was his goal in this. >> finally, gitmo. every indication is you will not be able to make the president's deadline of closing that down

rest of the world, that country's leader kim jong-il, sent condolences to the family of former south korean presid t president. he won the nobel peace prize. >>> american. >> jayo jintao arrived today. jintao a vietnam veteran has diabetes, asthma and according to his ex-wife suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. he was sentenced to seven years hard labor after a bizarre incident in may when he swam across the lake of a home of the detained democracy leader suu kyi. suu kyi's sentence was extended another 18 months. jintao's release from prison. was allowed a rare visit to the secretive country and the first time a u.s. senior politician had access country's reclusive leader and a possible sign that relations between the u.s. and the military regime that controls burma might open up. tonight, we've got a glimpse inside burma an excerpt from the latest edition of "wide angle." called "eyes of the storm." it's the story of children orphaned by cyclone nargis last year. a storm that killed more than 130,000 people. and left millions homeless. >> reporter: these kids are on their own now

north korea has released a south korean engineer. he had been detained since march for allegedly insulting the north common first leadership. there is still no sign of the maltese registered ship the arctic sea. the company that operates the vess sell now does believe it's been hijacked. it was last sighted off the french coast last month. russia has sent five navy ships to help in the search. at least 300 people are missing, feared dead in just one taiwanese village in the landslides triggered by typhoon morakot. the latest official figure is met by growing public anger and will put more effort into the rescue operation. the military say 4,000 extra troops will now join the search teams. we report now from one of the worst hit areas of southern taiwan. >> it's a battle to keep morale high, but the search goes on. even more soldiers join the rescue efforts across southern taiwan. the water levels are still high and hundreds of people are still stranded. the difficulty to spot from the air. but now troops are out on the ground. more a

the north said that it would free four south korean fishermen detained last month after their boat strayed into north korean waters. beyond that, the two countries have agreed to hold a new round reunions last month. the first reunions in almost two years. >>> and there's this, south korea is promoting the idea of sending a joint group of soccer fans to next year's world cup in south africa, where both countries will compete. >>> turning to the middle east. a senior saudi prince who's had a big hand in that country's aggressive efforts to fight terrorism was himself the target of a terrorist attack last night. a suicide bomber blew himself up outside prince mohammed bin nayef's home. the prince was lightly wound and says that he's more determined than ever to fight terrorism in saudi arabia. just last month, several hundred al qaeda militants were convicted in that country's first known trials. four suspected members of the group. >>> let's take a deeper look now at some of the week's top stories in our friday roundtable discussion. in afghanistan, the war's become more deadly than ever an