bob woodruff, standing by to explain why. >>> in an instant, the massive avalanche in this country. the snow crashing down at more than 50 miles per hour. the rescues and the search, tonight, for the missing. >>> plus, the other major storm system on the move this evening. ginger zee is right here. >>> target practice. the stunning image. the targets brought to a firing range by a florida officer. the hood, the skittles and the immediate connection to trayvon martin. what he said now to trayvon martin's family. >>> and the armed robber who used dynamite to blow through this prison door. and his inspiration, robert de niro in this movie. >>> good evening. and thanks for being here on a sunday night, as we do begin with that anxious wait. world leaders wondering if and when north korea will make a move. after weeks of escalating threats, some believe a missile launch could come at any moment. it is already monday morning in north korea. and they are celebrating the birthday, there, of that country's founder, kim il-sung. that's him on the left there. his grandson, kim jong-un on the r

tonight, abc's bob woodruff with the hbo documentary honoring tim heatherington. >> on april 20 while covering the civil war in libya, tim heatherington was killed, fatally wounded in a mortar attack that also took the life of a photographer and injured several other journalists. weeks earlier, he was attending the academy awards, nominated with his friend sebastian junger for the movie "restrepo." >> we were at war and we wanted to bring the war into people's living rooms and movie theatres. >> reporter: now tim's death, and more importantly, his life are the subject of junger's latest documentary, called "which way is frontline from here?" >> i always look to be as close to the subject as possible. >> why did you decide to do this documentary? >> tim was a really, really good friend of mine. i was just devastated by his death. it was kind of a mystery what happened that day. on a sort of higher level, he's gone. and i wanted to make a film that would allow other people, whoever knew him, to be inspired by him. >> reporter: inspirational, he was. capturing images of conflict first in

our bob woodruff reporting in from seoul tonight. >>> outbreak. the new and dangerous deadly bird flu. tonight, why the top scientists in this country are racing to come up with a vehicaccine. >>> losing it. after that of rhorrific video, the coach caught on tape. the new fallout tonight, unfolding while we were there. this just crossed. the athletic director has just been fired. do you think he should have been? reaction just as we ask, how early does this kind of coaching start? look at these kids and the coach suddenly taking a young player out. >>> and lost. a family on a florida vacation, stranded, lost in the everglades. the alligators, the snakes, the storms, the massive search. tonight, the children saved, mom is mad and dad is left explaining. >>> good evening. tie diane is on assignment tonight. we do begin here on this friday evening with that mysterious nation, north korea, turning up the heat tonight. issuing an ominous new threat, telling foreign embassies to evacuate. saying that starting now, they cannot guarantee the safety of the

bob woodruff on the korean border. have we lost track of the north cornan -- korean missiles on the move. and is hillary clinton going >> ama: shanghai health officials say two more people contracted the new bird flu strain that has killed six people in eastern china. the total number of those sick inned is now 12. health officials believe people are contracting the virus through direct contact with fowl. they say there's no evidence the virus is spreading easily between people. >> former south african president nelson man mandela has been discharged from the hospital. he was admitted on march 27th 27th and treated for pneumonia, his condition has improved and will now be treated at home. he has been hospitalized three times since december. >>> a rash of prank calls targeting hollywood celebrities has the los angeles police department on edge. a growing list of celebrities have been victim of the 9-1-1 caller hoax, known as swatting. this week alone, celebrities including justin timberlake and selena gomez have had s.w

bob woodruff, standing by to explain why. >>> in an instant, the massive avalanche in this country. the snow crashing down at more than 50 miles per hour. the rescues and the search, tonight, for the missing. >>> plus, the other major storm system on the move this evening. ginger zee is right here. >>> target practice. the stunning image. the targets brought to a florida firing range by an officer. the hood, the skittles and the immediate connection to trayvon martin. tonight, the outrage. how the cop is explaining it. what he's saying, now, to trayvon martin's family. >>> and great escape. the notorious armed robber, who used dynamite to blow through this prison door. how his wife helped him. and his inspiration before, robert de niro in this movie. >>> good evening. and thanks for being here on a sunday night, as we do begin with that anxious wait. world leaders wondering if and when north korea will make a move. after weeks of escalating threats, some believe a missile launch could come at any moment. it is already monday morning in north korea. and they are celebrating the birth

north korea on the verge of firing a missile in a show of force to the world, and our bob woodruff is in the region where all eyes are on the skies tonight. >>> breakthrough. will a compromise in congress change what happens when you try to buy a gun? our david muir at the gun show, jon karl at the white house, and michelle obama tearing up as she makes her case. >> i told them that there's a reason that we're here on this earth. >>> inside the big hoax. who played a nationwide trick on the single biggest tv evangelist in america today? we track down the man who says he spread word that joel osteen had given up on god. >>> and kitchen cam. news today about how much food america wastes. so we use our cameras to show one family all the money they're throwing away. >> good evening. tonight there's urgent new evidence that north korea is ready to launch a missile at any hour, any moment, a show of force, a defiant test of world reaction. abc news has been told that the fuel has been loaded. the missile is on the pad. and our bob woodruff is in south korea to bring us more details right no

bob woodruff, standing in seoul, south korea, again tonight. >> reporter: for secretary of state john kerry, japan is the last and arguably most tense leg of his asian tour. while he spent some of his time visiting public sites, the bulk of the day was about solving the crisis with north korea. >> the biggest priority is a peaceful resolution to the issues of north korea. >> reporter: kerry's japan visit puts him well within the range of a threatened missile test from north korea. a launch that could come at any moment, as the north marks its biggest holiday, the birth of founder kim il-sung. the missile, known as musadan, has never been fired before. the most likely trajectory would send it over japan, towards the pacific ocean. the u.s. has put more patriot missile interceptors in key positions and has ships and satellite surveillance across the region, just in case. perhaps the most important meeting of the weekend was in china, north korea's only real ally. secretary kerry is trying to get china to put some teeth into their efforts to persuade kim jong-un to stop developing nuclea

abc's bob woodruff is on the ground for us in seoul. >> reporter: north korea announced through state television today it's withdrawing more than 50,000 workers from a joint korean industrial park, cutting its last economic ties to the south. it comes as the world waits to see if the north attempts another missile test this week. the people throughout korea have not experienced war for more than 60 years now. but for the very first time, north korea has a leader who has no memories whatsoever of those battles, which make him even more unpredictable. kim jong-un has only been in power for a year and a half. across the border, he's facing another untested leader, newly elected park geun-hye, south korea's first female president. her past is tragic, her mother killed by a north korean sympathizer. her father, who was also once president, murdered by his own intelligence chief. the question, how will she act if north korea's leader pushes her to the brink? bob woodruff, abc news, seoul. >> a lot of pressure on those leaders. >>> from one woman new to power to another who delighted in usin

bob woodruff, thank you. >>> in south africa, a hero is going home. former president nelson mandela left the hospital. the government there says he's improving and even so, many in that country are concerned about a weakened icon who holds a giant place in their hearts. ron claiborne is in johannesburg tonight. >> reporter: nelson mandela is resting at his home in this johannesburg neighborhood and there is considerable relief in a country where he's considered the father of post-apartheid south africa. this afternoon, an ambulance with nelson mandela inside left the pretoria hospital where he spent the last ten days and brought him to his home in johannesburg. in a statement, the south african government said he was discharged from the hospital following a sustained and gradual improvement in his general condition. your reaction that he's out now? >> i'm glad he's better, obviously. very glad he's better. >> we wish him well and thrilled he's home. >> a dream come true. >> yeah. >> yes. >> reporter: mandela was rushed to the hospital on march 27th fo

>> bob woodruff in south korea right now. bob, thanks very much. >>> i want to bring in martha raddatz, just back from south korea tonight. what's different about the untested leader from his father? and what's the real threat as we head into another week? >> i think the difference is he has had some real successes. he had a nuclear test that was successful. he had a long-range missile test that was successful. this is a 29-year-old who feels very emboldened at this point. going into this week, i think you might see in the week or the week after that, a mid-range missile test, possibly two missiles. the mobile missiles that we're trying to track in north korea. probably will launch them into the water. the fear is that south korea or japan will react to that provocation militarily. the u.s. is doing everything they can to say don't do it. >> in the meantime, martha, you heard bob report there, this young leader wants a call from president obama. this is not how you get a call from the white house. >> that's not going to happe

bob woodruff, abc news, seoul. >>> back home to the weather now. it may be spring everywhere, but tonight, half the country seems stuck in winter, the other half, getting a blast of summer. these two postcards tell the story. blizzard-like conditions in colorado. in washington, d.c., 85 and sunny. look at those cherry blossoms at their peak. our extreme weather team is tracking it all. starting with abc's weather editor sam champion. >> reporter: from the northern plains to the rocky mountains, it's a spring storm with a lot of winter in it. denver covered in nearly nine inches of snow. nebraska and the dakotas, expecting two feet or more. and this storm is packing powerful winds. derailing this train in nebraska. 21 cars tossed off the tracks and ripping the roof right off this harley-davidson store in colorado. thankfully no injuries in either case. at least 13 states under winter storm watches, warnings, or advisories. blizzard warnings out for utah and colorado. in denver, a huge temperature drop in just 24 hours. as clayton sandell shows us. >

. >> abc's bob woodruff was in pyongyang when the world got a first glimpse of him. here from the abc news vault, world news, october 11, 2010. >> reporter: this was the biggest military parade in the history of north korea, an elaborate display of hardware, tens of thousands of troops, goose stepping with remarkable precision. clearly they have been planning this for a while. i have been to the square several times before, but never have journalists ever been able to stand so close. they have the navy. the army. the air force. infantry, artillery, medics, doctors, nurses and of course, tanks. now it is completely silent. right up there, kim jong-il and his son, kim jong-un. going to come out and watch. the goal of all of this was purely political. introduction of the heir apparent to the kim family dynasty, kim jong-un. out and about in the capital, no one seemed to know much about kim jong-un. do you know what his age is? what he is like? it seemed the young general was everywhere we went from stadiums to the public squares, but never uttered a word. we should poin

. >> abc's bob woodruff was in pyongyang when the world got a first glimpse from him. here from the abc news vault, world news, october 11, 2010. >> reporter: this was the biggest military paraden the history of north korea, an elaborate display of hardware, tens of thousand of troops, goose stepping with remarkable precisi precision. clearly they have been planning this for a while. i have been to the square several times before, but never have journalists ever been able to stand so close. they have the navy. the army. the air force. infantry, artillery, medics, doctors, nurses and of course, tanks. now it is completely silent. right up there, kim jong-il and his son, kim jong-un. the goal of all of this was purely political. introduction of the heir apparent to the kim family dynasty, kim jong-un. out and about in the capital, no one seemed to know much about kim jong-un. do you know what his age is? what he is like? it seemed the young general was everywhere we went from stadiums to the public squares, but never uttered a word. we should point out when kim jong-il's

president obama has issued a first person warning, and abc's bob woodruff is on the ground in seoul, south korea, to tell us what he sees there tonight. bob? >> reporter: good evening, diane. more words from president obama directed at north korea's leader, as their nuclear capability seems to be growing. in the showdown, the stakes just keep getting higher. tonight, we believe that north korea is readying more missiles. a barrage of smaller ones. this as a new intelligence report assessed with moderate confidence, the north currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivering by ballistic missiles. we've known for years they've had nuclear weapons. arming a missile with them would be a dangerous development. though the report states those weapons' reliability would be low. >> general, would you agree with that assessment by dia? >> with the number of caveats you put on the front of this, i can't touch that one. >> reporter: today the president called on north korea to ratchet down the rhetoric over a looming strike, while saying the u.s. stands by its allies. >> the united states wil

more fit from bob woodruff. >> image show nation tonight ready for a fight. north korea issuing the ominous warning to foreign embassy the safety can not be guaranteed after april 10. tension now rattling businesses. general motors saying it's making contingency plans for the safety of its employees if the conditions days tier 88th. prospect of the north flexing the muscles firing missile even target is the middle of the ocean puts the nuss a tricky place forced to make a sdichlingts does america shoot it down to show support for south korea and japan. >> only going to be seconds to react and they have to be almost on auto pilot when they see the launch occur. >> if we shoot it down could be very provocative it would be a big embarrassment to kim. >>reporter: that could provoke the new young leader even more. >> downtown zole the streets are full. markets you can see are busy. >> even the music is playing here. big question is we are only about 30 miles away from the border of north korea so what good if he launch another missile? leaders of this country do a

and abc's bob woodruff is on the ground for us again tonight in south korea. bob? >> reporter: good evening, diane. yeah, secretary of state john kerry here today just 30 miles from the border with north cok a korea, aimed his message directly to the young leader to the north that it's time to stop the rhetoric and end this tense standoff. the message was clear. >> that the united states will, if needed, defend our allies and defend ourselves. >> reporter: a warning tonight to the north to stand down and hold off on test firing its missiles. this coming as the world absorbed a u.s. intelligence report which concluded with moderate confidence the north is capable of delivering a nuclear weapon on a ballistic missile. a startling assessment, but today, kerry was quick to point out the north's limitations. >> it is inaccurate to suggest that the dprk has fully tested, developed or demonstrated capabilities that are articulated in that report. >> reporter: and while there is no evidence that missiles currently in position to launch

i really feel proud. >> reporter: bob woodruff, abc news, new york. >> you know some people are going to go there be overcome by emotion they lived through this we all did. some people lost their family members. i think some people are going to never want to go there. >> it really is remarkable. i have been driving home, more or less around the downtown battery see it rise year by year month by month. just incredible. observation deck open 2015. there are going to be restaurants. souvenir shops, great attraction for new york. >> yeah, we can't wait. uvenir shops, great attraction for new york. >> yeah, we can't wait. al penn patriot program, offering up to $50,000 of life insurance. you know, we could really use more coverage. says there are a few simple health questions and you don't have to take a physical. it should be pretty easy to apply. ♪ >> with a term life insurance policy through the colonial penn patriot program, you can help ease the burden of the unexpected, and help your family cope financially. term is the simplest form of life insurance. this coverage is guaranteed r

for "nightline," i'm bob woodruff in nashville. >> nice. bobby are billy ray. our thanks. now from hill billys to fame. i had enough of feeling embarrassed about my skin. [ designer ] enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months, and keeps it clearer through 6 months. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events, including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis

bob woodruff from seoul again tonight. >> reporter: secretary of state john kerry visited north korea's only ally today, asking chinese leaders to calm their neighbor down. >>at t powers, china and the united states could work effectively to solve the problem. >> reporter: china and the u.s. vowed to persuade north korea to give up its nuclear weapons program but china has not pressured norta nearly as hard. refugees pouring over borders with repercussions. on the streets of pyongyang today theyere honoring the 100th by of kim ill-sung. it could be used as an excuse to conduct a missile test that has the region and the world on edge. in seoul today a completely different picture, 50,000 fans celebrated with the musician psy who became known for his hit gangnum style. >> reporter: the people in that he released his follow up today called gentleman. stadium are not forgetting about what is going on in north korea. it's just that this generation has lived through times of military confrontations for their entire lives. david. >> thanks to you again tonight. >>> from washington this evening

. >> all right, bob woodruff on the ground in seoul tonight. bob, our thanks to you. >>> and we move on here this evening to another major world headline. rising fear over an outbreak. a new and dangerous strain of the bird flu. so far, contained to china. but tonight, right here in the u.s., top scientists are now racing to develop a vaccine and if they're concerned, how concerned should the rest of us be? abc's chief medical editor dr. richard besser tonight. >> reporter: across asia, travelers are being warned. a new flu has arrived. the target of technicians today in has hazmat suits? birds. shutting down the poultry markets of shanghai. officials suspect the new flu, called h-7n9, which normally spreads from bird to bird, is now spreading from birds to people. so far, 16 have fallen ill and six have died. the real fear? the new flu mutates again and learns to pass from human to human. because it's brand new, people would have no natural immunity and there's no vaccine to fight it. if one infected person with that mutated virus flew from sh

tonight abc's bob woodruff takes us for the first time to the observation deck of the new 1 world trade center. >> reporter: here on the southern tip of manhattan, there's a new tower, taller than the empire state building, the highest in the entire western hemisphere, and it rose from the dust and ashes of tragedy. today another milestone, the unveiling of the 1 world observatory. where millions of visitors will be able to see new york in full panorama. we did get the chance last year, one of the first, to make it to the top. then, there were no windows or walls, but today there is glass. >> our look out on the world is back. >> reporter: it will be three floors high, a restaurant, video displays, and the most breath-taking view. what we have to remember is that 25,000 workers who helped to build this record-holding high-rise. >> who moved so much earth and steel to bring us this heavenly view. >> reporter: so many of these workers told us, this is not just a project. >> it's a gift that i personally felt like i give this country, for giving me the opportunity to be here. this building

. >> all right, bob woodruff reporting in again tonight from south korea. and abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz is also standing by tonight from washington. i want to go back to the big headline about north korea's nuclear capability. tell us more about what it really means. >> well, they've had three nuclear weapons tests. but what we're talking about tonight is the tricky part. it's miniaturizing a nuclear weapon and putting it on a ballistic missile. this is the first time we've heard an official assessment from the pentagon about this, saying that they had moderate confidence that north korea could do this. this is a big development. now, i should add that no other intelligence agency in the u.s. government has yet signed on to the dia assessment, but still quite a development. >> i want to be clear. there's no indication that the missiles we've been watching, the ones poised for the test are armed with any kind of nuclear material? >> absolutely. no indication of that right now, diane. but it is an indication that they built up mi

thank you so much, bob woodruff. >>> and now, we want to take you inside the all-out american effort to stop a new kind of bird flu from coming to the united states. our chief medical editor, dr. richard besser, a veteran of the cdc, has made his way to china to show us the firewall that has to be built, and fast, to stop an outbreak from traveling to american shores. he is in hong kong tonight. rich? >> reporter: i'm on the trail of a virus with frightening potential. i need to emphasize that so far, this virus has not mutated into the most deadly form. but health agencies around the globe, including the cdc, are working 24/7, just in case. that's because if contagion begins, hong kong is key. this is one of the most densely populated places on earth. you have one person who comes into a diner like this with the flu and coughs, half the diner could get sick. this flu began among birds and all over this country, there is a race to contain it. the number is rising. 43 infected. 11 of them dead. most believed to have been in contact with infected birds. officials monitoring more than 1

bob woodruff in seoul tonight. >>> now, to china this evening, where the deadly bird flu is on the move. the virus has arrived in yet another province. what's making it so hard to track, there's no clue which birds are carriers because it doesn't make them sick. and while there's still no evidence it's passing from human-to-human, a sharp uptick tonight. 60 confirmed cases and 2 more deaths. the death toll now at 13. abc's chief medical editor, dr. richard besser, is on the ground in china again this evening. >> reporter: china is on high alert tonight. not because of the crisis in north korea, but because the deadly new strain of bird flu is extending its reach. beginning in shanghai, the virus has been inching its way across the map. slowly connecting the dots between the eastern provinces, to the nation's capital, beijing, where a case was reported yesterday. the two latest cases were confirmed in henan province, a region previously unaffected. health officials are warning this outbreak is still far from contained. >> we still expect there will be other cases. awareness is now very h

>> all right, bob woodruff reporting in tonight, and abc news will be keeping its eye on north korea throughout this night. >>> but we have a developing story to tell you about right here at home, outside of atlanta. a team of firefighters did the brave thing they do, responding to a 911 call. when they arrived, they were taken hostage by a gunman. s.w.a.t. team storming the scene and abc's ron claiborne tells us what happened next. >> reporter: the dramatic stand-off began just before 5:00. when five firefighters responded to a call from a man saying he was having a heart attack. from inside the house, up with of the firefighters called his dispatch. >> we have an armed person and he is armed and we are in the room with him. >> reporter: authorities said the gunman released one of the firefighters to allow him to remove his vehicle. police attempted to contact the suspect to negotiate with him. what he wanted for his utilities to be turned back on. then around 7:30, loud noises heard, police storming the house. the firefighters inside suffered superficial wounds. it's not known what

abc's bob woodruff is covering it all from south korea this thorng mp bob? >> reporter: good morning, dan. you know, we're only about 30 miles north of seoul here, as far as we can go, because this is the edge of the dmz, north korea is only three miles that way. of course, along this border, tourists can take a glimpse of north korea across the river, but no signs that the conflict is calming down. in fact, the president's office in south korea issued a statement saying they're preparing for additional provocations. although there's no indication if or when a launch could happen, the south korean military is looking at wednesday or later. with this worsening tension, the top military officer today canceled his scheduled trip to washington next week to meet with martin dempsey, too far to go at a risky time. north korean's leader kim jong-un demandd that president obama call him to soften the conflict, the same request that he made through dennis rodman when he visited him last month. the u.s. hasn't been able to track down two missiles that were transported

bob woodruff is following it all. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning, george. today was supposed to be the day, when the missile could have been launched. it's still right there on the launch pad. and the u.s. and it allies are waiting to see if north korea's leader will talk.

abc's bob woodruff is in seoul, south korea, monitoring it all. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning, bianna. secretary kerry this morning landed in japan, which is the most vulnerable country when or if a missile is launched from north korea because it could be pointed right over the top of japan. with a range of more than 2,000 miles. now, because of that, japan has brought in more patriot missile interceptors this week. just in case. but his trip has not been only about nuclear missiles. kerry got the tour of a buddhist temple, built in the 14th century. and he got to meet the winning students who built a solar car that can drive 50 miles per hour fully powered by solar panels. as for north korea, despite the growing tension, there was normalcy on the streets in pyongyang. the 26th annual marathon race. the winner this year came from ethiopia. over here, right in seoul, we are all just waiting, really, for the possibility of a missile launch. many are thinking it could be tomorrow because it is the 101st birthday of kim jong-un's grandf

abc's bob woodruff is covering it all from south korea this morning, bob? >> reporter: good morning, dan. you know, we're only about 30 miles north of seoul here, as far as we can go, because this is the edge of the dmz, north korea is only three miles that way. of course, along this border, tourists can take a glimpse of north korea across the river, but there is no sign that the conflict is calming down. in fact, the president's office in south korea issued a statement today, saying they're preparing for additional provocations. including missile tests. we're thoroughly preparing for this, leaving all possibilities open. although there's no indication if or when a launch could happen, the south korean military is looking at wednesday or later. with this worsening tension, the top south korean military officer today canceled his scheduled trip to washington next week to meet with general martin dempsey, too far to go at a risky time. and according to a russian newspaper, north korean's leader kim jong-un has demanded that president obama call him to soften

abc's bob woodruff is in seoul, south korea with the latest. bob? >> reporter: good morning, bianna. you know, secretary of state john kerry arrived in china today. this is his second stop in this asian tour to try to deal with this unrelenting concern about north korea's nuclear arsonal. while china is quietly pressuring kim jong-un to resist launching any missiles, in south korea the u.s. made it very clear. >> the united states will, if needed, defend our allies and defend ourselves. >> reporter: in japan an official today warned a missile was launched but he meant to say was an earthquake. he accidentally sent out the wrong draft. the third time this happened this week alone. this week's u.s. intelligence report which was accidentally leaked to the public suggested for the first time that with moderate confidence the north is capable of delivering a nuclear weapon on a ballistic missile. while there is no evidence that the missiles currently in position to launch involve a nuclear weapon, the report is raising questions. could the u.s. stop a nu

and coming up, a report from abc's bob woodruff on the ground for us in seoul. >> that's right. tomorrow could be a crucial day in that country. >>> staying in the region, a different kind of headline from south korea this morning. psy, the man behind "gangnam style" is out with a new music video. and wait until you hear how many hits it got in just 24 hours. can he break the record set by justin bieber? a catchy song, as well. >> pressing news story there. we'll answer that question for you. >>> good news for your wallet. gas prices taking a fresh drop. but here's the question, will this really last? we'll break it down for you coming up, a bit later. >>> and take a look at this. could this moment end the career of one of basketball's most famous players? this morning, an eye-popping emotional rant from kobe bryant. >> kobe getting raw. we'll get to that next half hour. >>> we're going to start with the fresh cases of the bird flu virus. look at this map. the bug spreading into new parts of china overnight, hundreds of miles from the original hot zone. the head of the world hea

abc's bob woodruff is in seoul, south korea, monitoring it all. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning, bianna. yes, secretary kerry this morning landed in japan, which is the most vulnerable country when or if a missile is launched from north korea because it could be pointed right over the top of japan, with a range of more than 2,000 miles. now, because of that, japan has brought in more patriot missile interceptors this week. just in case. but his trip has not been only about nuclear missiles. kerry got the tour of a buddhist temple, built in the 14th century. and he also had the chance to meet the winning students who built a solar car that can drive 50 miles per hour fully powered by solar panels. as for north korea, despite the growing tension, there was some normalcy on the streets in pyongyang. the 26th annual marathon race. the winner this year came from ethiopia. over here, right in seoul, we are all just waiting, really, for the possibility of a missile launch. many are thinking it could be tomorrow because it is the 101st birthd

>>reporter: bob woodruff abc news zole. >> there is a lieutenant more to come here tonight. just ahead. tornado watch. we have this video of gigantic twister and we show you storm damage from around the country. >> 49ers legend join newñr team with eye toward the superbowl. spencer is here with the weather. >> accu-weather forecast center we lack at warming up tomorrow and then cooling down by sunda sunday. i have the accu-weather 7 day forecast coming up. >> and this year west coast blue hall of fame quite back in the day, we didn't have the u-verse wireless receiver. [ light laugh ] the tv stayed in one place... mmmmhmmmm. ...right next to the upstairs tv outlet. oh yeah. they can move the tv all over the place, even outside. grandpa... mmmhmm? kids have it easy nowadays. [ glasses clink ] i'm trying to tell ya. [ male announcer ] the wireless receiver. get u-verse tv for just $19 a month with qualifying bundles, and get a $150 promotion card. rethink possible. ♪ male narrator: there's something positive being generated in california. when ordinary energy is put in the

abc's bob woodruff is in seoul, south korea, with the latest. bob? >> reporter: good morning, bianna. you know, secretary of state john kerry arrived in china today. this is his second stop in this asian tour to try to deal with this unrelenting concern about north korea's nuclear arsonal. while china is quietly pressuring kim jong-un to resist launching any missiles, in south korea the u.s. made it very clear. >> the united states will, if needed, defend our allies and defend ourselves. >> reporter: in japan an official today warned that a missile was launched. what he meant to say was an earthquake. he accidentally sent out the wrong draft. the third time this happened this week alone. this week's u.s. intelligence report which was accidentally leaked to the public suggested for the first time that with "moderate confidence the north is capable of delivering a nuclear weapon on a ballistic missile." while there is no evidence that the missiles currently in position to launch involve a nuclear weapon, the report is raising questions. could the u.s.

abc's bob woodruff has more from seoul. >> north korean newscasters issued new bluster calling for foreigners in south korea to get out now. right here on the streets of seoul we are getting more words, out of north korea, this time on north korea television targeting us us as journalists, american citizens and foreigners telling us that we need how to come up with an evacuation plan. u.s. officials believe a north korean missile launch could happen at any time. a flex of their muscle. possibly tied to the anniversary marking the 101st birthday of kim il-sun next week. it is a key date. we were there when the world heard young kim speak at a military parade honoring his late grandfather. the question is will a missile test be the next thing we hear from kim and his country? bob woodruff, abc news, seoul. >>> just a horrible story now, a 6-year-old boy in new jersey was accidentally shot by a playmate and died. brandon holt playing with his 4-year-old friend monday night. it is unclear how the younger boy got a hold of the .22 caliber rifle or who owns the gun and don't know if anyone is going

abc's bob woodruff reports from seoul. >> reporter: we believe that north korea is readying more missiles, a barrage of smaller ones. this as a new intelligence report assessed with moderate confidence the north currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles. we have known for years north korea has had nuclear weapons, arming a missile with them would be a dangerous development. though the report states those weapons reliability would be low. >> general, would you agree with the assessment by dia? >> you know, congressman, with the number of caveats you put on the front end of this i can't touch that one. >> reporter: the president called for north korea to ratchet down the rhetoric over a looming strike while saying the u.s. stands by its allies. >> the united states will take all necessary steps to protect its people and to meet our obligations under our alliances in the region. >> reporter: for some families in south korea living in a nation dotted with evacuation centers there is some caution. this woman told us she decided she would keep her son at home the n

abc's bob woodruff reports this morning from seoul. >> reporter: the top u.s. defense official responded to kim jong-un's rising rhetoric. >> north korea, whose actions have been skating very close to a dangerous line. >> reporter: there is some anxiety growing on the streets and in the subways of seoul. amid south korean news reports that emergency threat levels jumped to watchcon 2, which is one step away from war. even as koreans went about their daily routines, young koreans, who is lived through the endless propaganda and missile tests for decades, now even they are starting to wonder about jim jong-un. >> he is very crazy. >> he's very crazy? >> yes. >> reporter: parents are getting nervous. sae-jun kim told me for the first time in this conflict, she will not take her son to kindergarten. >> i want my kids to be with me. >> reporter: if it happens the missile would be a mid range, the musodan, never before tested in flight. it is powerful enough to travel more than 2,000 miles, putting u.s. bases in okinawa or guam within its reach. its path could be ove

here's abc's bob woodruff in seoul. >> reporter: north korea announced through state television it's withdrawing more than 50,000 workers from a joint korean industrial park, cutting its last economic ties to the south. and comes as the world waits to see if the north attempts another missile test this week. now the people throughout korea have not experienced war for more than 60 years. but for the very first time, north korea has a leader who has no memories whatsoever of those battles, which make him even more unpredictable. kim jong-un has been in power for a year and a half. across the border he's facing another untested leader, newly elected park geun-hye, south korea's first female president. her past tragic, her mother killed by a north korean sympathizer. her father, once president, murdered by his own intelligence chief. the question is, how will she act if north korea's leader pushes her to the brink? bob woodruff, abc news, seoul. >>> secretary of state john kerry is on his third trip to jerusalem in the last two weeks. he is there to urge israeli and palestinian leaders

bob woodruff is following it all. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning, george. today was supposed to be the day, when the missile could have been launched. it's still right there on the launch pad. and the u.s. and it allies are waiting to see if north korea's leader will talk. secretary of state john kerry says the u.s. is prepared for direct talks with north korea if kim jong-un makes the first move to slow down his nuclear weapons program. >> the united states remains open to authentic and credible negotiations on denuclearization. but the burden is on pyongyang. north korea must take neeningful steps to show it will honor commitments already made. >> reporter: kerry telling us that north korea has to stop it from growing. not eliminate it. >> denuclearization is the word you used. what did you that mean? >> step down the production facilities and make it clear you'll be a nonnuclear state. >> reporter: it's clear north korea is developing nor advanced bombs that could some day be attached to the tip of the missile. there were worries that the musudan would b

abc's bob woodruff is on the ground in seoul with the latest. good morning, bob. >> reporter: there's so much talk about the last couple of days about a possible missile launch by north korea. even on wednesday. more speculation this morning about a possible nuclear show of force. there's an indication that pyongyang may be planning. in this ongoing provocation, including north korean kim in this ongoing provocation, jong-un practicing shooting, the u.s., south korea, and japan are preparing just in case north korea could launch another missile. american intelligence spotted two missiles spotted being transported to the coast last week by train. it could reach the u.s. base in guam. but for the past six days, u.s. surveillance has not been able to locate them. >> we don't know exactly where they are. they could be launched at any time, surprising the united states, japan, and south korea, as well. >> reporter: there are predictions this missile launch could happen as early as wednesday. but this type of aggressive action is not new. the last roc

abc's bob woodruff is in seoul right now with the latest. good morning to you, bob. >> reporter: good morning, josh. what we do now know from surveillance is that north korea has positioned two midrange missiles called the musudan along the east coast. and one is prepared to launch. no one can predict when or if this will happen, where it will go, just straight into the sea or over the top of japan. the missile's range is up to 2400 miles so it could reach as far as guam. north korea has also warned us, journalists and foreigners, to evacuate from south korea, calling us american imperialists with south koreans as our puppets. and all those people in seoul have remained very calm this week, some told us today, josh, they are getting a little more concerned. >> understandable, bob. we'll have updates on abc news throughout the day. >>> also, this morning we're hearing the dramatic 911 call made by a california couple tied up by a fugitive ex-police officer. christopher dorner was on the run in february, after killing four people, he took kare