a couple years back, in 2010, north korea attacked the south korean ship, killed 46 south korean sailors. they've attacked with artillery, a south korean island. so whether this is a test of a missile, which is providing it's not targeted at south korea or the u.s. or any of our allies, providing it is aimed at the water just as a missile test, that's a very different deal than if it's targeted at us or our allies. >> what if it is the worst-case scenario, they target u.s. allies in south korea or japan for that matter? is the u.s. ready to take military action against north korea? >> we are. the -- our pacific commander today said that we are ready, with a variety of responses, and the south koreans, should there be an attack on south korea or us. but it's also clear, he said, that we can shoot down a missile that is aimed at us. those two points were made very clearly this morning, by admiral locklear, both that we can shoot down a missile if it is targeted at south korea or at us. but also, that we have -- that we will act. and we are ready to act in some proportionate way to an attac

south korean and u.s. officials say there's some activity again at the site where pyongyang tested the device in february, but they don't believe a nuclear bomb test is imminent. >> any future nuclear tests or missile launch would be in direct violence of u.n. security council resolutions. >> reporter: north korea has sit april 10th for all south korean workers to leave the kaesong industrial park and can't protect diplomats in the capital pyongyang after that. >> that would be the kind of action before it initiated some kind of highly escalation or provocative behavior. >> reporter: as we are here this evening, u.s. officials believe now indeed north korea could be ready to test fire those ballistic missiles on its east coast, literally, at any moment. wolf? >> barbara starr at the pentagon with the very latest. let's go to south korea right now where disaster plans are in place in case this crisis does escalate into some sort of war. cnn's kyung lah joins us. what are you seeing, what's going on? >> repo

south korean and u.s. officials say there's some activity again at the site that tested the defense in february. >> any future nuclear test or missile launch would be direct violation of u.n. security regulations. >> reporter: it says that it can't protect diplomats in the capital after that date. >> the kind of action that the country would take before it initiated some highly's can la toir or provocative behavior. u.s. officials believe that north korea could be ready to test-fire those ballistics missiles on east coast at any moment. >> barbara starr at the pentagon for the very latest. let's go to the south korea. in case this crisis does escalate into some sort of war. what are you seeing, what's going on? >> well, wolf, many of the preparations that we're seeing are happening very quietly, trying to keep people calm, all of it with an eye to tomorrow, it's wednesday in south korea, tomorrow, the day the south korean government has the highest possibility for a possible missile launch from north korea

>> i don't think it is the general views of the south korean people, the south korean government has assured and committed to continued accreditation of the korean peninsula in their joint declaration with the north korean 1992. i'm sure that south korea will continue to abide by that declaration. >> are you ready to go to pyongyang and meet with kim jong-un? >> i have made it consistently clear that i am ready to visit the dprk when and if my visit is helpful, and in close coordination with the concerned parties, particularly the republic of korea and the united states. >> stand by for more of my interview with the united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon. the u.n. secretary-general delivers a direct and powerful message to kim jong-un. i asked him to deliver that message in korean, knowing that they watch cnn international in north korea. at least the elite, the elite government officials and the military do. you'll hear that message in korean. what he has to say to kim jong-un, that's coming up this hour on our special report, the korean crisis. >>> up next, though, we have se

facility in south korea or south korean facility. what i think would happen immediately is the response if north korea fires, the united nations command, the combined forces command of the united states and korea would return very precise fire against that location of launch. not to escalate, but to maintain the dmz and the armistice. if they fire, we would fire back. >> simple equation on that. let's look at the one scenario that possibly gets much more out of hand among things that seem like they might vaguely be possible. what if north korea did something like when they shelled some islands over here saying it's disputed territory in terms of who owns what, let's say they attack the facility like this in a strong way and try to land there to seize the property? what happens then? >> tom, not unlike what we talked about. if they tried to occupy, there would be a fight to get that back. i don't us spesuspect that woul happen. what might occur, we have to think about this. the 2018 olympics is in pyongchung. this is where the winter

>>> south korean and u.s. military leaders are on the alert. they say north korea may soon launch one missile or more. >>> negotiators from taiwan and japan have found some common ground. they've announced an agreement on fishing near a disputed group of islands. >>> the operators of the fukushima daiichi plant are trying to get a contamination problem under control. they're building more storage to keep radioactive water from getting into the soil. >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." >>> south korean defense officials say north korea is ready to fire a ballistic missile from its eastern coast. officials are preparing for various scenarios. they say the north could fire a single missile or launch several at once. north korean forces moved what appear to be a mid range musudan missile to the coast last week. south korean and u.s. forces have been on high alert ever since. south korean official says the missile could be fired east towards the sea of japan or south to the pacific. >> translator: we're not taking any chances. north korea has test-

the war of words soars on the korean peninsula with many south koreans fearing conflict as pyongyang suspends access to a crucial industrial zone jointly run with. the presidential race now underway in venezuela we take a look at whether any of the main candidates could fill the shoes of the late. top stories this hour. live from our new center here in moscow this is r.t. with you twenty four hours a day. we start with our developing story a fire is raging in the tallest skyscraper in the chechen capital grozny located in russia's north caucasus the forty story building part of a new multi million dollar complex as been reduced to little more than a burn talent shell more details now from our correspondent lindsey france. around six pm local time reports came in that a large fire has started around the thirtieth floor of the one hundred forty five meter tall olympus building now that is a part of the cross in the center complex that was just completed in two thousand and eleven the luxury hotel and apartment building now this building contains the largest clock to sit on top of the b

access in but allowing south koreans out. so right now there's not a hint of the hostage situation but something the south koreans watch carefully. >> ifill: in intrapolitics this is a way of testing the new leader? >> well, the south koreans have a new president, she's been in office about five weeks so far so there's a little testing, but it's uninitial the sense that the north koreans hated the previous president, hard line, and saw in the election of madam park the potential of a partner. but they're not operating as though that's their intent. >> ifill: jay carney, the president's peres secretary, was asked about this on air force one and he said this is part of a if mill war pattern. you've been following this pattern for some years. does it feel different to you? >> as i say, the only difference is that precedent of almost three years ago. were it not for that, it would be a very familiar pattern. but you can not assume that it will follow previous events and end up with a reduction of tensions and a return to normalcy

he went to seoul to reassure south koreans that the u.s. has their back. anna, what is the latest on north korean threats and efforts at diplomacy? >> well, the big news out of seoul here or the korean peninsula, i should say, alison, is that north korea issued a statement to south korea basically saying at the moment their offer of dialogue is basically an empty shell. they need to change their attitude before pyongyang considers entering into talks with its neighbors. so, that really is the big news coming out of this region today. but, you mentioned the missile launch that many of us have predicted. the intelligence community has predicted that it hasn't happened and you mention tomorrow being the anniversary of the birth of the grandfather of kim-jung-un and highly unlikely of missile launches tomorrow because of the room for error and also being that it is such an important day, probably the most important day on the north korean calendar. all the attention on the celebrations. highly unlikely that we'll see the missile launches happen. so, perhaps it

and south korean forces are s

. >>> lee met in beijing with south korean foreign minister. they quoted lee as saying the chinese would spare no effort in denuclearizing the mission. they will oppose any act that goes against that goal. security analysts wonder how far they have progressed with their program. mark fitzpatrick moved to the institute. he said they could be close to fitting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles. >> one can't say for sure but they have been working on nuclear related explosives for over 20 years. i assume that they probably could mount nuclear warhead on one of their ballistic missiles. probably not one of the longer range missiles because that's a more difficult task. the question is whether any nuclear warhead would be reliable. i think it's that uncertainty which leads many governments to say they can't say with any conclusive confidence that north korea has a nuclear weapon. we were all waiting to see what kind of results might be obtained from the capture of any zenon gases in the atmosphere and when none were discovered in the couple week

war of words between the north and south of many south koreans fairing an all out conflict as pyongyang is getting in cresting aggressively more posture when it comes to well looking for some sort of international conflict let's speak now. on the board of directors for the u.s. and novak were so it's a two down on the advisory board of the korea truth commission thanks for joining us here on r.t. it would appear that the neither side seems to benefit economically from pyongyang's latest decision not to allow south koreans to work in a joint industrial zone why is the north taking such a step. well basically there's a whole history of leading up to this this current impasse have been reached. under military constipate of meeting to south korea and the united states held back in october they developed a new military plan for north korea so that even a minor conflict devote united states and south korea would hit north korea with considerable force and according to the south korean ministry of national defense policy reply in both peace time and war time under the missile technology contro

bills on the korean peninsula with many south koreans fearing war as pyongyang has buttons x. is so crucial industrial zone joined iran with so. a milestone deal and on the un adopt the treaty is supposed to control global trade of controversial weapons held as a land owned by some but criticized for and lack of clarity by others. on the ten day countdown to the presidential election for example venezuela would be charged as a bloodsucking president in a race against the pro washington opposition leader. international news and comment live from moscow this is all she with me hello and welcome to the program. first north korea has suspended a south korean joint industrial zone the latest move in the ongoing conflict with washington and seoul pyongyang also says it will restart a nuclear reactor to beef up its also know how to washington move its military closer to the korean peninsula south korean based journalist drawers of came gauge the reaction to pyongyang's fierce rhetoric on the streets of seoul for us. so often when i do south koreans how they feel about these threats t

/south korean military drills. defense minister kim kwan-jin spoke at parliamentary committee meeting. >> translator: it's not a long-range missile but it has considerable range. it could be for test firing or for drills. >> a recent u.s. intelligence image shows what looks like a ballistic missile being moved by train to east coast of north korea. the location of a launch site. kim's description matches that of a midrange missile known as musdun. the north koreans unveiled it in 2010 during a military parade. its estimated range of 3,000 to 5,000 kilometers puts it in striking distance of japan and a u.s. base on the pacific island of guam. south korean officials say they cannot rule out the possibility that authorities in pyongyang will fire the missile. they say they're closely monitoring activity in the north and are in contact with the u.s. and japan. >>> north korean authorities are making move on another front. they barred south korean workers from entering a jointly run complex. now they're threatening to s

on south korean terms. so you would have a very large korea with seoul as the capital, with 40,000 american troops, a treaty alliance with the united states and nuclear weapons. >> it's a complex situation, but it's perilous right now. we'll continue this conversation. >>> a broader look at north korea's military and massive firepower. the danger goes much deeper than simply one missile test. [bell] ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, llllet's get ready to bundlllllle... [ holding final syllable ] oh, yeah, sorry! let's get ready to bundle and save. now, that's progressive. oh, i think i broke my spleen! >>> the north korean leader kim jong-un is a big reason why this crisis is so uncertain and dangerous. he's young, virtually unknown and this is his first big test in the global arena. >> reporter: he's the third of the kim dynasty. a man not yet 30, in command of a nuclear arsenal, ballistic missiles, and the world's fourth largest army. but kim jong-un is in many ways an enigma, and a dangerous at that.

the problem is you got a new south korean leader. she can't back down. the chinese aren't going to back down either. they've got a troubled transition. and kim jong-un, his position in the regime is fragile. so the last thing he can do is show weakness. that's the real problem. you got a lot of leaders who don't have very much flexibility. >> arthel: that's exactly my point. so if secretary of state kerry is there in south korea to try to ease tensions and you're saying the likelihood or a possibility if kim jong-un will make a move, he'll do it while secretary kerry is there to prove a point. it's very dangerous and i want to ask you then, it's beyond now, i think, beyond a game of chicken. it's now moved to a game of chess because the u.s. has deployed a thad by guam, to shoot down intermediate ballistic missiles which is what he has there, posted. so again, it's no longer just chicken. how much should the united states do? i mean, we don't want to start a war. at the same time, we can't let this guy keep doing crazy stuff basically. >> yeah. in the pe

they have sunk a south korean ship. that was not a bluff. .he south korean sailors died people died in another attack, too. there are provocations that north korea can take including detonating bombs and targeting small killings of south koreans. that can be very serious. today."chart fom "usa host: these numbers seem that north korea is favored when it comes to the neighbors -- numbers. is a discussion that hopefully will never be actualized. betternario would mean devastation most for the people of south korea. we're talking millions of people. troops has been drawn back in prison years. -- recent years. more on a focus of letting the south korean army to take the lead. that plan is in place. all-out war is the worst-case scenario. we are hoping it doesn't come to that. and much more limited scenario with a provocation and a response. host: you do foresee that happening? response?een the guest: the response has been increased diplomatic isolation, increased punishments economically and a refusal to give north korea ma

korean war ship, killing 46 sailors, bomb an island with south koreans in 2010, there was no retaliation from south korea or the united states. i suspect the new president of south korea would retaliate this time, maybe the u.s. would as well. >> i can't speak to the u.s.'s intentions there. he will tell you that park, new leader in south korea, made it clear she will not tolerate that. and they have to stand up to what is this very belligerent behavior. he is 28 years old, untested. we don't have the same predictable profile we had for his father. so there's a lot of great reasons why you need to stand up, not let them get away with threatening nuclear exchange with the united states, threatening war with the south koreans, ratcheting up almost on a daily basis what some new -- telling south koreans they should prepare for war, having the consulates evacuated in north korea because they're preparing for war, all of that is a ratchet up. i think you would find park would be very aggressive about responding to any military action or any skirmish that might happen. it would be in proportio

they sank a south korean ship a few years ago. the south koreans were extraordinarily restrained. i talked to the south korean foreign minister at the time. how come you guys didn't do something? he said because we all live in fear of the fact if we do too much, the whole thing will collapse and then we, like west germany, will have to absorb -- >> i've been saying for days, that the south korean president is a tough, tough lady. i think if a similar incident like that were to happen, she would respond militarily. god knows what would happen as a result of that. guys, excellent discussion. our coverage is going to continue on this. so you will be back. thanks to both of you for joining us. please be sure to watch fareed zakaria gps that airs sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m., also at 1:00 p.m. every sunday here on cnn. you can also see christiane amanpour weekdays at both 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. eastern around the world. two of the very, very best. we're fortunate to have them with us here on cnn. >>> north korea has one of the biggest militaries in the world. but we're finding some surpri

south korean and u.s. officials say there's some activity again at the site where pyongyang tested the device in february, but they don't believe a nuclear bomb test is imminent. >> any future nuclear tests or missile launch would be in direct violence of u.n. security council resolutions. >> reporter: north korea has sit april 10th for all south korean workers to leave the kaesong industrial park and can't protect diplomats in the capital pyongyang after that. >> that would be the kind of action before it initiated some kind of highly escalation or provocative behavior. >> reporter: as we are here this evening, u.s. officials believe now indeed north korea could be ready to test fire those ballistic missiles on its east coast, literally, at any moment. wolf? >> barbara starr at the pentagon with the very latest. let's go to south korea right now where disaster plans are in place in case this crisis does escalate into some sort of war. cnn's kyung lah joins us. what are you seeing, what's going on? >> repo

they killed a whole bunch of south koreans. they attacked a south korean warship that killed a lot of sailors. the south koreans at that point did not retaliate, but i suspect if they did those kind of things again the situation could explode. >> wolf, i think it's noteworthy that within the last week or ten days, there was an agreement reached between the u.s. and republic of korea. i don't know the details of it, but it sounds to me like it was a heightened effort to consult very closely in the event of some untoward incident or unpredictable activity on the part of the dprk. you know, we work very, very closely, have for many years with our south korean allies. there's a well integrated plan, lots of discussion and exercises for many years. we worked very well together. there's high level of confidence between the two militaries. and i think again this is a time to certainly be very attentive to take a prudent precautions, which i believe we're doing. and to consult very closely with our allies in the region because this is

and south korean militaries are prepared for the worst. two u.s. guided missile destroyers are already in position to shoot down any ballistic missiles launched by north korea. defense secretary chuck hagel warned this week that north korea's threats of a nuclear attack cannot be ignored. >> we take those threats seriously. we have to take those threats seriously. >> reporter: in the unlikelihood of all out war, u.s. cruise missiles, american bombers, and south korean war planes would launch air strikes. north korea's nuclear and ballistic missile facilities would be prime targets. any ground war would be devastating. 700,000 north korean soldiers are dug in along the demilitarized zone manning thousands of rockets and long-range artillery aimed at the south. 20 million south koreans in and around seoul are in the crosshairs, well within range. a former u.s. commander in korea, retired general walter sharp fears massive numbers of civilians could be massacred. >> we have great plans to take that artillery down quickly, but it's not fool-proof. ther

trigger bells on the korean peninsula with many sounds the south koreans fearing war as pyongyang suspends access to crucial industrial zone drawings iran with seoul. also ten day countdown to the presidential election kicks off in venezuela would be travis blessed actually president in a race against the pro washington opposition leader. and a milestone deal in arms the yuan adopts and treaty is supposed to control global trade of conventional weapons hailed as a landmark by some but criticized for a lack of clarity by others. this is an see coming to you live from moscow hello and a very warm welcome to the program firestone north korea has suspended a south korean access to a joint industrial zone the latest move in the ongoing conflict with washington and seoul beyond young also says it will restart a nuclear reactor to beef up its arsenal after washington moved its military closer to the korean peninsula south korea based journalist joseph came isn't solvers. the south korean president is newly elected north korea doesn't want to test her limits and perhaps she's willing to change her

their attitude toward south korean workers has changed. >> 50,000 north koreans work for south korean companies in the complex. it is source of badly needed currency for the north. nhk world covers the korean opinions for us. >> reporter: north korean leaders are being more provocative because of u.s. drills. it always triggers some sort of reaction. the north korean regime is taking this opportunity to build support for its young leader kim jong un. it's resulted in old tactic, launching out against an old enemy, the united states. the north korean are trying to heighten the sense of crisis. kim reportedly told a former star american basketball player that he wants to hear from president obama. here's what dennis rodman said in march after his visit to north korea. >> he want obama to to one thing. call him. >> he wants a call from president obama? >> yeah. he said if you can, dennis i don't want to do war. i don't want to do war. he said that to me. >> reporter: obama was reluctant to deal with them during his first term. now that he's started his second term they're hoeing he will

he'll meet with south korean foreign minister. they're expected to discuss how to respond to any further provocations. kerry has said u.s. forces stand ready to protect their allies. he'll head to beijing on saturday. leaders there have long defended their allies in pyongyang. kerry wants to convince them to use their leverage. on sunday, kerry will move on to tokyo. he'll meet with kishida. and he'll talk about a stronger diplomatic pesance in asia. >>> north korean leader kim jong un has kept people guessing ever since he came to power. for moany he remains a mystery. >> reporter: people outside north korea new little of kim jong un. more than a year later, they're not sure they know much more. he's appeared in orchestrated events, often with the military. he spoke last april at the parade to celebrate would have been the 100th birthday of his grandfather. the nation's founder, kim il sung. >> translator: we need to strengthen our military to make north korea a strong and thriving country. >> reporter: kim moved to switzerland w

and south korean intelligence. the news agency in japan citing a japanese official says one of the missiles has been raised to point at the sky, suggesting the possibility of an imminent launch. not confirming any such report, saying he did not have that kind of information. he does not comment on intelligence matters. as far as the industrial complex is concerned, the continued to the continued shutdown continues. that creates a problem for south korean. how long should these people remain there? business people should be allowed north to negotiate the reopening. north korean giving a statement about the situation and naming the president of south korea for creating the situation and say the group should bear in mind that step is temporary and reopening it would depend on south korean a's attitude. depend onafrica -- the south korean attitude. double -- >> rebellion continues. an alliance of rebels sent a letter against the government in 2012 asking the country's president of -- to release political prisoners. we

korean see here so often when i do south koreans how they feel about these threats they usually say that i'm very used to it that these threats are mundane and actually very common but when i was on the streets today and i was talking to the people it was a different sense there was this more sense of an eerie feeling that they were getting that the rhetoric has gone to a point where they are thinking that maybe this could possibly be true and as you did mention that case on industrial complex which is seen as the last symbol of inner creep cooperation north korea has block south korean workers to enter it they've allowed to caricature but they aren't allowing entry so a lot of south koreans are viewing this as symbols as to seeing as maybe that this this war or conflict could actually come into like. what's souls next move that said they have to balance the needs of the citizens right scarce aisha's and also american woman that so how do they juggle both well i would say that so right now has taking has taken a two step approach in which the current newly elected president pocket h

manning thousands of rockets, and long-range artillery aimed at the south. 20 million south koreans in and around seoul are in the cross hairs, well within their range. >> and today more south koreans left north korea, the factory park where they work, four days after the north closed to the border to people and goods. >>> meanwhile, a new report there "the new york times" says the obama administration is pressuring china to crack down on north korea. increase an american military presence in the region. nbc's pete alexander is at the white house. pete a good saturday morning to you my friend. what is the white house's strategy here? >> well, it's a good question right now. the white house had a conversation with the former ambassador to the republican of korea yesterday and he said he's very satisfied from the outside about how the u.s. is handling this. and our conversations with administration officials right now, they say they are taking this very seriously. that they view this as a significant threat. but for "the new york times" report this morning that you just spoke about a sec

koreans see here so often when i do south koreans how they feel about these threats they usually say that i'm very used to it that these threats are men dain and actually very common but when i was on the streets today and i was talking to people it was a different sense there was just more a sense of unease eerie feeling that they were getting that the rhetoric has gone to a point where they are thinking that maybe this could possibly be true. sometime regarding north korea's menacing action i don't feel a direct threat but i'm getting a little anxious sense can't even the south korean government is taking a co worse this time so it feels like it's getting closer when the u.s. is more forceful it has a less positive effect from the perspective of a south korean citizen i feel anxious and it doesn't feel like protection but it will be a sunday the combined south korean us training is for our peace and stability defense capability is necessary for that the letter from the perspective of protecting my country i don't think it is worsening the situation or making it more dangerous it is

immediate and proportional response to any north korean attack on south korean soil or on south korean warships and aircraft. and that is an important message that north korea needs to understand. i think it's an open question based on the fact that the screaps over the decades -- south koreans over the decades have not responded to the north. does, is that message -- has that message fully been taken onboard by pyongyang? do they understand that this south korean government, this south korean president has to respond for domestic, political and other reasons to any future north korean attack? so that's a very important question that we need to understand. beyond that, the united states and the rok have now a joint agreement to consult and map out, if you will, and plan the retaliatory strike to insure that it is mealed and kinetic -- mealed and kinetic and proportional, but also to make sure that we have control. and my sense is it's not clear that pyongyang understands that not only will they be dealing with an rok retaliatory strike, it'll be a combined effort, if you will. it will

harsh rhetoric builds on the korean peninsula with many south koreans fearing war as pyongyang suspends access to a crucial industrial zone that is jointly run with sold. the ten day countdown to the presidential election kicks off in venezuela with the chavez blast acting president in a race against a washington opposition leader. and a stone deal on the un adopts a treaty supposed to control global trade with conventional weapons it's hailed as a landmark by some criticized for a lack of clarity by a. thanks so much for joining us here on our day i'm live in moscow with your world why. north korea has suspended south korean access to a joint industrial zone now the latest move in the ongoing conflict with washington and seoul also says it will restart a nuclear reactor to beef up its arsenal after washington moved its military closer to the korean peninsula south korea based journalist joseph kim has this report from seoul. the south korean president is newly elected north korea doesn't want to test her limits and perhaps if she's willing to change her policies towards north korea and

harsh rhetoric builds on the korean peninsula with many south koreans fearing war as feel young says bands access to a crucial industrial zone joint iran with seoul. also this hour a milestone deal in arms the un adopts a treaty supposed to control global trade of conventional weapons hailed as a landmark by some but criticized for lack of clarity by others. on the ten day countdown to the presidential election kicks off in venezuela with the charges blast obscene president in a race against a poor washington opposition leader. hello and welcome to all t. twenty four hour news live from moscow my name is you there ship of our top story now and north korea has suspended the south korean joint industrial zone in the latest move in the ongoing conflict with washington and seoul young young also says it will restart a nuclear reactor to beef up its also after washington moved its military closer to the korean peninsula and let's now get more on this from south korea based journalist joseph kamal who's in seoul for as joseph hello there so souls next move following this increasingly harsh

officials at the south korean defense ministry say there's no change in their assessment. they say the north koreans appear ready to launch a midrange ballistic missile from the country's east coast, but they say the launch does not appear to be imminent. an official with the unification ministry says south korea's military must be ready to respond to the north's provocations, but he adds that south korean leaders are keeping the door open to dialogue. >> translator: we're hoping north korea will respond to our proposal to hold talks after giving it the most serious and profound consideration. >>> japanese negotiates are one step closer to joining talks for a global trade pact. they reached an agreement with their counterparts on the transpacific partnership. prime minister abe made the announcement. >> translator: i believe this japan/u.s. agreement will frequent japan's interests. i would like japan to join the tpp negotiations as soon as possible, and take the lead in the talks. >> abe said the tpp would be important for japan's economy and for national security. presid

. >> north korea stopped allowing south korean workers to return to the facilities on april 3rd. on april 9th, authorities in pyongyang pulled out the more than 50,000 north koreans who worked at kaesong. they proposed resuming talks, but north korean leaders refused. >> the north korean government statement referred to the warning south korea made that it would take serious measures if the north failed to respond to its request for talks. >>> south korea's airlines are joining hands to try to get the north korean's to use restraint. prime minister shinzo abe sat down with the chairman of the u.s. chief of staff. they discussed the north korean provocations and how to respond. >> translator: the security environment is becoming more challenging, strengthen being the alliance between japan and the united states is important for the peace and security of the region. >> they agreed the japanese and americans need to work more closely with the south koreans. they will fulfill their responsibilities under their security pact with japan. dempsey has also been talking with leaders in ch

and south korean forces. with such tensions, north korean soldiers can't afford to be taking part in military parade. that said, there is little possibility of renewed fighting between the two koreas. u.s. and south korean commanders state their exercise to train their troops in joint operations. and to put on show of strength. leaders in pyongyang are simply responding to that. these are psych local tacticloi. we see little sign that ground troops are preparing for war. no troops have moved south. and we have no reports of anything unusual happening in pyongyang. military tensions always risk causing something unpredictable. a nervous front-line soldier could fire shot by mistake, prompting exchange of gunfire and start a fight that could escalate. with this dynamic, u.s. leaders canceled the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. but we've heard these repeated threats from the north koreans. they may believe that doing nothing would damage morale among their troops. so they may launch a missi

>> i don't think it is the general views of the south korean people, the south korean government has assured and committed to continued accreditation of the korean peninsula in their joint declaration with the north korean 1992. i'm sure that south korea will continue to abide by that declaration. >> are you ready to go to pyongyang and meet with kim jong-un? >> i have made it consistently clear that i am ready to visit the dprk when and if my visit is helpful, and in close coordination with the concerned parties, particularly the republic of korea and the united states. >> stand by for more of my interview with the united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon. the u.n. secretary-general delivers a direct and powerful message to kim jong-un. i asked him to deliver that message in korean, knowing that they watch cnn international in north korea. at least the elite, the elite government officials and the military do. you'll hear that message in korean. what he has to say to kim jong-un, that's coming up this hour on our special report, the korean crisis. >>> up next, though, we have se

the danger is, how will the south koreans and the japanese react. it's all right for us to look at this as a superpower 10,000 miles away. japan is close by, south korea is right there. if they start looking at this and saying, we can't keep relying on the united states for the security umbrella, for this nuclear umbrella, we have to do something, remember, these are very advanced countries. japan in a sense is a few months away from a nuclear bomb, just because they have such a sophisticated nuclear industry. south korea could get one very easily. what we're trying to do is reassure the japanese and south koreans that, look, we can take care of your security, don't worry, we have the capacity to do what it takes. without getting into all kind of mano-a-mano tit for tat with north korea. >> christiane, do you have a sense of how good u.s. intelligence on north korea may be? i'll tell you, i've heard that the united states has very good reconnaissance satellite photography, communications, electronics intercepts, but not necessarily a good sense of w

builds on the korean peninsula with many south koreans fearing war as pyongyang access to a crucial industrial zone that is jointly run with. a ten day countdown to the presidential election kicks off in venezuela with the. acting president. and. the u.n. treaty supposed to control global trade of conventional weapons. criticized for a lack of clarity. a pleasure to have you with us here on a day. live in moscow with your news from around the world. north korea has suspended south korean access to a joint industrial zone the latest move in the ongoing conflict with washington and seoul also says it will restart a nuclear reactor to beef up its arsenal after washington moved its military close to the korean peninsula south korea based journalist joseph reports from seoul. the south korean president is newly elected north korea doesn't want to test her limits and perhaps if she's willing to change her policies towards north korea and the game's main objective is actually to start dialogues with the u.s. with north korea's recent. what the u.s. calls provocations it's actually been easier for the

the south koreans at that point did not retaliate. but i would suspect if they did those things again, the situation would explode. >> i think it's noteworthy that within the last week or ten days, there was an agreement reached between the u.s. and the republican of korea, i don't know the details of it, but it sounds to me like it was a heightened effort to consult very closely in the event of some untoward incident, or unpredictable activity on the part of the dprk. you know, we worked very, very closely, have for many years with our south korean allies. there's a well integrated plan, lots of discussion, and exercises for many years. we work very well together. there's a high level of confidence between the two militaries. and i think, again, this is a time to certainly be very attentive to take prudent precautions, which i believe we're doing. and to consult very closely with our allies in the region. because this is fundamentally a regional issue. >> tommy, you worked with the president for a long time when you were at the natio

kaesong for south korean firms. the unification ministry proposed holding talks on resuming operations, but north korean leaders refused. >> the north korean government statement referred to the warning south korea made that it would take serious measures if the north failed to respond to its request for talks. >>> south korea's allies are joining hands to try to get the north koreans to show restraint. japan's prime minister and the u.s. military's top commander discussed what to do. they say the japanese and americans should work more closely with each other and the south koreans. prime minister shinzo abe sat down with the chairman of the u.s. joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempsey. they discussed the north korean provocations and how to respond. >> translator: the security environment is becoming more challenging. strengthening the alliance between japan and the united states is important for the peace and security of the region. >> they agreed the japanese and americans also need to work more closely wit

and the south korean forces. with such tensions, north korean soldiers can't afford to be taking part in mental parlay. thus said, there is little possibility of renewed fighting between the two koreas. u.s. and south korean commanders staged their exercise to train their troops in joint operations and to put on a show of strength. the leaders in pyongyang are simply responding to that. these are psychological tactics. we see little signs that ground troops are preparing for war. no troops have moved south, and we have no reports of anything unusual happening in pyongyang. military tensions always risk causing something unpredictable. a nervous front line soldier could fire a shot by mistake and prompt an exchange of gunfire and start a fight that could escalate. with this dynamic, u.s. leaders counsel that the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, but we've heard these repeated threats from the north koreans. they may believe that doing nothing would damage morale among their it troops. so they m

south korean soldiers on the edge of a fight. staring down a sworn enemy that unblinkingly stares right back. sometimes through binoculars, peeking out through windows. this area we're walking into is -- these huts are divided in half. this side is south korea. over there is north korea. >> all cameras, facing this way. >> reporter: rules are tight on this military-guided press tour. don't linger. don't point. this is cold war, up close. we talk about tensions on the peninsula. this is about as tense as it gets. south korean soldiers, their backs to us, facing off with north korean soldiers right on the other side, just feet away. this room we're about to enter is actually divided in half. shut down, just so we can come in and capture some pictures. >> you can maneuver around. just please stay within arms length of the soldier. >> the soldiers are here so we don't get grabbed and pulled into north korea. we're only given a few minutes in here. >> 20 seconds. >> reporter: this is technically south korea on this side. to get over t

john kerry met south korean president in the capital of seoul, south -- korea. they have strong war -- words of warning for the south korean leadership. >> the rhetoric we are hearing from north korea is unacceptable and it -- by any standard. i am here to make it clear on behalf of president obama and pieces of the united states and our bilateral security agreement that the united states will defend our allies and defend ourselves. harry, you heard from the foreign minister. tell us about the talks. >> as well as what you would expect to hear with john kerry, this is strong support for american i lack -- allies. he is also coming into a situation with an ally that has changed its position. south korea said it would not negotiate with north korea, especially on the issue of the industrial complex that has been shut down. in the last couple of hours, that position has changed. south korean officials in size on friday that they were open to talks. was a necessary first step in lowering tensions. john kerry said the united states with only talked with thea if north

our south korean allies know this and accept it. it is very important at this stage of the game to insure there is the utmost confidence in that extended deterrence by our south korean allies and japanese allies as well. i think the obama administration deployments,2, b-2 and other statements we have made, that is the right way to respond to the crisis, not by making it more complicated by reintroducing nuclear-weapons onto the korean peninsula or by having me rok develop its own nuclear weapons program. >> we have spent a lot of time analyzing the situation. now we want to turn to what to do about it. importantmade the point that, as much as one of like a role for diplomacy, negotiated solution, management of these problems, the conversation that the united states wants to have now is quite different from the that north korea is willing to that north korea is willing to have, and vice versa. the question is, are there specific thing that might be ande to get us off this dime produce more mutually acceptable conversations? to start,

the war of words on the korean peninsula with many south koreans fearing conflict as pyongyang suspends access to a crucial industrial zone jointly run with. with the presidential race now underway in venezuela we take a look at whether any of the main candidates could fill the shoes of the late top stories. from our new center here in moscow this is r.t. with the twenty four hours a day first to news we are receiving from russia's chechen republic a massive has engulfed almost all the floors of the highest skyscraper in the region's capital grozny we have bring you live pictures of that inferno which you can see just in the right of the screen there. it was once a recently completed forty story a lavish hotel which also boasted luxury apartments almost completely immersed by smoke and flames dozens of fire brigades are fighting the blaze or people said to have been evacuated from it before the became out of control the sky scraper is part of the city complex of high rise office and apartment buildings worth around two hundred fifty million dollars these are the latest pictures of that

more bluster, south koreans suspect, but here in the dmz the south is ready just in case. south korean officials tell us they expect the missile to be launched and land in the water between japan and guam. now we're all waiting for that splash, brian. >> our chief foreign correspondent richard engel live in seoul, south korea for us tonight. thanks. >>> in washington tonight there are signs of movement in the effort to pass gun control measures as families of some of the children murdered at sandy hook elementary school in connecticut went to congress to make their emotional case in person. conservatives have promised to block debates scheduled for this week but that now may be shifting some. kelly o'donnell covering it all from the hill for us tonight. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. there is internal pressure bubbling up among republicans that could mean a vote on new gun restrictions could come as early as thursday. the president is working the phones looking for support. the familieshere today were looking lawmakers in the eye with a direct appea