north korean revolution and every north korean has a purpose in that struggle. a lot of them, especially the defectors, say terrible things about kim jong-un. there are less likely to say those things about kim jong-il and you'll never hear them say anything about kim il-sung. even defectors see kim il-sung as a visionary leader and a >> what should the everyday american know about the current south korean government attitudes toward the united states and the west? >> it's important to understand south koreans have a sense of grievance against the united states. not because of the division, we divide them and establish a separate state. then we left korea in 1949. against the wishes of the south korean government, who begged us to stay. they said if we leave, the north americans will invade. then there were concrete guarantees, in the event of a northern invasion, we would come back. those guarantees were never given. this was part of the reason joseph stalin gave kim il-sung permission. factor, itt the only was an important factor. it's one that the south korea

korea, it's about maintaining the north korean race and the north korean revolution. every north korean has a purpose in that struggle. seet of them, you will defectors saying terrible things about kim jong-un. they are less likely to say the same things about kim jong-il. see north korean defectors kim il-sung as a visionary leader and a great nationalist for the korean people. >> which of the everyday american know about the current south korean government's toi think it is important understand that south koreans have a sense of grievance against united states, not just because of the division, it is well-known that we divide korea and establish a separate state. in 1949 against the wishes of the south korean government at that time who begged us to stay, who said if you leave the north koreans well invade. asked for concrete guarantees from the united states that in the event of a northern invasion we would come back. those guarantees were never given. this is part of the reason that joseph stalin gave kim il-sung permission to invade south korea. that was not the

about maintaining the north korean revolution and every north korean has a purpose in that struggle. a lot of them, especially the north korean defectors, say terrible things about kim jong-un. what a terrible leader he is. there are less likely to say those things about kim jong-il and you'll never hear them say , anything about kim il-sung. i think even north korean defectors see kim il-sung as a visionary leader and a great nationalist for the korean people. >> what should the everyday american know about the current south korean government? the attitude towards the united states and the west? >> i think it is important to understand that south koreans have a sense of grievance against the united states, not just because of the division, it is well-known that we divided korea and established a separate state. we help establish a separate state. then we left korea in 1949 against the wishes of the south korean government at that time who begged us to stay, who said if you leave, the north koreans will invade. when we left they asked for concrete guarantees from the united states th

north korean defectors and the north korean population, they have a place to go. wouldkorea, which accommodate all north korean defectors from china. so the chinese argument that they would cover or burden the economic -- the cost of north korean refugees, is not true. because there is a government of south korea which can accommodate all of those north korean defectors. so we should continue to ask chinese government to open the exit route for north korean defectors to go to south korea. we should ask the chinese government to establish camps for north korean defectors for a temporary stay and for the continuation of their journey to south korea. i think that is the thing we should do. and china is the member of refugee conventions. country, the a big chinese government has an obligation to observe its international obligation, by letting north korean defectors to go to china. the second thing, the idea of, you know, personal culture in cult, culture in north korea. it is really, really surprising, because in north korea, when you reach the age of four or five, f

the north korean famine of the late 1990s. hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of north koreans died of starvation. >> translator: we ate tree bark after going up to the mountain for food and wondered just how long we'll have to do this. but it's not a problem now compared to that. this is all homegrown. after farming for a year, we get rice and money to live off of, which is great. this house, i got it for free. >> he gives me a tour. like every north korean living room, there are portraits of the late leaders. >> translator: this is a photo of our family and the general when he came to visit. >> you have a dvd player here. what kind of dvds do you like to watch? >> translator: cooking and lifestyle, new songs, movies. i watch a lot of them. >> have you ever seen any western movies? >> translator: oh, we don't watch them. we wouldn't even if we could. >> he does watch state tv, and he listens to propaganda broadcasts on the radio. but his favorite ritual, like many of his generation, reading the newspaper. how important

the north korean revolution and every north korean has a purpose in that struggle. a lot of them, especially the north korean defectors, say terrible things about kim jong-un. there are less likely to say those things about kim jong-il and you'll never hear them say anything about kim il-sung. even defectors see kim il-sung as a visionary leader and a great nationalist for the korean people. >> what should the everyday american know about the current south korean government? >> i think it is important to understand that south koreans have a sense of grievance against united states, not just because of the division, it is well-known that we divided korea and established a separate state. we helped establish a separate state. then we left korea in 1949 against the wishes of the south korean government at that time who begged us to stay, who said if you leave the north koreans will invade. they asked for concrete guarantees from the united states that in the event of a northern invasion we would come back. those guarantees were never given. this is part of the reason t

north koreans. aware of the firm resolve of that only the united states the do you believe that clients you believe what he said. yes. i think that it was a the firm stance of the us president did form the circumstances for where we are today and hopefully this will lead to a better solution than war mr patten japan is more closely monitoring the situation there are two options here a breakthrough that would lead to a genuine dialogue many people are skeptical about it all more tension chances are he said that he's going to give a deadline for twenty twenty if nothing happens he will revise the constitution and then to pave the way for japan to have his own armed forces is this a likely scenario well i think one of the most likely people all of the players in all of the hole in. the harbor are and that's that he's going to keep the an advocate of pressure on our sanctions are doing everything. in terms of putting more and more pressure on the one who can give up the nuclear weapons when you don't kn

north koreans. aware of the firm resolve of that only the united states the believe that ryan says you believe what he says. yes. i think that it was a firm stance of the us president did form the circumstances for where we are today and hopefully this will lead to a better solution than more mr penn japan is more closely monitoring the situation there are two options here a breakthrough that would lead to a genuine dialogue many people are skeptical about it all more tension chances are he said that he's going to give a deadline for twenty twenty if nothing happens he will revise the constitution and then to pave the way for japan to have his own armed forces is this a likely scenario well i think one of the most suitable players in all of the hole in. the heart of our and that's that he's going to keep the an advocate of pressure on our sanctions are doing everything. in terms of putting more and more pressure on the one who can give up the nuclear weapons which is when you don't know when or. wha

when -- life in north korea is about maintaining the north korean race, about maintaining the north korean revolution. every korean has a purpose in that struggle. the north korean defectors say terrible things about kim jong-un. they are less likely to say those things about kim jong-il. he will almost never hear one of them say anything kim il-sung. i think many north korean see kim il-sung as a great leader. host: what should the average american know about the south korean government's attitudes toward the west? mr. fields: south koreans have a sense of grievance see kim il-sa great against the united states. not just because of the division. we helped establish a separate state, but then we left korea in 1949, against the wishes of the south korean government, who begged us to stay. if you leave, the north koreans will invade. then they asked for concrete guarantees that in the event of a northern invasion, we would come back. those guarantees were never given. this is ultimately why joseph stalin gave kim il-sung permission to invade. that was an important factor that the south korea

he says it's one of the north korean spies, still tailing kim. >> the north koreans made sure that they had eyes on him every second. >> reporter: speaking with police, kim gestures to his face. >> and reports of this moment say that he wasn't really making much sense anymore. he was having trouble sort of holding a coherent conversation. >> reporter: they reportedly later say they notice a strange smell. you can see them take a step back. they escort kim to the airport medical clinic. by this time the poison is already taking effect, causing every muscle to spasm, which explains that suddenly stiff walk. >> and already his legs are starting to stiffen. he's got a little duck waddle going. this isn't sort of that healthy man we saw just moments ago. >> reporter: again, clark points out a man with a roller-bag and a strange interest in kim. >> you can see him just sort of strolling very, very casually. he's going to take a quick glance, and then he's going to keep going. >> reporter: he says it's another agent making sure the poison is doing its work, which it is. minutes later, kim dies

korean defectors and to the north korean population in general. so south koreans may end up looking down on north koreans or thinking we can treat them careless when. we're done and pain. there's another issue that doesn't help with the perception of north koreans on occasion some defectors testimonies have been sketchy and inconsistent parky on me is a defector who became a celebrity after a run on now on my way to meet you has stories attracted a lot of attention one of almost more about underwood. but as discrepancies script into her accounts skepticism group here and free to see a real. or thinking one human but it's almost impossible to fact check the stories and. defectors themselves say to report in the truth or don't bother me matter how it's that person's problem if they say one thing here another thing there it is hard to say that north korean people do that or that these programs make them do that their memory may change or they may remember something else at another time but i don't think the programs are to blame our homeland this. th

the north korean revolution and every north korean has a purpose in that struggle. a lot of them, especially the north korean defectors, say terrible things about kim jong-un. there are less likely to say those things about kim jong-il and you'll never hear them say anything about kim il-sung. even defectors see kim il-sung as a visionary leader and a great nationalist for the korean people. >> what should the everyday american know about the current south korean government? >> i think it is important to understand that south koreans have a sense of grievance against the united states, not just because of the division, it is well-known that we divided korea and established a separate state. we helped establish a separate state. then we left korea in 1949 against the wishes of the south korean government at that time who begged us to stay, who said if you leave the north koreans will invade. when we left they asked for , concrete guarantees from the united states that in the event of a northern invasion we would come back. those guarantees were never given. this is p

>> well, i'm sure the inter-korean dialogue we are having right now with the north koreans will contribute to creating an environment conducive to further progress in the inter-korean relationship. but at the same time we believe we should not be too hasty in reaching any kind of a conclusion regarding where we can go at the end of the day. >> so you also heard ash carter said that he supports the current administration's version of and plans for coercive diplomacy. does that meld with the south korean position? >> well, again, as ash carter has pointed out, i believe the defense and deterrents are the marria major pillar in playing the game vis-a-vis north korea right now. but the other game plan is engagement and dialogue which we will be pursuing from now on. >> so we asked also, what game is north korea playing? let's go back to the extraordinary moment on new year day when the north korean leader kim jong-un gave this speech and offered that new -- sorry, that olive branch to south korea, while also saying that he had a nuclear button on his table and then of course he had president t

korean): >> narrator: before kim jong-nam was confmed dead, the suspected north korean agents had already made their escape. according to immigration officials, they boarded a plane and flew to jakarta, then dubai antimately onto pyongyang, the capital of north korea. it looked like the perfect hit. e >> the recruit of two foreigners was done so that they could remove their fingerprints from this assassination, and essentially point the finger in another direction. i suspect they were expecting these women, because they didn't use gloves, to die of chemical. but the womewent to the bathroom very quickly, washed off the chemical, and were able to survi. (cameras clicking) >> narrato but within days, the malaysian police were pointing the finger firmly at north korea. it brought complete denial. >> it has been seven days sinceu the incidentthere is no clear evidence on the cause of the death. and at the moment we cannot trust the investigation by the malaysian police. they pinned the suspicion on us and targeted the investigationns agus. tw there are so many rumors spread to the publdefame

which kept talking about nuclear issues the north korean army how poor north koreans that was it for the first time now my way to meet you showed the real story of how north korean people live the culture they want to occur know whatever. it has helped break down prejudices i think the program prepares us for unification knowing it won't get it but. it was the beginning of a trend south korean channels eager to find a different lens through which to present north korea could finally break away from the usual portrayal so funny and human rights abuses. and adds an element of entertainment. the question of whether they break down prejudices or even for some is difficult in fact the matter is they mostly do both simple tenuously they certainly seek to convey information about north korea there's a very famous song a young boy appears on north korean t.v. singing this. song and then one of the panelists on one of these shows will sing the song in a way that mimics that north korean voice singing style now. what. the man was a little off was. in the editing suite or in some of the the way

north koreans. aware of the firm resolve of that only the united states the do you believe that clients you believe what he said. yes. i think that it was a the firm stance of the us president did form the circumstances for where we are today and hopefully this will lead to a better solution than more mr patten japan is more closely monitoring the situation there are two options here a breakthrough that would lead to a genuine dialogue many people are skeptical about it all more chance in chen's rb said that he's going to give a deadline for twenty twenty if nothing happens he will revise the constitution and then to pave the way for japan to have his own armed forces is this a likely scenario well i think one of the most suitable players in all of the hole in. the heart of our and that's that he's going to be an advocate of pressure on our sanctions are doing everything. in terms of putting more and more pressure on the one who can give up the nuclear weapons which is going to go nowhere and so wha

he says it's one of the north korean spies, still tailing kim. >> the north koreans made sure that they had eyes on him every second. >> reporter: speaking with police, kim gestures to his face. >> and reports of this moment say that he wasn't really making much sense anymore. he was having trouble sort of holding a coherent conversation. >> reporter: they reportedly later say they notice a strange smell. you can see them take a step back. they escort kim to the airport medical clinic. by this time, the poison is already taking effect, causing every muscle to spasm, which explains that suddenly stiff walk. >> and already his legs are starting to stiffen. he's got a little duck waddle going. this isn't sort of that healthy man we saw just moments ago. >> reporter: again, clark points out a man with a roller bag and a strange interest in kim. >> you can see him just sort of strolling very, very casually. he's going to take a quick glance, and then he's going to keep going. >> reporter: he says it's another agent making sure the poison is doing its work, which it is. minutes later, kim die

korea's friends china and russia that they shouldn't be supporting the north korean regime that takes a lot of effort and that's really what we should be doing at this particular time not actually directing insults and threats to the north korean leader that doesn't help us at this point the russian politicians have said that trumps tweet could give exactly what he want to push the rules saying that this nuclear button is larger than that of kim's trump defacto has recognized north korea as a nuclear power. well i think what the president was doing was recognizing reality but when we talk about actually recognizing north korea as a legitimate nuclear weapon state that's a little bit different i mean that's an issue of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty all sorts of relationships that we have with north korea and that we're not going to do as nikki haley our u.n. ambassador said on tuesday afternoon at the u.n. . but yeah president trump shouldn't be talking about this with this particular time because as i mentioned there are so many other topics that we really need to discuss in ord

korean relations or a settlement of the north korean nuclear issue president says even though south korea prefers a policy of engagement it also supports the u.s. approach of maximum pressure but he acknowledges that with more sanctions come more risks of escalating tensions that could lead to a possible armed conflict ultimately south korea wants to find a diplomatic solution to the problem of north korea's nuclear weapons but north korea has continued to indicate they are not up for negotiation. regarding the nuclear issues our strategic weapons including atomic bomb hydrogen bomb and intercontinental ballistic missiles only aimed at the united states not our fellow koreans but moon says both south korea and the u.s. are threatened by the north's nuclear weapons and will continue to work together to address that threat kathy novak al jazeera seoul. beijing's ordered the closure of north korean businesses in china to comply with u.n. sanctions the deadline for the closure passed on tuesday but as rob mcbride reports some businesses remain open according to the directive yesterday t

want to get the north koreans to come if the north koreans and the delegation will be much more unlikely to launch ballistic missiles or you know stage war games journey in the olympics which is a big fear that you know it my might escalate tensions so they have that they have agreed a number of things for example they've agreed that the north koreans will said the delegation of high profile that a geisha founds musicians officials sporting officials as well as performance to perform at the opening ceremony as entertainment they've also agreed. on potentially look potential further talks on reuniting siblings families that were split by the one nine hundred fifty s. war that divided north korea and south korea the north koreans also took a job but trump saying that his claims that these talks say he's a success it's a nonsense and a completely baseless boast also and this is this is a big guy i think is the biggest thing to come out so far the south koreans have proposed direct talks between north korea and south korean military officials and in this climate of fear escalation of continu

also to cut of the flow of money to the north korean regime and the north koreans are getting a little bit concerned. not only are the sanctions starting to work, but they are also probably looking at the iranian protests and thinking if iran actually falls, then they are not able to play the north koreans 2.3 billion a year. that is 10% of north korea's gross domestic product and north koreans have a lot of reason to talk to president trump. he deserves some credit for that but clearly as you point out, he need to be more consistent in his messaging. that would be better. . i think the chinese and north koreans have gotten used to this. >> thank you gordon, for being with us. >> thank you. >>> rex tillerson sat down with cnn for an interview and he spoke a lot about these topics, including president trump's mental stability. >> i've never questioned his mental fitness. i have no reason to question his mental fitness. >> we will have more from that interview in our next hour. >>> north korea has fired 23 missiles in 16 tests since february and each one of those has shown a steady advan

north koreans. aware of the firm resolve of that only the united states the believe that try and see believe what he says. yes. i think that it was a the firm stance of the us president did form the circumstances for where we are today and hopefully this will lead to a better solution than war mr patten japan is more closely monitoring the situation there are two options here a breakthrough that would lead to a genuine dialogue many people are skeptical about it all more tension chances are he said that he's going to give a deadline for twenty twenty if nothing happens he will revise the constitution and then to pave the way for japan to have his own armed forces is this a likely scenario well i think one of the most likely people all of the players in all of this. seems to harbor are and that's he's going to be an advocate of pressure on our sanctions are doing everything. in terms of putting more and more pressure on the one who can give up the nuclear weapons which is when you don't know when or.

korean leadership won't be around much longer. >> ...very, ry dangerous accusations, a top north korean official now says president trump has declared war on north korea.nd over the wee. >> president trump took to iditter sunday, appearing to cast doubt on th that diplomacy could resolve the cris over north korea's nuclear program. >> ...the tension between north korea and the u.s. isti esca. >> ...as the risks of miscalculation rise. >> at the end of thenorth korea doesn't want to use these nuclear weapons, but they probably will if they believe the regime is at stake, that survival's at risk, and they have no other choice. kind of call that geing backed up into a corner. if they're in the corner, they may well use it, they might know that the response wo overwhelming, but at that point it won't matter to them because they care most about the regime. >> ...the violent ms-13 gang for machete attacks. >> ...police have uncohured n remains... >> if you're an ms-13 gang member, take a look behind me. for evy person here, there is 10 more. >> ...a major crackdown... >> they said, "we're tak

he says it's one of the north korean spies. >> the north koreans made sure that they had eyes on him every second. >> reporter: speaking with police, kim gestures to his face. >> reports of this moment say he wasn't really making much sense anymore, he was having trouble holding a coherent conversation. >> reporter: they escort kim to the airport medical clinic. by this time, the poison is already taking effect. causing every muscle to spasm. which does explain that suddenly stiff walk. >> this isn't sort of that healthy man we saw just moments ago. >> reporter: minutes later, kim dies in an ambulance. >> those spies immediately after the hit cleared passport control before the malaysian authorities had any idea what was going on, got on their flights, escaped the country. >> reporter: as for the two women -- >> they walk straight into the bathroom to wash their hands. >> malaysian prosecutors have said that this is evidence that the women knew what they were doing. the women's defense is that they had been told by their north korean handlers that they should wash this substance off

industrial zone just across the dmz and north korea where about 60,000 north koreans were working for mostly south korean firms. it was the last and biggest fruit of really more than a decade of attempts at reconciliation between north and south. so i have hopes that not just this communication line, but that export zone will be reopened soon. i hope know that, but it. amy: u.n. ambassador nikki haley said tuesday north korea might be preparing for another missile test andnd warned such a move would need tougher steps against pyongyang. koreawe hear that north might be preparing for another missile test, i hope that does not happen. but if it does, we must ring even more measures to bear on the north korean regime. the civilized world must remain united and vigilant against the rogue states development of a nuclear arsenal. we will never accept a nuclear north korea will stop we won't take any of the talks seriously if they don't do something to ban all nuclear weapons in north korea. we consider this to be a very reckless regime. we don't think we need a band-aid and we don't agree n

this could include cutting off diplomatic ties with north korea as well as repatriating north korean workers. only through these measures can we make north korea change a policy. in this regard, my kingdom of jordan has just decided to cut its diplomatic ties with north korea. japan highly appreciate joining the initiative and expects other countries to follow the same path and take further actions. as i mentioned at the beginning thshgs year started with north korea's move toward inter-korean dialogue. however, there has not been any positive move in terms of resolving the nuclear missile programs as well as abductions issue. today's foreign minister's meeting provides a timely opportunity to demonstrate an unwavering commitment of the international community to achieve complete, verifiable and reversible denuclearization of the korean peninsula, and to stop north korea's other provocations. together, we should continue to mack myself pressure on north korea and corner north korea in denuclearization. thank you very much. thank you, chairman. >> thank you very much, mr. kono. thank

/north korean talks. now, people have argued, james clapper and others have argued that maybe that should change, but to gordon chang's point, this certainly does seem to be now the u.s. directly communicating with north korea, unfortunately, just in 140 to 280 characters. >> yeah, no, that's right. that's right. and, you know, again, sort of negotiation theory, and of course, the north koreans are as hard as they come with respect to negotiation. negotiation theory would suggest, you know, careful trust-building mechanisms, look for common ground, do it through intermediaries, show good faith. this tweet is kind of the opposite of that. again, i can't climb inside kim jong-un's head, but he's a guy who is anxious about his own survival and he was just challenged by his international enemy, and so the idea that he's going to take -- i mean, it's a sort of a no-lose situation for him. he can respond and show he's a tough guy, too. i'm not sure that will be useful. or he can be the bigger man. can you imagi

as the north korean leader i mean sure north korea says that it wants to destroy the imperialist american power all the time and use flashy rhetoric like that but the united states has always kept fairly call me in response to that and when you have two sides speaking in such bombastic manners it's this is a new you know this is a nuclear situation how seriously should we take tweets i don't know but it's nuclear and i think we have to take it seriously melissa chan thank you. and one of the big challenges facing the united states in twenty eighteen is its opioid crisis every day dozens of americans die from drugs overdoses the children of drug addicts are also victims some are removed from their parents for their own safety and cared for by foster parents our next report looks at the hardships suffered by one such go. it's a moment fifteen year old athena gregory can enjoy when she can focus just on herself behind her lies a horrific childhood as the daughter of drug addicts she bore sole responsibility for herself her little brother and her parents you always have to stick by your paren

yeah he does this every year north korean leaders have done this for a while it's rare for north korean leaders to directly speak to their populations so outside analysts watch this every year there's a lot of commentary about it that and so the speech in itself is not new the tone is a little bit more belligerent then tones in the past have been but i think that sort of fits with what we've seen in two thousand and seventeen in the response donald trump i think the big news of the speech quite honestly is that done nothing is going to change right they talk about continuing to build more and more of these things the button being on the desk with sort of a direct threat right so all the tension that was there in two thousand and seventeen it looks like it's going to keep on rolling along and robert do you sense that china perhaps had something to do with a change of tone towards the south given president trump's pressure on beijing to do more. probably but i also think the north has a genuine interest in at least reasonably decent relationships with south korea a reason we didn't relati

korean relations or a settlement of the north korean nuclear issue president says even though south korea prefers a policy of engagement it also supports the u.s. approach of maximum pressure but he acknowledges that with more sanctions come more risks of escalating tensions that could lead to a possible armed conflict ultimately south korea wants to find a diplomatic solution to the problem of north korea's nuclear weapons but north korea has continued to indicate they are not up for negotiation. regarding the nuclear issues strategic weapons including atomic bomb hydrogen bomb and intercontinental ballistic missiles only aimed at the united states not our fellow koreans but moon says both south korea and the u.s. are threatened by the north's nuclear weapons and will continue to work together to address that threat kathy novak al jazeera seoul. beijing's ordered the closure of north korean businesses in china to comply with un sanctions it is one of pyongyang's main allies but the relationships been strained of late over north korea's nuclear program the deadline for the closure p

korean relations or a settlement of the north korean nuclear issue president says even though south korea prefers a policy of engagement it also supports the u.s. approach of maximum pressure but he acknowledges that with more sanctions come more risks of escalating tensions that could lead to a possible armed conflict ultimately south korea wants to find a diplomatic solution to the problem of north korea's nuclear weapons but north korea has continued to indicate they are not up for negotiation. regarding the nuclear issues strategic weapons including atomic bomb hydrogen bomb and intercontinental ballistic missiles only aimed at the united states not our fellow koreans but moon says both south korea and the u.s. are threatened by the north's nuclear weapons and will continue to work together to address that threat kathy novak al jazeera seoul. china has backed several un sanctions against north korea for its nuclear program pyongyang depends on its neighbors for ninety percent of its trade but beijing ordered the closure of north korean businesses to comply with the sanctions and

nuclearization some big bang deal the north koreans. we will go through that instead you'll see some small steps on things like nuclear safety how much the north koreans have with the kind of doctrine that they have for the use of nuclear weapons so the sort of a series of small steps but again that's better than nothing at least they're moving the progress on save more short term issues how do you think the u.s. has reacted very positively to the talks so far how do you think the u.s. is looking on and and china to you are they feeling any less pressure than they have over the pasta to do something. sure i think generally speaking everybody is pleased everybody is happy when the two koreas talk i mean ultimately these are intercranial shoes and they really should be resolved by the two direct parties right the americans japanese chinese the rest of us were really it we're really on the outside and ultimately it's best of the koreans hammer this out themselves i think everybody including the chinese agree on that i think the americans a

of the north korean nuclear issue. but that is still a distant goal south korea's presidential office remains on edge after kim's renewed nuclear threats made on state television kim. ok let's get a line up now if we could to a soul and go to correspondent john smith who's in the south korean capital right now what are we to make of this olympic overtures the olympic diplomacy we're seeing could a signal breakthrough and the hope of reduce tensions on the peninsula. well there are certainly those in seoul and elsewhere around the world who hope that this does some kind of opening end to the rising tensions that we've seen over the past year however many analysts were somewhat cautious and skeptical of this noting that north korea in the past has also offered similar branches all of branches with little result they also noted that even if north korea does come to the olympics it's not clear that this will have any impact on the broader dispute over their north or their nuclear weapons program ok well what's the word in

koreans to seriously deal on nuclear weapons the north koreans have a pretty big card now i mean nuclear weapons are really really big thing the world has tried for twenty years to stop them from getting them they got them anyway they're not going to deal in nuclear weapons unless they get some really really major concession they're going to ask for a lot and we just have to see what it is that's a kind of thank you as always for your time on those that set off a county that one has a life and there's some thank you. peru's former president alberto fujimori has been released from hospital he was pardoned last month by president kaczynski on health grounds triggering days of protests the controversy over his pardon also saw three cabinet ministers resign in as many weeks fujimori was serving a twenty five year sentence for corruption and human rights abuses during his rule . large parts of the eastern u.s. on the grep of a historic one to storm system being called a bomb site on this map shows the areas that will see the worst of the record breaking low temperatures the national weather s

north korean leadership is thinking now as you mentioned elizabeth last year north korean leader kim jong un talked about how his country was in the final stages of developing intercontinental ballistic missiles and he delivered on that of course it has to be said that not every year that these predictions come true in two thousand and sixteen he there were very few mentions of there was very few mention of nuclear tests yet that year north korean leadership the north korean government conducted two nuclear tests but this is a very important tool that analysts can use to try and decipher the direction that the north korean leadership is going to be taking the government and the military and what its goals are for two thousand and eighteen and how it assesses how it did in two thousand and seventeen and any indications france on what we could expect from this year's speech. well we can expect him to talk about the economy as well as what about the military's goals and the government's goals now on north korean leadership kim jong il when he hasn't he he has emphasized the peril of dev

the north koreans are taught from childhood to sit. it to the state ideology to sacrifice their individual existence to the collective even the youngest children to called upon to denounce adults who expressed dissatisfaction with the leader in the party i want to know how and where the brainwashing stunts i tried to find on says to that question in a school a school for more than a thousand students but during my visit the corridor was deserted the headmistress takes me through the rooms everything seems very new very tidy the schools i know look different this is our cloning lab here's a microscope and on the screen you can see a cell magnified one thousand five hundred times here the technical process is to clone animals. she tells me that kim jong il had declared nano and biotechnology to be at the heart of north korean science. it looks like it. and so that i don't just see empty classrooms the head mistress takes me to a class that's just having a math lesson. it'll seems very staged to me i don't know what the students here are

korean athletes to attend the upcoming games they'll be the first formal talks between the north and south in over two years. the host city for the winter olympics is just eighty kilometers from the de-militarized zone that separates the two countries. on the ninth of january officials from both sides will meet at the truce village of pine wood and join in twenty fourteen the two nations were able to reach an agreement here ahead of the asian games in incheon with north korean athletes crossing the border to take part . and it looks as though another deal could be on the cards according to the country's i.o.c. delegate speaking at beijing airport china said that north korean participation will probably happen there's even a possibility of the two countries marching under the same flag as they did at the two thousand and three university summer games in south korea while some experts and officials have gone as far as to suggest that they could even compete as a single nation. on thursday the presidents of south korea and the united states agree to postpone their joint military exercis

tensions north korean leader kim jong il ordered that the hot line at the country's border be reconnected the two koreas have been making overtures to improving ties since new years that's when kim signaled that he wants to see north korean athletes cross the border and joint next month's winter olympics in the south. and with the world's eyes on the korean peninsula in a month's time when the winter olympics take place a lot is at stake honest mosler is a professor from the school of east asian studies at berlin's free university very good day thank you for spending time with us as with everything of course timing is key what's behind the surprise announcement first of all it's not a surprise at all that korea comes to north korea comes out at this point in time because also the foreign policy of north korea needs a direct contact a direct dialogue with its outer world in order to implement to realize goals now interesting if you if you look from the north korean perspective their approach seems to be two pronged on the one hand they're dialing up tensions with the u.s. and there seems t

the north korean economy is 1/3 the size of ethiopia. that is where -- neil: countless administrations argued the same point very adeptly to no avail. north koreans still do what they do. world largely ignores this. global markets largely ignore this i wonder, there is a point you can't ignore something. i don't know what that point would be, but i'm wondering if we merrily go our own way, markets merrily go their own way, albeit you have a nut, in a nice gray suit, talking pretty dark stuff? >> i think where we are here, we're doing every possible thing short of war. i think this administration realizes there is no viable military option here. we could go in guns blazing. we could take out the nuclear weapons and missiles. think about this, neil, we must one nuclear weapon, you know kim jong-un will turn that on seoul or tokyo. those combined populations are 60 million people in the metro areas. not even thinking if kim could hit the u.s. we're doing the strangulation method. i think it is really working. i think that is our best option