the regime in north korean economy. the regime in north korea, kim jong—un north korean economy. the regime in north korea, kimjong—un himself thought, possible military strike down the road, economic hardship. we need to find some way to ease this pressure. looking for a possible way forward , pressure. looking for a possible way forward, the administration here in south korea is probably the most pro— engagement government there has beenin pro— engagement government there has been in north korea, certainly in the last ten years but some said to me, the most pro— engagement governments there has ever been so this is the path they have taken, engagement between the two countries. then leading on to engagement with the united states. rupert wingfield—hayes, thank you to joining us today. we are continuing our special coverage of the summit between moonjae—in our special coverage of the summit between moon jae—in and our special coverage of the summit between moonjae—in and kim jong—un. you can special coverage bbc. welcome back to our viewers on bbc news america.

translation: here, koreans, that means north koreans. apartments, offices, refurbishments, not expensive, good quality, vladivostok. to find out more, the team rents a rundown flat, installs cameras and hires north koreans to do renovation work. kim jong—un is desperately short of foreign currency. un sanctions have restricted north korea's export trade since its first nuclear test 12 years ago. this former south korean officials says that's why the money earned this former south korean official says that's why the money earned by migrants is so crucial to the north's nuclear programme. translation: to develop nuclear weapons, they need to pay for parts and materials that can't be made in north korea. the north korean economy is so basic they can't themselves produce the parts that require advanced technology. and the £1 billion a year raised by the work gangs also helps fund kim jong—un‘s luxury lifestyle, what's known as the palace economy. translation: the north korean economy is divided into a palace economy and the public eco

a north korean. it was time to leave. none of the north koreans speak openly. but later, remarkably, one man did agree to talk to our korean journalist. like all the north korean workers we interviewed, he can't be identified. speaking out could result in a death sentence. you're treated like a dog and you have to eat trash. you have to give up being human, this is what working here means. he's just finished a night shift. despite the long hours, he says, the workers earn little for themselves. translation: some make $50 a month for themselves, some make $100 and some make nothing. there are many who slip into the red and return home with debts. the fact that people earn so little is due to a mandatory fee. some call it party duty, others call it revolutionary duty. those who can't pay it don't stay here. ten years ago it was about 15,000 roubles a month. now it's twice as much. right now i have to pay 30,000 roubles, but this year the amount will probably rise to 50,000 roubles a month. later, the team meets up with another north korean. he fled his work briga

i think north korea can be -- north korean leader can be a person to negotiate with. i think it's worthwhile for president trump to have a talk with chairman kim jong-un. >> these summits have happened before, this is the third and declarations have been made before, similar declarations, and they've not come to anything, anything long term. do you think this is different? >> there is a difference because both north korean leader and south korean leader shared the view that past agreements should not be violated, they should be honored, that was the first in an ateam that was discussed between the two leaders and chairman kim jong-un raised the issue. we made several agreements in the past that they were not honored. this time we make an agreement, we wish to keep them. >> well, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us dr. moon chung-in, thank you. >> thank you, thank you very much. >>> if the journey of a thoand miles begins with a single step you can only imagine the sense of possibility that many koreans may have felt as they watched kim jong-un cross into the s

and the north korean leader. the first one ever with the north korean leader and american president. this is remarkable. we know the working level talks and high level talks before the summit could not narrow down what denuclearization meant. that was left to these two men. you can see they have been talking now for 15 or 20 minutes. there is very intent discussion ongoing. it is rare to see two leaders at the summit without mikes or anyone around them or closest aides to check what they are saying. this is a candid moment. she is beamed around the world. they have a hotline now that is set up between the two leaders. this is not going to be the last time they will talk like this according to those leaders. kim jong un i kim jong kim jong un invited president moon to north korea. they are talking about future summits. this is not just about today. we are looking forward to seeing what kind of communication and what kind of draft agreement will come up at the end of today. how much can they decide in one day? the

north korean summit. first part is comprehensive and dramatic development of our relationship with himself and north korea. there are six detailed agreements. is the majors. subtly changing arguments or the announcement. but now they change the, knowledge a little different. maybe just silly. this is very important. inmates north korea may take a -- tactic when he met president clinton -- i'm sorry, trump. i'm getting out of my mind. we carefully watch over the -- and why they change. is it a mistake or not? i don't think it's a mistake. it shows their kind of tactics. it's the one thing i pay attention to. second one is the establishment of a perpetual peace regime. also next summit would be how do they -- there are also several measures to reduce. parts.hree main let me have a variation on the new approaches. as many as -- there are no big changes. and no details. position inhas a the south korean north korean summit. building a considerable trust between these two leaders seems to be established. the k

korean side that is the north korean some of the north korean delegation who are making their way and there is also the supreme leader kim himself making his way down a couple of minutes early i know there was some concern that maybe the north koreans would be late for this historic moment still on north korean soil as he makes his way down those steps from what's known as the back hall the pavilion on the north korean side built in all of his father walking up to the line and greeting his south korean colleague with a handshake and they are shaking hands across the military demarcation line this is the historic picture of the day and what will happen next is we expect kim is going to cross that line this is a historic meeting only has this happened twice before in the history of this divided land that the south korean and north korean presidents have met and now for the first time a north korean leader is on south korean soil my understanding is they will now pose for the photos looking one way looking back at north korea and then turn and pose for a photo looking at south korea but

the high emotions i felt in the north korean camp too. is a right word for a blizzard and i have news for now for you the only right to have the respected martial here today and to watch my son play. is i know there are many players in the world but i think these must be the happiest in the world to god i with their achievements starting to sink in that say is begin to celebrate i. was i was thank you thank you thouse thank you thank you. the next day the us players but the few soreheads head out for some specially organized are in our time with a north korean team we have to share sasser going to work with in the meantime dennis and a few of the group head off on a separate trip. during the game dennis was told that the marshal had prepared something special he wanted them to spend the weekend in must agree on the north koreans knew and owned a ski resort was just two hours by car east of the capital. easy to keep. up to the officials have let us take a few shots of the ski resort we're told that only dennis and his closest confidantes c

we have had and north korean state. we have had an idea in the west about denying the legitimacy and almost pretending north korea doesn't exist. there are books published about the coming collapse of north korea. we have been waiting for this into so long. it is probably a moment in history where we need to swallow a bitter pill here and except that north korea does exist in this form and how we deal with it as it is? right now, yes, they possessed nuclear weapons and we want to get them to give up those. we probably do need to recognise them, normalise relations with them not as a nuclear state but just as a state at all. ring them into the region, bring them into the international community and to do that process you have to do things like this. you have to do things like this. you have to do things like this. you have to treat their leader with respect as moon jae—in have to treat their leader with respect as moonjae—in is have to treat their leader with respect as moon jae—in is and as donald trump said he wo

president agreed to meet with the north korean leader. by may, which i think everyone takes to mean by the end of may. as admiral mullen said, these sorts of summits, when they take place, they can be highly rewarding, or if they fail, they are extremely risky. especially when you don't have a months-long negotiating process leading up to this meeting. to me, one of the biggest indicators of whether this meeting will take place or whether it will be postponed will be the inter-korean summit that takes place at the end of this month. because i would imagine, coming out of that meeting, the south korean president will want to brief the american president on how that meeting went and probably offer recommendation about whether we should go forward, things look good, the light is green, or whether it is yellow, or whether it is even red. now, we are all guessing here because this is a highly unusual , situation. but if i had to pick one event, it would be probably the meeting that takes place between the north and south korean leaders. ellen:

i think that distinction is important because the north korean people or part could be part of korean families which is true for my grandpa grandfather my grandpa has moved from korean regime in north korea our grandparents generations. i have lots of family there are those korean people do you think as time goes on and those ties get farther and farther away it will really shift attitudes about north korea and north koreans it has been seventeen years since we have been separated. i don't have any personal ties with those korean people. so i think that will definitely impact the south korean. people in those korea so. it is the sign of a north korean refugee his father founded the tonga lodo newspaper to serve separated from their loved ones in north korea now sean is this. he says witnessing his father's quiet pain and his contributions to the community gave him a sense of responsibility to continue to run the newspaper even as refugees die and readership declines. then. there was a little bit while all. the new. war more kids. kids. and year. there were. all the. other poaching. ch

the high emotions i felt in the north korean camp to. the right way to write pleasure and to have music on all for the owner to have the respected martial here today and to watch my son play. i know there are many players in the world but i think these must be the happiest in the world. i with their achievement starting to sink in to play is begin to celebrate. when i was thank you us through us thank you thank you i thank you thank you. the next day the u.s. players but the few soreheads head out for some specially organized are in our time with the north korean team we have a chance they are still going to work with the national team so it was a waterpark goggles lars ago the guys full in the work of even though it was a different leg was very rich richard was injured in the meantime dennis and a few of the group head off on a separate trip. during the game dennis was told that the marshal had prepared something special he wanted them to spend the weekend in must agree on north korea's new and only base kiwis it was just two hours by c

i think north korea can be -- north korean leader can be a person to negotiate with. i think it's worthwhile for president trump to have a talk with chairman kim jong-un. >> these summits have happened before, this is the third and declarations have been made before, similar declarations, and they've not come to anything, anything long term. do you think this is different? >> there is a difference because both north korean leader and south korean leader shared the view that past agreements should not be violated, they should be honored, that was the first in an ateam that was discussed between the two leaders and chairman kim jong-un raised the issue. we made several agreements in the past that they were not honored. this time we make an agreement, we wish to keep them. >> well, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us dr. moon chung-in, thank you. >> thank you, thank you very much. >>> if the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step you can only imagine the sense of possibility that many koreans may have felt as they watched kim jong-un cross into the

multiple launchers, missiles testing by north korean. 0ut missiles testing by north korean. out of the blue, we are beginning the process of engagement, talking to them face—to—face, there will be the first summit meeting between the president ‘s in crowtree. —— crowtree. —— panmunjom. president ‘s in crowtree. —— crowtree. -- panmunjom. the critics of your government say there might be more involved, essentially, apart from some statements, kim jong—un has really given up nothing in order to get to this summit. well, i believe still the announcement made by pyongyang, including the suspension of the nuclear testing and missile launchings, as well as the shutdown of the nuclear testing site in the northern part of north korea speaks volumes about the direction we are going in terms of the denuclearisation and when they come to the talks with us and with the americans. but of course we will notjump to any conclusions regarding the denuclearisation. we will be serious, we will be very stubborn in talking with the north korean is for the importance of the

korea the export of coal or textiles not korean labor the russians start removing visas for north korean workers i mean so unprecedented. paid and all korean exports of all i'm up close and north critically as yet it's not show signs of really suffering but my theories and the oversight of the economy in iraq and right now are true in the nuclear components of the young children element line and now they're saying they're going to focus all efforts on the economy so that one reason might is threaten war the foreign minister asian president trump all options are on the phone clearly military options as he just well into her washington there is no strike judicially or the possibility of. force of the country through an attack. and that's france might be used. tarika. two potential reasons for making concessions there i have a big question. do you think north korea would ever actually fire a nuclear weapon. well first of all i'd like to state that even though inspectors were there before these were from the i.a.e.a. and they were only inspecting civilian facilities so no international inspe

the north korean leader. what is going to be happening in the next couple of minutes or so is moon jae-in will introduce his people to kim jong-un and it will be vice versa. kim will then do the same with the south korean president. they will then walk over to the peace house where kim jong-un will be shining the guestbook -- signing the guestbook. then, more photo time. a lot of optics here, a lot of symbolism. can we get more subsequent results is the key. and kim jong-un is sending complex signals on what he might do when it comes to reaching some type of deal. you think these are genuine intentions right now? what are going to be the biggest trade-offs? steve: we don't know how genuine kim jong-un's parrot the north koreans have broken their promise is in years past. the japanese have long said we believe them, they have made overtures, we have given them aid and money, and at the end of the day, all they did was keep our money. i they going to keep our promises, that is the key -- keep their promises. ev

korea the export of coal or textiles not korean labor the russians start removing visas for north korean workers i mean so unprecedented near enough paid for in exports of all i'm up close and not critically as yet it's not show signs of really suffering but my theories and the oversight of the economy in iraq and right now are true in the nuclear components of the young children element line and now they're saying they're going to focus all efforts on the economy so that one reason might is threaten war the foreign minister asian president trump all options are on the phone including military options continue to swell and her washington there is no strike socially or the possibility of having to forcibly do the country through an attack . and that's france might be used. tarika. to potential reasons for making concessions there i have a big question. do you think north korea would ever actually fire a nuclear weapon. well first of all i'd like to state that even though inspectors were there before these were from the i.a.e.a. and they were only inspecting civilian facilities so no inter

with the north korean leader. you mentioned economic cooperation. some analysts would argue that it is because of sanctions, and of course, china plays a huge role in this, because north korea exports a lot to china. because of sanctions, exports from north korea practically fell off the cliff, and the economy is in a really dire situation. that kim jong—un has no other options but to come back to the negotiating table. basically, north korea is a closed economy which is not responsive to the incentives. china is more cooperative in making co—ordination. and probably the leadership of north korea now realise that not this time but within six months or a year, the severity of the economic sanctions will be felt for them and before that kind of security is realised, they try to make up the negotiations, in order to get the better and maximum security. for viewers who are justjoining us that this special edition of newsday, live footage of president moon jae—in of south korea to leave with the north korean lead

north korean leader crossing into south korea. it was followed by a reciprocal gesture moon jay in very briefly crossing the line into the north. both leaders seemed relaxed and was smiling but of course they hope this summit is only the start of a process and that's likely to be complicated and will involve difficult negotiations. among the most men on the dame's this meeting i hope that there is new history written with regards to p. for prosperity and i will approach this with the feeling of a brand new start i'd like to discuss standing honestly and frankly i would like to take this opportunity to say that i hope to have a very good conversation the president today honest frank and we intend. to come on . when the supreme leader across the demarcation line on this historic moment there is a mensa expectation almost all over the world and i hope this discussion is productive let's approach this discussion boldly in wishing for peace and i like to give something very big to the people looking at us we have all day to talk and le

war a north korean leader has entered south korea they also pose for photographers facing north korea then facing south korea and then president moon asked supreme leader kim could he just step inside north korea and you saw him do that as well so very important symbolic moment one of two i think photo opportunities we're going to see in the day because after they've had their separate lunches and i think they'll be working lunches to confer with their own side then they are going to plant a tree in this area that will be important to pine tree that's going to be planted by them which. i think they hope will symbolize a new iraq going forward and they've actually got that scum from north korea and from south korea that we put on the tree. from both sides of the divide as well that they will then put the tree once it's been planted in a james yes it is we have said this this exact moment north korean leader going on to the south korean side that that has never happened but there have been three previous summits as you have pointed out to us and the international community still ended u

to north korea, if they accept complete cvid, then that's the end of north korean system. >> as you know, there's been criticism that human rights will not specifically be put on the table in the north/south summit. what do you think about that? >> oh -- actually, at this time, it is very important to concentrate on denuclearization issues in upcoming summit. but the last destination of those reconciliation process or improvement of the relations between north and the world would be the human rights issues. because no country in the world can be blind on the human rights -- the crimes and atrocities made by north korean leadership. so in the long run, i think nobody can avoid to discuss it. so that's why i think if you say about the real and genuine denuclearization of north korea, i think that kind of goal cannot be reached or achieved unless kim dynasty collapses. >> what about yourself personally? you obviously defected. but you still have family in north korea. and the last time we spoke, you told me you were even pleased to have seen them on cnn denouncing you, calling you a scumbag

three different north korean leaders now. can you really trust anything that comes out of a meeting with kim jong-un? >> jonathan, this administration has its eyes wide open. we know the history. we know the risks. we're going to be very different. we're going to negotiate in a different way than has been done before. we're going to require the steps. we use the word irreversible with great intention. we're going to require the steps that demonstrate that denuclearization is going to be achieved. we're not going take promises. we're not going to take words. we're going to look for actions and deeds. until such time, we'll keep the pressure campaign in place until we achieve that. that's different. and so, in each case, both countries have to do more than words. we'll have to deliver an outcome that is the one that kim jong-un and i had the chance to talk about at the direction of the president. >> so you looked into his eyes. spent more than an hour with him. said it was a good conversation. the president said it was a good r

president agreed to meet with the north korean leader. by may, which i think everybody takes to mean by the end of may. as admiral mullen said, these sorts of summits, when they take place, they can be highly rewarding, or if they fail, they are extremely risky, especially when you don't have a months-long negotiating process leading up to this meeting. to me one of the biggest indicators of whether this meeting will take place or whether it will be postponed will be the inter-korean summit that takes place at the end of this month because i would imagine that coming out of that meeting the south korean president will want to brief the american president on how that meeting went and probably offer recommendation about whether we should go forward, things look good, the light is green, or whether it is yellow or whether it is even red. as admiral mullen said, we are all guessing here because this is a highly unusual situation. if i had to pick one event, it would probably be the meeting that takes place between the north and south korean l

that the north koreans want the us off the peninsula. since two thousand and sixteen the us has intensified attempts to isolate north korea and force regime to abandon its nuclear weapons program. to trump administration is pursuing these efforts to their maximum pressure campaign. they've tightened sink ships and impose financial restrictions to cut off. not just from the materials needed to build nuclear weapons but for most sources of revenue . and they pressed other countries to do the same after working through the united nations north korea's following what they call the line right as a dual track line nuclear weapons on the one hand economic development on the other and the international community is basically trying to convince north korea you can't have both you can't have guns and butter. two goals may be increasing the domestic cost of international isolation making the regime more vulnerable to sanctions kim jong un has focused a lot on the projects like water parks often area ski resorts which is so in can grow and with what

real issue of course will be verification right the north koreans may say they're going to shut these things down and close them down on the rest of it but at this point after thirty years of negotiating with north korea nobody's going to believe them until we can get international inspectors in there cameras and stuff like that and big question of the north koreans always as well they allow that kind of stuff traditionally they've been quite hostile to it so maybe this is sort of an early bid to come help frame the upcoming summits but you know it's a positive small step. graham webb in singapore your father's the big question of course now is why is north korea acting in this way now not just our nuclear missile test but in other areas too agreeing to drop its objections for instance on u.s. south korean military exercises and so on why do you think this is happening now well it's really that kim jong un doesn't want to see anything new reeling the prospects for a meeting between himself and president donald trump in may or june and he's just setting the path for that for for succes

president has ever met with a north korean leader face to face. there's no official military communication the chairman of the joint chiefs in the united states can pick up the phone and talk to his counterpart and every other country on the planet that has nuclear weapons except for north korea the one we're most likely to go to war with so we don't have that steady personal relationship and communication chain and so we've tended to err on the side of caution and reserve in the united states which is why i think many people were worried that president trump statements over the last year could lead to either unintended conflict or an escalation on the part of the north koreans there are unofficial channels to help bridge the communication gap one is north korea's mission to the united nations in new york another is known as track one point five meetings between north korean officials in policy experts like the maggio. we're on a failure to do with the u.s. government does it seem like they really want the truth ministers to know so they see the u

korea the export of coal textiles not korean labor the russians start removing visas for north korean workers i mean so unprecedented near enough paid for in exports of all i'm up close and not critically as yet it's not show signs of really suffering but my theories and the oversight of the economy in iraq and right now are true in the nuclear components of the young children element line and now they're saying that the focus all efforts on the economy so that one reason might is threaten war. travel ministration president trump all options are on the phone clearly military options continue to swirl around her washington there is no strike judicially or the possibility of. force of the country through an attack. and that's france might be. tarika. two potential reasons for making concessions there i have a big question. do you think north korea would ever actually fire a nuclear weapon. well first of all i'd like to state that even though inspectors were there before these were from the i.a.e.a. and they were only inspecting civilian facilities so no international inspectors a person

korean leader, kim jong—un, pushed thought that the north korean leader, kimjong—un, pushed forward the direct talks with donald trump. it is quite literally engraved in stone. we can talk about realism, a degree of scepticism and cynicism, but that is now via, that is a permanent reminder of what these two men have done. —— that is now there. these sorts of moments can have a genuine impact. it was fascinating listening to kim jong—un as genuine impact. it was fascinating listening to kimjong—un as he talked in his introductory remarks, having made that long walk to go and greet all be greeted by moonjae—in, about the thoughts going through his head. that is an emotional moment which can have an impact and you cannot rehearse it? many have been surprised about how honest and forthright he seems to have been in his talks. he has not been using the language of previous generations, he seems to be much more direct in his speech. these things all add up, this political symbolism is important because it might go to addressing the fears mentioned in those opinion polls ijust me

can't that's not allowed under law to watch north korean state t.v. bulletins they came up with a very brief mention from a news reader that this historic meeting was taking place saying too that they were doing everything and their leader was doing everything to try and defuse tensions on the korean peninsula so far they've shown no pictures though of this historic meeting would expect and then perhaps in about an hour and a half when north korean t.v. does one of its main news bulletins but i'm sure they're not going to report some of the comments that we've heard from kim for example he told his south korean counterpart that he'd like him to come to north korea but he might be a bit embarrassed by the road and rail systems in the north he said road travel was inconvenient that's something they would normally admit in north korea they normally say everything they have there is superior to anywhere else in the world and you would just say yourself games it recently experience around the bumpy roads . yeah i made the same journey that kim made by road

north korean relations. efforts.ess on today is a special event because event.ture is an annual we decided, instead of a single lecture that we have this standing panel to talk about an issue that is very preoccupying and perhaps the number one national security challenge for the trump administration. i direct the international security program at george mason turn school of policy and government. i am moderating today. our lecture series, we are delighted to have members of the wonky family joining us today and all they done is that have made this special event possible. --you know, our two state speakers are well-known. we have admiral mike mullen who was the chairman of the joint chief of staff. he's the executive officer of mgm consulting. and was a cochair of a 2016 foreign relations task force report. a shepherd choice on north korea. we will ask him to update and revise the judgment of that report. victor cha is currently the .enior adviser he is the curry of foundation chair and government and intern

high security ahead of the first summit in more than a decade that will see north and south korean leaders meeting face to face. peter w. watching al-jazeera live from our headquarters here in doha also coming up. the door to the word will not stop the evolution of the word. the french president tells us lawmakers to reject nationalism and isolationism key policies of his host donald trump. the police in california make a major breakthrough in a serial killer case that dates back forty years. also this technology makes more jobs obsolete so we look at how children in hong kong learning to adapt to the future. security is being tightened at the border between north korea and south korea a day before leaders from those two nations hold their first direct talks in more than a decade helicopters and police dogs are being used to secure the area where the north korean leader kim jong il and south korea's president will sit down at the border truce village of panmunjom a big range of issues are expected to be discussed including pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. koreans from both sides of the

in this war in the gym you said it that the north korean regime is the enemy not the north korean people why do you think that that distinction is important i think that distinction is important because the north korean people or part could be part of the south korean families which is true for my grandpa grandfather my grandpa has moved from north korea to solve korea because he personally opposed to the communism and he's for a lot of war fighting against those korean regime in north korea our grandparents generations. loss of family was the hardest with north korean people do you think as time goes on in those ties get farther and farther away it will really shift attitudes about north korea and north koreans it has been seventeen years since i have been separated. i don't have any personal ties with those korean people. so i think that will definitely impact the south korean view of most people in those career so. is the sign of a north korean refugees his father founded the tom de lay newspaper to serve separated from their loved ones in north korea now sean is this. he says witness

the north korean mt. what kind of painting technique is used for this painting, when we saw the painting in the hallway. it is 0riental painting and technique, that was the answer. the two leaders came to the reception. mr moon introduced the painting. it was also the writing of kim jae—sung. it means we are communicating with each other. that kind of meaning is there. that was highlighted for us to communicate. it has a square shaped. it means the first character. it also has kim's character. it also has kim's character at the start. that was mr moon's construction. —— instruction. iam sure, moon's construction. —— instruction. i am sure, just as you did, i started early in the morning. mr moon said, just a few kilometres away. mr kim said, i heard that you woke up early. maybe because of that meeting. when you received the embassy areas, i think it was a very good gesture as well. mr kim, i will make sure that you don't have to wa ke make sure that you don't have to wake up early in the mornin

real issue of course will be verification right the north koreans may say they're going to shut these things down and close them down on the rest of it but at this point after thirty years of negotiating with north korea nobody's going to believe them until we can get international inspectors in their cameras and stuff like that and big question of the north koreans always as well they allow that kind of stuff traditionally they've been quite hostile to it so maybe this is sort of an early bid to come help frame the the upcoming summits but you know it's a positive small step. graham webb in singapore your farce the big question of course now is why is north korea acting in this way now not just on nuclear missile test but in other areas too agreeing to drop its objections for instance on u.s. south korean military exercises and so on why do you think this is happening now well it's very likely that kim jong un does want to see anything new reeling the prospects for a meeting between himself and president donald trump in may or june and he's just setting the path for that for for succ

korean and south korean leaders that never have we seen a north korean leader set foot though in the south at any time since the korean war it's something that kim's grandfather didn't do after the korean war or his father but some of these aims lofty aims like reunifying the road system of the railway system have been there what we do have in this i think is significant certainly on the peace treaty is we have an actual timeline we hear that the aim is to do that by the end of the year and again for the next bit of the into korean diplomacy we have a timeline to that president moon is supposed to travel to pyongyang in the fall so a clear timeline for this i think to show the americans the rest of the international community and the population here in south korea and maybe to a limited extent kim wants to show the population of north korea that this thing has got momentum james if you stay with us for a moment let's pop over to beijing and get the thoughts of asian brown our correspondent there because certainly this declaration seems to have at least a couple of points that will pl

the high emotions i felt in the north korean camp two. is of great great great pleasure and i have news you all know for you only to have the respected martial here today and to watch my son play. i know there are many players in the world but i think these must be the happiest in the world to go on. with their achievements starting to sink in the play is begin to celebrate. one hundred. thank you thank you us through us thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you. the next day the u.s. players but the few soreheads head out for some specially organized are in our time with the north korean team we are exacerbating right with the national team so we want to water for our troubles lars together guys folded over. even though it was a different leg was very rich richard would enjoy it in the meantime dennis and a few of the group head off on a separate trip. during the game dennis was told that the marshal had prepared something special he wanted them to spend the weekend in must agree on north korea's new and only ski resort was just

president agreed to meet with the north korean leader. by may, which i think everybody takes to mean by the end of may. as admiral mullen said, these sorts of summits, when they take place, they can be highly rewarding or if they fail, they especiallyly risky, when you don't have a months-long negotiating process leading up to this meeting. to me, one of the biggest indicators of whether this meeting will take lace or whether it will be postponed will be the inter-korean summit that takes place at the end of this month because i would imagine that coming out of that meeting, the south korean president will want to brief the american president on how that meeting went and probably offer recommendation about whether we should go forward, things look good, the light is green, or whether it is yellow or even it is even red. said, we arellen all guessing here because this is a highly unusual situation. pick one-- if i had to event, it would probably be the meeting that takes place between the north and south korean leaders. ellen: in the task

president has ever met with a north korean leader face to face. there's no official military communication the chairman of the joint chiefs in the united states can pick up the phone and talk to his counterpart and every other country on the planet that has nuclear weapons except for north korea the one most likely to go to war with so we don't have that steady personal relationship and communication chain and so we've tended to err on the side of caution and reserve in the united states which is why i think many people were worried that president trump statements over the last year could lead to even unintended conflict or an escalation on the part of the north koreans there are unofficial channels to help bridge the communication gap one is north korea's mission to the united nations in new york another is known as track one point five meetings between north korean officials in policy experts like the maggio. we're on a failure to do with the u.s. government does it seem like they really want the truth ministers to know so they see the united st

north korean defectors speaking to the bbc‘s korean service. a reminder of the main news. the north korean leader, kim jong—un, has said the first summit between the two koreas for more than ten years will be a starting signal for a new history. he hasjust he has just begun talks with the president of south korea, moon jae—in. mr moon said he was looking for a bold agreement in the talks, which are expected to focus on denuclearisation of the korean peninsula and bringing an official end to the korean war. they are still officially at war. earlier kim jong—un became the first north korean leader to step on to south korean soil when he walked across the military demarcation line to be formally met by mr moon. there is much more on all the other international news stories on our website. thank you for watching. hello there. it's been getting cooler day by day through this week and by the weekend, temperatures will be below the seasonal average, wet, cold and windy late on sunday. more on that in just a moment. we start friday on quite a chilly note, some areas a touch

and late last year a north korean defector what's shot by fellow north korean troops as he ran across the border not far from where i'm standing. this year as relations improved between the two koreas this village has once again been used as a venue for high level talks within the d.m.z. the military demarcation line marks the actual border between north and south in this room when i walk over to this side of the table i'm crossing into north korea so it was significant when earlier this year a delegation from the north stepped over the border for talks after two years in which there had been no official communication between the two countries and when north korean leader kim jong un meets south korea's president at the end of the month the meeting will be held in peace house on the southern side it will be the first time a north korean leader steps on south korean soil since the korean war. dozens of migrants from central america who have captured the attention and the anger of donald trump of the gonna arriving at the u.s. border with mexico and asylum seekers will eventually turn t

has met north korean leader kim jong un in north korea's capital pyongyang senior u.s. officials said the former cia director went there as the u.s. president's envoy over the weekend it was there to prepare for a possible meeting between trump and kim expected in may or june north korea has also began has been on high has been high rather on the agenda in talks between japan's prime minister and the u.s. president in the u.s. . this here is diplomatic editor james bias joins us now on the phone from north korea's capital pyongyang so james you're having a rare look inside the north korean capital what is the official line if any on this reported meeting between the u.s. secretary of state nominee and north korea as they do obviously i've been asking north korean officials they have no comment they have nothing to say they are confirming the speech and it is being confirmed by the u.s. side and that makes state the highest level meeting of all hospital visits. u.s. officials of the year two thousand when secretary of state madeline albright came here to pyongyang there

for the north korean leader. had to go back to the north let's look at some of those huge developments that we've seen today these are live pictures from the demilitarized zone and as as i mentioned we are waiting for leader kim jong un to leave off to this day of talks this joint declaration agreeing to. arise the korean peninsula so they've agreed to that but do we know if they agree on what it means and when can we expect it to happen. that is what remains unclear out of this declaration elizabeth there was a lot of detail and it was it was historic this declaration that was signed when it comes to talking about meeting between north korea south korea the u.s. and china for example moving towards a more permanent peace regime and moving on from the armistice that was signed in one thousand nine hundred fifty three that was significant there was an agreement that plans to visit pyongyang in the autumn so that will be significant if that goes ahead but in terms of your question about denuclearization that was wh

secretary of state secret meeting with the north korean leader. travel to pyongyang earlier this month as cia director. and ronny jackson donald trump's personal doctor a nominee for u.s. veteran affairs secretary has quit his bid for the post after being accused of several instances of misconduct. almost goes taken a number of syrians to the headquarters of a chemical weapons watchdog in the netherlands to support their claim that the gas attack in duma was fake the witnesses have been presented to the o.p.c. w. at the hague to recount what they saw on april seventh russia says the syrian statements prove the chemical attack was staged allegations the u.s. and its allies strongly deny a young syrian oil was at a briefing. we were in the basement we heard cries in the street that we should go to the hospital we got skeered we went to the hospital through the tunnel they started pouring water on me at the hospital i don't know why after that they took me to a different place so when you go has more from the hague well the only evidence that we've m

real issue of course will be verification right the north koreans may say they're going to shut these things down and close them down on the rest of it but at this point after thirty years of negotiating with north korea nobody's going to believe them until we can get international inspectors and their cameras and stuff like that and big question of the north koreans always as well they allow that kind of stuff traditionally they've been quite hostile to it so maybe this is sort of an early bid to come help frame the the upcoming summits but you know it's a positive small step. graham webb in singapore your farce the big question of course now is why is north korea acting in this way now not just on nuclear missile test but in other areas too agreeing to drop its objections for instance on us south korean military exercises and so on why do you think this is happening now well it's very likely that kim jong un does want to see anything new reeling the prospects for a meeting between himself and president donald trump in may or june and he's just setting the path for that for success e

real issue of course will be verification right the north koreans may say they're going to shut these things down and close them down on the rest of it but at this point after thirty years of the go shooting with north korea nobody's going to believe them until we can get international inspectors in their cameras and stuff like that and big question of the north koreans always as well they allow that kind of stuff traditionally they've been quite hostile to it so maybe this is sort of an early bid to come help frame the the upcoming summits but you know it's a positive small step. graham and webb in singapore your thoughts the big question of course now is why is north korea acting in this way now not just on nuclear missile test but in other areas too agreeing to drop its objections for instance on u.s. south korean military exercises and so on why do you think this is happening now well it's really that kim jong un doesn't want to see anything new reeling the prospects for a meeting between himself and president donald trump in may or june and he's just setting the path for that for

what about the rights of the north korean people? those are big questions we can't gloss over. >> the hyperbolic threats they use when they threaten the united states. we sproresponded with diplomati tones over the last decades. could it be the hyperbolic threats of fire and fury that this is language that kim jong un understands and believed that the united states could strike like the world has never seen? >> i believe that the north korean regime understands us much better than we understand them. they understand also how to play us and the south koreans. i'm not saying that is what is going on here, but you have to remember it has been the north korean regime's desire to have the peace treaty. this is what they want. you have given them what they want. kim jong un standing next to president moon and being praised and seen as a peacemaker. that is a huge achievement for kim jong un. what about what we want? what about the things we need that we are supposed to get in exchange? that is all coming later. hopefully. we assume. the no

but to many koreans both in the scythe and the north hope this means peace is on its way. and we can talk to hamas mostly from the graduate school of east asian studies at the free university here in berlin thank you for joining us in our studio now the north korean regime usually frowns upon western style music but we saw here at k. pop girl band getting a warm welcome what do you make of that well in the first place that might seem to be surprising but when you think about it of course kim jong un has to present himself as being able to make concessions and being able to have cooperative discussions so you can only accept it and after all also the north koreans were performing in the south right so this concert also coincided with the first day of the joint military exercises between the u.s. and south korea and these drills are usually seen by north korea as a provocation what kind of reaction do you think we're going to expect here i think we see the reactions that we've seen so far that is low key reactions because kim jong il made very much clear when the beginning o

for the high emotions i felt in the north korean camp to you. is a great great great pleasure and i have news you all know for being the only two going to have the respected marshall here today and to watch my son play. i know there are many players in the world but i think these must be the happiest in the world. with their achievements starting to sink in the play is begin to celebrate. was. somebody thank you thank you i thank you our thanks thanks. the next day the u.s. players but the few soreheads head out for some specially organized are in our time with the north korean team we are it says they are still going to work with the national team so once a waterpark settles large together guys for the over. there knows a different league was very rich richard would enjoy it in the meantime dennis and a few of the group head off on a separate trip. during the game dennis was told that the marshal had prepared something special he wanted them to spend the weekend in must agree on north korea's new and only ski resort was just two hours by car ea