sailors, airmen, marines and department of defense civilians and the families serving in korea. thank you very much, and now i look forward to your questions. >> thank you. dr. lavoy, you commented about the deal breaker. shooting the rocket. what -- what is our deal? and what happens if they violate it and break the deal? >> thank you for that question. we have reached an agreement with the north koreans that will enable us to provide food assistance to north korea and we have been under the very -- it's been very important to us to relink humanitarian assistance and including nutritional assistance and other kinds of activities such as operational remains recovery operations from politics, and from north korea's provocative behavior. that's been our intent all along. however, when we recently reached this deal, this did prohibit north korean missile launches, and we indicated at the time that a satellite missile launch we would interpret as a missile launch because it would use missile technology. the north koreans have announced they will launch a missile. we are working very

, north korea, and china. and although there has been an armistice. this armistice has been broken many times. so we have seen acts of provocation from the north koreans, especially in 2010 when they killed 50 south koreans in two horrific incidents. we can expect more of this to occur, especially if kim jong un the new leader needs successes to brag about. obviously this missile launch, although they will brag about it to the people, he will not be able to brag about it with his own regime. that's what counts. >> shepard: our reporting at the time of that last nuclear detective ton nation about which you were just speaking, our reporting at the time was that in advance it had been planned. we'll launch the rocket. we'll tell our people everything went fine. the rest of the world will report that it didn't. we'll do a nuclear detective ton nation. is it your sense that this nuclear detective ton nation has already been planned? do you have a sense for how soon such a thing might happen with history as your gui

forces korea. this is our first opportunity to have a dedicated hearing on this topic, but i cannot think of a more opportune time. the president's new defense strategy underscores the importance of the larger asia-pacific theater. northeast asia is a dynamic region of key strategic importance to the global economy, regional stability and u.s. national security interests. what's more, the coming year will bring a number of regional leadership transitions for north korea, south korea, china, japan and russia. and some may have forgotten the korean war isn't officially over. the peninsula remains divided. its them to one of our strongest allies and weren't of the world's most militaristic states. in fact, although north korean, the north korean regime is willing to starve its own citizens, it maintains the world's fourth largest army. north korea has more than 1 million active duty personnel and thousands of artillery systems, tanks, armored personnel carrier, aircraft and surface combatants. more th

forces in south korea and how much is being funded by the republic of korea. can you give me is it 20%, what are we talking. i don't need raw numbers. what is their responsibility and what numbers does that equate to? >> congresswoman, first off on young song relocation the government is paying for that. there will be costs associated with our communications in specific requirements and related to our unique requirements for our communications networks. that's a responsibility of ours as well as some of the onm requirement and srm requirements that will be required in the future. the land partnership program was a u.s. initiative and funded by the u.s. primarily. we did use special measures funding from the roc government but i'd be more than happy to give you the cost breakout. >> thank you. mr. chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i was interested in your comments, general, what keeps you up at night worrying about the operational, special op forces that north korea has, their cyber as well as th

korea. the white house said we need to review our policy which we did and in june 2001 put out a statement saying we will continue the agreed frame work and engage with north korea. so it was -- i don't think a rejection of engagement. it was a request for a time to get the administration strategy in place. because there had been so many problems in the past over several administrations with north korea. >> fair point. i do, however, remember with some surprise secretary powell having his wings clipped a little bit because he came out maybe before that assessment, which sent a signal that had some consequences, i don't know. i kind of think we're between a rock and a hard place. i'm not con vensed about the efficacy sometimes of that engagement. i share mr. burton's concern. let me ask you, dr. green, are you -- the issue for me here and mr. burton and others is for efficacy. right after we provided food aid, they announced their intention to test a new rocket or the existing rocket. how do

>> i don't think north korea -- this failure will affect north korea's game plan too much. they will continue to play the game as planned. i think north korea will say this. it was a peaceful satellite launch, and we are still perfectly willing to abide by the february agreement with the u.s., in which we'll freeze the nuclear test missile test and the operation of the uranium enrichment program while the united states, you decide to provide us with 240,000 tons of humanitarian food aid. however, they would say, if you keep saying it was a missile test and put pressure on us, we would have to walk away from this february agreement. we would have to do the same and walk away from the february agreement, which might mean -- which would mean that north korea will have to conduct another nuclear test and start reprocessing uranium again. they would say, what would you like to do? >> we've had this announcement from the national media saying that admitting all this will be expecting more information to come out of the country? >> certainly. the message will be that, well, the sa

for the people of north korea. so that was the thinking from within the white house, and again i'm talking to my sources here within the white house that say they're working on reaction to this and we're hoping to get something very soon. >> thank you, crystal walker. we appreciate that, as soon as that white house statement comes we'll take you right back to washington for that. we would like to bring in bob windrom who has been following the latest developments and joins us now. >> what we have been told by u.s. national security officials is that shortly after launch, the rocket carrying the north korean satellite broke up and in fact it was a break up that started with the initial stage. this is a three stage rocket spop this is a major failure for north korea. this is probably the best possible outcome for the united states because it shows that north korea's capabilitys are limited. it also shows that they're arrogance and trying to move this forward will now be down against them in international quarters, an

korea. government leaders in japan and elsewhere say this is a test of technology for a ballistic missile. officials with north korea's space agency say the launch window is now through monday. the ground crew started fuelling up on wednesday. japan's self-defense forces are ready to shoot down anything in japan territory. land-based radar units and destroyers are equipped with radar and interceptor missiles. two of them are patrolling in the east china sea around okinawa. a third is in the sea of japan. pac 3 surface to air missiles are set up in okinawa prefecture. others are in the tokeo area just in case. pong sang is one of the closest areas where debris is expected to fall. anna? >> reporter: experts calculate the first booster will drop into the sea behind these islands. the south korean government has taken steps to reinforce safety measures. aircraft and ships have been urged to avoid the area from thursday to monday where debris from the rocket is expected to fall. town officials u

>> i don't think north korea -- this failure will affect north korea's game plan too much. they will continue to play the game as planned. i think north korea will say this. it was a peaceful satellite launch, and we are still perfectly willing to abide by the february agreement with the u.s., in which we'll freeze the nuclear test missile test and the operation of the uranium enrichment program while the united states, you decide to provide us with 240,000 tons of humanitarian food aid. however, they would say, if you keep saying it was a missile test and put pressure on us, we would have to walk away from this february agreement. we would have to do the same and walk away from the february agreement, which might mean -- which would mean that north korea will have to conduct another nuclear test and start reprocessing uranium again. they would say, what would you like to do? >> we've had this announcement from the national media saying that admitting all this will be expecting more information to come out of the country? >> certainly. the message will be that, well, the sa

the future of north korea is bleak and as the people of north korea that would bear the unimaginable hardship of kim jong-un's tierney. it is my belief north korea will never give up its nuclear weapons. it is the weapons itself it is using to maintain its iron grip there. i hope our distinguished witnesses today will address the human rights tragedy, particularly with negotiations with north korea in the future. madam chair, again, thank you for calling this hearing and look forward to talking to the witnesses? thank you so much, mr. manzullo and your attendance always. miss bass is recognized. >> thank you, chairman and senator berman for holding this hearing. over the past five decades, the u.s. has bowlsered a lasting relationship with south korea. efforts to achieve peace with north korea has proved elusive and globally frustrating. with the passing of one leader and emergence of another, now more than ever, the united states must hold north korea and undercut actions and hold peace on the north korean peninsula. i had the opportunity to go to the demilitarized zone. looking at

that's nothing new for north korea. neither of its past attempts to launch a satellite have been recognized as successes by the international community either. unlike before, the comminist state has been uncharacteristically honest about its failure. a couple of hours after the launch, a news reader appeared on state television admitting that the satellite never reached orbit and that scientists were trying to find out why. south korea's defense ministry says it exploded in midair just a minute or two after takeoff and broke into around 20 pieces, which fell into the sea off korea's west coast. the fact that north korea went ahead with this launch despite u.n. security council resolutions against it has angered not only south korea, but the u.s. and others. north korea has always said this launch was a peaceful one to put a satellite in space, but others say it's a covert test for ballistic missiles and that north korea could one day use them to deliver nuclear weapons. the question now is what the international communi

that was anna jung in south korea. with me is hideki, an expert on north korea. so hiroki, the south korean defense ministry announced there was a launch at 7:39 a.m. what can you tell us? >> minister of defense says after the launch, the missile got separated and fell into the sea. the ministry didn't specify the place, but it seems that the launch failed. and nhk correspondents say that no information is -- has been released to the -- for the media there. nhk reporters are staying in their media center in the capital of pyongyang, but there is no move of releasing this informati information, the launch. the japanese government has released what is called em net. and it says at 7:40 local -- at 7:40 in the morning, the u.s. satellite catched the information of the launch from north korea. and the place of the launch is from the west coast of north korea and the direction was south. but there was no information about how many missiles were launched. and their projectile was -- its projectile seems to have gotten separated into several pieces, but the number is un

forces in korea. a command has inevitably suffer from a decade-long priorities placed on the conflicts in afghanistan and iraq. third, we need to move beyond ineffective sanctions to find new means of applying real pain on recalcitrant leaders to flagrantly but international security at risk. the u.s. can use the combined force of government and the private sector to clamp down on the mostly chinese banks that the north leadership relies on to find leaders in the military party in ruling circles. we need precision guided financial measures that go as far as those attempts -- attempted several years ago to squeeze key decision makers. this could bring about change. fourth, the u.s. should seek to use serious pressure in defense tactic is to open up more direct high-level talks with kim jong un and to retrieve general central to a collective leadership. there is a political objective to our pressure and force. it is opening up those real talks that will matter. only by winning access to the inner circle

korea and the u.s. was focused on trying to make sure that south korea didn't respond in a way that's ka lated. like wise, it seems to me that the south korean response to the rocket launch was at least in terms of public response not that strong. so the question of how we essentially show that there's a price for provocation. second, i think we need to minimize reliance on china, while continuing to cooperate with them in a limited way. as a way to try to pursue our approach to north korea. and then increasingly, this is a regime that is, not isolated, it's partially sbe gaited with the outside world. i think we need to look at whether or not that need for external funds that has already been addressed in various ways, for instance, illicit activities might also provide aen opportunity for us. the sanctions only approach means the front door has been closed, but as long as china leaves the backdoor open, it's not going to work. so i think to find a way to exploit north korea's partial sbe gags with its

how dangerous is north korea? we'll go there live. we'll also talk to a man who knows a lot about that secretive country, former u.n. ambassador, bill richardson. >>> plus, george zimmerman in court, the man who shot 17-year-old trayvon martin. he spoke a few words and answered the judge's questions today. we're also getting new information tonight from the affidavit of probable cause in the case. it says zimmerman, and i quote, profiled trayvon martin and disregarded the police dispatcher's request that he wait for officers to arrive. a prime-time exclusive tonight with his new attorney, mark o'mara in just a moment. >>> but we begin with our breaking news, north korea's failed missile launch. i want to bring in barbara starr at the pentagon and dan lothian at the white house. barbara, a very dramatic few hours here. obviously, we knew this launch was coming. it seems to have been a spectacular failure. what can you tell me about it? >> piers, a senior u.s. official just saying those very words to me. an unpreced

reached an agreement with north korea. well, not explicitly tieing food aid to the country to military issues. the agreement pretty much did just tie food aid to military issues. the u.s. has said we will give north korea the food aid that it desperately needs since so much of the resources go into the military. we will help feed the north korean people if the north korean government will agree to not test any more missiles. before the launch today, the white house press secretary told reporters that if north korea were to go ahead with this missile launch, that would constitute a significant and clear demonstration of bad faith and would leave the u.s. unable to move forward with that program. meaning that food aid program. he said it would make going ahead with that program, quote, virtually impossible. also today, before the launch, the u.s. secretary of state met with the other nations in the g-8. france, germany, uk, japan, italy, and russia. secretary clinton emerged from that meeting with this message. >> if pyongya

how is north korea likely to react? >> i think we saw from last year with the attack on the warship and also with the attack on the island and that we have entered into a very new era of the uncertainty and increasingly aggressive and hawkish tactics by north korea. and with the failing of this launch, that will only increase as north korea decides to ascertain its position in north east asia. >> obviously, this rocket launch was very important to the north koreans. it was meant to commemorate kim il-sung, after all. the fact that it was -- that it has apparently failed, using this will lead to more tensions and they're hiding their sense of bravado, perhaps? >> i think so. and it will go beyond mere saber rattling, which has been the hallmark feature of north korea. it will not only the words, but words turned to action, and they will be unpredictable. they might be in the form of skirmishes or paramilitary intrusions on disputed territory between north and south korea. but that is unclear. and what is clear is that th

minutes ago south korea media reported north korea launched a rocket just minutes ago. victor cha is joining me, a nuclear weapons expert and former director of asian affairs under president bush. he's in washington, d.c. victor, we've been waiting around the clock for this to happen. the launch window opened a short while ago and now it appears to have taken place. what are your thoughts at this moment? >> well, i think it was pretty clear from the information we were getting in the days before this that they had fully fueled the rocket and that the launch pad was ready. i guess it was just a matter of finding the right weather conditions under which to launch this rocket. very clearly, they had the right launch conditions today. politically, they were able to elevate this young fellow to the highest position within the party the day before yesterday, so politically the stage was set. now they have done what they said they were going to do for several weeks now. >> so what are we watching for at this hour? as this rocket takes off, obviously for it to sit there fully f

but this missill most important missile system for north korea. this is intercontinental ballistic missile which has a capability to hit mainland of united states. they are using this system as a diplomatic tool to deal with the united states. if they possess this kind of weapon system, they can stand at equal basis and power with the united states. then north korea thinks -- but it means it's a failure to do this. this is a political impact. another impact that economically. the missile is for north korea is a very important material for export. this means that the credibility of the north korean missile has been injured so that maybe they are losing their pride for their missile technology. >> i see. so with this failure, plans are not going to be as going as they expected. what will happen next? >> i think north korea maybe will recover their losing pride to do another thing. i am wondering if the nuclear test happened again. preparatory step of nuclear test has already begun. u.s. military official has already confirmed. i think the developmen

north korea is the longest- lasting totalitarian state. >> we have a shot of north korea. you see the line of china. above -- what -- when you were there, you said, there are 23 million people there. what is in your mind's eye about north korea? >> this is not a good way to report about north korea. i went with a group of about 600 westerners when the new york philharmonic went to pyongyang. we were in a high-rise hotel on an island. taken to various places to show off. statues and assembly halls. a day, two and a half later. based on that trip -- the country is full of concrete and emaculately dressed guards. the way you find out the reality, and it's easy for a reporter to do it is go to seoul, where there are close to 30,000 defectors from south korea. they almost all have arrived in the last 10 years. they are by far the best sources of what this is like and how difficult it is to get out. there are 60 former camp inmates and former guards, who have been interviewed, and given a nuanced and credible picture of what goes on. the -- that picture in their words has been s

north korea. the south korean government is taking steps to reinforce safety measures and protect against the missile launch. aircrafts and ships are being urged to make detours from thursday to monday around the area where debris from the rocket is expected to fold to earth. back to you, catherine. >> all right. thanks very much, anna. that was anna jung from south korea. >>> rachel joins us from the weather desk. >> yes. the weather will be a critical factor with an event like this. we do have precipitation moving across the korean peninsula and stly confined to south korea rather than north korea. north korea is staying mostly dry. you were talking earlier about the 5-day window starting today. thursday, friday, right through sunday, conditions look pretty good. monday will bring gusty winds and light precipitation. generally, the weather doesn't look like it's particularly problematic. back to you. >> thanks very much. we'll keep checking back with you for the latest conditions there. south ko

forces in korea. a command that has inevitably suffered from the decade-long priorities pleased in turn placed on a rock. or, we need to move ineffective sanctions to mean unchecked means of those who put international security at risk. the united states can use the combined force of government to clamp down on chinese banks, in the military party in ruling circles. we need precision guided financial measures to go as far as they are attempting -- to squeeze key decision makers if they were and maintain overtime -- this could bring about change. fourth, the united states should seek to use serious pressure in defense tactics to open up high-level talks with kim jong-un han seung-soo. there is a political. only by winning access to north korea, can we determine to determine usha points and opportunities. long-term engagement will make us smarter about what will be possible for north korea, while preparing us for everything is a hard regime should be implemented. north korea cannot live forever in a coc

>>> eyes on north korea. u.n. delegates try to find common ground as leaders in pyongyang ignore warning after warning. members of the u.n. security council are still figuring out how to respond what's happens in north korea. leaders in pyongyang say they intend to follow through on their promise to launch a rocket on thursday at the earliest. they say it will carry a satellite into space, but representatives of other countries stay they're testing a missile and have demanded the u.n. respond. the u.s. ambassador currently holds the rotating security council chair. susan rice says members agree the launch would be a provocation. >> we think that as a consequence of that, should it occur, the council will need to convene and to respond credibly. >> the north launched a long-range rocket in 2009. the security council adopted a president's statement condemning the act rather than a resolution, which would have been stronger. china holds veto power. u.n. sources say that a chinese representative is likely to oppose an

strike north korea. defense ministry officials showed video of a test of the missile. the video showed the missile in flight and hitting its target a hut, hundreds of kilometers away. officials did not reveal the exact rage or missiles deployed. they said it could strike with precision across north korea. he said the military will retaliate against any provocation. it was developed in south korea and resembles the thome hawk missile used by the u.s. navy. it has a range of 1,000 kilometers. >>> g-20 leaders are coming together to discuss some common challenges. our business desk has more on that. >> reporter: common challenges, indeed. high oil prices taking center stage is the credit crisis over in the euro zone. the group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors began their meeting in washington on thursday. they are discussing steps to contain the european debt crisis. measures will include boosting the lending capacity of the international monetary fund. japan's finance minister and bank of

traditionally north korea's closest ally. ambassador rice noted last week's launch attempt caused grave concern in the nation. nhk world, new york. >>> japan's ambassador to the u.n. praised the statement. today reporters were told the statement takes into consideration the position that japan has been maintaining. >> translator: the japanese government strongly supports and welcomes the statement. we will continue to work closely with relevant countries to resolve north korea's nuclear and missile issues. >>> north korea says it will continue to develop its satellite technology. it said the rocket launch on friday is the first of a five-year space program. the online version quoted the comments by the north korean committee of space technology on monday. the pro-pyongyang general association of korean residents in japan produces the publication. it said the rocket launch was to boost north korea's economy by developing its space program. it added that the committee has already begun developing the next satellite and the rock

and that's why north korea is in a hurry to develop the taepodong 2. they also undertook a test in 2006 in which the rocket exploded and fell to the sea of japan soon after launching. three years ago, north korea succeeded in launching a rocket that accurately flew a distance of 3,000 kilometers to a spot in the sea in the area of the midway islands. the launch proved that north korea has made a considerable progress in the development of the nuclear guidance system. if north korea deploys taepodong 2 in the near future, they will be in range of the north korean missile. that means the threat of the north korean missile is expanding from east asia around japan, to the whole asia-pacific region. there is also a possibility that the pyongyang missile technology could be provided to the middle eastern nation, where several countries have close relations with north korea. it means, in other words, missile technologies developed by north korea is becoming a global threat. >>> north koreans put their lives on the line when they try to flee their country, and

this. -- why north korea keeps doing this. to threaten countries like the u.s.. >> let's take a closer look at the international reaction to the north korean move. the white house says despite the failure, north korea's provocative action threatens regional security and violates international law. south korea has also condemned the rocket launch as a provocation. the foreign minister says it is a clear breach of the u.n. resolution. japan says the launch came despite repeated calls by tokyo for restraint. government spokesman says it represents the threats to the security of japan and its people. british foreign secretary william hague says he is deeply concerned by the north korean move. he says the country can expect a strong response from the international community if it continues to develop the missile and nuclear capabilities. over to you for more on this story. >> thank you very much. we're being told that north korea is saying the satellite has failed to enter or bent. that is according to reuters. this is the first ti

we believe north korea has fired the kms-3 rocket at 7:40 a.m. korea time. national defense of south korea is now investigating exactly when that launch happened. the second stage is believed to have fallen around the philippines already. we were talking about that a moment ago, how rapidly this developed. the first stage was supposed to fall not terribly faufr from the koreas and the second was to drop in a zone off the philippines. the last time they launched one of these, the rocket stages fell where they were expected to fall. however, they were a little bit off in the zone, which made people ask questions about the development of all of that and whether or not their technology was actually that good. john king is joining us also on the political front here. john, what are you hearing? >> well, tom, cnn i'm now told has confirmation that the launch has taken place. you're raising both the technical and the political questions. i just want to use the map to show just a little satellite imagery. you're familiar with this. this is a few days ago. you see th

how much of a threat is north korea as a nuclear. but i think those are two separate questions in some sense whether north korea is a threat and what their technological prowess is in many respects north korea is technologically quite advanced and has been for many years for many decades its major problem of course is money it costs paf a billion dollars to launch one of these rockets and that's a lot of money in north korea they don't have a lot of money to continually test these things so failure frankly is more likely than success that doesn't necessarily for a reflect badly on the science scientists or the scientific community it just means they don't have a lot of money on the side of threat does north korea really represent a threat well frankly it doesn't have much in the way of a military at this point of course has a very large army but we're talking about a military that is declined rather precipitously relative to the south korean military and certainly relatively to the u.s. military the nuclear program was in some sense

let's bring you up-to-date with the political situation in south korea. there is some flash photography coming up. the new frontier party has managed to hang onto its maturities by a thin margin. it is predicted to have one 162 of the 300 seats in parliament and the democratic united party predicted to win 127. >> now let's have a look and some pictures live from indonesia from jakarta because the british prime minister, david cameron is expected to make a speech there warning against the islamic extremism. this is part of his trade mission in southeast asia. he has been touring japan, malaysia, singapore, and burma. and he will be making a trade speech shortly. he will be discussing various things including the airbus deal that has been announced. and he will also be talking about praising the indonesian's as being living proof that islam is compatible with democracy. our correspondent in jakarta is there. what kind of messages and do you think the british prime minister will be sending? >> i think he will be picking up on that scene that world leaders w

it accuses south korea's president lee mun bak of disrespecting north korea but gave no details of the insult or planned action. north korea criticized a south korean group last week for destroys a photo of kim jong-un. the country's leaders staged a rally. south korea's defense ministry said there was no evidence of unusual military action in north korea. the south korean government has expressed concern but maintains the north is trying to divert attention from the country's failed missile launch. nhk's correspondent in beijing says north korea's leadership is attempting to consolidate support for kim jong-un. the correspondent also says the north wants to boost national unity ahead of wednesday's 80th anniversary of the korean people's army. >>> u.s. state department spokesperson victoria nuland criticized north korea for making the threats. >> the dprk needs to understand it's not going to achieve anything but further isolation and pressure by threats, by launches, by any of this. we called on the new north korean leadership to change course, instead put their effort into moving th

traditionally north korea's closest ally. ambassador rice noted that last week's launch attempt caused grave concern in the region. widad franco, nhk world, new york. >>> china says the presidential statement reflects a basic understanding shared by the international community. china is north korea's closest ally and has been reluctant to condemn it. the foreign ministry spokesperson said dialogue is the only way to resolve issues. he said the agreement between the u.s. and north korea is important for a nuclear free korean peninsula and for peace and stability. the pact was reached in february. the chinese government has implemented its call to implement the agreement, stipulates the north suspend its uranium enrichment program in exchange for food aid from the u.s. japan's ambassador to the u.n. praised the statement. he told reporters the statement takes into consideration the position that japan has been maintaining. >> translator: the japanese government supports the statement. we will continue to work closely with relev

united states on south korea to deter north korea's provocation. >>> emergency officials in japan are showing for the first time how they're prepared for chemical terrorist attacks. ground self-defense forces personnel granted nhk access to their annual training program for police, firefighters and coast guard officers. the gsdf chemical school is in saitama, north of tokyo. some 40 police officers, firefighters and coast guard members from across the nation took part in the training session. they put on protective gear and masks, detected chemicals using equipment or special equipment and clean contaminated vehicles. japanese authorities learned to prepare for the worst in 1995, members of the aum shinrikyo religious cult released deadly sarin gas in tokyo's subway system during the morning rush hour. 13 people died, 6,300 others became sick. >> translator: at the time i watched news coverage of the sarin gas attack on television. if another incident happens, i will use the knowledge and techniques i've acquired during this training session. >> trainers at the gsdf chemical school sa

and china understands that its role is extremely important vis-a-vis north korea and north korea knows that as well. north korea also understands, ashleigh, they have a complete pass. they can get away with almost anything they want. i guarantee you the united states is going to continue to give food aid, anything else they can do, to try to reduce the suffering of the north korean people. >> because it seems that punishing the people and withholding food aid doesn't seem to matter to the leadership in north korea. but let me ask you this. oftentimes we go to barbara starr and her reporting from the pentagon is it top-notch, we see these satellite photos that give us some indication of what the north koreans are up to. and i always wonder just how much is that intel? is that the tip of the iceberg? are we great at this? do we have a good handle on exactly what they're doing? or do we have any dirty intelligence on the ground? >> the real issue with north korea is we have not been able to effectively penetrate on the ground what's taking place. it is completely isolated. our collection

north korea hits back at the united nations in back and forth criticism. officials in pyongyang rejected a statement of condemnation from the u.n. the north koreans fired off what they called a rocket last friday. it blew up less than two minutes after takeoff. the security council agreed on monday to issue a presidential statement that strongly condemns the launch. north korea's foreign ministry issued a statement of its own. it criticized the u.n. for accusing north korea for conducting a missile test disguised as a satellite launch. the statement says north korea rejects the council's violation of the north's legitimate right to launch satellites. north korea criticized the united states for halting food aid. u.s. officials promised the aid in february. in return, north korean officials agreed to suspend their nuclear and missile programs. their statement says they are no longer bound by the agreement. it also says north korea is also able to take retaliatory steps but does not give any details. political analysts say the measures could include more ura

korea response to that. delay and in terms of public opinion. -- both politically and in terms of public opinion. >> a big week for the great successor. kim jong un is given two key positions as north korea's supreme leader. >> scotland yard has said detectives will reopen an investigation in the death of a blockbuster ever in the midst of claims of racism. the announcement comes at a time when a number of metropolitan police officers are being investigated for allegations of racism. the prime minister has said that the pyramid will look -- that the parliament will look sympathetically. mr. cameron says he wants to strike a balance to encourage philanthropy while making sure that the tax system is not abused. the new leaders of the nationalist party has lost the party's local election campaign during a visit to a factory. they told supporters that whales need strong and sustainable communities as a step towards independence. >> this is newsday on the bbc. >> a deadline to end the fighting has passed with wid

of the chinese and you know we're western or south korea or germany. you know to bring north here into the. predictable range so what the international community would need to do is to. you know have more creative solutions and finding out things those within north korea to be persuasive rather than just using pressure. you know means you saw this problem which did not work without it and it will not work in the future all right jack see you associate professor at the school of journalism and communication chinese university of hong kong thank you thank you you can read more about north korea's failed rocket launch on our website r.t. dot com and tell us what you think too also waiting there for you. taking from the poor the brightest loan firms seizing on desperate borrowers forcing them to pay astronomically high interest rates and. i just have to wait and see whether there's any explanation for that but certainly it's very interesting to find my name on that list our correspondent discovers that is donia as labeled him a threat to the country he tel

as john just noted, north korea and south korea here. this is the satellite imagery here of the launch pad. we saw in recent days, the reason we knew this launch was imminent, all this activity. all this activity right here near the rocket site was one of the reasons we knew the launch was imminent. now wtn reporting the missile is in the air. this is the question, as john noted, the trajectory is supposed to have the first stage drop off harmlessly, north korea says, in waters here. second stage should drop harmlessly in waters to the north of the philippines. but as you see from these areas here, should it go astray, should the launch go awry, should the technology fail, there are concerns it could hit south korea or japan if it drifted this way. there are concerns if it went majorly off course it could strike land in the philippines. this is the major conversation as you go forward. the question now is will it work? i want to show you this technology. we're talking about this missile. you see from the gentleman standing down here, the

marines based in japan while keeping an eye on north korea and the region. as part of the talks, they are considering holding joint military drills in the west pacific. the officials say u.s. troops and japan's self-defense forces could conduct the drills on one of the northern mariana islanding. the japanese are considering help pay for the new facilities. they agreed to transfer the marines first. three-quarters of u.s. forces stationed in japan are based in the southern prefecture. japanese government officials are studying a u.s. request to raise japan's share of the costs for the transfer to more than $3 billion. >>> japan's trade balance in march went into the red again after february data snapped four straight months of deficits. the finance ministry said in its preliminary report on thursday that japan's trade deficit was about $1 billion last month. this led to a record trade deficit in the fiscal year that ended in march. it hit a historical high of $54 billion. exports are up for the first time in six months. that's nearly a 6% rise from a year ea