welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. every day seems to bring a new chapter in the increasing tensions with north korea. p'yongyang will ramp up production of nuclear weapons material by restarting along a closed reactor. the north korean -- the south korean president ones that north korea is in a crisis that has gone too far. >> this is a war of words. this is escalating every day. north korea has scrapped the armistice that ended the korean war. it has said that its rockets are ready to target america. now, its dictator has increased

the stakes again. imperialists are threatening us with nuclear- weapons, so we will make a building our economy and our nuclear weapons at our top priority. ago, north korea's nuclear reactor was shut down under international pressure by kim jong un's father. now, the young kim says he will restart it. in six months, the site could be building more plutonium and uranium apparently also threatened a pre-emptive strike on america. >> the current crisis has gone too far. nuclear threats are not a game. posturing only results in counter actions and causes instability.

>> instability is exactly what north korea's leader seeks. it means that he can keep this nation isolated. he can spend vast sums on his army to keep the regime in control. he can press america for concessions. tensions are rising. as was evident when the u.s. general commanding forces in south korea visited a cease- fire today. >> a mischaracterization and impulsive decision which causes a kinetic provocation. there are 14,000 tubes of artillery across this line across that farmout range. >> people have grown used to dealing with threats from the north. today, east asia is a region crucial to the economy and there is a real risk of one small incident triggering a

catastrophic situation. ago, the short time american secretary of state wrapped up meetings with the visiting foreign minister of south korea and he had this to say about recent developments. >> we have heard an extraordinary amount of unacceptable rhetoric from the north korean government in the last days. let me be perfectly clear here today. the united states will defend and protect ourselves and our treaty allies, the republic of korea. the foreign minister and i think it is important to stay focused on our shared goal of a peaceful korean peninsula, free of nuclear weapons. >> john kerry there. for more on the rising tensions, i am joined by the former special envoy to the six party

talks with north korea. thank you for coming in. you have worked inside and outside of government for a decade on the north korean issue. how concerned are you? >> very concerned. this is a significant escalation. this speech to the capabilities of what north korea is pursuing. >> every time we have a spike in these tensions. is this more of the same or do you think there could be other intentions from the new leader? >> this is over the top. this is beyond the pale. threatening the u.s. with a pre- emptive nuclear strike. now admitting to a highly enriched program. we knew about it is the first time they have confessed. also reconstituting the plutonium facility. these are major developments. >> what is kim jong un trying to do? northis trying to ensure

korea will be recognized as a nuclear state. that is the intention. >> what is a knock on affect? >> it is profound. north korea retaining its nuclear weapons and what it means for the region. tot it means with respect potential nuclear arms race. for the potential proliferation. it is very significant. >> this is made more complicated by the fact that we we have a new leader in the north, but also in the south who would like to show that she is more robust than her predecessors. >> she has to be more robust than her predecessors. her predecessors were very strong and added with a north in respect to denuclearization. telling north korea you cannot

get away with what you do in 2010 when you took down one of our vessels and shelling anand an island. i think this is what the people of the korea expect and this is what she will do. >> what are the options? you were involved at a time when there seemed to be more progress towards negotiations during the six party talks. what are the next steps? >> first, i think north korea will look at a path of de escalation. they have had this contentious attitude towards the international community. they need to do something. russia,the u.s., all of there are all involved. this insures that north korea understands. this will not be accomplished.

i think that this will have significant consequences. the decision would have to be made in p'yongyang if they want to stay isolated. >> china can have any back channel negotiations with p'yongyang to give them that exit. >> if anyone has the credibility and the ability to do that, it is china. they have the relationship, they have the treaty. in my view, they cannot give up this opportunity. whether this new leader takes the opportunity and except sit and moves forward smartly as something else. >> thank you. given the threats coming out of p'yongyang, it is passed little surprise. north korea voted against the u.n.'s first ever treaty restricting conventional arms sales. they join syria and iran as the only three countries in the world to vote against the new controls.

enforced? be our correspondent has sent us this report. >> the resolution is adopted. came, it wasote overwhelming. the first comprehensive treaty seeking to establish rules for the international arms trade which was carried by a significant majority. it reflected years of painstaking work by government and activist. the treaty supporters hailed it as a major success. >> we have produced a strong text that will fulfil the mandate given to us by the general assembly. we believe that an effective implementation of this treaty will make a real difference for the people of the world. >> it is perhaps surprising that over the years that has been numerous treaties seeking to reduce nuclear arsenals or attempting to limit the spread of nuclear technology.

until now, there has been no internationally recognized treaty governing the sale and transfer of conventional weapons. the scope of this treaty is broad and includes war ships, warplanes, armored vehicles, light tanks, and small arms. three countries stood out against the treaty -- iran, north korea, and syria. the syrian ambassador makes his government's position clear. need of a good treaty which we will mop change later and which will not be used for political exploitation by some states against others. >> how will this perform? clearly, it is not going to stop russia selling arms to the syrian government nor would prevent the opposition supporters abroad from funneling

weapons to them. the new treaty does said an international benchmark governing arms transfers. they hope that there is a significant provision for the agreement to be amended and strengthened over time. quick look at other newsprint on employment has risen to a record high of 12%. with an 90 million people are jobless as the debt crisis continues to hamper economic growth. spain and greece are suffering the most with the highest rates of over 26%. in venezuela, the campaign to replace hugo chavez gets underway on tuesday. candidates have held several events across the country. if you're looking for a challenge, it is hard to match try to understand the human brain but if president obama gets his way, $100 million will

be devoted to doing just that. financing this project, the president said it could be a step towards finding better ways to treat diseases such as alzheimer's and potentially improving the lives of millions. >> there is this enormous mystery waiting to be on lot. the brain initiative will change that by giving scientists the tools they need to get a dynamic picture of the brain in action and better understanding of how we think and how we learn and how we remember. bet knowledge could be, will transformative. >> president obama. introducing him was the director of the national institutes of health. he joins me a short time ago. thank you for joining me, dr. collins. how important is it? >> i think it is the most important life science initiative in a long time. an effort to try to understand

the most complex organ that we know of in the universe, namely the human brain. and to apply that that will lead to insights on how to treat a long list of diseases from autism, schizophrenic, traumatic brain injury. it is a start that is being announced today. this will go on for quite a few years. it will be exciting to take shape and launch an effort that will change our understanding of the brain. >> my understanding was that we had already made a lot progress in understanding the brain. it is extraordinary how much we do understand but this does not necessarily translate into fixing problems. >> you are right about that. we understand some of the language in which the brain conducts his business. we can record from individual brain cells and see when they are firing and take images of the brain and living people and

see some pretty amazing details. we don't really understand the ways in which circuits in the brain create all of the amazing phenomenon that our brains are capable of. from voluntary movement to something like laying down a memory and retrieving it. to do that, we have to ratchet up the technology into a new .ense and more powerful space we can figure out how these are conducting the amazing abilities that they have parent of this is a leap forward into a new and even more powerful place. >> will this new level of mapping provide a new level of treatment? i remember that members of congress are deciding whether to give you $100 million for this road map. they will be asking, what we get out of this?

>> we need to have a dream team of super scientific experts lay out some of the milestones said that we can say what the goals of this project going to be. i do think that we will need to invest in simpler systems to understand the ways in which these circuits operate in a fashion where we can study them carefully. we will take advantage of every moment to see how this applies to human illness. take for example parkin says. we know a new and exciting way to do this is where you put an electrode into a certain part of the brain and that can improve the problems these patients have. we don't know why that works. that would be a great opposite see to have the basic science to connect fairly quickly to a medical benefit. >> the europeans have lost their project. is this about keeping america

competitive? >> i would not saying we are trying to keep up with the europeans. it will be a very synergistic effort parented european effort is to try to build in silicon -- it will be a very synergistic effort. the european effort is to try to build in silicon a model of how the brain works. our job is to figure out how it works. we would argue this is a perfect example of international collaboration. if there are to be benefits, it should benefit everyone on the planet. just like we did on the genome project which i happen to know a little bit about. >> yes, you do. thank you for joining me. you are watching "bbc world is america," still to come -- the world's largest particle accelerator is about to get more. we go inside to take a look.

thethe residents of moscow, metro is a great way to avoid traffic jams and beat the cold. it is also an underground art museum. >> it is the morning shift on the metro. to anotherhis way world. beneath moscow, there are platforms. stations like museums. more than six and a half million journeys are made here every day. it is one of the busiest underground in the world. the metro is the lifeblood of moscow. this is what gets the russian capital moving. certain there is traffic jams and gridlocks above. the only reliable way to get around is out of the ground.

-- reliable way to get around is underground. the metro is my home like every housewife, i like order. that is why if i see anyone dropping litter or vandalizing trains, my heart bleeds. a real is more than just way, it is a time machine. ride the metro and you are back in the u.s.s.r.. joseph stalin built this as a temple of communism. it can get crowded and steffi and if you do not regression, getting around is a challenge. -- it can get crowded and stuffy.

>> mentioned the mining industry in south africa and australia might come to , but you might be surprised that one of the biggest projects in the world is in mongolia. bass deposits of copper, gold, and silver have been found. operations to get the minerals out began last summer but the mine and the profits are already significant. >> i am in the middle of the gobi desert, one of the most isolated places on the planet and i will show you why i am here. can see these green markings on the rock. that shows that this rock contains a lot of copper. i am here because this is one of the biggest developments on the planet. take a look at this.

they have only just opened this . started in august. look at what they have done. look here, the pit has opened up. each of those is the size of a house. they have got these great big digger's going away the side of the help. -- of the hill. this is a huge body of copper, gold, and of silver. they say that it is the size of the island of manhattan. when this is fully operational, it will contribute 1/3 of the gdp of this entire country of mongolia. 1/3 of mongolia's gdp. this man was part of the team that discovered the vast deposit. he is now a vice president of the mine.

which started the exploration, then we started drilling. it was very exciting it got bigger and bigger. >> this is the result. >> these facilities are the result. >> once the goes into full production, the revenues should transform this country forever. >> amazing images. could we be entering into a new realm of physics? yes, say scientists, who are beginning a major upgrade. this is the largest powerful accelerator in the world. our science correspondent had exclusive access to the work in side of the collider and he sent us this report.

deep under the border, researchers have been smashing these harder than before. ast year, they discovered the higgs bolson. now, engineers are preparing to upgrade what is the most powerful accelerator. the tunnels 100 meters. the engineers need bicycles to get around. they are replacing connections that join to the .uperconducting >> you will have to do 10,000 times. to placeeans you have

the one here. >> this should double the power. this means they should have completely new particles. can only explain the behavior of just four% of the universe. what is needed is a new and more complete theory. to learn more, we will have to shrink ourselves down. here in the subatomic realm, a model has predicted the existence of 17 particles. scientists have discovered all .f them scientists believe there are more than previously thought. they hope to discover more of the super particles of the next few years and developed a new, better theory of how the

universe works. the last couple of years have been the most exciting two years as my time is a particle physicist. we don't know what we will find. we could find a whole new realm. >> researchers believe there on the threshold of a new understanding of the universe. one that will transform our view of the cosmos and our place within it. >> extraordinary stuff happening. that brings this to a close. on our constant updates website. you will find our channel number there. much for watching.

two men tomorrow. tomorrow. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, fidelity investments, union bank, and united healthcare. >> music is a universal language, but when i was in an accident, i was worried the health care system spoke a language all its own. with united healthcare, i got health that fit my life -- information on my phone, connection to doctors who get where i'm from, and tools to estimate what my care might cost. so i never miss a beat. >> we're more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. that is health in numbers. united healthcare. >> bbc world news was presented by kcet, los angeles.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: the national rifle association called for arming

and training security officers in every u.s. school. good evening. i'm judy woodruff. >> warner: and i'm margaret warner. on the newshour tonight, we have back-to-back interviews with the author of the n.r.a. proposal and a gun control advocate. >> woodruff: then, as north korea promises to restart its plutonium reactor, we examine the communist nation's nuclear capabilities. >> warner: we talk to former maine senator olympia snowe about the future of the republican party and the partisan gridlock that prompted her to retire from congress. >> woodruff: we update the atlanta school cheating scandal, as indicted educators begin turning themselves in at the county jail. >> warner: and poet gerald stern reflects on his working class upbringing and 70 years of writing verse in a conversation with jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by bp. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.