south korea's president lee myung-bak visited the islands on august 10th. >>> south korea's red cross says it will give $100,000 in aid to north korea. thousands in the country are reportedly suffering after recent heavy rain and floods. the funds are for tents, food and sanitation. north korean state-run media say heavy rain from june to july caused floods in many parts of the nation. they say 169 people died and 400 are missing. downpours have been affecting pyongyang and other areas since last week. south korean government officials say they've yet to decide on aid to the north. they say they are confirming the extent of flood damage. >>> people across japan were glued to their tv during the london olympics. the country had its most successful games with 38 medals, including seven golds. now the medalists are home and they paraded through tokyo's ginsa district to show their appreciation for their supporters. nhk world's susuma kojima was there. >> reporter: crowds of shoppers flock to ginsa every day to check out the latest in luxury. a different type of crowd packed the streets t

foreign exchange agreements with south korea. at a news conference on friday, he officially announced he would postpone his planned visit to south korea later this month. he was to hold talks with his south korean counterpart. >> translator: the south korean president's recent moves are very disrespectful, and the japanese people are deeply offended. >> azumi then said he has to take all matters into consideration whether discussing an expansion of a foreign exchange arrangement. a currency agreement was set up between the japanese and south korean governments back in 2005. the most recent arrangements were expanded last year to prevent a fall in the south korean currency. it was made between the leaders of the two countries. azumi's comment indicates that the expanded portion of the foreign currency swap could end before it expires at the end of october. a professor that's an expert on korean affairs at the university of tokyo spoke with sherri ann. >> japan has not appealed to the international court of justice since a treaty t

japan and south korea for years. i spoke with him a little earlier. i started by asking him about the timing of noda's remarks. >> i think noda felt he had to go on record and explain his position in his own words to take a firm stance. japanese government officials feel they have not been as assertive as their south korean counterparts. >> what did you think of noda's tone? >> yes, gene, i think the prime minister chose his words carefully. he emphasized his position that he has a responsibility to protect the country. but he said it serves no one to stir up public opinion. he said he would try to resolve of the issues through diplomacy. >> what factors led to such a rapid deterioration? >> elections are looming in both countries actually. president lee myung-bak does not have to face voters himself. his term expires in february. by law, he cannot seek another term. still, he wants to hold onto power for his party. we should point out many south koreans still resent japan for its colonial rule. the government in seo

foreign exchange agreements with south korea. at a news conference on friday he announced he would postpone his planned visit to south korea later this month. he was to hold talks with his south korean counterpart. >> translator: south korean president bak's recent moving are very disrespectful. the japanese people are deeply offended. >> azumi said he has to take all matters into consideration when discussing an expansion of a foreign exchange arrangement. a currency arrangement was set up back in 2005. the most recent arrangements were expanded last year to prevent a fall in the south korean currency. the agreement was made between the leaders of the two countries. azumi's comment indicates that the expanded portion of the foreign currency swap could end before it expires at the end of october. a south korean foreign ministry spokesperson has dismissed the proposal to send it to the international court of justice. >> translator: the islands are unekwifl cali our territory. there is no territorial dispute. the proposal is obviou

japan and south korea for years. i spoke with him a little earlier. i started by asking him about the timing of noda's remarks. >> i think noda felt he had to go on record and explain his position in his own words to take a firm stance. japanese government officials feel they have not been as assertive as south korean counterparts. >> what do you feel about noda's tone today. >> yes, gene, i think the prime minister chose his words carefully. he emphasized his position that he has a responsibility to protect the country. but he said it serves no one to stir up public opinion. he said he would try to resolve of the issues through diplomacy. >> what factors led to such a rapid deterioration? >> elections are looming in both countries. president lee myung-bak does not have to face voters himself. his term expires in february. by law he cannot seek another term. still he wants to hold on power for his party. we should point out many south koreans still resent japan for its colonial rule. the government in seoul is oppose

they think are seen a change of attitude in south korea. i think you even seen in places like japan, where the north korean threat is the biggest existential threat in japan today. and while on the one hand japanese are always concerned about the resurgent nationalism in one korea, they see the current situation has been quite dangerous, potentially very unstable. and i think their attitudes are changing on this, too. so when the book we talk about those at the things we to watch because they will predict unification, no one can say exactly when it's going to happen, but the question is are you prepared for a? and that is the operative question for the society and the government in the region nsb for nautilus to talk about it at all. there is more willingness to talk about this now. >> i was like to ask you to close. after kim jong il dies become the ready piece "the new york times" and said north korea as we know it is over. so far we see a fair amount of continuity. i guess the question is, how durable is the impossible state? >> guest: w

south korea has controlled the area since 1954. twice a year, military personnel stage exercises there along with police. they're scheduled to start their next drill in one week. navy destroyers and submarines will take part in the exercises. dozens of marines are scheduled to land by helicopter. touched off a series of complaints on both sides. still south korean foreign affairs says the military should go ahead with the exercises. >>> chinese officials say they're pressing ahead with their investigation into a diplomatic incident on the streets of beijing. chinese foreign ministry officials say several government departments are taking part in the investigation. embassy officials want those involved to be arrested immediately. but they say police have not provided them with any updates on the status of the investigation. embassy staff already submitted photos of the vehicles and one of the men involved to police. the incident occurred on monday. two vehicles forced the car to stop on a beijing highway. a man got out of one of the

the rest comes from south korea and taiwan. so there is little demand for panels made in germany. >> reporter: it's not clear whether the feed in tariff system will survive in germany. the government, industries and consumers need to join hands and address the challenges they face. reporting for nhk world, berlin. >> japan introduced a system similar to germany's in july. experts warn it could face similar problems unless it tailors the rules the match the nation's needs. >>> they project the the possibility of a mega earthquake and tsunami along the pacific coast. more than 320,000 people could be killeden such a disaster. they say preparations could significantly reduce impact. the experts around the scenario under which a 9 class earthquake, strikes in central and western japan. the government panel says tsunami topping 30 meters could hit parts of the pacific coast. in worst scenario, 323,000 people could die. the panel projects a tsunami, up to 34 meters could hit the city in western japan. tourists flock to the cape. but

it has been raining in south korea over the past 24 hours. the rainfall total could reach 400 millimeters as we head into tomorrow. northern japan is expecting to see an additional 100 millimeters or more than 100 millimeters over the next 24 hours. flooding and landslides are highly likely across these regions, and tomorrow, as i said, things will turn a ltle bit drier, but ample moisture will continue to flow in so unstable weather will continue into tomorrow. down towards the south yesterday the tropical storm made landfall in luzon and produced drenching rain and gusty wind. it's upgratded into a severe tropical storm and located over the south china sea. it looks like it will head grudon province. once it makes landfall it will quicy weaken and headed for northern vietnam. in terms of rainfall, about 200 to 250 millimeters is likely to hit the province from tomorrow. so very heavy rain is in the cars here, and winds could exceed 90 kilometers per hour. very stormy conditions are in the forecast from tomorrow. we'll keep you posted on thi

south korea controls the islets and calls them dokdo. no da's letter asks for both sides to settle the dispute peacefully and in accordance with international law. his government wants to bring the issue before the international court of justice. but the south korean government refused to accept the letter. officials there sent it back to japan's foreign ministry by registered mail. no da is planning to talk about the territorial issue later on friday. he's also expected to speak about a group of islands in the east china sea. japan controls the territory and calls it senkaku. china and taiwan claim the islands as their own. >>> the territorial dispute is just one issue creating friction between japan and south korea. lee myung bak's comments about the japanese emperor are causing a stir. the president said emperor akihito should offer a heartfelt apology to koreans who died fighting for independence from japan before he visits south korea. senior south korean official says the japanese government is overreacting. the official argues lee

south korea is prospering. pastor cho says he knows one reason why. >> jesus christ. that is the only answer we can give. you come and try to study the reason of prosperity. you can't find out any reason because we don't have a good politician so far. we don't have great business people. >> and if christianity is a faor in the prosperity of south korea, yoido is a significant contributor. 60 years ago there were about 50,000 christians in south korea. today it's more than 10 million, and almost one in ten were baptized in the yoido full gospel church. for religious and ethics weekly, i'm lucky severson in seoul, south korea. >>> finally, on our calendar this week, muslims celebrate laylat al qadr, or the night of power, when it is believed the first verses of the koran were revealed to the prophet muhammad. on this one day, it is said that prayers hold more power than a thousand months' worth. >>> on august 15th, roman catholics celebrate the feast of the assumption, marking the day they believe mary the mother of jesus was assumed into heaven with her body and soul u

south korea controls the islets which are claimed by japan. they're called takeshima in japan and dokdkdo inouth korea. in the letter noda says japan proposes that the two countries resolve the matter peacefully according to international law. he urged south korea to act cautiously with a broad view of bilateral relations. a south korean government official told nhk that the letter has got the facts wrong. south korean media have reported that the government is not happy with japan calling the territory by its japanese name. asked about south korea's decision to return his letter, noda only said he learned about it in the news and didn't have further knowledge of the matter. japanese foreign minister koichiro gemba called lee myung-bak's recent visit to the islets an illegal landing. >> translator: the visit was extremely regrettable. i would say it was an illegal landing. >> gemba also used the word "illegal" to describe south korea's occupation of the islets. the reference is the strongest expression ever used by the democrat-led government.

icj judges will not accept a trial unless south korea also agrees. but japanese leaders hope to win international support by showing that south korea's claims are groundless. >>> chinese premier and german chance lower merkel met in beijing to discuss the future economic relationship between china and europe pt premier we n and chancellor merkel spoke about buying european bonds so long as it can eval yit risks. wen said economic powers like germany and france must react to solve the debt crisis. there's a strong political will in her region to make the euro a stable kufrncy again. ceos of major german companies joined merkel in beijing, they reportedly signed business deals worth $6 billion. in teheran, countries not allied to any major global power block are meeting at the summit of the nonaliant movement. >> the meeting held every three years is being attended this time by the leaders of more than 100 states around the world. most of them developing nations. the opening address was made by iran's supreme leader ayatollah. he said he t was time for

south korea controls the islets claimed by japan. they're called takeshima in japan and dokdo in south korea. in the letter noda says japan proposes the two countries resolve the matter peacefully according to international law. he urged south korea to act cautiously with the broad view of bilateral relations. a south korean government official told nhk that the letter has got the facts wrong. south korean media reported that the government is not happy with japan calling the territory by its japanese name. asked about south korea's decision to return his letter, noda said he learned about it in the news and didn't have further knowledge of the matter. >>> a controversial u.s. military transport aircraft could arrive in okinawa soon. the top commander of the u.s. marine corps in japan has indicated that the osprey could be sent to okinawa by the middle of next month. the aircrafts are currently at iwakuni base in yamaguchi prefecture, western japan. >> it all depends on when we get the approval of the japanese government. so i would

and a team of girls from south korea climb onto the road. to jihad were first a performance where girls at a dance on a way without a coat and walk with a blindfold she does not know yet that you have to extend the program and perform instead of another girl who will fall break her own. tightrope walking is not a sure it's not there in no illusions and no safety precautions each step could be the last there's a saying here that the rope is a dance in which every step makes you appreciate life itself. just and now we are going to announce the winner. so you go it. takes first prize. for. a team of time because from south to get second prize. the refereeing has been unfair they won because they represent the capital not the children must have all the opportunities next year will take first place. as one no prizes but a teacher still received some money to develop the type. to roll this is where the art was actually. the art has dispersed from south korea throughout. russia and the rest of. failed to attend the festival in his native village be

south korea calls the islets dokdo and claims them. and on a different question, when they were asked about the diet's recent enactment of bills to raise the consumption tax and reform social security, 48% of respondents said they approve. the same proportion expressed disapproval. the support rate for prime minister yoshihiko noda and his cabinet stood at 28%, up one point from last month. the disapproval rate stayed at 56%. >>> people in japan are holding on to their money. consumer spending has almost stalled. the latest gdp figures show growth in the world's third largest economy, but the pace has slowed to a crawl. the cabinet office says april through june quarter growth reached 0.3% or 1.4% in annualized terms. demand was down from the previous quarter. public investment rose by 1.7% helped by reconstruction in areas hit last year by tsunami. government subsidies spurred demand for eco-friendly vehicles. still, personal consumption only edged up 0.1%. corporate capital investment increased by 1.5%, and housing investment was up

south korea refused proposals to take the dispute to court. in 1954 and 1962. >>> british government officials say they will never allow safe passage to a man who is of interest to a number of countries. julian assange is trying to avoid extradition to sweden. the founder of wic -- wikileaks has been holed up in the ecuador embassy in london. he faces arrest if he leaves embassy grounds. people around the world clicked on wikileaks after the site released thousands of secret u.s. documents. authorities in sweden want to question assange over accusations of sexual assault. police in britain arrested him two years ago. the british court ruled he should be extradited to sweden. assange took refuge in ecuador's embassy in june and applied for asylum. >> translator: our country has decided to grant asylum to julian assange. >> foreign minister said ecuadorian leaders believe assange's fears of political persecution are legitimate and his human rights might be violated. his supporters gathered in front of the embassy. they cheered when they heard th

widespread flooding has affected both north korea and south korea and you can see right now we have a front just stalled out across south korea, it's being enhanced by a new tropical depression, which has formed in the yellow sea, and that front is going to be heading up towards the north anyway so more heavy rain to be coming, talking about 200 miters or so in the last 24 hours and if the storm, typhoon bolaven heads up to the yellow sea that could spell disaster. as it is before we get to that st we're looking at a very serious situation with these two typhoons in the western pacific. we have another tropical storm to talk about, let's go to the eastern caribbean sea and talk about tropical storm isaac, which is now just up towards the south of puerto rico. it looks like it's going to head toward hispaniola making

the art is dispersed from south korea throughout. russia and the rest of. fails to attend the festival in his native village because of the marriage of his sister's son a wedding is a major event and. there's no way to miss it. that is how you should walk that you should find a rope with your feet there is no reason you should be looking at your feet. you must look straight ahead. don't come on the first one i'm scared you shouldn't be scared look ahead and stand up go to keep your head up and your back straight. ok ok it's enough enough for the first time next. after the troops victory many now feel the urge to learn tightrope walking despite the summer holidays the school yard is crowded children try out they're skilled at walking along a cable be in a hurry. don't be in a hurry look ahead you shouldn't know you shouldn't be running well usually a training starts from the age of eight a smaller child doesn't have the proper sense of balance well done walking along the road for the first time is the first victory in the south of dagestan. has made up his m

japanese foreign minister gemba said south korea is failing to offer a substantive plan on the issue. they use historic evidence the eyelets belong to japan. they will not elect a trial unless south korea agrees, but japanese voters hope to win international support by showing that south korea's claims are groundless ls. >>> international forces in afghanistan are keeping a nervous watch wonder being their ail rays and enemies. a man in an afghan uniform shot and killed three australian soldiers earlier this week. that's 15 this month. nhk world reports. >> reporter: the latest insider attack happened in uruzgan. among who was the gaven soldier into the national base shot three australian soldiers. the attacker climbed over the fence and fled. >> he turned his weapon on isap soldiers south in gavrnlg. as a result three confirmed to be australian were killed. this incident is under investigation. >> reporter: 45 international troops have died so far this year in what's know as green on blue attacks. the total for 2011 was 35. dempsey visited a couple last week to discuss how to address

people in south korea have kept up their fight. a court ruled last august the government's failure to negotiate compensation with japan violated the constitution and basic human rights. and in december, protesters erected a bronze statue in front of the japanese embassy in seoul, the figure of a girl symbolized comfort women. that same month, the president met noda and urged him to do something about the issue. he says so far he has not see any effort by the noda administration to resolve the dispute. so the president says japan's reluctance to address the comfort women issue prompted him to seek disputed islets in the sea of japan. he made the unprecedented trip accompanied by his culture and environment ministers. the panese government urged him not to go. south korea controls the islets. the japanese say the territory belongs to them. they've launched an official protest. president lee did not mention his visit when he made his speech wednesday in seoul. our reporter asked an expert on japan/korea relations what's behind preside

it could negatively affect japan/south korea relations. nhk surveyed 1,639 people aged 20 or over from friday to sunday. three-fourths said they're worried about the visit's impact. about one-fifth id they are unconcerned. on a different question about the diet's recent enactment of bills to raise the consumption tax and reform social security, 48% of the respondents said they approve. the same proportion expressed disapproval. the support rate for prime minister yoshihiko noda and his cabinet stood at 28%, up 1 point from last month. the disapproval rate stayed at 56%. >> u.s internegianooe cutting 4,000 jobs at his recently acquired subsidiary motorola mobility. that's 20% of all staff at the telecom's equipmentmaker. google officials made the announcement on monday in a document submitted to the u.s. securities and exchange commission. google will also restructure one-third of motorola locations worldwide by closing or merging around 30 facilities. google says the payroll cut is aimed at refocussing the company on more profitable smartp

japanese foreign minister koichiro gemba said south korea has failed to offer substantive proposal to resolve the issue. japanese government officials plan to petition the court in the next few months. they will present what they call evidence proving the islands belong to japan. the court will not review the matter unless south korea agrees to participate. >>> international forces in afghanistan are keeping a nervous watch wondering about their allies and enemies. a man wearing an afghan military uniform shot and killed soldiers this week. it brings the number of attacks to 15 this month. hideki yui reports. >> reporter: the latest insider attack happened on wednesday in afghanistan's southern province of uruzgan. among them appeared to be an afghan soldier and an international soldier who shot three australian soldiers. >> an individual wearing an afghan uniform turned his weapon on soldiers in south afghanistan. as a result, three soldiers confirmed to be australian were killed. this is under investigation. >> reporter: 45 international troops have died so far this year in what hav

they recalled the japanese ambassador to south korea in response to his visit. the ministers are expected to it review economic cooperation with seoul, and they may consider setting up a government office to deal with the issue. >>> the japanese government is expected to give a group of people permission to do something they haven't been allowed to do for years, visit north korea. the people want to inspect what they believe are the remains of their relatives. the group is made up of family members of japanese who died on the korean peninsula before and during world war ii. they've been asking the government for permission to visit north korea to inspect the remains. government officials imposed sanctions against the north in 2006 for its nuclear program and missile tests. they asked the public to refrain from visiting the country. officials from both countries have agreed to hold their first talks in four years and expected to neat in beijing later this month. they will discuss what to do with the remai and other issues. ifhe government gives the go-ahead membe

south kree aa cla-- korea claim the islets. he urged south korea to act cautiously. the south korean government official told nhk that the letter has got the facts wrong. asked about south korea's decision to return the letter noda only said he learned about it in the news. >>> the plane belonging to the top u.s. military officer has been damaged in an attack in afghanistan. our reporter is in bangkok with the details. a daring attack on the largest u.s. air base in afghanistan shows just how delicate the security situation there remains. during the raid late monday night, shrapnel hit the plane used by the chairman of the joint chiefs, general martin dempsey. the general wasn't on board at the time. the taliban has claimed responsibility, but the united states denies the strike was specifically targeting the plane. >> last night two rounds hit bagram air fields. actually they caused damage to a helicopter and c-17 transport airplane of general dempsey. he was already in his room by that time, so he was not affected at all. >> reporter: bagram air base is located nor

the visit by south korea's president was unacceptable. the japanese government is adamant on this issue. >> the noda administration has launched a protest against the visit with south korea's ambassador to japan. it has also ordered its ambassador in seoul to temporarily return to tokyo. lee made the trip as south koreans are getting ready for a presidential election scheduled for december. many have criticized him for how he's handled this territorial issue. they also want him to resolve another ongoing dispute with japan. lee has repeatedly asked prime minister yoshihiko noda to make an agreement over the korean women who were forced to work in brothels for japanese soldiers during world war ii. survivors are demanding official compensation and an apology. the japanese government maintains it settled the issue decades ago. next wednesday marks the 67th anniversary of south korea's independence from japanese rule. political analysts say the occasion has stirred up national sentiment. opposition parties are calling for a stronger stance o

shin had been scheduled to attend a japanese/south korea forum this week. organizers suspend the event after lee myung-bak visited the islands earlier this month. nakamura called the tensions regrettable. he noted the close ties between nagasaki and soulths korea and said he hopes to rebuild them through tourism and cultural xarchlgs. shin said many south koreans visited nagasaki. he agreed such visits could help mend relations. >> this is a difficult period in our ties with japan, but i think it's important to continue promoting friendly relations. >> reporters asked shin about the dispute. he didn't comment. >>> a court ruling sent shares of samsung electronics tumbling on the south korean stock exchange. they were down 8% at one point. samsung's stock price started falling right from the open. it closed 7.4% lower from friday. the decline came after a california court ruled last friday that samsung infringed on apple's patents on the designs of the iphone and ipad. it ared the south korean firm to pay more than $1 billion in damages. south korean market

south korea claims the island, as we have been reporting. on a different question, when they were asked about the recent enactment of bills to raise the consumption tax and reform social security, 48% of respondent said they approve. the same proportion expressed disapproval. the support for prime minister noda and his cabinet stood at 28%, up one point from last month. the disapproval rate stayed at 56%. >>> the world's youngest nation, south sue dan, celebrated last month the first anniversary of its independent. one year on, the country remains in a fragile situation. a report on how it affects the lives of the country's youngest generation. >> reporter: on july 9, 2011, south sudan achieved independence after more than two decades of civil war. the capital was soon a buzz with nation building projects. but the long drawn conflict completely disrupted essential services in infrastructure. the representative of unicef explains the impact on children. >> south sudan has had very, very little development, investment over the past decades, so

the visit by south korea's president was unacceptable. the japanese government is adamant on this issue. >> the noda administration has launched a protest against the visit with south korea's ambassador to japan. it has also ordered its ambassador in seoul to temporarily return to tokyo. lee made the trip as south koreans are getting ready for a presidential election scheduled for december. many have criticized him for how he's handled this territorial issue. they also want him to resolve another ongoing dispute with japan. lee has repeatedly asked prime minister yoshihiko noda to make an agreement over the korean women who were forced to work in brothels for japanese soldiers during world war ii. survivors are demanding official compensation and an apology. the japanese government maintains it settled the issue decades ago. next wednesday marks the 67th anniversary of south korea's independence from japanese rule. political analysts say the occasion has stirred up national sentiment. opposition parties are calling for a stronger stance o

the islands belong to south korea from a historical standpoint. geography and international law. erecting a monument on the islands is no different than doing so on the korean peninsula. >> he became the first south korean president to visit takashima on the 10th. the government has proposed filing a joint request with south crkorea to peacefully resolve the dispute. >> a presidential election will take lace place in south korea in december. in preparation members of the governing party voted to choose their candidate on sunday. the party is scheduled to hold a national convention on monday to announce the winner. the result will be based o on sunday's vote and opinion polls conducted by the party. a south korean president is elected to a single five-year term with no possibility of seeking reelection. five candidates are in the primary race. they include former party leader. pak is seen as the front-runner. her father saw economic growth in the 1960s and 70s. members of the opposition parties are speaking out against the late president's backgrou

a poll in south korea suggests 85% of the public approved of the trip. 12% disapproved. >>> some south koreans are showing their support by swimming to the islets. about 40 people set out on monday morning from south korea's eastern coast. rock star kym jang-hoo is taking part, along with students from the korea national sport university. they'll take turns swimming legs of the 220 kilometer trip. they'll aim to arrive wednesday on the 67th anniversary of korea's liberation from japan's colonial rule. the swimmers will stream video of their attempt on the internet. >>> an nhk monthly poll suggests a big majority of japanese worry about lee's unprecedented visit to the islets. the respondents said it could negatively affect, japan's south korea relations. nhk surveyed 1,639 people aged 20 or over from friday to sunday. 3/4 said they're worried about the visit's impact. about 1/5 stead they're unconcerned. on a different question about the diet's recent enactment of the bills to raise the consumption tax and reform social security, 48 perz of the respondents said they approved. the same

south korea's biggest company. you may remember us talking about this glaring example here on "outfront." samsung is crushing apple worldwide. they sold 50 million smart phones, double what apple sold. samsung does business in iran selling the galaxy 3, printers, cameras and televisions. it's legal. apple is not allowed to sell anything in iran because of sanctions. this double standard seems to be a-okay as far as the u.s. government's actions are concerned. the u.s. chose not to use its leverage when signing a free trade deal with south korea in 2010. in that deal, korea got access to american markets. the united states did not demand that korean companies choose between doing business in the u.s. or iran. and there's another loophole that congress could close when it comes to u.s. sanctions. did you know that overseas subsidiaries of american companies can do business in iran? sanctions may not be a good idea, they hurt regular people and try to have them halt an alleged nuclear program in iran may never be tota

the government invited foreign k-pop fans to a free tour of south korea. the guests came from asia and the pacific region and europe and the u.s. >> i love k-pop. that is all i listen to. i listen to it all the time. even if we don't understand the language, it is really good music to listen to. i really like it a lot. >> reporter: now the moment these fans will never forget. >> one, two, three! >> reporter: they will soon chat in person to some k-pop stars. the group enjoyed a dreamy day with their favorite stars. they also sampled korea's traditional culture. >> translator: if we promote korea's favorable image to young people, they will stay interested in the country and come back some day. that is why we focus on tourism campaigns in cooperation with k-pop stars. >> reporter: and the beat goes on. k-pop promoters won't rest until they make k-pop a global sensation. anna jung, nhk world, seoul. >>> japanese astronauts is preparing for a zero gravity repair job. he and a u.s. astronaut will go on a 6 1/2 space walk at the end of the month. they will be d

heavy rain moving from north korea into south korea today, been seeing heavy rain here over the last several weeks, which has led to widespread flooding. we're also going to be seeing things looking very unstable for western japan under the influence of this storm. we're going to be seeing some thunderstorms and very quickly changeable weather. the rest of the country stays hot and humid. tokyo getting up to 34 degrs. even temperares up toward the north in and around the mid to upper 30s. all right. let's take a look at our other tropical system, tropical storm isaac just heading into the western caribbean at the moment. it is actually going to be impacting many of the caribbean islands. first the central lesser antilles and it heads toward puerto rico and hispaniola, beyond that heading in toward cuba toward saturday, sunday time. at the moment 72 kilometer an hour wind gusts withhis syst. we're going be seeing some heavy rain with it as well. in the next 48 hours about 150 millimeters plus is not out of the question and of course as the system intensifies, which it is expected to d