kanako sachno, nhk world, nikko. >>> here is a quick look at the weather. ♪ ♪ >>> that's all we have for now on nhk "newsline." thank you for watching and have a good day. host: this week, global 3000 heads to mumbai in india. the megacity is expanding at an uncontrolled rate. will that be the end of mangrove forests and the flamingos? in egypt, the police force seems to operate according to its own rule, leaving many citizens traumatized. but first, a rare glimpse into life in north korea. more and more people are successfully escaping the world's most isolated country. we hear one young woman's story. it's been almost 70 years since the korean peninsula was split in half. since then, north korea has been ruled by a communist dictatorship. life in the two countries could

i'm kanako sachno. >>> japan and south korea have signed an agreement aimed at improving their response on threats from north korea. the pact is expected to speed up the sharing of information. officials from japan and south korea signed the general security and military information agreement on wednesday. japan has similar pacts in place with the united states and india. the deal strengthens cooperation between the two countries against the backdrop of repeated nuclear and ballistic missile tests by north korea. previously information on pyongyang's activities was channelled through the u.s. japanese foreign minister fumio kishida called the pact extremely meaningful. >> translator: i hope this agreement will enable ththe japanese and south korean governments to share security-relatated information more quickly and smoothly. >> officials witith the south korean defense ministry said they expect the deal to enhance their surveillance capabilities and response to provocations from the north. it faced resistance from opposition lawmakers in south korea. they claim the government forced th

i'm kanako sachno. a south korean court will decide whether to issue a warrant for arrest. it's expected to make a decision later on thursday. prosecutors asked the court in seoul to issue a warrant on choi soon-sil. she's been a close friend of president park geun-hye for 40 years. conspired with former presidential aide to pressure companies to donate large sums of money to two foundations. the presidential office was indirectly involved in setting up the organizations. prosecutors detained aung late wednesday night. park appointed kim byong-jojoon over the scandal. kim told a news conference on thursday afternoon it's possible park will be investigated. the south korean constitution does not allow a authorities to press criminal charges against a sitting president. the only exception is for rebellion. earlier james tengan talked with nhk's senior correspondent. he's been covering the korean peninsula for years. >> kengo, how are they reporting it in south korea? >> well, every news program in the country seems totally occupied by this scandal. the press coverage is heati