the two invasion core course are here into seoul and here into seoul. that is completely industrialized right now. what would happen is what you see -- let me also indicate here, that total population is about 20 million people in this area from camp humphries, which is a u.s. location the town of pyong tech in seoul. this is where the logistics flow into the country and casualties and civilian personnel will be evacuated out. >> in terms of warning, if this is no warning from the north koreans and it's launched, people have 45 seconds -- >> exactly correct. >> before -- >> exactly correct. seoul is within that umbrella. the artillery laing range is about like that. seoul is in the range or these artillery pieces in the north. >> when u.s. personnel go into -- i don't know if you can say that -- actually, a better question is in terms of casualties you're going to have people trying to flee south. >> you are. let me do this. if i go back to this map, if what we just described occurred, those invasion corridors are both ways. when you look at the mountai

again, the two invasion corridors are here into seoul and here into seoul. that is completely industrialized right now. what would happen is, what you see -- let me also indicate here, that total population is about 20 million people in this area from camp humphreys, which is a u.s. location. that's incredibly urbanized. the other thing to point out, these locations are where all the logistics flows into country and casualties and personnel, civilian personnel, will be evacuated out. >> just in terms of warning, if this is no warning from the north koreans and its launch, people have 45 seconds. >> exactly right. seoul is within that umbrella. the artillery range is about like that. seoul is within the range of these artillery pieces that are up here in the north. >> and u.s. personnel, would u.s. personnel go into north korea -- i don't know if you could say that. better question is, just in terms of casualties, you're going to have people trying to flee south. >> you are. let me do this. if i go back to this map, in what we just described occurred, those i

we will be back in seoul injust a moment. the president took office on may ten, one day after the country held a rare presidential by—election caused by the ousting of his conservative predecessor. he has made it clear before today that he wants to avoid war with pyongyang at all costs. he has again made the offer of talks with north korea. 0ur correspondent is listening in. tell us more about this. this is a press conference to mark his first 100 days in office. it started with something like a campaign video. at the moment, he is very much a dressing his domestic constituents. talking about anticorruption constituents. talking about anticorru ption measures and constituents. talking about anticorruption measures and pension reform. when questions,, a lot of thoseissues reform. when questions,, a lot of those issues will be discussed regarding north korea. the tensions seem to have eased in the past few days but it has been a significant week in terms of the stand—off between pyongyang and president trump. moon jae—in

military and the population of seoul itself is hovering at just under ten million people in seoul alone to put that into perspective tokyo has just over nine million people new york city has just over eight and a half million people so seoul is actually one of the most densely populated cities in the entire world so even if north korea chose to lob just one shell over the d.m.z. there would absolutely be mass casualty in the thousands and maloof says that the u.s. must pay closer attention to these conventional methods of warfare rather than the nukes. unless the president decided that things were so critical that he would do a preemptive strike. and that's that's in the kurds it's not ruled out knowing that that artillery is there because i think the most immediate threat would be from from that artillery just north of the d.m.z. so ed mr maloof says that the north has a vast network of under mountain tunnels that can put them within meters of the d.m.z. and that unless carefully monitored this could make the south vulnerable to an invasion of tens of thousands of k.p.a. soldiers so wh

cnn's alexandra field is live in seoul. what's the latest there? >> reporter: alisyn, we know a war of words can lead to a mistake. that's the fear. that's what can cause conflict. north korea doesn't need icbms or nuclear weapons to stage an attack in the region where you have 30,000 u.s. troops posted in south korea, another 50,000 troops posted in japan. these are real concerns for the people living here you've got more than 20 million people in the wider seoul metropolitan area, just 35 miles away from the dmz, where there are weapons along the heavily fortified border. they live under the threat of an attack constantly. some officials in japan have started to talk about what japan can do to decrease deterrent capacity. similar messages here in south korea where the president has outlined ways to do it. you have one opposition party

what is the mood in seoul in general? hello, thank you for having me. it is interesting to hear that report from guam. there are some similarities in south korea. if you showed up, you would not sign in thetect any united states or globally. there is so much attention now to north korea pay the fact that office, wellin my within artillery range -- we are in the northern part of seoul. it has been some a quiet on campus, but there are no drills. we are not being told how to duck and cover. at this point, there is certainly no outward sign. when you talk people, there is nothing close to panic. in fact, as the started to unfold, initially, in my experience, south koreans were not paying any attention at all. this is different than guam. south koreans have in through this over and over and over. people are sort of thick skinned to this sort of threat and tension rising. yesterday and today, people are paying more attention and there is more concerned. host: pegida cronin, what would typically the military be doing at a time like this? we are not seeing out

yogita limaye, bbc news, seoul. in a moment, we'll get the latest from yogita limaye in the south korean capital seoul. but first, to washington and our correspondent jane o'brien. we hear that the us secretary of state has recently landed in guam. what more are we going to be hearing from him there, possibly from the president as well? the most important thing is the clarification of what he made of what the president said, this fire and fury that he was threatening north korea with, saying this was simply a way of talking directly to the north koreans in words they would understand. but more importantly, he clearly does not think that diplomacy has been exhausted. in fa ct, diplomacy has been exhausted. in fact, he said it is working, witnessed by the sanctions imposed unanimously with china at the un at the weekend. the object of those is to bring north korea to talks. he also said he does not think the situation has changed significantly over the last 48 hours because it has been pretty much of a given that nort

the new road will make it easier and faster to get from seoul to the international airport, the home of the fledgling korean air lines. the modest fleet of aircraft has many different airliners. the new road does little, however, to touch the life of the average korean in the field. the thatched-roof, mud-brick house he lives in is much the same as that of his father and his father before him. his slightly more affluent cousin may have one with a tile roof. for most koreans, it is still shoes outside, which leaves the floor clean enough to sit on. and in the winter, the floor is heated by flues, another korean invention going back 1500 years, but this is not surprising in a land where the very old blends with the very new. perhaps the most striking change to come over the face of korea has been the influence of western architecture. in many places, the graceful, traditional curve of the oriental roofline has given way to the clean, efficient, straight-line look of the west, which permits more rapid and more economical construction. major rebuilding began almost immediately after the

dw reports from seoul. ♪ sarah: it is good to have you with us. donald trump today has condemned what he called the evils of racism after the killing of a woman who was protesting against a far right gathering in charlottesville, virginia. trump had faced criticism when he initially did not respond explicitly condemning right-wing extremists. now the u.s. justice department has announced a civil rights investigation into the weekend's deadly violence. reporter: the plane -- the pain is still raw from the mayhem. some here are still afraid. the man any redshirt to fill comfortable showing his face on camera. >> i saw people pull out knives and pistols. it was crazy. it's all ridiculous. now we have loved ones who are getting gone. -- dead and gone. all those are smiling and laughing and where picking up the pieces. reporter: has the people of charlottesville pick up the pieces, others are gathering to denounce racism and hatred into remember this woman. 30-year-old heather heyer was killed when a cargo drove into a group of antiracist protesters. h

yogita limeye, bbc news, seoul. and yogita limaye joins us now from the south korean capital, seoul. togita, we've had a tweet from donald trump saying he has spoken to president moon of south korea and expressing great pleasure at the unanimous vote —— yogita. expressing great pleasure at the unanimous vote -- yogita. that's right. the amount us leaders are speaking about this clearly is an indicator of how nervous this issue is making america. there's president trump's tweeted this morning. the us ambassador to the un, nikki haley, once again sent out a very strong message late last night to north korea saying they're hitting that country where it hurts. and us secretary of state rex tillerson is in manila at the asean meeting and he is trying to get more countries to try to isolate north korea. they're basically trying to put economic and financial pressure on the country so it is forced to stop missile tests. here in south korea the president's office yesterday welcomed the un sanctions. yesterday secretary

we see this sliver of green when it comes to defense stocks in seoul. this shows you some of those movers so far this mov morning. we have this up over 10%. this has served as a barometer of agitation on the korean peninsula on the back foot. this is the nations on the aircraft carrier, but we are seeing other stocks on the climb in seoul in tokyo, rish. events: this is to the from north korea as well as that missile. the united nations security council convening an emergency meeting, coming through. right. let us tell you who did that. that is a tokyo broadcasting service coming out with that. let us just have a look at the southern states of america. texas, particularly. let us get the first word news headlines. here is haslinda amin. haslinda: tropical storm harvey has gathered new strength and is said to drench parts of texas and neighboring states. the full extent of the damage -- the amount of rain measured in feet rather than inches. harvey has crippled the energy hub with a quarter of natural gulf production -- production and refining capacity s

from seoul, robin brant sent this report. first, he threatened fire and fury in north korea, then last night president trump said us forces are locked and loaded. now there's more short—phrase diplomacy as the tension goes even higher. anything happens to guam, there's going to be big, big trouble in north korea. in just a matter of days, the country on the brink of becoming the world's newest nuclear power has threatened to land missiles just a few dozen miles from the us territory in the pacific. good morning, mr president. good morning, good morning, it's great to speak to you... in a call with the island's governor, mr trump had this to say about the regime in pyongyang. this is between you and i, but you don't talk like they talk, you can't do that, you can't do that with people like us. yeah. guam is home to us military bases, a fleet of bombers, and tens of thousands of people — americans who are now being told what to do in the event of a nuclear explosion. meanwhile, diplomacy is going on. in another presidential

what will seoul want from him? are seoul and washington in lockstep in policy towards north korea? they are in lockstep according to military readiness. this has been going back 60 years. general dunford comes here to have meetings, notjust with the president, but also the minister of defence of the country. in terms of the military approach, it is clear that they stand together and are ready for "swift action," which was the phrase we heard over the past few days. there are around 30,000 american troops here and south korea has a standing army half a million troops. south korea are key to protection in the region. they have the controversial thaad anti—missile system. he will also go to china and japan. general dunford comes here as part of a scheduled visit. it is not an emergency visit but nonetheless important. clearly, events in the north and the increase of the rhetoric will dominate. breaking news. security forces in burkina faso have sealed off 0uagadougou afterjihadists open fire ina 0uagadougou afterjihadists open fire in a busy street. reports say a hotel and popular t

—— what will seoul want. your way. what bills yore want from him? -- what will seoul want. they are in lockstep according to military readiness. general dunford comes here to have meetings, not just with the president, but also the minister of defence of the country. in terms of the military approach, it is clear that they stand together and are ready for swift action, which was the phrase we heard over the past few days. there are around 30,000 american troops here in south korea has half a million troops. south korea are key to protection in the region. they have the controversial thaad anti— missile system. he will also go to china and japan. it is not an emergency visit but nonetheless important. clearly, events in the north and the ingress of the rhetoric will dominate. -- increase. thank you. we will speak to a former ambassador of south korea and former adviser to george bush. thank you so much forjoining us on bbc world news. if you were an adviser to president trump, what advice would you give him in the coming weeks and months? i would say cool it. i think this

there live from seoul. hear?re we expecting to rosalind: this feature is expected to take in our, maybe two hours. we have already been hearing some iterations of what we have been hearing this week, denying allegations. he is up for five charges them including bribery and embezzlement. -- five charges, including bribery and embezzlement. he faces jail time. indication of the mood that has been around in the last few months. there have been wide implications because of the geun-hye, sof park this case has widespread implications. the polls are somewhat divided. 34.8% think a 12 year prison sentence is too light. is proper and others too heavy. there are those who are saying that corruption and bribery should be punch in -- punished with the heaviest possible sentences. in the coming hours, we will be hearing a lot more coming out of the courtroom. manus: what are the wider implications? we have seen some previous examples of where executives have been found guilty of wrongdoing in south korea. they eventually ret

and seoul. seoul, south korea has more than 25 million people in the metropolitan area. it is very, very close. seoul is very close to the border and the demille tar iced zone. and this is more than half the population of south korea. juan certificate atake is nbc's senior national security analyst. he's also former deputy national security advisor under president zwrorj w. bush and the chairman of the financial integrity network. goot to see you. thanks so much for being with us. >> great to see you again. thank you. >> u made the point i believe earlier i heard you on msnbc saying don't worry about what the plan is, that the u.s. has had a plan which constantly evolves with respect to the various levels of military threat that could come from north korea for a long time. is that true? >> that's right. i mean, you have the pacific command which has control over the area of responsibility here, especially with north korea. and certainly the u.s. military has been thinking about these possibilities, unfortunately, for a long time. it goes without saying there is no good m

alexandra field in seoul. >> we have no margin for error here. let's bring in air force kernel cedrick leighton live skyped from san antonio. >> your reaction to the raised temperature here. has the president drawn a red line here? is there a risk that the u.s. isn't prepared to meet that red line? >> i think, christine, that there is a very big risk, that we have drawn a red line without necessarily intending to draw the red line or having the strategy to deal with that. whenever you do something like this, it becomes very important to have a way in which you cannot only send the message but also have the force to back up that message. i think that was lacking in the president's remarks and in the preparation that's been going on to potentially counter a north korean threat. >> this is a good example of how that sort of rhetoric the president used yesterday can be taken out of context and military matters can get out of control very quickly. the b-1 bombers that the u.s. sent over, they had been sent there earlier in the week. when the u.s. was

artillery raids may kill over one hundred thousand in and around seoul alone but what kind of specific north korean threat have we been mostly hearing about from the folks on t.v. the dramatic escalation in tensions with north korea overnight the regime divide by president trump with a new threat against the u.s. territory of guam chilling new warning comes as the rogue nation threatens to strike guam home to thousands of u.s. service members this is a regime that's trying to not only establish its power but demonstrate its power everyone splaying the talent kim's missile range game even if it is capable of reaching the u.s. and in the pacific how realistic is the threat of a successful launch a launch that would dog america's. worst . if you are us citizen on the coast of no doubt you're still pretty stressed but hey say that to south koreans from somewhere near seoul they'll be the first to get zapped if mr trump pulls the trigger gregory illich a member of the solidarity committee for democracy and peace in korea believes seoul should distance itself from washington's warmongering.

>> paula hancocks live for us in seoul. thanks. >>> this morning, china is threatening to retaliate now that president trump's chief negotiator has been asked to discover whether an investigation of beijing's trade practices is needed. it could lead the president to impose tariffs on chinese imports. the administration turning the screws on china in order to get more cooperation, perhaps, on the north korea kriecrisis. we'll bring in cnn's david mckenzie live from hong kong. this was a big campaign promise from the president. day one he said he was going to hold china to account for what he said are unfair trade practices and stealing from the economy. what's the view from the chinese? >> the chinese have said they're expressing grave concern about the moves. they are deliberate moves, it has to be said. even if they do decide in the u.s. to investigate formally chinese practices, particularly the alleged stealing of intellectual property rights, amongst u.s. companies that are working in china by the chinese, it will take

earlier i asked analyst james rooney in seoul. unfortunately there never isa in seoul. unfortunately there never is a good time for companies to experience strikes. for hyundai, this is one of the rights of summer. for the past 30 years or so they have had this midsummer strike around wage negotiations and almost it would seem like a shame if it wasn't happening. however, it's not a good time for them to be demanding significant wage increases. were talking about the order of 7% here, very significant relevant to how inflation is today. surely this will have an impact on the bottom line of hyundai going forward and the new president of south korea, james comey has been focusing onjob creation and wage increases. will this have an impact on negotiations? i think the political environment with the new leadership certainly is more favourable towards management, and for various reasons, i'm sure we are all aware of, the leadership are under pressure after the scandal with park. unfortunately for hyundai that political environment includes the whole missile issue that china

robin brant, bbc news, seoul. a man's been arrested on suspicion of murdering a mother and daughter at a house in north london. the women — who were 66 and 33 — were stabbed at a property in golders green last night. a 27—year—old man is in police custody. a man arrested on suspicion of pushing a woman into the path of an oncoming bus on a bridge in west london has been eliminated from the investigation. eric bellquist was arrested on thursday but his lawyer said there was "irrefutable proof" he was in the us at the time. the metropolitan police say he'll face no further action. the jogger is still being sought by officers. kenya's opposition has accused the government of "state terror" and of killing its supporters following the disputed re—election of president uhuru kenyatta. the country's human rights office says 2a people have died during protests, but there are claims the figure is much higher. opposition leaders appealed for calm but said they did not recognise the outcome of the election. from na

alexander field joins us live from seoul with some perspective on that. clearly, this one intelligence agency's determination that they have developed a nuclear war head, that make this is more dangerous. why are we so concerned at this point? >> lock, as youen point out here, north korea typically makes belligerent and bellicose pronouncements, these widespread threats that are meant to inspire fear around the world and right here in south korea. a lot of times there's minimal reaction because they are so used to hearing the constant threats being repeated from the north. what makes this different? you have to look at a the content of what we've been seeing in recent days and weeks. they have shown they have made significant strides when it comes to their nuclear ambitions. not just the miniaturized weapon that could be fitted to an icbm, but they were able to reliablely test two icbms last month. not all the pieces have lined up, but they have shown they can it test them. it's believed they have this war head. there's the marrying together of the parts

paula hancocks live in seoul with the latest. these are not typical in terms of how they will appear, correct? >> reporter: well, these particular military drills are very different to what we see in the springtime between the u.s. and south korea. there you have thousands of troops landing on south korean beaches. you have massive live-fire drills which are extremely dramatic, very dramatic pictures that north korea is provoked by. this time the ones in the autumn, in the fall, are a computer simulation. you have, according to the u.s. military, around about 17,500 u.s. troops involved alongside south korean soldiers, alongside soldiers from seven other countries of the u.n. command, as well. according to the u.s. secretary of defense james mattis, effectively soldiers sitting over a computer. so we're not going to see those dramatic pictures that we often do with these military drills. now of course north korea is still reacting to them. they have said, as you said, that they think it's reckless behavior. it's pushing the penin

what to do with someone with nuclear weapons 20 miles from seoul? i certainly don't know. >> that cross-party criticism is clearly justified, and lo and behold, that's where we are today. but to describe the north korean leader in positive terms, yes, he has to deal with competition at home. he kills rivals with anti-aircraft weapons in soccer stadiums. that's a fact. he killed another half brother with a chemical weapon in the kuala lumpur airport. to say that to america is a very big statement to make. >> she said, i -- john mccain said, i take exception to the president's comments because you've got to walk softly or carry a very big stick. >>> the president's threat no north korea as kim jong-un appears to have reached a nuclear milestone. >> north korea best not make any more threats to the united states. they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. fl[ gasps, laughs ]c, progressive gives you options based on your budget. you ever feel like... cliché foil characters scheming against a top insurer for no reason? nah. so, w

yang in seoul somewhat agreeing with each other the u.s. should first show through actions if they wish to ease tensions on the korean peninsula and prevent a dangerous military clash. a government will put everything on the line to prevent another war on the korean peninsula and when it comes to the question of whether or not the united states wants to resolve the korean nuclear issue peacefully seoul says that it is on the same team as washington the south korean government and the u.s. government don't have a different position on the peaceful resolution of the crisis in south korea really be sure given that it's rather unclear what exactly trump really wants this is the core as there is no policy. this is because trump doesn't sit down with his cabinet and say ok let's strategize. for the contingencies that we've guy and then once we've got this this policy then we always hear that policy and our public our public statements reflect that that doesn't go on i mean the president makes his statement and he doesn't consult anybody does more

we're live in seoul ahead. your big idea... will people know it means they'll get the lowest price guaranteed on our rooms by booking direct on choicehotels.com? hey! badda book. badda boom! mr. badda book. badda boom! book now at choicehotels.com you won't see these folks they have businesses to run. they have passions to pursue. how do they avoid trips to the post office? stamps.com mail letters, ship packages, all the services of the post office right on your computer. get a 4 week trial, plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. >>> america's top general, joint chiefs joe dunford in seoul for talks with president moon jae-in. we expect to hear from him in the next hour. he says he's committed to making sure president trump has a viable military option to combat the nuclear crisis in north korea but wants to make sure diplomacy gets a chance. cnn has learned american diplomats have been in touch with their counterparts since at least

as we have been hearing they are prepared, seoul of course is prepared, seoul of course is prepared too. what's the situation like today there? yesterday was a national holiday, liberation day, and we heard from south korea's relatively newly elect the president and his message is a far more conciliatory one than recent predecessors and he spoke yesterday about trying to expand south korea's diplomatic efforts to finally bring peace to the korean peninsula. as rupert was reflecting, this decision from kim jong—un gives space at the moment but i think the most informed view is that it is brief and possibly temporary and it is now up to the us, maybe china and maybe north korea to think about what they wa nt to north korea to think about what they want to do next. it appears kim jong—un is holding back from the threat of a launch of missiles. rex tillerson has mentioned again that the us is interested in diplomatic efforts, but the key thing now is what happens next week when we have this annual military exercises between south korea and the us. they are between south korea and the us

our correspondent robin brant is in seoul. the us top military adviser is there to have talks today? yes. joseph dunford to have talks today? yes. joseph du nford flew to have talks today? yes. joseph dunford flew into south korea yesterday. he meets with president moon and the south korean defence minister. this is a scheduled visit. he is also going to japan and china. but it will turn to be dominated by the rising tension on the korean peninsula. he comes here as an important official in the current administration, who say they do not see any imminent prospect of a war, a nuclear war, between north korea and the united states. that is the assessment of the cae director. but he did say he would be surprised if north korea didn't attempt to test more missiles. —— cia. they were, of course, to tests injuly. it is liberation day tomorrow, the 15th, in north korea. often these days a use by kim jong—un to in north korea. often these days a use by kimjong—un to make in north korea. often these days a use by kim jong—un

yogita limaye has the latest from south korea's capital, seoul. well, what north korea has done is now given the details of this attack that it now given the details of this attack thatitis now given the details of this attack that it is planning on guam. yesterday it said it was carefully examining this plan and said it would present it to kim jong—un. todayit would present it to kim jong—un. today it said this plan involves firing for rockets, which will fly overjapan, and land in the seas near guam overjapan, and land in the seas nearguam and overjapan, and land in the seas near guam and they plan to present this plan to kim jong—un near guam and they plan to present this plan to kimjong—un by mid august and then it will depend on when he gives the go—ahead for them to execute the plan. you know, also in this statement what they say about president trump, that he is a man arrest of reason and only absolute force can work with him. yesterday there was a mass rally in north korea which the government says was to support the leadership.

let's get reaction from seoul, robin brant easierfor us. jim let's get reaction from seoul, robin brant easier for us. jim matthes also saying that diplomatic efforts we re also saying that diplomatic efforts were yielding results, and also seoul would be very keen for diplomatic diplomacy to work, to weave some kind of resolution in this war of words —— mattis. weave some kind of resolution in this war of words -- mattis. yes, the people living in this city who have lived with the prospect, even the potential of a military conflict with neighbours in the north for a long time, perhaps those who more than anyone else in the world want to see this rhetoric toned down and wa nt to to see this rhetoric toned down and want to see the prospect of a lasting peace between south korea and north korea. it is interesting — much talk yesterday here from government officials reflecting the sentiment expressed on the us military site about preparing this. they are ready to act if pyongyang decides to do anything in terms of any kind of physical at

generaljoseph dunford is in seoul to meet president moonjae—in and south korea's defence minister. afterwards, he will go on to china and japan. the bbc‘s richard galpin reports. on the pacific island of guam, people turned out in large numbers on sunday to pray for peace. they are now potentially in the firing line, as the stand—off between the united states and north korea continues. pyongyang has threatened to fire missiles toward this island, which is home to major us military bases. we are here to pray for the leaders of those countries to be able to remain calm, and to think about the people, and the lives of the people that we have here. in japan, anti—aircraft systems were deployed at the weekend to shoot down any north korean missiles aimed at guam. this area of southern japan would lie on the flight path. this is the most serious crisis in the region since the end of the korean war, in the 1950s, according to some military experts. there is a real risk, by miscalculation probably more than anything else, and by rather unbalanced rhetoric, of something happening that

our report from seoul. thank you. >>> now with president trump and kim jong-un trading insults and threats, reaction among asian nations has been mixed. the governor of guam stressing the importance of remaining calm despite being targeted by the north korean regime. >> this is not a time to panic. these are -- many statements are being made out there by a bellicose leader. but at this point, there's been no change in the security situation in guam. >> we want to bring in cnn's reporter live for us in tokyo. the president's words very, very harsh. we are accustomed to hearing harsh words coming from north korea. the president's words must have come as a bit of a shock all around. >> reporter: absolutely. people in japan completely accustomed to decades of bellicose language coming from north korea. startled by the language coming out of the united states right now. and now a mixed reaction across the region. you see the governor of guam saying no reason to panic, and they are not changing the threat level i

people in the metro seoul area. they would be the first casualty of any war. and, remember, they face the possibility of conventional war for a very long time. 10,000 artillery tubes are pointed at this city from north korea. but there is a new reality. not just that u.s. intelligence assessment that puts them in the nuclear crosshairs, if you like. they now know there is a nuclear neighbor to the north. but also president trump's rhetoric. they are used here to fire a rhetoric from pyongyang. not used to this rhetoric from a president of the united states. they never heard anything like this. there are mixed messages coming to seoul. what did donald trump mean exactly? you know, what kind of red line is he drawing here? what constitutes a threat for donald trump? or do you listen to the words of rex tillerson, a much cooler head praised this week by the chinese for being courageous and saying to north korea, we don't seek war. we don't seek regime change. so, there is confusion here. more optistic south korean anal

our correspondent robin brant is in seoul. bring us up to detail on what the latest is and what we're hearing on the legitimacy, they say, of their nuclear programme. well, these are fairly mild words which have emerged in north korean state—run news agencies, a statement which describes what they say is a legitimate self—defence, referring to their nuclear possessions, against what they say are the threats and the vigor of the united states. so stating that kind of military concept that lots of nuclear states do, essentially having these weapons act as a deterrent against other nations using them. so that is the words we have this morning. i think perhaps tomorrow, on 15 august, which is liberation day in north korea, we may expect some more of the rhetoric, perhaps more of the bellicose language we have heard emerging from kim jong—un, bellicose language we have heard emerging from kimjong—un, who is north korea's leader. tomorrow is one of those days when offered a statement is made or some kind of show of strength.

reporter: north korean missiles could reach seoul in a matter of minutes. arrangements are in place to protect the city and its 10 million inhabitants. in the event of a strike, the subway system would serve as a bunker. instructions on how to use gas masks are broadcast in the stations. ♪ the people seoul are constantly reminded of the looming threat from pyongyang. in one of the city student quarters, they have found a serving inexpensive rice wine. they are unconcerned about the recent escalation of rhetoric from their northern neighbor. >> to be honest, i never even think about it. the north will keep threatening us but i don't think they will actually attack. i am not worried about it. reporter: despite the threats coming from the north, these young south koreans are not scared of the dictator across the border. brent: tonight, russian investigators have detained a top theater director and are charging him with embezzlement. he is the artistic director known for popular productions critical of russia. these pictures are from may when he was briefly t

david. >> jim avila tonight, reporting from seoul. hank you. >>> tin the mm,iddljie of the tensions with north korea, president trump is now lashing out at one of the most powerful republicans in washington. senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell. it comes after what mcconnell said after the failure to repeal and replace obamacare. mcconnell said the president was new to this line of work and his expectations were excessive. the president did not like that, and abc's mary bruce tonight. >> reporter: the blame game started when mitch mcconnell said this about the president -- >> our new president has not been in the line of work before, and i think had excessive expectations. >> reporter: for more than 24 hours, the president has been firing back, delivering this salvo today. >> i have been hearing repeal and replace now for seven years. all i hear is repeal and replace. and then i get there and i said, where's the bill, i want to sign it, first day. and they don't have it. >> reporter: with republicans in control of congress and the

with its neighbor, anna cornyn joins me from seoul. this has been the strategy of president moon since he was elected and the south koreans are hanging on to that. >> reporter: it's incredible. south koreans have been living with this threat for decades. since president moon came in power this year, he has opened the doors for dialogue with north korea. obviously, they haven't taken him up on that offer, but he has persisted. interestingly, there has been a political shift in the climate here in south korea since north korea successfully tested the icbm at the end of last month. that's when president moon resersed the decision to sus spent the missile defense system. there's always been a call by political conservative politicians in this country for the re-introduction for the tactical nuclear wp, which was in south korea in the 1990s. while south koreans are calm, cool and measured, when it comes to threats from north korea, as far as the government is concerned and the president is concerned, they are aware they need to beef up thei

yogita limaye there in seoul, thank you very much. nearly two months after the grenfell tower fire, public donations aren't reaching survivors quickly enough. figures from the charity commission show that less than 15% of the money raised has so far been distributed, although it says that the early difficulties in identifying and contacting people who need help are now being overcome. frankie mccamley reports. the response to the fire at grenfell tower was unprecedented. close, food and money was donated from all over the world, but with so many organisations collecting funds, the charity commission stepped in to help coordinate efforts, with some of the biggest charities. but two months on, figures from the commission shall only £2.5 million of the £80 million collected has been distributed to those affected. this whole country and beyond has donated a large and of money to all the victims of grenfell tower, yet on the ground there is nothing, these people are not getting the revenue. grants were announced for residents including Â