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

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

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

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

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. 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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

there has been no response to seoul's offer from north korea so far. and no indication that these missile tests will stop any time soon. yogita limaye, bbc news, seoul. we can speak to our washington correspondent, jane o'brien. president trump said in his presidency pyongyang would not be able to develop the sort of weapons it now seems that they are. yes, and his military generals have said that this is an unacceptable option for president trump, which is why washington and the rest of the world has been having his fire and fury comments. since then, we have had clarification from rex tillerson, who landed in guam as a refuelling stop. he said that the president was right to make those comments because he was talking in language which the north koreans could understand, that diplomatic language wasn't getting through, and he was simply pointing out the us‘s unquestionable ability to defend itself and its allies. more importantly, i think, to defend itself and its allies. more importantly, ithink, he to defend itself and its allies. more importantly

yogita limaye, bbc news, seoul. 0ur correspondent robin brant is in seoul. some of the papers here are full of maps of the potential damage that north korea might be able to do if it can nuclear rise weapons and fire them across. it says the american west coast is in the cross hairs. you are sitting right in a country that has been living with this fear for decades. you're right. for a long time, the 10 million people of this city and the people of this country have faced the threat of a military confrontation with the regime in the north. more recently, the rhetoric has escalated and so has the threat of a nuclear confrontation with the north. but as you heard in that report, its a drizzly thursday evening in seoul. it has just drizzly thursday evening in seoul. it hasjust gone drizzly thursday evening in seoul. it has just gone seven o'clock at night. people have left work and are having dinner and it is pretty normal here. people are used to the rhetoric and the preparations. if you look at the tone of what we have heard from military representatives here

yogita limeye, bbc news, seoul. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: the veteran war crimes prosecutor carla del ponte says she is leaving the united nations commission of inquiry on syria. ms del ponte accused the un security council of making herjob impossible. she said it was doing nothing, which meant she had no power. she described her role as just an alibi. officials in afghanistan say insurgents have attacked a village in the northern province of sar—e pul, killing 50 people. they were mostly members of the mainly—shia hazara community. the taliban said they had killed 28 local militia, but denied responsibility for any civilian deaths. at least 11 people have been killed in a gun attack on a church in nigeria. police said a lone gunman burst in during sunday mass at the church near the south—eastern city of onitsha. some witnesses said five masked attackers were involved. the british army is helping to fight poachers who are threatening the existence of one species of african

yogita limaye, bbc news, seoul. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. officials in afghanistan say insurgent have attacked a village in the northern province of sar—e—pul, killing as many as 50 people. the office of the provincial governor says the fighters initially attacked a local police checkpoint, before entering the village and shooting dead civilians. they were mostly members of the mainly—shia hazara community. the taliban said they'd killed 28 local militia but denied responsibility for any civilian deaths. the qatari news network aljazeera is to be barred from israel. israeli communications minister, ayoub kara, says he'll revoke its press credentials, close itsjerusalem bureau and stop broadcasts in israel. he's accusing aljazeera of supporting terrorism and inciting violence against israel. a government—backed investigation in myanmar has rejected allegations that its military committed atrocities during a crackdown on rohingya muslims last year. it accused the united nations of making exaggerated claims. the un had argued that viole

yogita limaye, bbc news, seoul. is day three of the world athletics championship sand while events like the heptathlon and marathon have entertained the fans so far today many are still trying to recover from the shock of usain bolt‘s defeat last night in the men's100 metres. in his last solo competitive race usain bolt finished behind justin gatlin, the american sprinter, who has been banned twice for drugs. gatling was booed by the crowd in the london stadium. dan roan was there. with the night sky crackling with excitement the fireworks give a sense of what was to come. lapping up the adulation for one last time in an individual final usain bolt knew his build—up had been perfect, beaten in a semifinal by young american christian coleman. his stats also had been shaky. commentator: bolt gets a good start. coleman is leading. bolt will chase him hard but he will not catch him. coleman still has the lead and justin gatlin wins. with coleman second usain bolt was pushed into bronze, the disbelief spreading aroun

live now to our correspondent, yogita lamaye in seoul. with the united states warning north korea that its actions could mean the end of this regime, incredibly provocative words there. we understand south korea will be holding an emergency meeting. any sense of what they might be looking to do at that? we just heard from a military spokesman here in seoul a short while back. today they sent out a strong message to north korea. they have said this is a threat, the threat coming from pyongyang is a challenge to thejoint threat coming from pyongyang is a challenge to the joint forces of the united states and south korea, and if north korea conducts any provocation and defies this stern warning, there will be a strong response from the joint forces of the us and south korea. the later today there will be the smashed —— national security council meeting. it must be noted, every time it is an unusual meeting or an emergency meeting, like when a meeting was held after the last missile test on 28july, the held after the last missile test on

seoul is, what, 30 miles away or tension. seoul is, what, 30 miles away 01’ s0 tension. seoul is, what, 30 miles away or so from the border with the north? i mean, you have said it is a second or third tier priority for many people. it is quite close. what do people talk about when they talk about what is going on in north korea? how differently do they see their lives? there is... there is a sort of, i guess... i guess people, i would say, have adapted to it. it is not a new situation. this has been going on for many, many years. ever since the armistice in 1953, it is absolutely something koreans have been living with for more than 60 yea rs been living with for more than 60 years now. so it is not something that they are actively worried about. it is there in the background, it is something... you know, it surely adds a level of stress and concern to daily life, but it is there in the background. it is not something that people are talking about everyday of the week. good to hear that you are not too worried at all. thanks very much, peter. 0ur worried at all. thanks

yogita limeye, bbc news, seoul. our other top story this hour: venezuelan authorities say they've foiled an attack on an army base in the country's third largest city, valencia. president nicolas maduro congratulated the army for stopping it. this video released on social media appeared to show a group of men in military uniform saying they were launching an uprising to restore democracy in the country. also this hour: officials in afghanistan say insurgents have attacked a village in the northern province of sarepul, killing 50 people. they were mostly members of the mainly—shia hazara community. the taliban said they'd killed 28 local militia but denied responsibility for any civilian deaths. israel say it will ban journalists from the aljazeera network and close the broadcaster's office injerusalem. the israeli communications minister has said he plans to revoke the press credentials of aljazeera's television journalists and pull its broadcasts from local channels. aljazeera says its correspondents were barred

yogita limaye, bbc news, seoul. a man has died and another has been found clinging to a buoy after a boat sank in the english channel early this morning. the coast guard has suspended a search for two other men who are still missing. the vessel went down near shoreham in west sussex. our correspondent simonjones has been following developments there. a short time ago we saw the lifeboat return to the lifeboat station at shoreham as that search has been suspended. what we know is it was around 6am this morning just after dawn that a passing fishing boat spotted a man in the water, apparently clinging to a buoy, who is 45 years old, from london but we are told originally romania was his home country. he was brought back to the shore and he was able to tell the emergency services that three of his colleagues were missing, that the boat he was on had gone down. we are unclear why it sank but that will be part of the investigation. a huge search was launched involving a lifeboat from here and another from just along the

and later in the programme, we will be getting response from those in seoul. president trump has also been commenting on the escalating political crisis in venezuela. speaking alongside his secretary of state, rex tillerson, mr trump said he was ready to take a tough stance. we have many options for venezuela. and, by the way, i'm not going to rule out a military option. we have many options for venezuela. this is our neighbour. this is...you know, we're all over the world, and we have troops all over the world, in places that are very, very far away. venezuela is not very far away, and the people are suffering, and they‘ re dying. we have many options for venezuela, including a possible military action if necessary. reporter: that would be a us—led military operation? we don't talk about it, but a military operation and military option is certainly something that we could pursue. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. at least 37 people have been killed in egypt in a collision involving two passenger trains. more than 120 others w

robin brant, bbc news, seoul. the pakistani politician, imran khan, says the situation between india and pakistan is "the worst it's ever been". speaking exclusively to the bbc as the two countries commemorate 70 years of partition, pakistan's opposition leader criticises india's prime minister, narendra modi, for his association with hindu extremists, and for letting down muslims in india. india has a prime minister who has not risen above what we... his communal thinking, his association with hindu extremists, his background, where there was this massacre, in gujarat, of muslims, when he was the chief minister. somehow we expected that when narendra modi would became —— become the prime minister he would rise above this, but i have to say we are all so disappointed because narendra modi has notjust disappointed pakistanis, he's disappointed muslims in india, he's disppointed all the liberal section in india which — which enjoyed the fact that india had this multicultural society. he's taken india to a soci

robin brant, bbc news, seoul. seven members of the white helmets in syria, the emergency service in rebel areas, have been buried after they were shot dead at one of their centres. the attack happened in the early hours of saturday in the town of sarmin, 9km east of the city of idlib. their bodies were discovered when volunteers arrived to start a shift. sebastian usher reports. the white helmets have lost many of their rescue workers in bomb blasts and gunfire, but this is the first time so many have been killed in cold blood. they were shot in the head as they worked the night shift. as the seven were being buried in the fields outside sarmin, a host of tributes were being paid to them online. the head of the white helmets posted the group's symbol stained with blood. others uploaded video of a man in tears after he rescued a child after an air strike. the white helmets have been celebrated as heroes by many. they have been nominated for the nobel peace prize, and their exploits documented in an oscar—winning

and around 50 kilometres away, in seoul, the president, moonjae—in, kilometres away, in seoul, the president, moon jae—in, is kilometres away, in seoul, the president, moonjae—in, is doing his best to calm down the rhetoric between the us and north korea. at a press co nfe re nce between the us and north korea. at a press conference to mark 100 days in office he said strong remarks from the us president were intended to put pressure on north korea. he did not believe donald trump meant to indicate that military action against pyongyang was imminent. people in south korea who are used to aggression from their northern neighbour have been getting worried, as they watch the us making similar statements. and their president sought to reassure them. translation: the united states and president trump have promised that they will consult and get our agreement before taking any kind of military actions towards north korea. from here in south korea, the offer of dialogue with the north is open. if these talks ever happen, they will take place in this room in they will take place in this room in t

yogita limaye, bbc news, seoul. a 20—year—old british model, who was reportedly kidnapped and held for nearly a week in italy, has returned to the uk. chloe ayling says she feared for her life after being stuffed in a suitcase and told she'd be ‘sold' online. italian police believe the model was attacked and drugged before attempts were made to auction her on the ‘dark web.‘ a polish man, who lives in the uk, has been arrested. matt cole has more details. three weeks on from her release, so we returned to the uk this weekend to her home here in surrey. we returned to the uk this weekend to her home here in surreyli we returned to the uk this weekend to her home here in surrey. i have been through a terrifying experience, i feared been through a terrifying experience, ifeared for been through a terrifying experience, i feared for my life second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. i'm incredibly grateful to the italian and uk authorities for all they have done to secure my safe release. i had just arr

our business reporter yogita limaye is outside the courthouse in seoul. tell us a bit more about the details of what he is accused of, and what he said in his defence. well, that is the courthouse behind me, where we expect jay y lee to arrive shortly. he will be brought from a detention centre. in about one hour, the hearing will begin. we do expect a sentence today. there are multiple charges against him but the main one is bribery. prosecutors say he made donations to organisations run by former president's park in hay‘s close friend, and in exchange for that, he got support for the controversial merger you are talking about, which would pave the way for him to eventually become boss of the samsung group. his father had been running the samsung group until 2014 when he suffered a heart attack. so jay y lee has in de facto boss of this company in that time. so, i suppose the other thing is, this trial raises the wider questions about these chaebols and the way that south korea does is this? that is right. samsung is hugely important to south korea. 0u

for decades the people of south korea and seoul have lived with the threat ofa and seoul have lived with the threat of a massive artillery on their border, and perhaps even the board tick—macro prospect of a nuclear strike. the focus is shifting to guam, the obscure island stuck in the middle of the pacific. what's interesting in seoul is that these people who live every day with the prospect of a military confrontation and as was said in the report, they remained fairly calm. people are heading home here as it is 5pm in the evening. they are a good barometer of how serious the rhetoric is. we've heard from the defence chief of staff who say they are prepared for swift action and reminding everyone of the strong military relationship that south korea has with the usa. i think if you couple that with stronger words from us defence secretary saying north korea will be greatly overmatched, then the signal is warning kimjong—un overmatched, then the signal is warning kim jong—un then, overmatched, then the signal is warning kimjong—un then, despite the rhetoric coming from both sides

yogita limaye, bbc news, seoul. the headlines on bbc news: a mixed reception forjustin gatlin as he is awarded his gold medal in the men's 100metre final after beating popular favourite usain bolt into third. the government orders a review into the cost of energy but critics say it's too little too late. both the us and china welcome tougher sanctions against north korea in the wake of its recent ballistic missile testing. a man has died and two others are missing, after a boat sank in the english channel off shoreham in west sussex. one other man is recovering after being found clinging to a life buoy by the crew of a fishing boat. simonjones is simon jones is full loving simonjones is full loving leader elements and sent us this update. —— is following developments. they were ona is following developments. they were on a night fishing trip to what actually happened is the police believe it's possible that their vote was hit by another vessel. it is clear that what ever the cause of the vote going down, it happ

yogita limaye, bbc news, seoul. you and a short while yogita told us that sanctions have not had much you impact on north korea's missile testing so far. more tough talk coming from north korea today. the state's official news agency said it will retaliate if the us continues to maintain a hostile policy toward it. it also said the us should not make the mistake of thinking that it is safe across the sea, so very fierce and aggressive response coming from north korea. it remains defiant in the face of those un sanctions that were passed against it on saturday. now, in manila the foreign ministers of south korea and north korea briefly met last night at dinner. a south korean ministry official has told the bbc that during that brief exchange the north korean foreign minister actually said that seoul's offer of talks is insincere, so the south korean president had offered to reopen talks with north korea. and north korean foreign minister has said is that that offer is insincere. later today we will also see the north

you now live in seoul and you are part of a south korea that is watching with some consternation as this stand off continues. i want to get to your personal decision making since you were released from prison in north korea. you have gone to live in seoul and it seems dedicated your life to working, in a large part, with escapees from north korea with this organisation serving life. tell me about the people you are working with today. how many, in an average year now, are getting out of north korea and what are they telling you about the way they are experiencing these conditions in north korea right now? every year at least 1000—1500 people are escaping to south korea. many more numbers of people are escaping but they've been caught or sent back from china. but the numbers have gone down. is that because kim jong—un and his regime are guiding and monitoring the river border with china much more closely and it's more difficult to escape today than it used to be? yes, that's true. right now, it is a lot harder for people to cross the border. it's harder, after they escape from north k

yogita limayejoins us now from the south korean capital, seoul. is there a sense of nervousness amongst the us and the international community about the country? well, we appear not to be hearing yogita. we will go back to her in a little while to hear about that. in venezuela, president nicolas maduro congratulated the army for successfully stopping a pre—dawn assault on an army base in the city of valencia. two people died in the assault, and now a search is underway for ten men who escaped with weapons. the president is calling for tough sentences for the suspects seized during the operation. earlier, a video posted on social media showed uniformed men, saying they were rising against a murderous tyranny. greg dawson reports. venezuela has grown used to rebellion, but this time it was different. a small group of men in military uniform openly defying their president. translation: this is not a coup. this is a civic and military action to restore constitutional order and save the country from total destruction, to stop the murders of our youth

was more on that statement issued by north korea, here is robin brant in seoul. this is addressing what they refer to as their nuclear possessions. they say it the nuclear capability that north korea has, and the vast majority of the intelligence assessment is that they do now have nuclear capability. that country says it is a legitimate form of self defence against what it describes as the vigor of the united states. that is the rationale behind the justification by having states. that is the rationale behind thejustification by having nuclear weapons, used by nuclear powers throughout the world. it is a deterrent, really. that is the logic we are hearing from north korea in this most recent statements. mild words. i think tomorrow, the 15th of august, tuesday, the liberation day in the north, we might hear more in terms of the bellicose rhetoric from kimjong—un, terms of the bellicose rhetoric from kim jong—un, the north terms of the bellicose rhetoric from kimjong—un, the north korean leader. liberation day is one of those handful of days in the year whe

yogita limaye reports from seoul. fierce reactions have come to be expected of north korea, and in the us, it now seems to be becoming a pattern. the president makes strong remarks, then one of his cabinet tries to tone the message down. now, analysts i have been speaking to say that so far they don't believe that either side will act on the threats they are making. but, when you are in such a heated situation — a few days ago in pyongyang there was a mass rally, a big show of strength, anti—american slogans, and in that situation, when you don't have a line of communication open with north korea, even the slightest miscalculation could be dangerous. you have to remember that war can break out with a really small, you know, unfortunate accident. and that is what people are worried about. at this point, i don't think they are thinking about war, on either side. but, if a really unfortunate thing happens, that can trigger the war. here in south korea, there are concerns about where all of this is heading. the countr

he's based in seoul. professor, what do you make of this? it's another north korean defiance of international law. it is brazen defiance of un security council resolutions. again, north korea has launched a missile without giving a notice to nn launched a missile without giving a notice to nm or mariners in the area. the missile flew through international airspace, japanese essays and splashed down investors —— pacific ocean. —— notice to air men. this is a threat to the international community. all kinds of things could have gone wrong. north korea has fired rockets over japan before, hasn't it? the first time was in august 1998 when they tended to launch a satellite and then again in 2009. it is not unprecedented it is a danger. if north —— north korea continues to d efy north —— north korea continues to defy international norms. even though it is a low possibility, debris could have fallen on ships, on land, strike civilians in the pathway. is north korea have a kind of strategic interest in threatening japan or was this a

more from the un in a moment but first, from seoul, yogita limaye reports. this is the rocket that north korea says it fired on tuesday morning, which flew over japan and broke into parts, before landing in the city east of the northern island of hokkaido. photos released by the regime's official news agency show kim jong—un monitoring the launch of the medium—range missile. north korea has said its latest test is a prelude to contain guam. a statement says the plan to attack the us pacific territory is still very much under consideration, and its leader has ordered more drills targeted at the pacific. the country has also defended its widely condemned acts, saying it was a response to joint military drills being conducted by the us and south korean forces. this was an emergency meeting of the un security council. just three weeks after imposing new sanctions on north korea over its missile and nuclear weapons programmes, the council had to face pyongyang's defiance. all 15 members wanted to present a united face. translation: the security council condem

more from our correspondent in seoul coming up later in the programme. a man has been shot and killed by security forces in brussels after attacking two soldiers with a knife. the man — a belgian of somali origin — shouted " allahu akbar" or " allah is the greatest." prosecutors said they were treating the incident as a terrorist attack. the soldiers were slightly wounded. two police officers in london have been slightly wounded tackling an armed man outside buckingham palace. a man in his twenties has been arrested — the metropolitan police said it was too early to speculate on a motive. president trump has taken another step towards barring transgender people from the us military. he signed a memo banning recruitment and stopping payment for gender—related surgery for those already in the armed forces. he's left the fate of those already serving up to the pentagon. it's being reported that president trump's deputy assistant, sebastian gorka, has resigned. in a separate move, the us president also pardoned the controversial former arizona sherif