at 20:00 (JST), March 07 (Autoscroll)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are to hold a summit in late April.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says Japan must be fully informed by South Korea on the details of its talks with North Korea.

Nearly 7 years on from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, tens of thousands of people have yet to return to their homes.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20180307200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : leader hold a summit just returned
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180307_05/

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are to hold a summit in late April.
Seoul acknowledged that the North has affirmed its commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

The head of South Korea's National Security Office, Chung Eui-yong, said on Tuesday that the summit will take place at the country's facility in Panmunjom on the military demarcation line between the 2 Koreas. It would be the first inter-Korean summit since October 2007.

Chung had just returned from a visit to Pyongyang as the head of a delegation. He met Kim during the 2-day stay.

Chung said the North Korean side told him that it would have no reason to possess nuclear weapons if the safety of its leadership can be guaranteed and the military threats against the country are removed.

North Korea also said it won't conduct nuclear or missile tests as long as communication channels are kept open.

President Moon has maintained that dialogue between North Korea and the United States is a condition for a summit. Chung said he thinks this condition has been met.

Chung said he will visit the US this week to brief its officials on the meeting with Kim and urge Washington to start dialogue with Pyongyang.

But North Korea's argument that it wouldn't need nuclear weapons if the regime's safety can be guaranteed is basically the same as its current stance that it needs such weapons because of US hostility.

The 2 sides remain far apart as the US says it will only hold dialogue if North Korea agrees to give up its nuclear program.

Key words : presidential office russia japan
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180307_22/

A source close to South Korea's presidential office says a government delegation will leave for the United States on Thursday. They will brief the Donald Trump administration on talks with North Korea.

The group will include the head of South Korea's National Security Office, Chung Eui-yong, and National Intelligence Service Chief, Suh Hoon.

The two met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday in Pyongyang.

After visiting the United States, Chung will go to China, then Russia, and Suh will go to Japan.

Key words : Suga fully detail
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180307_24/

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says Japan must be fully informed by South Korea on the details of its talks with North Korea.

Suga told reporters on Wednesday that Japan is in contact with South Korea at many levels and in the process of arranging a visit by Seoul's National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon.

Suga said maximum pressure on North Korea will continue. He noted US Vice President Mike Pence's statement that "all options are on the table" until North Korea shows "credible, verifiable and concrete steps" toward denuclearization.

Suga said Japan, the United States and South Korea will work with relevant countries, using all means, to increase pressure on Pyongyang to the utmost level until it abandons its nuclear and missile programs.

Key words : families abducted
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180307_10/

The families of Japanese abducted by North Korea are urging the government to use the opportunity of the thaw in inter-Korean relations to bring back their loved ones.

The head of the families' group, Shigeo Iizuka, said on Tuesday that the planned summit between North and South Korea will have value if it leads to a resolution of Pyongyang's nuclear standoff.

Iizuka said the families have been hoping that all the abductees will return home.

He called on the Japanese government to seize the opportunity and do all it can to resolve the decades-old abduction issue at an early date.

Key words : Trump resigning
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180307_17/

The White House says President Donald Trump's chief economic adviser is resigning.

Gary Cohn is to step down as the director of the National Economic Council in the coming weeks.

The news comes after Trump's announcement last week of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

US media had reported that Cohn was opposed to Trump's plan for the tariffs. His resignation is likely to cast a shadow over the administration's future economic policy management.

Cohn was President and Chief Operating Officer of US investment bank Goldman Sachs before joining the White House.

Trump reportedly had a great deal of trust in Cohn, who was one of his nominees to head the Federal Reserve after former Chair Janet Yellen's term ended.

But the relationship with Trump apparently soured last August, when Cohn showed a critical stance on Trump's comments about a violent rally involving white supremacists.

Regarding Cohn's departure, Trump in a statement called him a "rare talent," who helped to deliver "historic tax cuts and reforms."

Key words : signing ceremony
#N/A


Key words : Insight significant TPP 11
#N/A


Key words : anti-government give up
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180307_16/

Syrian anti-government forces are staunchly resisting Russia's demand that they give up eastern Ghouta in suburban Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more than 800 civilians have died there since mid-February in attacks by Syrian government forces and Russian troops.

The group said on Tuesday that ground units loyal to President Bashar al-Assad had taken control of more than 40 percent of the district.

Russian Major-General Vladimir Zolotukhin said the Syrian government had opened a corridor for civilians to leave the area.

Zolotukhin said anti-government fighters and their families are being allowed passage during certain hours in the daytime. He said they can carry their weapons.

But anti-government groups holding out in eastern Ghouta say they will not be swayed by psychological tactics.

Key words : Timolol
#N/A


Key words : tsunami tens of thousands
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180307_34/

Nearly 7 years on from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, tens of thousands of people have yet to return to their homes.

Japan's Reconstruction Agency said there were more than 73,000 evacuees as of February 13th. That's about 50,000 fewer than the year before.

About 53,000 people are living in prefabricated temporary housing, municipality-funded private residences, or welfare facilities. Nearly 20,000 are staying with relatives or friends.

About 50,000 Fukushima residents remained evacuated as of last month, according to the agency and the prefectural government.

Some areas of the prefecture have been off-limits to residents since the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

About half of 35 affected municipalities in the 3 hardest-hit prefectures -- Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima -- have seen their populations drop by more than 10 percent.

Key words : nhk survey
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180307_31/

About 20 percent of respondents in an NHK survey say they have regained their community bonds 7 years after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The survey was conducted from December to February, ahead of the 7th anniversary of the disaster on Sunday.

NHK got responses from 1,932 people from the hardest-hit northeastern prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.

Asked about recovery efforts where they lived before the disaster, 49 percent said progress is being made.

But only 4 percent said they have regained their community bonds. 15 percent said they have to some extent.
An 81-year-old woman who lives alone in public housing in Miyagi said she wants someone to talk to. She added that spending the day alone with nothing to do is distressing.

An 89-year-old woman who fled her hometown in Fukushima and lives alone in a nearby city said she feels isolated and never meets her neighbors.

A 75-year-old man from Miyagi stressed the need for psychological support for elderly people living alone.

University of Hyogo Associate Professor Reo Kimura said it's important to come up with ways to create and maintain community bonds, in addition to providing new houses.