at 20:00 (JST), March 14 AS

North Korea's state-run website has run an article saying the country remains resolved to work toward denuclearization but cannot make new proposals.

Malaysian prosecutors have rejected a request to drop the case against a Vietnamese woman accused of killing the half-brother of North Korea's leader.

US aviation regulators have been explaining why they decided to ground Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20190314200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : north state-run run an article
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190314_24/

North Korea's state-run website has run an article saying the country remains resolved to work toward denuclearization but cannot make new proposals.

The article appeared on Thursday on the website run by the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea.

The article says North Korea remains resolved to work toward permanent peace and complete denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

But it says the North finds it impossible to offer proposals for denuclearization beyond those it made at the country's second summit with the United States in late February.

The article says some of the sanctions on North Korea should be lifted in response to denuclearization measures that country is taking in stages.

The article appears to be a call for the United States to make concessions and relax its longtime stance against lifting the sanctions before denuclearization.

The Workers' Party of Korea newspaper Rodong Sinmun ran a commentary on Thursday calling on the people of North Korea to unite behind Chairman Kim Jong Un in all-out efforts to rebuild the country's economy. It also urges the people to improve every sector of the economy to make the sanctions useless.

Key words : US research NHK
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Key words : malaysian rejected
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190314_23/

Malaysian prosecutors have rejected a request to drop the case against a Vietnamese woman accused of killing the half-brother of North Korea's leader.

The decision was announced at a Malaysian court on Thursday. It means the trial of Doan Thi Huong will continue for the killing of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February 2017.

Huong's lawyers had asked prosecutors to withdraw her charges after the case against the other suspect was dropped earlier this week. Siti Aisyah was freed and welcomed home in Indonesia.

Huong's lawyers said the prosecutors had discriminated against her and demanded to know why only one of the suspects was given preferential treatment. Both women pleaded not guilty.
The lawyers asked for the day's hearing to be postponed due to her poor health.

Huong told the court that she was feeling stressed and sad, and she didn't know what was going on.

Prosecutors gave no clear reason for their decision to drop the charges against Siti Aisyah.

Airport security camera footage showed Huong smearing something on Kim's face. The Indonesian woman was near her, but did not take direct action. Her lawyers argued there was no evidence that Siti Aisyah carried out the attack.

Huong's lawyers said later that they will continue to ask for her release.

They also said Vietnamese government officials have talked with Malaysian ministers in the past few days.

They said they asked for a postponement of the hearing in part to buy time for talks between the two governments.

In an NHK phone interview, Huong's father expressed dismay with the rejection, saying all he can do is wait. He pleaded with the governments of Vietnam and Malaysia to help his daughter and family.

Key words : aviation regulator explaining
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190314_16/

US aviation regulators have been explaining why they decided to ground Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, after several other countries had done so. They say the latest data from a crash of a Max 8 in Ethiopia prompted them to issue their order.

The Federal Aviation Administration gave the order on Wednesday. That was after the accident Sunday that killed 157 people.

The FAA officials say they have been looking at satellite-tracking data and physical evidence collected at the crash site.

They say it provides a basis for looking into possible links with an accident in Indonesia last October also involving a 737 Max.

The flight-data recorder and voice recorder recovered from the site of the recent crash have been sent to France for analysis.

The FAA says 737 Max 8s and 9s will remain grounded in the United States until its analysis is complete.

Key words : US state
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190314_21/

The US State Department has slammed China's treatment of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in its annual human rights report.

The department released its "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2018" on Wednesday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that China was "in a league of its own when it comes to human rights violations."

The report says China significantly intensified its campaign of mass detention of members of Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2018.

It says authorities "arbitrarily detained 800,000 to possibly more than 2 million Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and other Muslims in internment camps."

The report also says the government constructed new internment camps in Xinjiang and continued efforts to convince Uighurs studying abroad to return to China.

Chinese authorities have denied the allegations, and say the facilities are aimed at providing job training for those who have been influenced by radical ideology.

The report also criticized human rights practices in many other countries.

As for North Korea, the report says the country has made no progress in its investigation into the whereabouts of abducted Japanese citizens.

The report also says media reports in Iran suggest at least 20 anti-government protesters were killed in the country, with thousands more arrested.

Key words : people in Venezuela
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190314_18/

People in Venezuela are struggling to secure food and water as power cuts continue in some areas.

An NHK crew arrived in the capital, Caracas, on Wednesday afternoon. Many stores remained closed, and people formed long lines to buy food at the few places that were open.

A bakery in the city center has a daily limit of two pieces of bread for each customer, as imported wheat is in short supply.

Central districts of the capital are without water.
Pumps stopped working when the blackout hit on Thursday last week.

Residents scrambled for water provided by volunteers. 500 milliliters of drinking water is being sold for about 10 dollars.

Cellphones have stopped working in many parts of the country.

Public-sector employees are being asked to return to work on Thursday after nearly a week off.

The economic crisis has deepened since the power struggle began between President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido, the self-declared interim president who is backed by the United States and other countries.

Key words : annual spring
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190314_14/

With annual spring wage negotiations in Japan at a peak, workers at leading car and electronics makers can expect to take home more pay. But their raises will generally be smaller than the ones agreed on last year.

Managers at many major companies gave their responses to requests from labor unions on Wednesday.

Management and unions at Toyota Motor agreed on a monthly pay raise of 10,700 yen, or about 96 dollars. That's 9 dollars lower than last year's hike.

Hitachi and Panasonic are proposing a 9-dollar raise, two-thirds of last year's level.

Meanwhile, workers in the logistics and retail industries are generally doing better, getting raises at around the same rate as last year.

An alliance of service-industry labor unions, UA ZENSEN, says part-timers are receiving higher hikes than their full-time counterparts.

Alliance President Akihiko Matsuura said, "We want wage gaps between regular and non-regular workers to be corrected, as well as more investment in employees. We hope the labor unions will get better results than last year."

Matsuura says Japan's labor shortage is the main factor behind the relatively high hikes for part-time employees.

Key words : earlier in the story
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Key words : home appliance
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Key words : white goods
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Key words : local government
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190314_25/

A local government in Tokyo has held a campaign to donate schoolbags to children in Afghanistan.

Bunkyo Ward carried out the program with an NGO promoting children's education in the war-torn country.

Leather backpacks called "randoseru" are used by students in Japanese elementary schools.

In Afghanistan, many children are forced to quit school and work to help support their families.

The campaign's organizers hope the donated bags will convey to Afghani parents the message that education is crucial to their children's future.

On Thursday, a woman whose son finished elementary school three years ago came to drop off his bag. She said she decided to donate it in hopes that Afghani children will have a chance to go to school.

An NGO official says the organization is hearing from children in Afghanistan that they've started studying with the bags and dreaming of their future.

Bunkyo Ward official Tomokazu Kono says the campaign is an example of international cooperation that local people can easily commit to. He adds that goodwill from Japan will reach more children in Afghanistan.