News Buzz Realtime: Mar 25, 2012

Sunday, March 25, 2012

VOA News: USA: Obama Warns North Korea No More Rewards for Provocations

VOA News: USA

USA Voice of America

Obama Warns North Korea No More Rewards for Provocations

Mar 26th 2012, 03:44

U.S. President Barack Obama warned North Korea Monday about its pursuit of nuclear weapons, saying there would be no more rewards for provocations.

In a speech at Hankuk University in Seoul, South Korea, Mr. Obama said Pyongyang could continue down the road it is on, but that would lead to more broken dreams, more isolation and ever more distance between the people of North Korea and the dignity and opportunity they deserve.

The American president said the same applies to Iran. Mr. Obama told the audience that Iran stands alone, as the only member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty unable to convince the international community that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. He said the United States and other nations have offered to help Iran develop nuclear energy peacefully, but time and again Tehran has refused, taking instead what he called the path of denial, deceit and deception.

Obama to Meet With Medvedev, Hu

Mr. Obama said he will meet with the leaders of Russia and China Monday to discuss a diplomatic resolution to the situation, in which Iran fulfills its obligations.

Those meetings and others will take place on the sidelines of a two-day nuclear security summit in Seoul, focused on combating nuclear terrorism, but likely to be overshadowed by North Korea's plans to launch a satellite using a long-range rocket next month.

Leaders from more than 50 other nations and international organizations will gather in South Korea's capital for the second such nuclear meeting, which was first held in Washington in 2010.

Pyongyang Defiant

Although not on the agenda, world leaders will likely turn their focus to North Korea's recent announcement that it will launch a satellite into space using a long-range rocket. The North says this is part of celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the April 15 birth of its late founder and president Kim Il Sung.

The U.N., U.S., European Union, Russia and Japan have warned North Korea that its scheduled rocket launch is in violation of U.N. resolutions, and they have urged Pyongyang to abandon the plan. Even North Korea's ally China has expressed concern that such a launch would undermine stability in the region.

The United States has said the launch would cancel an agreement to send North Korea a large shipment of U.S. food aid in exchange for halting its nuclear and long-range missile programs.

Ahead of the summit, U.S. officials announced that Ukraine has completed the removal of a consignment of highly enriched uranium, which can be used to make nuclear bombs, following a two-year program with the United States and Russia. The material, Russian in origin, has been sent back to Russia.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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VOA News: USA: Film Director Dives to Earth's Deepest Point

VOA News: USA

USA Voice of America

Film Director Dives to Earth's Deepest Point

Mar 26th 2012, 04:07

Hollywood film director James Cameron has returned to the ocean surface after traveling to the deepest spot on Earth.

The director of Titanic and other films used a specially designed submarine called Deepsea Challenger Sunday to dive nearly 11 kilometers to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Cameron spent hours on the Pacific Ocean sea floor, collecting samples for scientific research and taking video and still photographs.

He sent a message from the site, located about 350 kilometers southwest of the Pacific island of Guam, saying "hitting bottom never felt so good" and that he was eager to share what he saw.

Cameron is the first person to make the trip solo. Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, a U.S. Navy captain, took a dive to the same spot in 1960. They spent about 20 minutes there but could not see much after their sub kicked up sand from the sea floor.

The Mariana Trench is 120 times larger than the Grand Canyon and more than 1.6 kilometers deeper than Mount Everest is tall.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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VOA News: Asia: Obama Warns North Korea No More Rewards for Provocations

VOA News: Asia

Asia Voice of America

Obama Warns North Korea No More Rewards for Provocations

Mar 26th 2012, 03:44

Obama to Meet With Medvedev, Hu

Pyongyang Defiant

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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VOA News: Asia: North Korea Warns Against Criticism at Nuclear Security Summit

VOA News: Asia

Asia Voice of America

North Korea Warns Against Criticism at Nuclear Security Summit

Mar 26th 2012, 01:29

Only days before the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea began, North Korea issued a stern warning not to criticize its nuclear program, saying through its state media that any inclusion of it in a statement would be a "declaration of war."

Such threats from Pyongyang are not uncommon. North Korea often warns of war when it is facing international criticism. Now, there is growing concern about Pyongyang's plan to carry out a missile launch next month, only weeks after it appeared to have agreed to end such tests.

Analysts say that although North Korea likely will be on the agenda at the Nuclear Summit, it is unclear what role it will play in the main discussions.

Richard Bush, director of the Center for North East Asia Policy Studies at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, says that although North Korea's warning will be regarded as a firing of "empty cannons," it is likely that Pyongyang will find its way into the summit's concluding statement because it "fits the interest of the host government [i.e., Seoul]."

Abraham Denmark, Asia-Pacific security advisor at the Center for Naval Analyses outside Washington, says Pyongyang will not be overlooked. "North Korea represents the greatest challenge to the stability of Northeast Asia, and will rightfully be a top issue for leaders to discuss at the summit," he says. "In fact, North Korea's bellicosity and its recent behavior makes it all the more an appropriate subject for discussion."

In addition to its threat of war, Pyongyang recently said it plans to launch a satellite next month. The announcement came shortly after North Korea agreed in February to suspend nuclear tests, long-range ballistic missile launches and other nuclear-related activities.

Despite its insistence that the satellite launch is "scientific" in nature, the United States and other nations say it is being used to test North Korea's ballistic missile capabilities.

Georgetown University political scientist Balbina Hwang says the leaders' statement at the summit should reflect the content of the talks. "Including truthful statements about North Korea, whether or not it displeases North Korea," she says.

At the last Nuclear Security Summit two years ago, North Korea was not mentioned in the final communiqué. And the reclusive communist state received only minor attention on the sidelines of the meeting. During that summit, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak invited then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to attend this year's summit in Seoul, if Pyongyang agreed to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

That did not happen, and the North Korean leader died last December. This year's summit comes at a time when there is much uncertainty about North Korea, which is in the midst of a leadership transition.

For many analysts, North Korea's rhetoric fits an old pattern. The threat of war and plans for a missile launch are a reflection of domestic politics in North Korea, says Abe Denmark. "Pyongyang is still establishing modes of behavior and decision making after the death of Kim Jong Il. And it appears that leadership transition dynamics are being expressed in its foreign policy," he says.

Balbina Hwang says the satellite launch and agreement in February, while contradictory, are part of Pyongyang's tactics to draw fine lines of separation between its provocative activities.

"Although the U.S. government position is that a satellite launch was covered under the February 29 moratorium, the North Koreans are clearly trying to test that proposition in the arena of international opinion," she says. "It is also a clever way for North Korea to throw the ball back into the U.S. court, as now, if the deal falls apart, the North Koreans can blame U.S. action or inaction, as the case may be."

Analyst Richard Bush agrees that Pyongyang's actions might be part of a pattern, but that they also might have been a miscalculation that the United States would accept its claim that a missile test and satellite launch are different.

"Pyongyang may also have been trying to influence the April South Korea National Assembly elections," Bush says. "And I am sure that Pyongyang is annoyed enough that it is South Korea that is hosting this high-profile conference."

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VOA News: Americas: Pope to Mark 400th Anniversary of Cuban Shrine

VOA News: Americas

Americas Voice of America

Pope to Mark 400th Anniversary of Cuban Shrine

Mar 26th 2012, 00:31

Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Cuba Monday. His first stop will be near the eastern city of Santiago to mark the 400th anniversary of a religious icon there. The Virgin of Charity of El Cobre is venerated by many Cubans, regardless of their faith. But it is central to the Roman Catholic Church's strategy for a country where religious restrictions recently have been easing.

A constant stream of pilgrims dressed in bright yellow bring sunflowers and other offerings in the color associated with the Our Lady of Charity. Four hundred years ago, the statue was found at sea. And legend has it that her rescue calmed the stormy waters.

The cathedral that houses the icon was built just outside Santiago in the 1920s. A collection of world championship sports medals and baseball jerseys attests to the credit she gets for spurring her devotees on to great achievements. Even Ernest Hemingway offered her his 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature.

After lighting a few yellow candles, Jeanette Galdeano says the Virgin of Charity helps her have faith. "I pray for peace, for my family, my children and all Cubans. And I'm thinking about the hope that every day things will get better and we can move forward," she says.

Few Cubans attend church regularly. Many more blend Catholic saint veneration with voodoo and other traditions that came to Cuba from Africa hundreds of years ago.

The Rev. Dionisio García Ibáñez is the archbishop of Santiago. He says the pope is aware that the 400-year-old national patron is a symbol for non-Catholics as well. "The pope chose to come at this time to celebrate the jubilee year. And there's not even the slightest doubt that he understands the spiritual reality of our people," the archbishop says.

The Vatican hopes that the pope's visit to the shrine will help revive faith in Cuba. A glimpse of the future of Catholicism can be seen at the Sagrada Familia Church in Santiago. Every Saturday, dozens of children receive catechism from a small group of parents and former students.

University student Virgen Angelica Ladron de Guevarra is one of the teachers. She says Catholic faith is growing in Cuba. "And with this pope's visit, I think that both the government and nonbelievers are beginning to show a little more trust in Catholics and in the Church," she says.

The Roman Catholic Church is the only institution with authority that is not part of the communist system here. Many Cubans are grateful for its efforts to advance economic liberalization.

Rev. Luis del Castillo came to help the Cuban church after retiring from his bishop's duties in his native Uruguay. He says secularism does not have deep roots in Cuba, as it does in some countries in Eastern Europe and Latin America that emerged from communist or authoritarian rule.

"We're stepping on a very fertile ground, because the people here are very religious, more than in my own country in Uruguay," Castillo says. "And I think this good turf will help, that the seeds of the Gospel will give good fruit in the future."

As they head out into the almost blinding light of Santiago, the children pass a poster welcoming Pope Benedict. He, too, apparently is hoping that these children will help revive Catholicism in a country that was once an atheist state.

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VOA News: Africa: Nigeria Opposition Criticizes Ruling Party over Convention Election

VOA News: Africa

Africa Voice of America

Nigeria Opposition Criticizes Ruling Party over Convention Election

Mar 26th 2012, 00:12

An official of Nigeria's opposition Action Congress Party (ACN) has described as a "mockery of democracy" the election of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as chairman of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) over the weekend.

ACN spokesman Lai Mohammed said the election shows the ruling party lacks internal democracy.

"There was a lot of arm twisting, blackmail and threats. [The other candidates] did not go down without fighting," said Mohammed. "On television, one of the candidates was weeping…and that is the sad thing about it."

Backed by President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Tukur was elected with an overwhelming majority at the PDP convention after his challengers withdrew their candidacy. Critics say the other candidates were pressured to withdraw, but officials of the ruling party dismissed the claims as without merit.

"Today, the joke is on the same president, who cajoled and arm-twisted others to step down for his anointed candidate as chair of the PDP during a mock convention," said Mohammed. "It is now obvious that President Jonathan either does not understand what internal democracy means, or he is being deliberately cheeky in castigating other political parties for lacking in internal democracy."

Tukur garnered 3,185 votes, with 51 invalid votes and 12 "no" votes. But critics say the other contestants were forced to step aside to allow President Jonathan's candidate to win.

Opposition ACN spokesman Mohammed said his party will continue to expose the ruling party's hypocrisy after President Jonathan accused the opposition of lacking internal democracy.

Mr. Jonathan reportedly said the ruling party is the only one with any form of internal democracy after describing the opposition as a "one man political parties."

"We are stunned to see that in the process PDP has exposed itself as a party that lacks absolute internal democracy. In the sense that the party makes rules to govern its convention, but will at every point dodge the same rules," said Mohammed.

Supporters of the ruling party rejected opposition accusations the party lacks internal democracy. They demanded proof from the opposition. But, Mohammed said the nationwide televised convention was enough proof of the ruling party's failure to adhere to its own rules.

"It's clear that meetings were held up til midnight and Mr. President [Jonathan] actually read the riot act to the governors, and one by one they succumbed," said Mohammed. "We didn't make it up. Since Mr. President made it a duty to comment on the internal workings of our own party, then he opened a pandora's box and, of course, we will not let this mockery of democracy go uncommented upon."

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VOA News: Africa: Vote Counting Underway in Senegal Presidential Runoff Election

VOA News: Africa

Africa Voice of America

Vote Counting Underway in Senegal Presidential Runoff Election

Mar 25th 2012, 22:32

Vote counting is under way in Senegal, after a fiercely contested presidential runoff election. The country's opposition is backing former prime minister Macky Sall as he tries to keep incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade from winning a controversial third term in office.

Voting was calm in Senegal on Sunday for the second-round election.

Hundreds of supporters cheered President Abdoulaye Wade as he cast his ballot in Dakar, chanting his nickname "Gorgui," a term of endearment that means "old man."

Supporter Mbary Diop noted that outsiders claim Mr. Wade is unpopular in Senegal. Pointing at the crowd, Diop said, "See for yourself the passion the people have for him." He said the president embodies Senegal's future, change and development.

It was a stark contrast to the scene here four weeks ago, when onlookers booed Mr. Wade as he voted during the initial election.

Mr. Wade led that round with 35 percent of the vote, but he fell short of the sweeping victory he had promised.

Casting his ballot Sunday, Mr. Wade said he did not win outright in the first round of voting because of a fear-mongering campaign that kept nearly half the voters away from the polls. He said French and U.S. officials warned that violence might erupt if he sought a third term in office. But the first round of voting, he said, was peaceful.

Across town, in the working class neighborhood of Parcelles Assainies, a dozen friends gathered for tea, as they do most Sundays.

Each showed his ink-stained finger and remaining Wade ballot paper as proof that he had put the ballot for challenger Macky Sall in the urn.

Pape Ndaw said he did not vote in the first round, but that he woke up early Sunday to vote against Mr. Wade. He said he voted for Mr. Wade in 2000, but that the president did not live up to his promises.

Mr. Wade was wildly popular 12 years ago, when he came to office. He easily won reelection in 2007. But electric power cuts, unemployment and a rising cost of living have since disenchanted many Senegalese.

The president is seeking a third mandate, despite a two-term limit. The Constitutional Court ruled in January that he could run, sparking violent protests that killed at least six people before the first round vote.

Casting his ballot in Dakar, Mohamed Dia says he voted for Mr. Sall because he wants change. The president, he said, is too old to run the country and that presidents should serve no more than two terms.

At 85-years-old, Mr. Wade is Africa's second oldest leader. Mr. Sall is more than three decades his junior.

Macky Sall left the Wade government in late 2008. The president's former protege has promised to reform the government and reduce the price of basic goods. He cast his ballot in Fatick, where he is the mayor.

The former prime minister won 27 percent of the vote in the first round of balloting and now has the backing of the 12 other opposition candidates.

Election observers from the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States called on Senegal to set an example and live up to its reputation as one of Africa's most stable and celebrated democracies. There were reports of some irregularities. EU observers pointed to issues involving the distribution of voter cards and to some 130,000 dead people who still were on voting rolls.

Provisional results of the election are expected in a few days.

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VOA News: Americas: Pope Celebrates Mass in Mexico

VOA News: Americas

Americas Voice of America

Pope Celebrates Mass in Mexico

Mar 25th 2012, 19:27

Pope Benedict has celebrated Mass before tens of thousands of faithful Catholics in the central Mexican city of Silao.

Cheering onlookers waved balloons, flags and banners Sunday as the pope arrived at Bicentennial Park in Mexico's Guanajuato state.

He urged Mexican Catholics to remain true to their faith to confront the sufferings, difficulties and evils of daily life, saying "human strategies will not suffice."

The pontiff called on the Virgin Mary to "continue accompanying and protecting her beloved Mexican and Latin American children." The invocation of Mary is particularly important for Mexicans, who revere the Virgin of Guadalupe as their patron saint.

Benedict's visit to Mexico comes as church leaders there grapple with brutal drug-related violence. More than 50,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on the drug cartels in 2006.

The pope is scheduled to arrive Monday in Cuba, where he will meet with President Raul Castro and visit Santiago de Cuba and Havana.

On Saturday, Pope Benedict addressed thousands of cheering Mexicans from the balcony of the Casa Del Conde Rul, where he met with President Calderon.

Benedict told the throng "I wish to lift up my voice, inviting everyone to protect and to care for children, so that nothing may extinguish their smile."

The 84-year-old pope made the comments about protecting children amid complaints about the Vatican's handling of the case of a prominent priest in Mexico, Marcial Maciel, who was facing allegations of molesting young boys before he died. While the pope has met with the survivors of priest pedophilia in other countries, no such meeting is scheduled for Mexico.

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VOA News: Middle East: Peace Envoy Annan Presses Russia on Syria

VOA News: Middle East

Middle East Voice of America

Peace Envoy Annan Presses Russia on Syria

Mar 25th 2012, 18:00

International peace envoy Kofi Annan is trying to garner support from Russia to help stop bloodshed in Syria during the crackdown on an anti-government uprising.

It's top news across Russia.

Kofi Annan, the United Nations and Arab League special envoy, met in Moscow with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as parts of efforts to end Syria's year-long violence that has killed at least 8,000 people.

Medvedev said this could be Syria's last chance to avoid a long-lasting and bloody civil war.

Therefore, he said, Russia will offer its full support on any level to the extent that Russia is capable.

Annan praised Russia's assistance.

As we move forward, I will continue to rely on your support and advice, and I think you are right to say that Syria has an opportunity today to work with me and this mediation process to put an end to the conflict, to the fighting, and really to allow access to humanitarian, those in need of humanitarian assistance, as well as to embark on the political process that will lead to a peaceful settlement.

Medvedev endorsed that goal.

The Russian president said he very much hopes Annan's efforts will have a positive outcome.

The Kremlin has said it would be hard to stop the bloodshed in Syria until external support for the opposition is terminated. And it maintains that dialogue with both sides is necessary for peace.

Russia is an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has vetoed two U.N. Security Council resolutions on the Syrian conflict, viewing them as one-sided against Assad. But last week, Moscow did support a Security Council statement endorsing Annan's mission.

The special envoy has drawn up a six-point plan for peace, including a cease-fire, the immediate withdrawal of heavy armor from residential areas and humanitarian assistance.

Russia's foreign ministry recently endorsed a call from the International Committee of the Red Cross for the Syrian government and rebels to stop fighting for a block of time each day to give the agency access to the wounded. Russia also agreed that jailed protesters should have visitors.

Damascus has not agreed to daily cease-fires and has not granted the ICRC permission to enter every part of the country affected by the fighting.

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VOA News: Europe: Peace Envoy Annan Presses Russia on Syria

VOA News: Europe

Europe Voice of America

Peace Envoy Annan Presses Russia on Syria

Mar 25th 2012, 18:00

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VOA News: Middle East: Islamists Win Majority on Egypt's Constitution-Drafting Panel

VOA News: Middle East

Middle East Voice of America

Islamists Win Majority on Egypt's Constitution-Drafting Panel

Mar 25th 2012, 16:19

Egyptian Islamists have won a majority of seats on a 100-member panel assigned with drafting a new constitution that secular and liberal groups fear will boost the role of Islam in society.

Egypt's official MENA news agency published the names of the panel members on Sunday, a day after they were selected in a joint session of parliament's lower house and senate, both dominated by Islamists.

Of the 50 lawmakers selected for the constituent assembly, Egyptian media say 37 are Islamists. The other 50 panel members selected from civil society also include enough Islamists to give them a majority in the 100-seat assembly.

Egyptian liberal and leftist lawmakers from minority parties boycotted parliament's selection of the panel, in protest at what they call Islamist attempts to monopolize the constitution-drafting process. The liberals and leftists fear the new constitution will ignore their concerns and values.

The constituent assembly is due to hold its first meeting on Wednesday. A key goal of Egypt's new charter will be to define the balance of power between the Islamist-dominated parliament and the post of president, formerly held by the all-powerful Hosni Mubarak until a popular uprising toppled him last year.

An Egyptian military council that took over from Mubarak has been exercising executive powers since the February 2011 revolution, with the help of an army-appointed Cabinet. The role of Egypt's military in the country's political system is another issue expected to be addressed by the new constitution.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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VOA News: Middle East: Israel to Block UN Mission on Settlements

VOA News: Middle East

Middle East Voice of America

Israel to Block UN Mission on Settlements

Mar 25th 2012, 17:08

Israel intends to block a United Nations mission to investigate settlement activity in the occupied territories.

Israel says it will not cooperate with a fact-finding mission of the United Nations Human Rights Council which plans to investigate the effects of Jewish settlements on the civil rights of Palestinians.

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told Israel Radio that the Israeli government will not allow the U.N. delegation to enter the country.

Ayalon said the U.N. council is supposed to protect human rights, but he said this is a "political mission" to condemn Israel and the outcome is known in advance.

At the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Israeli officials expressed outrage at the Palestinian Authority, which sponsored the initiative at the U.N.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said that if the Palestinians wage diplomatic warfare on Israel, it could result in economic sanctions.

Israel is considering a tough measure it has imposed in the past: withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinians say United Nations action is necessary because Israeli settlement policy in the West Bank is destroying the prospects for a two-state solution.

"Israel is undermining chances for peace and for the resumption of negotiations. Israel has to freeze settlements in order for fruitful, constructive, negotiations to be resumed," Riyad al-Maliki, Palestinian Foreign Minister.

Israel rejects Palestinian demands for a settlement freeze and says peace talks should resume without pre-conditions. International mediators have failed to bridge the gaps, and the dispute over the U.N. mission has only reinforced a three-year deadlock in the peace process.

Join the conversation on our social journalism site - Middle East Voices. Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.

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VOA News: Africa: Islamists Win Majority on Egypt's Constitution-Drafting Panel

VOA News: Africa

Africa Voice of America

Islamists Win Majority on Egypt's Constitution-Drafting Panel

Mar 25th 2012, 16:19

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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VOA News: Asia: Afghan Massacre Families Paid Compensation

VOA News: Asia

Asia Voice of America

Afghan Massacre Families Paid Compensation

Mar 25th 2012, 16:15

Afghan authorities say the United States has paid tens of thousands of dollars to the families of victims killed in a shooting rampage allegedly by an American soldier.

Kandahar provincial council member Haji Agha Lali Dastageri told VOA Afghan Service Sunday that authorities paid the compensation a day earlier during a ceremony in the governor's office. Relatives of the victims received $50,000 per person killed and $11,000 per person wounded in the March 11 shooting rampage in Panjwai district of Kandahar province.

Dastageri said that the victims' families had requested that media not be present for the ceremony because of possible insurgent threats.

A spokesman for NATO forces in Afghanistan declined to confirm or deny the payments, saying that while coalition members often make compensation payments, they usually are confidential.

By Afghan tradition, those responsible for someone's death must pay the victim's family compensation to make amends. Earlier, an investigating Afghan delegation had paid each family a smaller sum in compensation.

On Friday, U.S. authorities investigating the killings charged Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales with 17 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of assault and attempted murder.

Bales, an 11-year military veteran, is alleged to have walked out of his southern Afghanistan military post under the cover of darkness and gunned down nine children and eight adults.

The New York Times quoted an unnamed U.S. official Sunday as saying investigators believe Bales left his base twice on March 11, allegedly carrying out the shootings in two villages in separate operations. It was after his return from the second outing that Bales surrendered to authorities.

Bales' civilian lawyer, John Henry Browne, has admitted that his client had something to drink before the shooting spree, despite a military alcohol ban, but insists his client has no memory of the night and was likely suffering from combat stress.

Bales, who served three tours of duty in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan last December, suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq in 2010. A day before the massacre, he witnessed one of his fellow soldiers get his leg blown off.

News reports have emerged that Bales has had past brushes with the law in the U.S. involving alcohol. He also is reportedly facing financial troubles at home, and had a $1.5 million securities fraud judgement issued against him several years ago.

Bales could face the death penalty for his shooting rampage. The U.S. military has not executed a service member in five decades.

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VOA News: Asia: US President Peers Into North Korea

VOA News: Asia

Asia Voice of America

US President Peers Into North Korea

Mar 25th 2012, 15:00

U.S. President Barack Obama began his visit to South Korea with a quick trip to the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, which technically remain at war nearly 60 years after an armistice.

The president of the United States greeted troops in the DMZ. "You guys are at freedom's frontier," Obama told them.

Outcomes of the Last Nuclear Security Summit

The last nuclear security summit was held in 2010 in Washington. It brought together 47 countries and three organizations. At the summit, participants:

Agreed to work towards the goal of securing all vulnerable nuclear materials.
Reaffirmed the responsibility of nations, consistent with their international obligations, to maintain effective security of nuclear materials and facilities under their control.
Agreed to work cooperatively as an international community to advance nuclear security, requesting and providing assistance as necessary.Then, from behind five-centimeter-thick bulletproof glass at one of the most forward posts on that frontier, Obama peered through binoculars into North Korea on a day when a lot was apparently going on there.The North's new young leader, Kim Jong Un, attended a ceremony marking the end of 100 days of official mourning for his father, Kim Jong Il.Meanwhile, South Korea's military on Sunday confirmed that the fuselage of a North Korean ballistic missile has apparently made it to its launch site.

Pyongyang announced previously that it plans to send a satellite into space in the middle of April to coincide with the 100th birth anniversary of North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung. The United States is among nations that believe North Korea will use the launch to test its ballistic capabilities.

The reclusive state has tried and failed twice before to place a satellite into orbit.

At a joint news conference Sunday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and President Obama said they agreed that if North Korea goes ahead with the launch, it will violate U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang's use of ballistic missile technology.

"North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or by provocations. North Korea knows its obligations and it must take irreversible steps to meet those obligations," said Obama.

But Obama added he is not sure who is really in charge in Pyongyang.

The primary reason for the president's visit to South Korea is to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, which is dedicated to keeping radiological materials out of the hands of terrorists. The nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran are not on the official summit agenda. However, those two countries are certain to be discussed by the leaders of the United States, China and South Korea during one-on-one meetings on the sidelines.

President Obama told reporters he will ask China's president, Hu Jintao, to put more pressure on North Korea to get Pyongyang to make a fundamental shift in its behavior.

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