against either country. north korea's leader called the agreement a "new high level of alliance," sparking concerns in western countries. but the full details of the pact and its consequences remain unclear. following the deal between the two nuclear powers, nato secretary general jens stoltenberg said: on the other side of the dmz, some south koreans say they're worried about how this new agreement could affect their safety. translation: we're still- a divided country, and war can happen at any time. under the circumstances, if north korea and russia have closer ties, it would have a negative impact on our country as russia can give military cooperation to the north when war occurs. translation: i'm worried what if war breaks out - as putin and north korea are having a such close relationship. north korea recently sent off rubbish balloons and north korean soldiers crossed into the border often. let's get the latest on this trip. we can speak to our china correspondent laura bicker in beijing and our correspondent shaima khalil, who is in seoul. shaima, to you first. this pack that vladimir putin and kimjong un have signed, in and kimjong un have signed, in a practical way how significant is it? it a practical way how significant is it? , , is it? it is interesting because _ is it? it is interesting because the - is it? it is interesting because the fact - is it? it is interesting because the fact that stipulates that in the case of aggression or war, both sides or other side can immediately help the other. i think it has been left vague, it has been left elastic, it can essentially mean whatever it is they want to do but look at how they want to do but look at how they breathe spoke about it, kim jong they breathe spoke about it, kimjong un they breathe spoke about it, kim jong un said they breathe spoke about it, kimjong un said north korea will get involved without hesitation and in the case of any incident or war on his country or russia 12 vladimir putin called a breakthrough but also quoted as saying that russia and north korea may co—operate militarily. it has raised the anxiety levels, not just here in seoul with the government watching with concern, rememberthey said concern, remember they said this concern, rememberthey said this is the red line did not want russia to cross, but also with the people that you have just heard there, especially with tensions at the border between north and south. i also think it raises questions, what does that mean in practical terms? will it mean more munitions for russia from north korea, evidence of which we have seen from the us and south korea? they both deny it. we'll it mean that north korea may be involved in the more general conflict of ukraine but also in what capacity, what kind of help? is moscow willing to provide? will it be forms of aid or more sophisticated military technology? the vagueness and lack of clarity at least publicly and that we see is quite deliberate because it means they can interpreted the way they want in the coming days which is why this is a cause for worry in the us, in kyiv and in ukraine, because they are also asking what it means for them. here in south korea as well.— korea as well. vladimir putin has now moved _ korea as well. vladimir putin has now moved to _ korea as well. vladimir putin has now moved to vietnam, | korea as well. vladimir putin | has now moved to vietnam, a different alliance there. what are the objectives there? vladimir putin is a very welcome guest in vietnam, this is a long and established relationship and friendship, remember the top leaders in vietnam, many of them have been educated in russia, many speak the language, the soviet union had historically held vietnam and the war with the french, the us, economically, and militarily. the armed forces in vietnam are still use russian weapons. vietnam will have to do walk a fine balance because while prides itself in this bamboo diplomacy, a friend of all an enemy of banana, i think the fact that the us is not happy about this visit will be in the back of their minds. they will think we want to keep this friendship, they want to keep the relationship russia is no longer one of our biggest economic trading partners, that is the us and china, we need to keep them happy. they are involved in the warren ukraine any military deal will be a violation of sanctions on russia so they need to diversify militarily as well. vietnam has reviewed so far to condemn russia's war in ukraine but it maintains family a good relationship with kyiv so in this visit, vietnam will keep a close eye on its national interest, what they want from russia and for russia and vladimir putin it is another demonstration that he still has friends in the region despite the sanctions and the growing isolation around the world. laura, these alliances are being closely watched around the world, this trip has been closely watched what i was being viewed in bc has been watching closely when it comes to the visit. watching closely when it comes to the visit-— to the visit. they will have been studying _ to the visit. they will have been studying overnight . to the visit. they will have i been studying overnight the text of the mutual agreement reached between them. there is a big reason for this, although russia and north korea need each other, they need china far more. russia needs china to supported militarily and right now although china is not sending in arms it is sending in the components, according to the united states, which you can use in is war efforts. that has been wildly contempt by washington and europe and beijing is coming under increasing pressure to try to avoid sending more support to vladimir putin. they do not want any more attention from the west. when it comes to this pact between russia and north korea, they do not want to come under any more pressure from washington to try to rein in its neighbours. when it comes to north korea, they still need china more than is russia. 90% of its trays comes from china, 25% - 50% of oil of its trays comes from china, 25% — 50% of oil and gas comes from russia. it still needs china. one analyst described it to me, the relationship between china and north korea, as the oil lamp that keeps on burning. russia is like a torch, it will eventually flame out. one of the phrases are used yesterday as i saw them together is a north korea and russia and fast friends, not firm friends, all although the language and rhetoric will have been aimed at the west, much of this is a show because in practical terms it is unclear how well one can support the other.— support the other. thank you both are joining _ support the other. thank you both are joining us, - support the other. thank you both are joining us, agreed i support the other. thank you | both are joining us, agreed to both arejoining us, agreed to get your thoughts. israel's chief military spokesman says prime minister benjamin netanyahu's stated goal of eradicating hamas is unattainable. in a tv address, rear admiral daniel hagari insisted that "hamas is an ideology" — and therefore can't be eliminated. he said anyone promising the total defeat of hamas is misleading the public. in response, the prime minister's office issued this statement, simply saying: rear admiral hagari later issued a statement, saying the military is committed to those objectives. israeli troops and tanks advanced further into rafah on wednesday, the city the israeli military says is now hamas's largest stronghold in gaza. the israeli defense forces released this footage of operations they say took place monday, in which troops cleared "terrorist infrastructure". on wednesday, an israeli airstrike reportedly killed 12 people who were waiting for an aid convoy near gaza's main point of entry. meanwhile, the united nations�* human rights office says israel appears to have repeatedly violated international law with its bombing of gaza. it examined six specific bomb attacks last year that hit residential buildings, a school, refugee camps and a market. the human rights office says the heavy weapons used cannot distinguish between civilians and fighters — and thus their use cannot be justified. at a meeting in geneva, un human rights chief volker turk said israel's bombing campaign could amount to a crime against humanity. to hear more about the current situation on the ground in gaza, i spoke to rachel cummings from save the children a little earlier. rachel, you're speaking to us from deir al—balah, you've spoken to us a few time from there, can you update us? what is the situation like that at the moment? are people continuing to arrive seeking refuge there from other parts of gaza? yes, great, thanks so much. yes, i mean yes, definitely, people are still arriving. gaza is very mobile. being forced time and time again. we know since the 6th of may, when the first evacuation orders were issued in rafah, the population continues to be forced to move. there are now a million people who continue to be moving along the west of rafah in khan younis and into deir al—balah. in the last few days we went out into khan younis to look for options for service provision, so to set up a new clinic in children in khan younis, and population people are now still moving and children are still very much vulnerable in this context, yes. a grandmother in gaza told the bbc today about the conditions her grandchildren are living in. she said it is like a slow death. there is no dignity. what is the situation of children like where you are? that woman is absolutely right, it is extraordinary what is being done to children and what is happening to children. children are hungry, there is not enough food for people, not enough clean water so children are getting sick, and we know that, children are dying from malnutrition when it should not be happening in gaza, so the situation is desperate and we are deeply worried of course for the mental health impact is having on a whole generation of children. schools have been closed since the 7th of october, so there is no formal learning taking place, and as i said before, that provides protection for children and a sense of normalcy for their childhood, but children are no longer able to be children in gaza, and this is having a massive impact on their mental health and physical health as well. so what do children spend the day doing, then, in the absence of school or any kind of formal setting to go to and with their parents looking for food and shelter? well, it is very difficult. parents and caregivers are having to seek food and seek any work or any employment they can, so children are taking on families for young children being expected to care for younger children or elderly relatives within the household. we had one staff member actually telling us a story where he had had to ask his son, who was nine years old, to just stay with his grandfather the whole day. his grandfather is unwell, his father is obviously at work, so the job of the child was then to look after the elderly grandparent, but time is that by hundreds of thousands across gaza where children are having to take on other roles, so looking after elderly relatives, but also seeking food, seeking water, seeking shelter as well. these are some of the roles children are having to take on. children along with other partners are providing some type of child services and providing space for children to be children, but we know that is a short amount of time in their day and it is also obviously not reaching enough children. the israeli military has said it is going to put in place a daytime pause in certain areas to try to get humanitarian aid in. have you seen that pause in military action happening? yes, we have heard of this pause and it is from the crossing through rafah to the european hospital, i understand. now, that is a very dangerous area, which is why they are putting in this pause to allow for people and aid to move. however, it is still a very dangerous area for humanitarian action and for humanitarian access to be present. so although that pause has been reported, what we need a course is a definitive ceasefire to allow for the freedom of movement of people and supplies across the whole of gaza. as the war rages in gaza, there's growing concern that a simmering conflict between israel and the islamist armed group hezbollah — which is based in neighbouring lebanon — could escalate into a bigger war. the leader of hezbollah is now warning nearby cyprus that it would be an act of war to provide any military help to israel. hassan nasrallah said cyprus would be treated as a warring party if it allows the israeli airforce to use its bases to attack hezbollah. israel has said it is ready for a war with hezbollah. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a seven—month—old girl was mauled to death by her family's pet dog in coventry, police have confirmed. she was rushed to hospital by ambulance from the scene on shorncliffe road on sunday but died a short time later. police said the dog was not classed as a dangerous breed and was humanely destroyed. a police officer working in prime minister rishi sunak�*s close protection team has been arrested and suspended from duty in connection with bets allegedly placed on the timing of the general election. the metropolitan police said they were contacted by the gambling commission last friday. the officer has been bailed pending further enquiries. wiltshire police confirmed two people were arrested on suspicion of damaging the prehistoric stonehenge monument. campaigners with just stop oil, which protests against the use of fossil fuels, sprayed powder paint on the landmark. the group said the orange powder paint was cornflour and that it will "wash away with rain". the protest came a day before the summer solstice at the ancient site. you're live with bbc news. now to extreme temperatures in saudi arabia, where hundred of pilgrims have fallen to deadly heatwaves. hundreds of thousands of people are visiting mecca for the annual hajj pilgrimage. reports estimate at least 600 pilgrims have died in the heat, according to two arab officials. temperatures during the hajj soared to more than 51 degrees celsius on wednesday. our correspondent sally nabil has the latest from cairo. a p pa re ntly apparently the numbers walking arising because what we have so is just an initial toll, arising because what we have so isjust an initial toll, we have no official figures released by the government yet, it is they toll made by the locals who try to find out what happened to their loved ones. so far we know is that most of the deaths are heat related, pilgrims have performed the rituals in very high temperatures that have reached as high as 50 celsius which has put a lot of pressure on them and has apparently rendered them a very exhausted. the problem this year is with unregistered pilgrims, those who go to saudi arabia with a tourist reason without getting the official hajj visa hoping to catch the season, hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims and that has put a lot of the load on the authorities and apparently they are not catered for properly, and this is why many of them have lost their lives. the war in ukraine has many far—reaching effects, but one of the more unexpected ones has been for people hoping to have babies through commercial surrogacy. the country used to be the go—to destination in europe, but now, it's nearby georgia. agencies there are recruiting women from across central asia to meet the rising demand for surrogate mothers — leading to concerns about exploitation. the bbc russia's maria jevstafjeva reports from tbilisi. three—year—old harrison and madison have come to meet their new baby brothers. the sets of twins were born here in tbilisi, georgia. british couple turned to commercial surrogacy after five years of failed ivf treatment. it was a lot more affordable for us to go to georgia, the level of paperwork. we just couldn't thank georgia for giving us an opportunity of this magnitude to be able to create life, and i am you know, i wasn't able to do that myself. joanna and paul used a georgian surrogate. georgia is now the go to country in europe for many couples. it used to be ukraine but the war there has led to many parents making the switch. but with georgia's population less than a 10th of ukraine's, a shortage of local mothers means agencies are choosing to recruit some women from central asia. 2600 kilometres away in kazakhstan, we meet alena. she has asked us not to use her real name but has allowed us to follow her on herjourney to become a surrogate mother. she is undergoing a test to see if she can become a surrogate for a global agency. i have a few reasons for this. i need money, i need the best for my children. like eight of the nine surrogates we spoke to, the 37—year—old is a single mum. everything is expensive, expensive is food, expensive is our flat. at a local refuge for single mothers like this, many of the women have considered becoming surrogates. the 20,000 us dollars they could earn is about twice the average salary here. the charity's manager feels the money involved puts pressure on the women. translation: in my opinion this is exploitation. - unfortunately our socioeconomic positions which many women are taking part in these programmes. they have small children and need the money to support their family. a month later from when we first met, alena has travelled from kazakhstan to georgia and is now awaiting to have embryos from intended parents implanted in her uterus. i am feeling a bit strange because i miss my kids, and i'm thinking about them, what are they eating, how they slept, how they are feeling. i feel i am alone here, i am without support. despite the difficulties, alina thinks the rewards of surrogacy outweigh the costs for her but the rapid growth of the practice in georgia is creating controversy. liberal feminist groups want more protection for the women involved, but when the georgian government introduced the draft law to ban surrogacy for foreign couples last year it seemed like an extra motivation for them was to stop same—sex couples from getting babies from georgia. but after some lobbying by surrogacy agencies that bill has been put on hold. commercial surrogacy clearly changes lives for everyone involved, but it was prompting debate is whether it is a fair deal. south africa's president cyril ramaphosa is promising the "beginning of a new era" after being sworn in for a second term. the inauguration ceremony in pretoria was attended by at least 18 foreign heads of state, and included a 21—gun salute and fly—past by army helicopters. it follows elections in which the governing african national congress — the party of nelson mandela — lost its majority for the first time in decades. they've now entered into coalition with a traditional rival. the outcome of the election was described as one of the biggest political shifts in the country since the end of apartheid. here's our africa correspondent barbara plett usher. in his inaugural address mr ramaphosa told south africans that a lot was at stake. he said this was the beginning of a new era, that this was a moment of profound significance and that's because for the first time the anc is having to share power in what it calls the national unity government and its main partner is an ideological and political opponent, the democratic alliance party. it's also because it's crucial for this government to reverse the decline in south africa's economy, to basically get the economy working again for people, which it hasn't been, and that's why the anc lost so many votes and it's because society is deeply only and highly polarised, those are mr ramaphosa's words. he said this could lead to instability. and there are parties who have pledged to strongly oppose this government using quite fiery rhetoric. so the next step is for mr ramaphosa to choose his cabinet and then to announce his detailed policy proposals and then for this coalition to govern in a way that delivers for the people. let's turn to some important news around the world. at least nine people are dead and 46 injured after a fire broke out at a military ammunition depot in chad's capital. the fire triggered a series of explosion that started just before midnight and lasted more than 30 minutes, causing fatalities and damage to nearby homes. government officials are launching an investigation into the fire to rule out foul play. louisiana is now the first us state to order every public school classroom to display a poster of the bible's ten commandments. the civil rights group aclu says they plan to sue the state over the new law. on wednesday, communities across the us have been marking what some call the country's second independence day — juneteenth. the date commemorates the end of slavery in texas and other confederate states as america's bloody civil war drew to a close. on 19june 1865, union troops from northern states finally reached galveston, texas. they told more than 250,000 enslaved black people that they were officially free. it came more than two years after the emancipation declaration freed all enslaved people in confederate—controlled areas — those were southern states that seceded from the union. juneteenth has mostly been observed by african americans as the symbolic end of slavery, but in 2021, president biden signed legislation making it a federal holiday. it is marked as a day to celebrate freedom and to raise awareness of continuing inequities across the globe. one of the activists who pushed to havejuneteenth nationally recognised marked this year's occasion in a special way. opal lee, also known as �*the grandmother ofjuneteenth' completed her annual 2.5—mile walk in dallas to recognize the 2.5 years it took for the news to reach the enslaved people in texas. ms lee — who is 97 years old — was also given the keys to her new home on friday. it was built on the same lot that her family was driven away from by a racist mob when she was 12. that is the news for now. i am caitriona perry. thank you for watching. stay with us here on bbc news. hello, there. wednesday was a decent day, right across all four nations. in fact, we saw temperatures in excess of 20 degrees, and we haven't seen that for over a week. but you may have heard a rumour that things are going to get warmerstill, and, infact, into next week we are likely to see temperatures widely into the mid—20s, maybe peaking as high as 28 celsius, somewhere in south—east england. perhaps, for many, that's something to look forward to, but before we get too carried away, let's concentrate on the rest of this week — turning warmer, yes, with some sunny spells, but there will also be some rain pushing into the west. now, we can see the first signs of that through today, with this weak weather front here, but more significant rain waiting in the wings. but for the majority of us, it will be a dry, settled and sunny start, a beautiful start. a line of nuisance cloud, really from northern england down to wales and south—west england, that could produce the odd spot or two of rain, and some showery dribs and drabs across northern ireland and into southern scotland, with that weakening weather front. to the far north west, temperatures perhaps struggling — 15 degrees. generally, to the north, we're looking at 18—20 celsius, with highest values of 22 celsius, somewhere in the south—east. but it's certainly worth bearing in mind, if you're a hay fever sufferer, well, we are looking at very high pollen levels, quite widely, across the country. now, into friday, ourweather front will continue to push in from the west. it will start to weaken off, as it drifts its away steadily east, but there's likely to be some heavier bursts, particularly across parts of northern ireland, as we go through the day on friday. some showery outbreaks of rain into western scotland, clouding over generally, but central and eastern areas should continue to see some sunshine, and, again, some warmth. we might see high teens, perhaps, in sheltered eastern areas of scotland. highest values, perhaps, of 23 celsius, somewhere in the south—east. now, that weatherfront, as it continues to track its way steadily east, will fragment and weaken, so there is a risk of some cloud, maybe a little bit of drizzle around on saturday, but on the whole, high pressure will build, and the winds are likely to swing around to more of a south—westerly for the second half of the weekend, and it's that south—westerly wind that will drive in this warmer air. so you can see, looking ahead, a lot of dry, settled, sunny weather, and turning increasingly warm. alleluia. voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. from donetsk to kharkiv, this promises to be a summer of desperate defence for the ukrainian forces battling russia's relentless front line assault. but maybe more dispiriting for kyiv is the potential deterioration of the diplomatic situation. yes, ukraine is getting significant new military and financial assistance from its allies, but from the us to europe, political forces opposed to continued support for kyiv are on the rise. my guest is ukraine's foreign minister, dmytro kuleba. could ukraine be bounced into a deal on putin's terms?