out another nuclear test. north korean leaders promised to boost their military power in reaction to a u.n. security council resolution condemning their recent rocket launch. security council members passed the resolution unanimously. it expands existing sanctions, adding four individuals and six organizations, including the space agency. assets will be frozen and the individuals will also face a travel ban. officials in pyongyang are showing defiance. >> this suggests north korean authorities are prepared to conduct a third nuclear tests following ones in 2006 and 2009. they also declared they will no longer recognize a joint statement in 2005 from the six party talks on their nuclear development. that includes plans for the country to abandon all nuclear weapons and programs. officials from the u.s., china and other countries are urging north korean leaders to exercise restraint. >> we call on north korea, as does the entire international community, not to engage in any further provocations. >> u.s. north korean specialist glyn davies made the appeal on arriving in south korea on wednesday for talks with officials. he will visit china and japan to coordinate policy on the north. china's new communist leader xi jinping also made a remark with an envoy of incoming south korean president, park kunei. he says china maintains its consistent stance that the korean peninsula should be free of nuclear weaponsed on other weapons of mass destruction. earlier, i spoke earlier with kengo okamoto, who has tracked developments for years. how likely will north korea go forward with this nuclear test? >> i think they will unless the u.s., japan and north korea take extra measures to persuade them to hold off. for example, if american diplomats offered talks, north korean has so far carried out two nuclear tests. in both cases, those tests follow the u.n. security council resolution or presidential statement, punishing them for a missile launch. it's become something of a cycle. the north koreans launch a missile, the u.n. reacts, and in the north, they carry out a nuclear test. the same process seems to be under way again. >> what's behind north korea's intentions in the face of so much international pressure? >> yes. i think they use these launches and the nuclear tests to keep a level of control with the u.s. the ultimate goal is to have ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads. they think that will put them on a more even footing with the americans. it's like an insurance policy. but it doesn't just help the north in their dealings with other nations. leader kim jung-un carries out these provocative actions to cement his power at home. the countries aeconomy is stagnant. most people insist on a minimum amount of food.yies aeconomy is stagnant. most people insist on a minimum amount of foo'ies aeconomy is stagnant. most people insist on a minimum amount of foosies aeconomy is stagnant. most people insist on a minimum amount of fooes aeconomy is stagnant. most people insist on a minimum amount of foos aeconomy is stagnant. most people insist on a minimum amount of foo aeconomy is stagnant. most people insist on a minimum amount of fooaeconomy is stagnant. nomy is ple insist on a minimum stagna he uses launches and tests to calm his people. north korea is a great country and they even celebrate them. as time goes on, kim's scientists and engineers will gain more knowledge and his military will become more powerful. diplomats need to use talks to counter that. and they need to encourage chinese officials to be more active in the process. meanwhile, a south korean nuclear analyst said on wednesday that north korea has the capability to conduct another nuclear test before too long. the documents released by the analysts show that the north has dug two horizontal tunnels two kilometers long within the pungary nuclear test site in north korea. judging from satellite photos, north korea could conduct a nuclear test before too long if the leadership makes that decision. voters in israel have handed the coalition led by prime minister benjamin netanyahu a narrow victory in a parliamentary election. the ruling right-wing bloc has fewer seats in the 120-member knesset. centrist parties and an extreme hardline party made gains. election officials says vote counting is nearly finished. the right wing bloc, led by the likud party, won the highest number of seats. exit polls think it will take about 30, down from the 42 it held before the vote. >> translator: thank you for giving me the chance to lead israel for a third time. we must form as large a coalition as possible. i've already started on this mission tonight. >> the centrist party is a future party and the center left labor party have increased their seats. so did the ultranationalist party, jewish home party, it opposes peace talks with the palestinians. the outcome of israeli elections often has an impact on the middle east as a whole. i spoke earlier with a akira saheki, who watched the campaign unfold in jerusalem. what has changed in israel? >> reporter: well, prime minister netanyahu's ruling coalition remains the biggest bloc, and his hard lifeline policies have agreed a certain amount of support, despite stalled peace talks with the palestinians. the ultranationalist jewish party has made great strides, as expected. it increased its pre-election three seats roughly fourfold. leader neftali bennett opposes what netanyahu accepts, a future palestinian state. this is the first time a party with such extreme views has earned this level of support. analysts say concerns hardline politicians were gaining momentum pushed voters to the center. there is a future party that made unexpected gains, the party projected to be the second biggest force in the knesset. campaigned mainly on domestic issues such as reviewing military draft exemptions for ultraorthodox jews. the information we have now suggests the right wing and center and left parties will be even in parliament. netanyahu could call on both parties to form the largest coalition possible. but the talks could be difficult. >> netanyahu would still be in charge. how would that affect relations with the palestinians? >> prospects for peace could be slim if he continues to lead the administration. if netanyahu moves forward with hardline policies, such as building more jewish settlements, it will be extremely difficult to resume talks. israel would also be more at odds with arab countries, such as egypt, which has an islamist president. and the hardline stance could put a strain on relations with the united states and other nations. >> netanyahu cited iran's nuclear development as the biggest post election challenge. how will he deal with that issue? >> reporter: his administration has not ruled out a preemptive strike if iran proceeds with nuclear development. after exit polls projected his victory, he stressed that israel must keep iran in check. >> translator: our biggest challenge remains from preventing iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. >> reporter: but if israeli leaders resort to unilateral action in iran, they risk isolation and could further destabilize the region. whatever the composition of the incoming coalition, the focus will continue to be on what prime minister netanyahu will say and do. >> islamist militants may have timed their attack on a natural gas plant in the algerian desert to coincide with an important event. took hundreds of workers hostage last wednesday. a meeting scheduled for the same day. algerian security forces surrounded the plant after the attack and fought their way in. 37 foreign nationals died in the operation. three japanese are still missing. one of them, a senior official of the japanese engineering firm jgc corporation, scheduled to attend a meeting with bp on the day the hostage siege started. bp leads the gas development project. britain's "daily telegraph" newspaper is reporting that a vice president was killed when the militants attacked. there is speculation someone leaked information about the meeting to extremists. seven japanese nationals have been confirmed dead. their friends and relatives are expressing their sadness and anger. nhk's keiko abe reports. >> reporter: rokura fuchida ran building sites around the world. he was 65 and retired. then his former bosses asked him to lead one more project in algeria. he wrote about it on facebook before he left. >> translator: i am working all over the world to see the twinkling, starlit sky. next, i will see the stars from the desert in algeria. >> reporter: his brother, nitsabu, heard about the hostage taking, then waited day after day for a call from rokura.mnit hostage taking, then waited day after day for a call from rokurinitsa hostage taking, then waited day after day for a call from rokurtnitsa hostage taking, then waited day after day for a call from rokurnitsab hostage taking, then waited day after day for a call from rokuronitsa hostage taking, then waited day after day for a call from rokurnitsab hostage taking, then waited day after day for a call fabu, it never came. >> translator: rokura was kind and a good brother. i just want to hug him. that's the only thing i want to do. >> reporter: fumihiro ito spent years developing energy sources. he led a project to develop gas fields in the salaha desert. he came from a town devastated in the tsunami two years ago. now, his 82-year-old mother lives alone in temporary housing. she says she has no mementos to remember her son. he and his former classmates were planning to get together next month to celebrate their 60th birthdays. >> translator: ito said he would join the party but would not stay overnight, because he wanted to visit his mother and stay with her. i want the news to be a mistake. i still think ito will show up at the party. >> reporter: he was looking forward to seeing his old friend. instead, he and the others will take a moment to remember. keiko abe, nhk world, tokyo. >> seven survivors of the attack will fly home on a government plane. the bodies of the seven victims will also be on the plane. survivors from other asian countries have started to return patchari raksawong has details. >> a malaysian man arrived home on wednesday afternoon. he was an employee of the engineering firm, jgc. ravi kappusany was reunited at the airport with members of his family. >> i'm happy i came back home safely, that's all. the government knows what's happening. >> in manila, four filipino survivors also returned home on wednesday from a passenger plane from algeria, via qatar. they were working at the gas plant in the algerian desert at the time of the attack. they came into the arrivals hall accompanied by a japanese employee of jgc. they looked tense and did not respond to questions from reporters. a vehicle sent by the company collected them from the airport. several asian countries suffered casualties in the attack. they include seven japanese, six filipinos and one malaysian. julia gillard has called for easing of friction in the region. she made the appeal in what called the first national strategy. gilliard said the region seems increasingly unsetted by political rivalries and territorial disputes. >> australia has a key role to play in building patents of cooperation and trust in the asia pacific and in the wider world. >> gillard said the emergence of strong, new economies is altering the balance of power in the region. she urged the united states and china to avoid any miscalculations over potential hotspots, referring to territorial disputes in the south china and east china seas. >> we remain optimistic about china around the united states to manage change in the region but it brings with it strategic competition as china's global interests expand. >> gillard called for the peaceful resolution of disagreements through dialogue using forums such as the east asia summit. she said australia would work closely other countries to help solve problems through diplomacy. afghan security forces will take the lead in their own country. repeated insider attacks have damaged trust w suspicions rising on both sides, military come plaerpsd sending soldiers back to school for a some lessons in cultural tolerance. >> we should know the heroes we honor today will not have died in vain. amen. >> reporter: some 440 soldiers died last year in afghanistan. 61 were victims of insider attacks. that's about 30 times the number five years ago. rising anti-u.s. sentiment in afghanistan is partly to blame. angry afghans took to the streets last february after burning of copies of the koran by u.s. military personnel. many afghan soldiers feel humiliated by foreigners' behavior. >> translator: if an american soldier crosses his legs, it makes me angry and i tell him to stop. >> reporter: insurgents are taking advantage of such emotions. this taliban pr video praises a former afghan soldier who killed a u.s. service member and calls him a hero. >> reporter: the taliban rewarded another soldier who mounted an attack with a payment of about $500. >> reporter: the afghan government and ier national commanders are drawing up measures to hold inside out attacks. afghan soldiers learned about foreign cultures and lifestyles to try to reduce feelings. this book gives us examples of behavior that might offend afghans, such as showing photos of female family members, blowing one's nose or crossing legs in public. the handbook explains such actions are common overseas. >> translator: we would never show photos of our wife or daughter to a stranger but that's not uncommon for foreigners. >> reporter: afghan soldiers who attend the classes say they have a better understanding of western culture. even so, some still cannot tolerate behavior they consider unislamic. >> translator: we learned a lot. foreign men can go to the bathroom standing up, but muslims sit down. we couldn't accept that. >> translator: it's foreigners who should learn about afghan customs and islamic culture and get a better understanding of what's acceptable here. >> reporter: international forces are struggling to stem the tide of anti-u.s. sentiment. some afghans are concerned that unless they can reduce inside attacks, foreign forces may accelerate their withdrawal and that, in time, could open the door to a taliban comeback and the return to city war. nhk world, kabul. >> and that will wrap up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. britain's prime minister, david cameron, says his country will hold a referendum before the end of 2017. that's on whether to stay in the eu. he announced this amid growing calls to leave the european brock, sparked by the ongoing european debt problems. >> i am not a british isolationist, but i do want a better deal for britain. but not just about a deal for britain. i want a better deal for europe too. so i speak as a british prime minister with a positive vision for the future for the european union, a future in which britain wants and should want to play a committed and active part. >> cameron emphasized that britain should not leave the eu. he insists that staying is the country's best interest. romanian police have arrested three men suspected of stealing paintings by picasso, monet and other greats from a dutch museum last year. the missing works have not been recovered. the three suspects are romanian nationals. they are accused of making off with seven paintings from the museum in rotterdam. the works include pieces by pablo picasso, claude monet, matisse and gogan. the combined values is in the tens of millions of dollars. details of the heist, including the precise involvement of the suspects, and whether or not they had help remain unclear. security cameras recorded two thieves breaking into the museum and then fleeing within minutes. the police released the footage with an appeal for the public's help. looks like another winter storm is on the way to japan. rachel ferguson is here with more details on that. rachel? >> it is about to get pretty wintry once again across northern japan. here in tokyo, western portions could see a light dusting of snowfall tonight, but it isn't going to be lasting into thursday morning. but that's not the storm we're talking about. this is the storm right here, coming across the sea of japan is developing. it's picking up a lot of power and then dropping some significant snowfall across hokkaido and northern honshu. it will be accompanied by strong gusts, buffeting snow around and reducing visibility. travel could be a little bit on the difficult side. now, the southern half, certainly the pacific edge of japan, will be missing out on precipitation, but not missing out on the cooler temperatures. we will be feeling a blast of icy air coming in toward the weekend. the continent looking mostly dry. a few showers south of china and some widespread fog here. nothing too severe. the philippines dealing with heavy rain, resulting in widespread flooding. that heavy rain is starting to taper off, which is good news, but still the chance of a few thunderstorms and scattered showers as we head into thursday. here are your temperatures on thursday. tokyo, 11 degrees. shanghai, 11, taipei, 21. and chongching, 21 degrees. high pressure, and a cold front moving in the west. here in the u.s., this is welcome for those of you in the northwest where the air has been stagnant. it will help clear out that air and then talking about the temperatures, really is the next thing. down in the southwest, it's like summer, and to the northeast, it's like -- not just winter, but this is extreme cold we're talking about across much of canada and down into new england, as well as the upper midwest. below zero for the highs here. minus 9 in toronto. minus 25 in winnipeg. minus 6 in chicago. then on the other side of the jetstream, up to 19 degrees in denver as we approach the end of january. 24 degrees in los angeles. all right. let's go first -- next, i should say, into europe. before we do that, i have video actually to show you icy temperatures and the scene here in the u.s. north. in erie, in pennsylvania. and you can see that the snow is definitely coming down and also that surge of icy cold air has dropped the windchill down to minus 40 across the region. high winds accompanied by lake-effect snow forced traffic to crawl throughout the city. further west, in st. louis, missouri, traffic also suffered as blowing snow reduced visibility and snowdrifts piled up on the roadways. so due to this extreme cold, residents have been advised not to venture outdoors, make any unnecessary travel. all right. let's head now into europe to see what the scene is like here. now, we have been talking about snow across much of the continent for the last several days. a much clearer picture across central and western locations. but it is down to the south that we see most of the action. this is going to be a well-developed low that spreads heavy snow across italy and into the balkan peninsula. further toward the south, and the coast, you will see thunderstorms that could even have hail as well as damaging winds, thunder and lightning. toward the west, this is also going to be some snow, maybe slush and sleet. it should clear up by friday. temperatures as we head into thursday, minus 12. cooling down in stockholm. minus 8 in kiev and not so bad toward the far southeast. toward paris, subzero. minus two for your thursday high. we'll be back in 30 minutes with more news. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us at nhk world, thanks very much for joining us. have a great day, wherever you are.

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