citizens and fancy graphics, drone footage and even time lapse video. this is something they want to tell our people, we are modernizing under our young leader, and with his youth comes a whole new level of technology. reporter: in one instance they even stage an corruption on set. a presenter walks in and hands the anchor papers with a breaking news update on how a steel factory is doing. analysts say the change in north korea s sfat tv broadcast could be influenced by more content coming in from outside north korea. they do also have the ability to go to the local dvd shop and buy russian, romanian, chinese tv soap operas and movies. and so they are aware of foreign content, and some of that is certainly seeping into how they present their tv. reporter: analysts say this is also part of kim jong-un s broader makeover, a retooling of north korea s image from that of
a whole new level of technology. reporter: in one instance they even stage an interruption on-set. a presenter walks in and hands the anchor papers with breaking news on how a factory is doing. the change in north korea s broadcast could be influenced by more content coming in from outside korea. they do also have the ability to go to the local dvd shop and buy russian, romanian, chinese tv soap operas and movies and so they are aware of foreign content and some of that is certainly seeping into how they present their tv. reporter: analysts say this is also part of kim jong-un s broader makeover, a retooling of north korea s image from that of a stodgy cold war era hermit kingdom to a portrayal of a modern, vigorous country with young leadership. part of that effort, analysts say, involves kim promoting his younger sister to powerful positions, even putting her
plane for hawaii. when asked by police why she did it, she simply said, i had nowhere else to go. jim avila, abc news, washington. washington, d.c. residents will vote in november on whether to legalize marijuana in the nation s capital. the district s board of elections approved the ballot initiative yesterday after activists gathered more than 27,000 signatures. the stage is set for a possible fight with congress. some lawmakers are seeking to block the legalization effort and a new decriminalization law. topping our health headlines this morning, you would think beating cancer would be reason enough to quit smoking, but you would be wrong. a study finds one out of ten cancer survivors admit to having a smoke in the past month. that s despite knowing that smoking interferes with treatment and increase the chance of cancer coming back. the pope this morning is warning young people about the dangers of too much screen time. pope francis says chatting on the internet or smart ph
have no more qualification than they have no more qualifications to be an ambassador or a diplomat than i do, to produce tv soap operas or to run hotel empires. they come to these positions thinking that, prepares they think all they need to do is go to cocktail parties. that s a total misunderstanding of what an ambassador does. an ambassador, a u.s. ambassador, if he or she is taking his or her job seriously, out on call 24/7 and they have to be as nimble in washington as they are in the capitals in which they serve. it s hard work. and it s not to be underestimated. and they are not paid enough. james, thank you, sir. so is a diplomatic process including the president s latest nominations embarrassing the nation and does it need to drastically change? joining us or abc news political
be a 70/30 balance of career employees, people who have been working through the foreign service and serving around the world, building that level of experience and then about 30% from outside the private sector. senator mccain has called several of the president s picks truly alarming. the former foreign service officer james bruno agrees with that assessment. they have no more qualifications to be an ambassador or a diplomat than i do to produce tv soap operas or to run a hotel empire. they come to these positions thinking that they programs they think all they need to do is go to cocktail parties. ambassador nominees sunus complete with embarrassing gaffe has apparently gone viral, not in the united states but in norway. uma, pack to you. imagine what the norway folks are saying there. all right, thanks, doug, appreciate it.