Some South Korean residents are revealing a secret past. They're former North Koreans who have managed to escape the country. They've risked everything to find a better life in the South. But they've faced prejudice and other difficulties in their new home. This has driven many of them to hide their backgrounds. Now, they're opening up more and more, even speaking on TV, and the world stage.

NHK World's Jihae Hwang has the story.

The leaders of Japan and the United States have been discussing how to take their relationship into a new era. Shinzo Abe and Barack Obama want to work more closely in the Asia Pacific region on issues such as trade and security. We hear from one of the key figures of this alliance. Caroline Kennedy, daughter of John F. Kennedy, is the US Ambassador to Japan.

NHK's senior commentator Aiko Doden sat down with her to talk about where the US-Japan alliance is heading and what we can learn from her father's legacy.