displeasure of something south korea has done. they were functioning then in june of last year they were cut off because they were unhappy about propaganda booms. then in july of this year they were reinstated an there was much optimism along with some revelations that the leaders of the two koreas had actually been exchanging letters for a few months but then that only lasted a matter of days before north korea cut the lines off again because the u.s. and south korea had joint military drills. so there is optimism from seoul. they welcome the fact that these have been reinstated but no one knows how long they will actually last. we heard from the south korean side what their official said on the line. he said, quote, it's been a while and i'm glad that the communication line has been restored like this. i hope that the interkorean relations can develop into a new era as the communication line has been restored. now this was first talked about by north korean leader kim jong-un himself last week saying that he would be open to rei

has opened talks with south korea after cutting ties. they confirm the north responded on a hotline early monday morning. a communications link between the two countries militaries has been restored. north korean leader kim jong-un vowed to get there. paula, of course communications is always a good thing. one hopes to reduce the tensions. explain what's behind this decision from north korea. >> it's being welcomed by soule and they're happy they be being restored. kim jong-un said himself in a speech he wanted the hotlines resumed could suggest that they will stay resumed for some time. we simply don't know considering back in july of this year they were restored once again. been a year where they haven't been connected but then that's only lasted a matter of days. pyongyang cut the hotlines once again saying they were happy that the u.s. and south korea were carrying out military drills they wanted canceled. pyongyang has a way of showing anger, displeasure against south korea and wanting them to do something different. this is no diff

also an exhibition this week here in south korea looking at the air power of south korea. we have heard from kim jong-un himself a week ago saying south korea is being hypocritical by pushing its own weapons program forward while criticizing the north. isa? >> timing certainly interesting. paula hancocks for us in seoul. good to see you. >>> now, we are now learning new details about the urgent effort to free 17 kidnapped missionaries in haiti. the wall street journal citing a top haitian official reports the gang that abducted the group is seeking $17 million for their release. a team of u.s. officials is in haiti working with local authorities. haitians angry over the kidnappings as well as surge in violence are taking part in a strike to demand action from the government. cnn's matt rivers is in the capital where he says people are expressing their frustration. take a listen to this. >> reporter: normally this street would be packed with traffic, with a lot of life, and it's a lot calmer than it normally is because many people have chosen to stay home today. schools are

what does this mean for south korea? >> reporter: well, isa, at this point we're waiting for the final confirmation that this was 100% a success. we are expecting that any moment now as you say. it certainly looked successful from a liftoff point of view from the image we saw. what this would mean if, in fact, it was a success is that south korea would become the 7th country in the world to have its own 100% domestically produced rocket that can put a satellite into space. now, what they were going for today was to make sure that they could -- it was a satellite dummy, but put that satellite dummy between 600 and 800 kilometers above the earth. if it reaches that point, then it will be considered a success. and certainly this would be a significant step for south korea in its space program. now, experts here say they did start late, but they have caught up in recent years. just in 2013, they were able to launch a rocket carrying a satellite into space. but at that point that was a rocket that had russian collaboration as

north and south korea have

so north korea calling on south korea not to have double standards. if it does that, there could be better relations going forward. we even heard hints of another summit from pyongyang. >> it is interesting that they have reopened lines of communication, but state media say it's south korea that must repair relations and resolve issues. so what happens when these lines of communication are open, does anything get done? >> reporter: well, these lines, for example, the military hotlines, are effectively to make sure there's no miscalculation, no misinformation, and no inadvertent start of tensions. so they have a call in the morning at 9:00 a.m., another call in the afternoon at 4:00 p.m., just to make sure that there is communication between the two koreas, and the south korean side said today they wanted to make sure and said to north korea, if there is an issue, we need continued communication between the two koreas. north korea did agree to that. so it's just to make sure that nothing goes awry. michael? >> yeah. paula, thank you, as always. paula h

korea was blown up by north korea because they were unhappy with south korea. it was reinstated briefly in july of this year. they did start these hotlines once again, but they only lasted a couple of weeks before north korea cut them off once again, saying that they were angry at the u.s./south korean military drills going ahead. so it is positive news that they are being reconnected. we know that south korean officials have spoken to the north korean officials on these hotlines this morning, but we don't know how long it will last. we did hear what the south korean official said. quote, it's been a while, and i'm glad that the communication lines have been restored like this. i hope the inter-korean relations can develop into a new era now the communication line has been restored. certainly seoul is putting a positive spin on it, and it was the north korean leader himself, kim jong-un, who floated the idea last week of these hotlines being reinstated. we've also been hearing from north korea that they advised south korea to abandon, quote, double standards an

skid game is the biggest hit from south korea. one of many south korean film and tv productions gaining traction around the world. >> on social media, these images are everywhere. on television, everyone is talking about it. amazon's jeff bezos tweeted, i can't wait to watch the show. already reaching number one. squid game is a south korean tv show where 400 contestants compete in child-like games to reduce debt but losing will lead to death. >> a lot of people said what is this, what the hell is this, they said it in a negative way. >> its tv shows were predominantly romantic soap operas. >> i thought will i be able to bring my show to life if i wanted if netflix is involved. i brought the script and netflix loved it. >> netflix already invested over $2 billion in content. >> i believe in the past couple of years, we've seen korean content grow four times in the region. >> parasite. >> one win after another. swept far beyond asia where it has been popular the past two decades. this show's message resonates around the world. >> t

. >> reporter: south korea has large, profitable studios but the tv shows were predominantly romantic soap operas until netflix arrived. >> translator: i thoughtly be able to bring this to netflix? they said they loved it. >> reporter: netflix has invested some $2 billion on asian content and will invest in another half a billion on making new korean content alone this year. >> i think in the past couple of years we've seen korean content viewing grow four times in the region. >> "parasite." >> reporter: this is a golden age. music, film, tv shows. it's swept far beyond asia where it's been popular. kwang said this resonates around the world. >> translator: the world is getting much harder to live in. even in the last ten years wealth disparate is growing. nations are facing economic strife. >> reporter: central disparity from "parasite." content from south korea have war and military dictatorship traditionally carries a strong message. >> media is not just entertainment. media has been a very important tool for political enlightenment or political resistance. >> it is relatively chea

south korea has made the same commitment. and with china's recent announcement, we are well on the way to -- financing for new coal power as we ramp up support. for renewables. we still need the g20 to tackle domestic unabated coal power use. at the g20 meeting i urge lead toerz kick coal in the past where it belongs. >> well, a new study is painting a dire picture of what our world could look like if global temperatures just keep rising. researchers from climate central say rising sea levels will impact more than 800 million people if the earth warmed just a few degrees, and 50 major coastal cities will be under water unless they take unprecedented measures to prevent flooding. i want to put this into perspective. this is the tower of london. and this is what researchers say it would look like under water in the future. similar scenes in san francisco, california. where you can see buildings as well as high rises really immersed in water. very, very dire picture that they are painting about rising sea levels. >>> meanwhile,

so if taiwan were suddenly to be essentially abandoned by the united states, japan, south korea, and other allies and potential allies in the region would probably recalculate their relationship with the united states so it has wider geopolitical implications. >> that was retired u.s. army general stanley mcchrystal speaking with cnn. >>> iraqis are voting in their country's general election today in a mark for boycotts and predicted low turnout. there's corruption, unem unemployment. we have the baghdad bureau chief. thanks so much for being with us. louisa, this election was brought on in large part by protests and lack of government services. you might think this would be a great day but it doesn't seem as though that would be the case. what have iraqis been telling you? >> i think because the pras protests that triggered this did not lead to the improvement they wanted to see, people are disappointed. security hasn't improved. corruption is worse than ever. we have a new election law. then anyone who wants to challenge this system is really going to struggle. independent candidat

korea and the united states in any constructive way in the future. so this is the concern at this point that north korea is not necessarily doing as many missile launches as it did in 2017, for example, but the quality and the caliber of these missile launches is higher. it shows that they are testing new capabilities and they are moving their ability further forward, isa. >> paula hancocks, thanks very much, paula. >>> now, a gang in haiti is seeking millions to free the group of missionaries it's holding captive. the latest on what officials are saying about the negotiations. we'll have that next. >>> plus, the indian government is offering compensation to the families of every covid victim in the country, but getting that money won't be easy. we'll explain next. i would've called yesterday. but... i could've called yesterday. but... i should've called yesterday, but... would've, could've, should've. we hear that a lot. hi. i'm jonathan, an insurance professional and manager here at colonial penn life insurance company. sometimes, people put off ca

policy towards taiwan has wider implications for the region especially south korea and japan. blake essig is joining us from tokyo. so president biden raising plenty of eyebrows with his comments. what has been the reaction from beijing? >> reporter: the situation playing out on the taiwan strait between beijing is a big concern around the world. the stakes are incredibly high. and from japan's perspective, given its close proximity to taiwan, there are real concerns that japan could get drawn into a conflict over taiwan. in fact japan's ground self-defense force is currently holding a massive nationwide drill -- combat drills simulating an attack right now on japan's southern islands. so the concern is real. regarding president biden's comments last night as you might expect the reaction in the region was mixed. in taiwan biden's words were met with celebration, with taiwan's foreign ministry reiterating that their government will continue to strengthen its self-defense capabilities to fully defend taiwan. in china, the foreign ministry essentially said that the u.s. should b

and the military buildup in south korea. kim made the speech about weapons and the missile defense exhibition. north korea appears to be pushing ahead with the program and started expanding its main nuclear reactor to make fuel for nuclear bombs. >>> now, u.s. president joe biden is facing one of his biggest tests as tensions soar between taiwan and beijing. china has called for a peaceful reunification with taiwan. but in recent weeks it sent dozens of military aircraft into the island's identification zone. taiwan remains defiant with the president saying the island won't bow to pressure. cnn's ivan watson joins me now from hong kong. every day we talk about this, we are seeing heightened tensions from both sides. give us a sense of what the u.s., what president biden is saying here, and how worried the u.s. is about these incursions, but also about the rise in rhetoric. >> reporter: yeah, i mean, the conversation, if you want to describe it that way, across the taiwan strait continues. and i think the most recent developm