KBS1 ‘Correspondent Report: World Now’

At 9:30 p.m. on the 14th, episode 443 of KBS1 ‘Correspondent Report: World Now’ will air segments including ‘The fallout of the U.S.·Iran war··· A single plane ticket departing from Oman jumps to as high as 30 million won’, and ‘Fifteen years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, even after an alarm malfunction accident, a nuclear plant is slated to restart··· a wave of protest rallies sweeps the country’.

■ Fifteen days into the Iran war

The Iran war has entered its fifteenth day. The fighting grows more intense by the day, with the sound of shelling echoing across the Middle East. The production team flew into the region, where Iranian missiles and drones rain down daily. On the 11th, the day the crew arrived in Oman, a large fuel storage tank at the port of Salalah was hit by an Iranian drone strike, sparking a major fire. Salalah Port is a key hub on the Arabian Sea and could serve as an alternative route with the Strait of Hormuz under blockade. Fortunately there were no casualties, but operations at Salalah Port were completely suspended after the fire.

Amid this, people across the Middle East are flocking to Oman, where airspace conditions are comparatively better. But most flights are fully booked and fares have surged. Seats on private jets departing Muscat have at times exceeded $20,000 (about 30,000,000 KRW).

- The Terminator becomes reality, AI turned into a killing weapon

Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei and more than 40 members of the leadership were blown up, and within 48 hours of the start of the air campaign, strikes hit over a thousand targets. U.S. media reported that the AI Claude from Anthropic was used as a key tool in the operation. Claude is said to have identified the locations of the Iranian leadership and military assets and even set attack priorities. It did more than merely execute orders; it played the role of a ‘war architect’.

Although humans issued the final attack orders, can the strategy of AI truly be called flawless? Kenneth Payne, a strategist at King's College London, conducted simulated-war experiments using multiple AIs. The results showed the models chose to use nuclear weapons in 95% of situations. Alternatives such as negotiation, sanctions, or retreat were not considered.

KBS1 ‘Correspondent Report: World Now’

- Soaring global oil prices, an oil shock sweeps the world

On the 8th, the international oil price reached $120 per barrel. Trump said, “Once we destroy the Iranian nuclear threat, prices will drop sharply,” adding, “(The current situation is) a very small price for global safety and peace.” However, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned strongly that if the war continues as it is, we should brace for ‘$200 per barrel’.

In particular, fuel supply instability is spreading across Asia. That is because 80% of the crude oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz is bound for Asia-Pacific countries. In Vietnam, Pakistan, Cambodia, and other Asian nations, panic buying is even occurring. In Bangladesh, where purchases are restricted, there was even a murder in which a man in his twenties killed a gas station employee. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively sealed off, we examine scenes of the worst energy crisis since the 1970s.

- Clashing over the strike on Iran, a divided United States

Across the United States, protests have been held opposing the war with Iran. One citizen denounced it as “tyranny,” raging that the administration is committing all manner of legal outrages and asking why no one is stopping it. Indeed, a recent U.S. poll found that 53% of voters oppose the current U.S. military operation. Kurt Mills, a conservative magazine editor and Trump supporter, condemned the operation that killed Khamenei as “a clear misjudgment.” A past remark by Charlie Kirk that “waging a regime-change war in Iran is madness” also resurfaced.

As public opinion worsens and signs of a split appear among his base, the stance of the Trump administration is also shifting. Trump, who had been calling for ‘total surrender,’ recently said, “The war will end soon,” seemingly trying to calm anxieties. We look at U.S. public opinion on the Iran war and its potential impact on the November midterm elections.

■ Fifteen Years After the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Largest Nuclear Plant in the World Restarts

KBS1 ‘Correspondent Report: World Now’

Late on the night of the 6th, about 30 people gathered in front of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's residence in Japan. After a one-minute silent tribute, they sang, “Do not steal the future; I am ashamed. It is my hometown, and I am ashamed.” Why did they gather here?

March 11 marked 15 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake. A magnitude 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami as high as 10 meters struck - the worst natural disaster in Japan's history. In the aftermath, the Japanese government pursued a ‘zero nuclear’ policy and halted all nuclear plants. Now, 15 years later, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture, the largest single-site nuclear plant in the world, is nearing a restart. But residents have mounted strong resistance.

In response to the restart push, residents even sought a referendum on the restart, but the referendum ordinance was voted down despite a signature drive that gathered 150,000 people in just two months. A survey conducted last September found that 60% of residents of Niigata Prefecture oppose restarting the plant. Only a month ago, alarms for 205 control rods, which suppress fission in the reactor, failed to function properly, briefly stopping the plan.

On the 7th, large-scale ‘anti-nuclear’ rallies were held across Japan. One citizen cited pediatric thyroid patients and pleaded that the same mistakes must not be repeated. A 73-year-old resident also fumed, “Electricity to be supplied to Tokyo is produced here; why must we be put at risk?” Fifteen years after the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, we hear directly from local communities in Japan and experts about the restart of the Kashiwazaki plant.

KBS1 ‘Correspondent Report: World Now’

Episode 443 of ‘Correspondent Report: World Now’ features announcer Yoon Soo-Young, Professor Kim Jae-Cheon (Sogang University), Head Oh Geon-Young (Shinhan Bank), and Professor Park Hyun-Do (Sogang University), and will be broadcast live on KBS1 at 9:30 p.m. on March 14.