All language subtitles for What.on.Earth.S03E16.1080p.DSCP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[eng]

Narrator:
They're watching you.

More than 4,000 satellites
Circle the earth.

Every day, they uncover
New mysterious phenomena

That defy explanation.

There's something
Weird going on here.

It's suspicious.

Narrator:
Strange, prehistoric creatures.

Petford: looks like
It's got ribs, almost,

Coming out
From a central backbone.

Narrator:
An abyss that threatens
To swallow the landscape.

[ distorted screaming ]

Are the gates of hell
Opening up?

Fletcher:
The tribes that live in this
Area believe in an underworld

Where the dead
And evil spirits reside.

They think that this crack

Is the entrance
To the underworld.

Narrator: when is a star system
Not a star system?

When it's a weird,
Unidentified series of lights.

Whatever this phenomena is,
It's massive.

Narrator: giants in the jungle
Leaving strange symbols.

All of a sudden, you have
This very peculiar shape.

Narrator: a missing-person
Mystery in michigan.

This is the kind of case
That cops dread.

Narrator: and the town
From "The twilight zone."

It just seems like
A very strange place

To have, you know,
People settle down.

Narrator: baffling phenomena,
Mysteries from space.

What on earth are they?

-- captions by vitac --
Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

430 miles above frozen siberia,

The pleiades satellite
Captures images

Of the largest forest
On the planet.

One image shows a vast

And strangely shaped tear
In the earth.

What draws your eye instantly
Is this very strange,

Almost organic-looking
Structure with ribs, almost,

Coming out away
From a central backbone.

It almost looks like
A tadpole -- like a giant,

Massive tadpole --
In the landscape.

**

Narrator: the monstrous chasm
Is in east siberia,

Near the river yana.

This is said to be the coldest
Inhabited place on earth.

For centuries, these lands
Have been the hunting grounds

Of the nomadic yakut people,

Who survive the minus-40-degree
Temperatures.

The locals have learned
To live with the cold,

But not with the giant
Chasm in the ground.

The people who live in this area
Are proud and tough,

And this thing terrifies them.

Narrator: to the yakut,

The weird hole
Has mystical qualities.

It is a place of
Indescribable terror and death.

It is, they say,
The gateway to hell.

Fletcher:
The tribes that live in this
Area believe in an underworld

Where the dead
And evil spirits reside.

They think that this crack

Is the entrance
To that underworld.

Narrator:
In the still of the night,

Disturbing sounds can be heard

Emanating from the giant pit.

Locals report hearing booming
Sounds coming from inside.

And some of the locals
Interpret this

As to be sounds that are coming
From the underworld.

Narrator:
The yakut's beliefs echo

Those of the ancient greeks,

Whose souls entered
The place they called hades.

[ distorted screaming ]

In hades,
According to the romans,

There could be found
Unearthly beasts,

Like the three-headed cerberus.

But hades was merely the gateway

To a far more terrible place.

Beneath hades laid real hell,

Known as "Tartarus,"

The abyss of unspeakable
Torture and torment.

When scientists move in
To examine the chasm,

They do indeed discover
Traces of weird animals --

Mummified carcasses
Of horses and bison

From the holocene era,

Even older ice-age
Remains of mammoths,

And other creatures time forgot.

But here is the first problem

For scientists
Investigating the chasm.

The yakut are an ancient people.

The creatures in the pit
Are prehistoric.

But the crater,
They believe, is recent.

What's more, it's growing.

It looks weird.

It looks like some kind
Of movement

Of earth material.

And the question is,
What could do this?

Narrator: to begin with,
Scientists consider

The history of the region.

Siberia has a dark,
Communist past.

Russian communists
Were not above

Experimenting
On their own population.

But in siberia,

The communists carried out
Terrifying experiments,

Using nuclear explosives
For mining.

A nuclear explosion
Could certainly explain

The sudden appearance
Of a massive crater.

Underground nuclear
Explosion produces

A lot of energy,
And that can shake up

And disturb the surface
Of the earth, for sure.

Narrator: and most soviet
Atomic-bomb tests

Happened underground.

Back in the soviet era,

They were so
Desperate for energy

That they actually
Used nuclear explosions

To unleash some of this
Oil and gas.

Narrator: unconcerned
By the dangers to human life

Or the possible
Catastrophic consequences,

They detonated underground
Nuclear devices,

Close to huge deposits
Of oil and gas.

Mousseau: the idea would be
To loosen up the ground,

But also to heat up
The oil and gas

And make it easier to be
Pumped out of the ground.

[ man speaking russian ]

Narrator:
In the 1970s and '80s,

When prisoners
Were still being held

In siberia's nightmarish
Forced-labor camps...

[ man speaking russian ]

...The communists carried out

At least seven
Nuclear explosions.

Mousseau: but certainly
An atomic-bomb blast

Could cause
The depression we see here.

Narrator:
But the timing's not right.

Fletcher: this crater
Started forming in the '60s,

And the blasts that we know
Of happened in the '70s.

Narrator: the hole appears

Before the nuclear bombs
Are set off.

So, what could explain
The strange noises,

The ancient creatures,
And ever-widening chasm?

Scientists now believe
The answer is to be found

In the ice and in the trees,

Trees which the russians

Have been steadily
Chopping down.

The removal of those trees
And the removal

Of their roots systems

Opens up a gateway
For surface waters

To move down
Into the permafrost region.

Narrator:
Normally, the icy permafrost

Binds the soil together.

But in summer months,
Some of the ice always melts.

Ice is stiff.
It's like a sort of strong beam.

Once that's gone, the ground
Can start to sag down,

And you can produce
Pits and craters

Through the melting
Of the permafrost.

Narrator: this ground has been
More or less permanently frozen

Since the last ice age --

A tomb to the weird,
Long-extinct creatures

Of a different age.

Chopping down trees has led

To a bizarre chain of events.

Lester: if there are fractures
That exist in the sub-surface,

All of a sudden,

A lot of material
Can go downhill fast.

Brand: this particular feature
Started collapsing

Back in the '60s,
And ever since then,

It's been eroding back
Further and further

At a pretty alarming rate

Of about 60 feet per year.

Narrator: so much for the gaping
Hold and the weird creatures.

But what could explain
The strange noises

Emanating from the yakut's
Gateway to hell?

Brand:
What's scary about this

Is that,
Locked within the permafrost

Are gas hydrates,
Primarily methane.

And as the permafrost
Continues to melt,

This methane is released
Into the atmosphere.

Narrator: scientists believe
That escaping,

Explosive methane gas
Could explain the reports

Of strange noises
Coming from the chasm.

If it's true, the yakut
Are right to be terrified.

There are literally
Billions of tons

Of methane trapped
In the permafrost here.

Its release could have
Devastating consequences.

The locals' fears
Are not as irrational

As they first appear.

Recent satellite images suggest
That this yawning chasm

May be just one
Of many gateways to hell.

There is a disturbing rise in
The number of similar features

Scattered across
The arctic landscape.

Brand:
As permafrost continues to melt
Across the polar regions,

I think we'll be seeing
A lot more of these.

They're like a canary
In the coal mine

That is showing us
That there is a danger.

Who knows where it'll hit.
It's like a ticking time bomb.

Narrator: still to come,
Catch a falling star --

An image released by nasa.

But there's something disturbing

About this newly
Discovered galaxy.

And trouble in the lost world.

We know that there are between
70 and 100 tribes in the amazon

That are still secluded.

Could this image be
An indication

Of a previously unknown tribe?

Narrator: satellite imaging
Is changing the face

Of law enforcement.

In virginia, eyes in the sky
Track down a kidnapped girl.

In oregon, they expose
Illegal drug activity.

And in byron, michigan,
A satellite photo

Helps to solve a cold case

That has baffled cops
For a decade.

**

It shows what, at first glance,

Appears to be an ordinary pond.

I can see some sediment
On the bottom of the pond,

And I can see, all of a sudden,

Popping up out of the blue,

A rectangular feature.

Narrator: at the time of the
Discovery, no one realizes

That this strange,
Submerged object holds the key

To the disappearance
Of davie lee niles,

A local man who vanished
Without a trace

Back in 2006.

Pols: the last place
That he was known to have been

Was pete's tavern
In byron center.

And that was the last time
Anybody saw him.

This guy tells no one
Where he's going,

Leaves not a single lead.

This is the kind of case
That cops dread.

Pols: his neighbor
Reported him missing.

Narrator: a thorough search
Yields no clues

To niles' sudden disappearance.

Pols: we contacted
His cellphone carrier,

And there had been
No activity on his cellphone

Since the 11th of october.

We contacted
His banking institution.

There had been no activity
On his bank cards,

His checking account,
Or anything like that.

The vanishing
Is left unresolved.

The family's left
Without closure.

They don't even know
It davie lee is still alive.

We thought maybe

Somebody had maybe taken him.

Narrator: almost 10 years later,
There is still no explanation,

And relatives give up all hope.

We had a little
Memorial for him,

Just so his friends
Could say goodbye.

You got to do something.

At that point,
We probably thought,

"Maybe we'll never find him."

Narrator:
The turning point comes

When a man putting up
Christmas decorations

Spots the submerged object.

Satellite-image analysis
Reveals its true nature.

Marchetti: I see an almost
Rectangular feature

That has a linear nature to it,
Which tells me

That there's something
Artificial occurring there.

Narrator: marchetti
Calculates that the object

Is approximately 15 feet long.

Marchetti: I see a denser
Accumulation of sediment

At the center of the rectangle,

And it seems to diminish
A little bit

Towards the back end
And the front end.

And these pieces tell me

That what I'm seeing
Is actually a vehicle.

Narrator: but the image
Also poses a puzzle

For law-enforcement officers.

It's unique in that
There was no tire tracks.

Usually, if we hear on the radio

That there's a car into water,

A pond or a lake,

Usually, it's gonna
Be followed by,

"It was involved in an accident"
Or something like that.

Narrator: when the police
Consult their records,

They find no reports

Of a recent accident
In the area.

Analysis of historic
Satellite images

Enables law enforcement
To work out

How long the car
Has been sitting in the pond.

Marchetti:
Based on the satellite imagery
That I'm viewing,

It looks like this vehicle has
Been there for quite some time.

Narrator: the car has been here
For so long,

Any tire marks at the scene
Have long since faded away.

Deputy sheriff duncan
And his team

Decide to investigate the scene.

Duncan:
I went out to the location.

**

It appeared to be covered
In a lighter-colored silt

And it had --
Did look like a vehicle.

Narrator: when the team
Pulls the car from the water,

They discover that it's a faded,
1990 chevy corsica.

And inside it, they find
The skeletal remains

Of a human body.

When duncan runs the plates,
He gets a hit.

They're registered to none
Other than davie lee niles.

[ police radio chatter ]

Duncan: at that point, we began
To treat it as a crime scene

Because we had no idea
Why a missing person's vehicle

Would be in this deep pond
In byron center.

Narrator: after almost a decade
Of uncertainty,

It is at least closure
For niles' family.

It was an end
To a long, long journey.

Yep. We were,

You know, sad at first,

But we were real happy
That, finally, we can,

You know, put it to rest.

Narrator: the exact chain
Of events that led to niles' car

Going into the pond
Is still unknown.

But as satellite
Technology improves,

It's likely that many more cases

Will draw on evidence
From eyes in the sky.

Fletcher: some people look
At an image and see nothing.

Great cops can look
Beyond the mundane

And find evidence
Hidden in plain sight.

Narrator: coming up, lost tribes
And dark secrets in the jungle.

You can't really tell
How these tribes

Are going to want to interact
With the modern world.

Narrator:
The quickbird-2 satellite

Passes over a low mountain ridge

Deep inside the dense
Amazon rain forest.

From an altitude of 280 miles,

It captures this image

Seemingly in the middle
Of nowhere.

You've got hundreds of miles
Of rainforest,

And then all of a sudden, you
Have this very peculiar shape.

Narrator: the clearing is in

The remote serra do cachimbo
Region of brazil.

Here, there are no towns,
No schools,

No factories or hospitals,

No recorded presence
Of any human civilization,

Yet the controversial pattern
Covers over 2 square miles.

Whatever it is, it's big.

Somebody has obviously
Gone to a big effort

To clear this land
And make this shape.

It's quite amazing.

Narrator: it's not logging.

Loggers, legal or illegal,

Don't leave shapes like this.

**

Why would somebody create this

Out in the middle of nowhere
In the wilderness?

**

Narrator: some analysts
Point out the resemblance

Of the shape to a bow and arrow.

There are remote
Jungle tribes here

That have had little
Or, in some case, no contact

With modern civilization.

We know
That there are between 70

And 100 tribes in the amazon

That are still secluded --

No contact to the outside world.

Krueger:
We know where most of them are,

But could this image be
An indication

Of a previously
Unknown habitation?

There could be people
Living in places

That we never thought
Had been living there before.

Narrator: under pressure
From western campaigners,

It's the policy of
The brazilian government

To leave groups isolated --

Shut off from
Modern civilization.

[ men chanting ]

Some argue this turns humans
Into a kind of museum exhibit --

A cruel social experiment

Which denies
The world's poorest people

The benefits of progress.

Little is known
About the groups,

But they still use tools

Which are among
The oldest known to man.

In 2008, when a helicopter
Flies near such a group,

Its warriors react violently,

Firing at the chopper
With bows and arrows.

The bow and arrow
Is a very important piece

Of technology for amazon tribes.

You can't really tell
How these tribes

Are going to want to interact
With the modern world.

Amazonian, tribal man
Wouldn't really be a man

If he didn't know
How to use a bow and arrow.

Narrator:
But surely this giant symbol
Is not the work of tribes.

Cutting a clearing
A mile and a half long

Requires advanced tools
Like chain saws.

The thing is
About isolated tribes,

Generally speaking,

They have very limited
Access to steel blades.

But that's the kind
Of instrument you'd need

To create that kind
Of pattern in the jungle.

**

Narrator:
So what else could it be?

The shape looks strange
Because of where it is,

In the middle of the wilderness,

But the shape itself
Is not that strange.

Similar shapes are seen
In thousands of places

All over the world --

Baseball diamonds.

Who would build
A baseball diamond

In the middle
Of the amazon rainforest?

Actually, a baseball diamond
In the middle of the jungle

Is not as crazy
As it might sound.

Narrator: astonishingly,
A number of baseball diamonds

Are found
In remote parts of brazil,

Built, even more bizarrely,

By the japanese.

In the early 1900s,

A large number
Of japanese migrants

Arrived to work
On brazil's coffee plantations.

And they were baseball crazy.

Today, many of their descendants
Still play the game.

Rustic baseball diamonds began
To appear near plantations.

This explains the curious fact

That many players on brazil's
National baseball team

Have japanese names.

There's just one problem.

So, if it's not
A baseball diamond, what is it?

Narrator:
Analysis of the surrounding
Area provides a possible clue.

14 miles to the west of here,
You've got the shells

Of what look like military jets

Found in a large sand pit.

Could there be
A military connection here?

Narrator: arguably,
The location of the symbol

Has some strategic value.

To military-image analysts,

The bow-and-arrow shape
Is a sign

The site could be used
For aerial target practice.

Pavelec:
If it is a bombing test range,

It helps explain
Why it's so isolated.

It's so the pilots
Can practice their bomb runs

And dropping actual,
Live ordinance

Without destroying things
Or killing people.

Narrator:
But the shape doesn't resemble
A conventional firing range.

What's more, closer examination
Reveals small buildings,

Which suggests the site
Is not intended for bombing.

Nevertheless, further
Investigation does lead

To the brazilian military,

Which has jurisdiction
Over this area.

The nature and purpose
Of this strange shape

Is an official secret.

The full details of what
Goes on here are classified,

But there's been rumors
In the past

Of possible nuclear-weapons
Testing, black operations.

**

Narrator: officially, brazil's
Secret nuclear-weapons program

Was shut down in the '90s.

This strange shape in the middle
Of the remote amazon forest,

Visible from space,
Remains a mystery.

We're not getting any official
Explanation from the government,

So we may never know
Exactly what's been going on.

Narrator: coming up...

Kourounis: if you look
At satellite images from 2003,

You can clearly see
A triangular-shaped island.

Fast-forward to 2015,

The island is gone.

Narrator: the scariest
Ghost town on the planet.

Carter: well, if you could get
Close enough to this village,

You would see something
Out of "The twilight zone."

Narrator: the day nasa's stars
Fell to earth.

You can see that the lights
Actually move around.

Narrator:
Three images taken from space --

Two from hubble and one from
The international space station.

**

Three shots of stars
Thousands of light-years away --

Or so it seems.

One image is different.

These lights aren't natural,

And they're a lot
Closer to earth.

May 2015 --

Astronaut samantha cristoforetti
Uploads a photograph

She's taken from
The international space station.

At first, it seems unremarkable.

Nasa has released
Many incredible images

Of our own galaxy

And of other far-flung
Star systems.

But this one is different.

Cristoforetti was pointing
Her camera at the earth.

Majevadia:
So, what we're looking at here

Is an image that looks like

A long strip

Of lots of bright lights.

Whatever this phenomena
Is, it's massive.

Narrator: astronauts are used
To seeing the earth at night --

The bright lights
Of the world's biggest cities

Linked by thin strings of lights

To smaller towns and suburbs.

But these lights are different.

They don't look
Like ground lights.

And what's more,
They're nowhere near

Densely populated urban areas.

Scientists struggle
To find a natural explanation.

**

Image analyst mark d'antonio
Examines the possibility

The lights might be
A strange phenomenon

Known as light pillars.

Light pillars are formed
By ice crystals in the air

Catching the light from below

And reflecting it back to you.

Narrator:
For light pillars to form,

The ice crystals
In the air have to be flat.

They're flat and hexagonal,

And when they fall
Towards the earth,

They sort of fall
Like a feather.

Narrator: to see a light pillar,
An observer has to be

At just the right angle
To the ice crystals.

At first, you might think,

"Well, maybe it's these guys
Seen from above.

Wouldn't they just
Look like dots?"

The answer is,
"No, they wouldn't."

This column of light
That you see here

Is actually just an illusion.

These hexagonal crystals of ice

Reflect the light back to you.

So, we're not actually
Seeing a column of light,

We're seeing a shaft of light.

So, if it's not light pillars

That we're seeing
In the nighttime image,

What is creating this series
Of little light beams

That were captured
On this particular photograph?

Narrator:
Analysts consider a different
Kind of object in the sky.

Flying craft are clearly
Visible from space,

But these illuminated
Disk shapes

Don't look like airplanes.

When the image was taken,

The I.S.S. Was orbiting
Over the south-atlantic ocean.

But marine biologists can think
Of no natural phenomenon

That could account
For the image.

We know that there's
No cities out there

In the middle of the ocean.

Kourounis: if you look
At the satellite images

Over a period of a few days,

You can see that the lights
Actually move around.

Narrator: when investigators map
The precise coordinates

Onto local charts,

The lights form a pattern
That exactly matches

The territorial waters
Of the falkland islands.

D'antonio:
This is the smoking gun.

Muller-karger:
The only thing that it can be
Are ships with lights.

The only thing that they
Can be doing is fishing.

Narrator:
The theory sounds convincing.

At night, if you shine
Bright lights,

Certain species will be
Attracted to the surface.

The plankton
Comes to the surface.

The smaller fish
Go after the plankton.

The larger fish
Go after the smaller fish.

The squid go after
The even larger fish.

Narrator:
But there's a problem.

There are too many lights.

Fishing in these waters
Is strictly limited,

And very few licenses
Are issued.

These lights are not stars
Or cities or ufos.

They're pirates.

Kourounis:
There are far more lights

Than you would imagine
For those licenses.

So, we've got hundreds,
If not thousands,

Of unlicensed, unregulated
Fishermen out there

Just stripping
The ocean of fish --

Completely illegal.

Narrator: piracy on the high
Seas is organized crime

That's big business.

One night's catch of squid
Can net up to $72,000.

**

These people could be taking

300,000 tons of illegal fish
From the oceans

Every single year.

Narrator: for centuries,
Fighting piracy

Has been
An almost-impossible task.

But satellites are providing
The world's navies

With a new weapon.

For better or for worse,

It seems that,
In the 21st century,

There's nowhere to hide.

It's really incredible
That we can't police

A fishing fleet on the ground,

But from 250 miles up in space,

We can catch the illegal
Activity just like that.

Narrator: still to come,
The town that wasn't there.

Carter:
It's almost like a void.

You don't see any people.

And I think that is
The most frightening thing

About this village.

Narrator:
Satellites keep a 24-hour watch

On the world's most isolated
And dangerous nation,

North korea.

This night photograph from space
Reveals the incredible contrast

Between the tyrannical
Socialist regime

And its democratic, capitalist
Neighbor to the south.

You've got almost
The entire history

Of the last 50 years
In that one image.

Narrator:
The bright lights in south korea

Are from a thriving,
High-tech, 24-hour economy.

Across the border
In north korea,

Nothing but poverty.

Most of the population

Has little or no access
To electricity.

Carter:
It's almost like a void.

You don't see any people,

Any activity whatsoever.

Narrator: defense analysts
Keep a close eye

On the few lights
Visible at night.

There's two little exceptions.
One is the capital,

Where the elite live,
P'yongyang.

And then, just near the border,

There's this little
Prick of light.

**

This lit area
Is right on the north side

Of the demilitarized zone.

What on earth is going on?

Narrator: the pinpoint of light
Comes from a tiny settlement

That the north korean state
Calls "Peace village."

The regime claims
It has a thriving population

Of 200 happy, prosperous
Farming families.

But curiously, it lies inside
The demilitarized zone

Between north and south korea.

150 miles long,
2 1/2 miles wide,

The so-called
"Demilitarized zone"

Is, in fact, the most heavily
Fortified border on earth.

French:
No one crosses that area.

Its borders
Are completely sealed.

And very few people go in.
Nobody much comes out.

Narrator:
The mysterious peace village

Is eyed with deep suspicion

By farmers living south
Of the border.

The north korean state
Claims the peace village

Is a typical example

Of how perfect life is
Under socialism --

A model of material wealth
And contentment.

But according
To the north koreans,

The peace village is one
Of their many collective farms,

And happy workers
Are living there

And growing vegetables to feed
The north korean people.

Satellite footage shows
This looks like a normal town.

It's got a school,
Apartment buildings, a hospital.

I mean, it just seems like
A very strange place

To have, you know,
People settle down.

It's suspicious.

Narrator: when observers take
A closer look at the village,

Something is not quite right.

Carter: well, if you could get
Close enough to the village,

You would see something
Out of "The twilight zone."

You can see with binoculars
There's no glass in the windows.

There's nobody living there.

Narrator: the happy farmers and
Their families are invisible.

For some reason,
The north korean government

Is pretending that this
A fully functioning community

Right there on the border.
Why?

Carter: why would north korea
Spend all this money

If they didn't have
Some other subversive action?

And I think that is
The most frightening thing

About this village,
About peace village.

I think it's far from peace.

[ speaking korean ]

Narrator: analysts fear
The fake, empty village

Might be a front for some kind
Of covert military activity.

When you have buildings
In a town,

You instantly have something
That's concealable.

You know, you can
Hide stuff there.

Could this be
That they're using this

As a decoy
For a military operation?

Narrator: north korea
Has long been preparing for war

Against south korea
And her allies.

The south koreans
Have detected giant tunnels

Being built under
The d.M. Zone by north koreans.

And when I say "Giant tunnels,"
I mean giant tunnels

That you could move
Tanks through.

And this, obviously,
Concerns them more

That, somewhere
On the southern side,

A hole could suddenly pop up

And a north korean tank
Pour out of it.

Narrator: four tunnels
Have been detected so far.

One found just 3 miles
From the village

Is big enough for 30,000
Fully equipped troops

To storm through every hour.

If peace village is hiding
A substantial military presence,

You would think we'd have
Seen some signs of that.

Narrator: given the size
And all-pervasive presence

Of the north korean
Intelligence agency,

Some claim that communist spies
Are using the village.

I think that this facility

Is definitely used and utilized

By the north koreans to spy

On south korean activity
In the dmz zone.

Narrator: these apartment blocks
Are likely to be used

For electronic surveillance,

More spy village
Than peace village.

Capps: it's entirely reasonable
To think

That just a few people
Could be manning

A great deal
Of observation equipment

In those apartment buildings.

Narrator: the north korean state
Seems intent on harassing,

Spying on, and annoying
Their neighbor.

The village is rigged
With gigantic loudspeakers

Aimed across the border.

[ man speaking korean ]

They broadcast
A constant barrage of boasts

By communist leader kim jong-un

And threats to destroy

The south korean capital
Of seoul.

[ man speaking korean ]

At times of tension --

Which, we've had, lately,
Quite a few of those --

These loudspeakers
Are turned on at full volume

For 24 hours at a time

And are absolutely deafening.

[ man speaking korean ]

Narrator: the potential
For subversive military

And intelligence activity
Is there,

But analysts believe
The so-called "Peace village"

Is a sinister propaganda tool

For the tyrannical
Socialist regime.

French: it appears to be
A propaganda effort,

To try and show south koreans
And the world at large

That, you know, life is great
Within north korea.

Carlin: this is all part of
Using things that are physical

And that you can look
At as an example

That somehow demonstrates
Another piece of evidence

That our system
Is better than yours.

The entire purpose
Of peace village

Is to show an idyllic life
In north korea

That doesn't even exist.

Narrator: from space, the whole
World can see the sad truth.

The charade of peace village
Is a dismal failure.

And yet, it carries on.

When the north koreans say,
"This is a farming village,"

They know that you
Don't believe it.

This is a regime
That lies about everything.

We know it's fake.
They know we know it's fake.

But they can't admit it,
So they just have to keep going.

Narrator: coming up...

The disappearance of an island

Is a dramatic change.

Something quite big
Would have to cause it.

Narrator: december 2015.

A satellite mapping image

Of a remote expanse
Of the pacific ocean

Shows something strange.

The japanese-owned island
Of minami-tori-shima

Has completely disappeared.

**

Kourounis: if you look
At satellite images from 2003,

You can clearly see
A triangular-shaped island.

But fast-forward to 2015,

And that same area,
The island is gone.

Narrator: in its place is simply
A patch of dark sea.

The disappearance
Of an entire island

Can sometimes be the result

Of a cataclysmic volcanic event.

The disappearance of an island
Is a dramatic change.

Something quite big
Would have to cause it.

**

The island
Of krakatoa disappeared

In a massive volcanic eruption.

Narrator:
The island known as krakatoa

Was actually the cone
Of a large volcano.

In 1883,
It erupted so violently,

6 cubic miles of rock and ash
Shot into the air,

Turning day into night
Across the java sea

And the indian ocean.

But seismic data from 2015

Shows no sign
Of any such eruption

Happening anywhere in the area.

**

In the absence
Of a natural explanation

For the island's disappearance,

Experts consider the possibility

It might have been
Deliberately destroyed.

The island of nuatu
In the south pacific

Was almost entirely
Removed or destroyed

By the mining
Of the fertilizer guano.

That might be
What happened here.

There's a phenomenon known as
Mountaintop removal mining.

They remove the top
Of a mountain

To get at the minerals
That are inside.

Why not do that with an island?

[ explosions ]

Narrator:
But what could be so valuable

It's worth wiping
An entire island off the map?

Astonishingly, in 2012,

Geologists discovered
Minami-tori-shima

Was home to incredible riches.

Samples of dirt taken
From around the island

Were found to contain precious
Rare-earth elements

Used in the manufacture
Of computer chips

And other high-tech goods.

Finding rare-earth elements
In these quantities

Is a potential
Game-changer for japan.

Narrator:
The seam they've discovered
In the area is massive.

There are enough to keep japan
In rare-earth metals

For the next two centuries.

Narrator: but geological records
Reveal a flaw

In the mining theory --

The rare-earth metals
Are not actually

on the island
Of minami-tori-shima.

They're buried about 20,000 feet

Below the surface
Of the surrounding ocean.

Any miners wanting
To exploit the minerals

Around minami-tori-shima

Would need the island as a base.

Mining cannot explain
Its disappearance.

The theory sounds plausible,

Except for one
Mysterious anomaly.

Woman:
The weird thing is, there's
A weather station on the island,

And it's still
Transmitting data.

It wouldn't be doing that
If the island were underwater.

So, the island
Still has to be there,

We just can't see it.

Narrator: perhaps
Minami-tori-shima itself

Has not vanished,

Just photographic
Evidence of it.

Some believe a shadowy
Government agency has decided

That it should no longer exist
On satellite images.

Why would anybody
Take something off a map?

Well, the reason is political,
Or it's military.

Man: satellite imagery
Is being degraded

By digital means as we speak.

Whatever they were doing the day
It was obscured

Is related to military

And rare-earth metals.

It is so sensitive
That it requires covering up.

The japanese special forces
Are there now.

It is now imperative
To guard that island.

It's worth a fortune.

Narrator: the intervention
Of special forces

Lends weight to the idea

The image
Was deliberately altered

To conceal
Clandestine operations.

To date, the japanese government
Has not issued any statement

Regarding its activities
On the island.