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ISIS Launches Attack on Kirkuk Oil Fields; iPod Turns 15; Philippines Government Walks Back Duterte's Pronouncements. 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired October 21, 2016 - 08:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[08:00:16] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.

Now, Philippine officials are scrambling to reassure the United States after President Rodrigo Duterte said he wanted to separate from the U.S.

and ally his country with China and Russia.

While Iraqi-led forces edge closer to Mosul, ISIS launches an attack on the oil-rich area

of Kirkuk.

And a charity dinner known for light-hearted humor is the latest stop on the heated

presidential campaign as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton trade barbs again.

The Philippine government is in damage control after President Rodrigo Duterte declared he is separating from the United States. Now his office

clarified the country is not going to renege on any treaties with his current allies, but that Mr. Duterte is simply restating his position on

charting an independent foreign policy.

However, concerns do remain high about the state of the U.S.- Philippines alliance and the growing anti-U.S. rhetoric by Mr. Duterte.

Now, a split from the U.S. would sever more than 100 years of diplomatic history. The Philippines was a U.C. colony from 1898 until

1946, when Manila gained independence. Now, the nations are also united militarily.

General Douglas McArthur uttered one of the most famous lines in American history, declaring, "I shall return,"after escaping the

Philippines after the Japanese invasion. Now, this image here, it's from 1945, shows McArthur doing just that, landing on the shores of Luzon.

And those historic ties have a very modern impact. A 2015 Pew survey ranks the Philippines adds the most pro U.S. country in the world. 92

percent of Filipinos have a favorable view of America.

ut since his election, Mr. Duterte has made several allusions to breaking ties with its former ruler.

Now, let's get some analysis of the current situation and where it lies with the U.S.-Philippine

alliance, also on Philippines' relationship with China. So, let's bring in Matt Rivers in Beijing and Jim Sciutto live from Washington, D.C.

Let's first go to Matt. And Matt, Duterte's deputies, they have been in overdrive, they have been in full-on damage control mode the last few

days. What are they saying now about the country's relationship with the U.S. and includes their long-established treaties?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for now, the Duterte administration, despite

President Duterte's comments, is saying that the U.S.-Philippines defense treaty remains intact at this point.

But you're right, Kristie, top level cabinet officials from the Duterte administration have spent all day here in Beijing walking back the

president's comments.

First this morning starting with the economic side of the equation, the trade minister telling me that the president didn't actually mean what

he said and that the Philippines would continue to do business with the United States, but perhaps more importantly was clarification on the

military side of the equation with that treaty that remains in place, that's been in place for decades now.

And we got word a little after 6:00 p.m. local time that that treaty would remain intact, at least

from the Philippine point of view.

Let's show you a statement that was given to our affiliate CNN Philippines from the national

presidential spokesperson's office and about President Duterte's comments.

He said in part, "it is a restatement of his position on charting an independent foreign policy as provided in the Philippine constitution.

This is not an intent to renege on our treaties and agreements with our established allies, but an assertion that we are an independent

and sovereign nation now finding common ground with friendly neighbors with shared aspirations in the spirit of mutual respect, support, and

cooperation."

And so this is clearly a chance for the administration to walk back the President Duterte's comments, because frankly last night, if you took

his words at face value, he said he wanted to separate from the United States. The administration definitely in damage control and it's not the

first time they've had to do that after President Duterte has made lots of outlandish statements throughout his short term in office so far.

LU STOUT: Yeah, some dialing back from his deputies, but still the comments are out there and the United States are weighing them right now.

Let's bring up Jim Sciutto in Washington, D.C. And Jim, Duterte said he is separating from the U.S. and turning to China instead. Also, we learned

that both China and the Philippines will restart talks on the South China Sea.

How is the U.S. watching all this?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Confusion is the word I'll tell you. And I've been told since yesterday that the U.S. never received any

official communications through official channels from the Philippines that they were changing any of these treaties. So this walkback today you're

hearing from officials really a run back, because the Philippine president was way out there on some of these statements, but this walk back today is

giving some comfort here.

But the fact is, this is a very sensitive time, not just the relationship with the Philippines, but with China. You have the U.S. and

China facing off over China's land grabs, in effect, in the South China Sea, and the Philippines have been shoulder to shoulder with the U.S.

on this, because the Philippines has disputes with China over land, the Scarborough Shoal in particular, but land features that China claims and

the Philippines claims, and the U.S. has been deploying more forces there, tightening up that treaty, as it were, to back up the Philippines at the

Philippines' request.

So for the Philippines' president, despite this walk back to go to the capital of China and make these very bold statements. Listen, it certainly

has an effect, even with those clarifications today.

[08:06:13] LU STOUT: We can analyze Duterte's comments and we can also analyze the kind of reception he's receiving in Beijing.

Let's go back to Matt Rivers in the Chinese capital. And Matt, the Chinese have really gone out

of their way to offer Mr. Duterte access to the top leadership there, including a meeting with Xi Jinping. This is the ultimate red carpet

visit. Why? What does China want here?

RIVERS: Well, China likely sees an opportunity to improve its strategic positioning in the

ongoing struggle in the South China Sea. You just heard Jim mention the Scarborough Shoal. That is at the center of the territorial dispute

between China and the Philippines. It has long been the Philippine position that the Scarborough Shoal belongs to the Philippines, but China

seized that area in 2012. And since President Duterte has taken office, he has clearly said he wants a friendlier relationship with China.

China likely says, OK, let's start negotiating perhaps, because perhaps China could then build another artificial island down the road in

the Scarborough Shoal improving its positioning in the region against the United States. And at a press conference Wednesday evening with President

Duterte, I got the chance to ask him a question.

I said, sir, would you be willing to allow China to build an artificial island in the Scarborough Shoal in exchange for more lucrative

commercial ties with Beijing? And he didn't say yes, but he didn't say no. And so clearly, though, by not committing one way or the

other, he's clearly willing to bargain on this issue, and China looks at that and says perhaps there's an opening there.

And so by rolling out the red carpet for President Duterte, perhaps it sees it can take advantage of an opportunity that, frankly, many people,

including probably officials here in Beijing, didn't think was coming just a few months ago.

LU STOUT: And that leaves us wondering what's at stake strategically and militarily for the United States. Let's go back to Jim Sciutto in D.C.

And Jim, Duterte is pivoting closer to China. He has threatened to curb U.S. military activities in the Philippines. We know Duterte's known for

his bluster, but if he actually follows through on this, what would it mean for

the U.S.?

SCIUTTO: It's a big deal, because it feeds into what has been China's strategy here. China's strategy has been, in effect, divide and conquer,

deal with southeast Asian nations individually rather than collectively because, of course, man if China in a room or in conflict with the

Philippines by itself or a Vietnam or a Malaysia by itself, that's a different kind of standoff than if you have unity among those Southeast

Asian nations. And the U.S. strategy has been unify, stand up together.

Of course, the U.S. official position is it doesn't take a position. But, frankly, the U.S. is not comfortable with China's land grabs there and

it wants to keep some sort of unity pushing back against China, so to have one member of the team, in effect, arguably the closest member of the team,

the Philippines, start to as Matt was saying they opened the door to, well, maybe there's a quid pro quo, maybe we can negotiate on this, that

certainly is to China's advantage and very much to U.S. disadvantage.

LU STOUT: All right, Jim Sciutto joining us live from Washington, D.C. Matt Rivers in Beijing, a big thank you to you both.

And turning now to Iraq, where ISIS has launched a major assault in the oil rich city of Kirkuk, that's southeast of Mosul. Now, local

officials say security forces have killed at least seven ISIS militants so far. Iraqi troops have also surrounded an abandoned building occupied by

some 30 ISIS fighters, and suicide bombers are believed to be holed up in at least two

other locations.

This appears to be an attempt by ISIS to divert Kurdish troops from their push towards Mosul.

Iraqi-led forces have been making strong gains since this offensive began on Monday.

Now, Peshmerga fighters are closing in on Mosul from the north. They're dealing with the threat from ISIS on the ground and from the air.

Nick Paton Walsh reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:10:09] NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Day four and perhaps the biggest push yet from the north into the plains around

Mosul trying to dislodge the determined and deranged remnants of ISIS. But the Peshmerga backed with staggering air power -- a now common sight of

American Special Forces who the Pentagon says are advising, not assaulting, positioned in the front of the attack.

The work was slow, destructive. Begging the question, what becomes of the wreckage under new masters? Suddenly, in the sky, a hail of bullets.

They've spotted a drone. Tracer rounds dance around it and finally take off its nose. ISIS use them to spot targets for artillery, even drop small

bombs. This one tumbles down, its wreckage picked over. It's still unclear whose it is. Yet progress down the road to Horozabat (ph) is agonizingly

slow.

(on camera): It is the source of so much of the fighting this morning but still full of ISIS. In fact we have heard the Peshmerga have listened

to those militants on their radios this morning discussing how they should wait and only launched a counter attack, once the Peshmerga are inside.

(voice over): Two Peshmerga are killed by a mine and others injured in intense clashes when they flanked the town heading left across barren

farmland.

ISIS still here, haunting the dust, pushed back moments earlier. We reach one unit pinned down on a hill. They say a drone is observing them

but also dropping tiny bombs on them.

Like grenades, we are warned, rocket after rocket lands. Sometimes near, sometimes far. Over the hill there is fiercer fighting. And still,

the rockets come in. Exposed, trudging through land turned arid in the fight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reporting. And he joins us now live from Irbil, in northern Iraq. And, Nick, there have been

fierce clashes in Kirkuk. Tell us about what's happening there and the strategy at play. Is this an attempt by ISIS to divert troops away from

Mosul?

WALSH: Yes, unexpected assault, really, beginning in the early hours of today and with 30

ISIS militants moving into some abandoned buildings, focused on security headquarters there, as

well, seven of them we understand killed so far. Another attack actually in a different town, as well.

It does appear to be a bid by ISIS to draw the attention of the Peshmerga, who control oil-rich Kirkuk, away from their fight in Mosul.

Obviously, they have so many amassed forces, that's not really going to happen entirely, but it is a familiar ISIS strategy to try and bring heat

to a completely different geographical location.

But still that fighting as far as we understand continuing to some degree and it will make many in the supposedly safer areas of the KRG in

northern Iraq edgy that there may be other surprises or unexpected attacks in store, but that Mosul attack as you saw there moving

across the open barren plains, sparsely populated villages, a lot harder I think than many believed it was going to be, even those relatively small

settlements on the edge of ISIS-held territory being heavily defended by ISIS -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, as you saw in your report, a lot of resistance as we see this push toward Mosul while Iraqi and Kurdish fighters they continue

to battle militants there. And concern growing about ISIS using human shields.

WALSH: Well, the United Nations is warning that as far as they can tell, there are 550 families being held in and around Mosul as human

shields. Now, my rough guess there, a family normally has eight people in it, we could be talking about 3,000 to 4,000 individuals here, not the

entirety of the 1.2 million people that are feared to be involved and caught up inside the Mosul area and the urban sprawl, but still a

substantial amount of human life that could be at stake here.

A lot of fire power is being used, both by ISIS, repeatedly sending car bombs against those who advanced against them, but also by the

coalition, as well.

We spoke to one Mosul resident perhaps involved in any future resistance against ISIS and they

were clear their biggest fear actually is random shelling.

This is going to be lengthy and most likely bloody -- Kristie.

[08:15:11] LU STOUT: Nick Paton Walsh reporting for us. Thank you, Nick.

Now, the hopes of sick and wounded people in desperate need of help in Aleppo have once

again been put on hold. Issues over security are delaying medical evacuations that are planned for today. This recent video, it gives a

glimpse of the horrific situation people trapped in Aleppo are still dealing with.

A pause in fighting agreed to by Syrian and Russian forces was supposed to open the way for

evacuations, but it is unclear when these will now happen.

Now, meanwhile, a top human rights official at the UN says the siege of Aleppo amounts to

war crimes of historic proportions.

You're watching News Stream. And still ahead, it is a white tie gala where the U.S. presidential

candidates normally get to break bread with one another, but instead Donald Trump is being accused of breaking tradition and Hillary Clinton also

facing some criticism.

Plus, a strong typhoon barrels past Hong Kong. We'll tell you where it's headed next in a live weather update. Keep it here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right. That's Hong Hong after the storm. Welcome back, coming to you live from the city. You're watching News Stream.

Now, in New York on Thursday night, a sight we never saw at the final U.S. presidential debate, a handshake between bitter rivals Hillary Clinton

and Donald Trump. Now, the pair had a chance to come together on more friendly terms at a traditionally light-hearted

charity dinner. But with this campaign being what it is, the mood wasn't always jovial.

CNN's Brianna Keilar joins me now from New York with more on this story. And Brianna, I mean, this was kind of incredible. We have Hillary

Clinton, Donald Trump sharing a stage, perhaps for the last time before the general election. There were jokes, even some smiles. Was this quite

surprising to see?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was, because this is normally a real break in the levity of a hard-fought campaign, but this one has just

been so nasty this year that what you saw was even though Donald Trump was certainly way less self deprecating than Hillary Clinton, both of them

broke with decorum and really went after each other.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary is so corrupt, she got kicked off the Watergate Commission.

KEILAR (voice-over): Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were supposed to play nice.

HILLARY CLINTON, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's amazing I'm up here after Donald. I didn't think he'd be OK with a peaceful transition

of power.

KEILAR (voice-over): Casting aside the night's traditional good humor joking, both candidates delivering brutal takedowns of each other.

TRUMP: This is the first time ever that Hillary is sitting down and speaking to major corporate leaders and not getting paid for it.

CLINTON: People look at the Statue of Liberty and they see a proud symbol of our history. Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a

four, maybe a five if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair.

KEILAR (voice-over): Trump starting his speech strong.

TRUMP: The media is even more biased this year than ever before ever. Michelle Obama gives a speech, and everyone loves it. It's fantastic. My

wife, Melania, gives the exact same speech and people get on her case.

KEILAR (voice-over): But losing the room after changing his tone.

TRUMP: Hillary accidentally bumped into me, and she very civilly said, pardon me. And I very politely replied, let me talk to you about that after

I get into office.

KEILAR (voice-over): Trump even booed at times for crossing the line.

TRUMP: Hillary believes that it's vital to deceive the people by having one public policy and a totally different policy in private. That's

OK. I don't know who they're angry at, Hillary. You're right. Here she is tonight in public pretending not to hate Catholics.

KEILAR (voice-over): Clinton landing her own sharp barbs right back at Trump.

CLINTON: Donald, after listening to your speech, I will also enjoy listening to Mike Pence deny that you ever gave it. Donald really is as

healthy as a horse. You know, the one Vladimir Putin rides around on.

KEILAR (voice-over): And poking fun at herself.

CLINTON: This is such a special event that I took a break from my rigorous nap schedule to be here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And after a very testy debate the night before, where these two candidates did not shake hands, very noticeable, something we didn't

see, Kristie, at the other two debates, they did shake hands at the end of this dinner, which was to benefit needy children as part of Catholic

charities. It's also important to note, though, that at the beginning right before the dinner there was a photo receiving line. Both Hillary

Clinton and Donald Trump were in it, presumably rather close, and they did not shake hands.

This is a real animosity between these two candidates.

LU STOUT: Yeah, real animosity that was felt even at the charity event, which is all for a good cause.

Both candidates do have some pretty good writers in the payroll. And there were some good jokes in the mix, some very good ones. Which ones in

your mind worked and which ones didn't?

KEILAR: I really liked the Melania one about the speech, because I thought Donald Trump didn't do a lot of self deprecation, but that was one

where I thought even some people said, oh, he threw his wife under the bus. I didn't think so. I thought actually he was able

to acknowledge some of the silliness of the bias that he's claiming and a nod to it with that joke.

And then with Hillary Clinton, I thought the Statue of Liberty one was pretty funny and sort of worked on a number of multiple levels. So those

were really good.

But the one that really fell flat was Donald Trump talking about how Hillary Clinton was

pretending to like Catholics, that was a reference to a hacked email released by WikiLeaks that Hillary Clinton, actually her Catholic

communications director years before the campaign started, had said something very ill phrased, admittedly -- this where she basically talked

about Catholicism being the most accepted form of conservative religion. It was kind of pejorative the way she put it, but it's not

something that Hillary Clinton herself said, she wasn't receiving the emails, she wasn't sending the email. And it almost like Donald Trump

coming into a dinner party and there's someone there he doesn't like and he wants to go after them, and so he also goes after basically the host and

all the other people at the dinner party.

LU STOUT: Yeah, yeah, perhaps not the right audience for that joke. But it was pretty compelling to see the self-effacing Donald Trump.

And the Putin line, that Putin joke was a pretty classic one.

Brianna Keilar, thank you so much for joining us. Take care.

KEILAR: You bet.

LU STOUT: As we saw in Brianna's report, Trump joked about his claims that the U.S. election process is rigged. But laughter aside, that issue

remains one that he is defiant about with Trump telling supporters he will only accept the result if he wins.

Chris Frates has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump is defiant, mocking critics who rebuked him for refusing to say whether he will concede

if he loses in November.

TRUMP: I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election if I win.

FRATES (voice-over): The Republican nominee is doubling down on his unsubstantiated claims that the election is rigged against him and leaving

the door open to contest the vote.

TRUMP: I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result.

FRATES (voice-over): Trump's unprecedented remarks are drawing backlash from both sides and rattling an already fractured Republican

Party. Senator John McCain, who lost the presidential race back in 2008, saying a concession is, quote, an act of respect for the will of the

American people, a respect that is every American leader's first responsibility.

Hillary Clinton's trifecta of surrogates is nailing Trump on the trail, starting with Vice President Joe Biden in New Hampshire.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's questioning not the legitimacy of our election, but the legitimacy of our democracy.

FRATES (voice-over): First Lady Michelle Obama tearing into Trump in Arizona.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: He is threatening the very idea of America itself, and we cannot stand for that. You do not keep

American democracy in suspense.

FRATES (voice-over): And in Florida, President Obama condemning Trump's dangerous talk as no joking matter.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you try to sow the seeds of doubt in people's minds about the legitimacy of our elections,

that undermines our democracy. Then you're doing the work of our adversaries for them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And we have a recap of the best one-liners from last night's Al Smith gala on our website, where you will also find the very

latest on the election race from the polls, to the analysis. It's all at CNN.com/politics.

Now, France will begin to demolish the controversial migrant camp known as The Jungle. Outside the Port of Calais that's going to happen in

just a few days. Thousands of people live there. And they live there in terrible conditions, desperate to get to Britain. And now with the camp's

destruction just days away, some migrants are beginning to make their way to Paris.

Melissa Bell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, REPORTER, FRANCE 24 (voice-over): For many it's a dream. The splendours of Paris attracts tens of millions of tourists each year

more than any other city in the world. But away from the monuments on the other side of the tracks, its streets have become a waking nightmare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's too hard to live here. Different kind of shouts, fighting like shouting, from train side like siren. So it's hard to

live here. It's hard to be at peace in here.

BELL: 1,000 migrants from Afghanistan, Sudan, and Eritrea now call this street, the Avenue de Flandre home, literally, and living rough was

not what they had expected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They treat us like nothing, like -- it's not like a human being. Nobody likes to sleep in the street. When we were in our

country, we never sleep in the street.

BELL: All the migrants here speak of the wars they fled, the long road they have travelled and despite the squalor here, the dreams that still

drive them. None wanted to show their faces.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to settle down and have a job and have a good life as the people of France is having. So this is my dream. And I

came here to achieve that dream, but in our language we say that what would I do with a paradise if I crossed the hell. Meaning, if the hell is the way

to the paradise, I'm not interested in that paradise.

BELL: And what you are living here is hell?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's much like hell.

BELL: The answer says Parisian authorities lies here in this bubble. 1,000 places are being created to take in the migrants when they first

arrive.

DOMINIQUE VERSINI, PARIS DEPUTY MAYOR (through translator): The honor of France depends on the way we welcome refugees. It needs to be in a

dignified manner, in a dignified place and that's what the mayor wants.

BELL (on-camera): The finishing touches are now being put on this camp and just in time. Soon the winter will set in and the mayor of Paris is

determined that this camp should open its doors as soon as possible so by the end of the year there are no more migrants on the streets of the French

capital.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, Hong Kong is getting hit hard by high winds and heavy rain. We'll have the latest forecast for Typhoon Haima coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:32:44] LU STOUT: Now, here in Hong ong, hundreds of flights have been canceled as Typhoon Haima has been lashing the city. Now, let's find

out more about the storm and where it's headed next. Our meteorologist Jennifer Gray joins us now from CNN Center -- Jennifer.

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Kristie, the storm is weakening. In fact, has been downgraded. Now the Hong Kong observatory has issued

that tropical warning signal down to a three, was it at eight. So Tropical Storm force winds still, 41 to 63 kilometers per hour, encouraging

people to stay away from the shorelines, rough seas and swells are still occurring, as well as travel still being greatly impacted.

Now, here is a loop and you can see it starting to weaken once it made landfall just to the

east of Hong Kong. And, in fact, still weakening as we speak. This image is about six hours old with winds of 120 kilometers per hour, most likely

down from that. We're waiting on the next update to come out. Winds 100 - - gusts up to 150 kilometers per hour moving to the north, northwest at 24.

And you can see just going to continue to travel to the north and east, weakening as it does

so, and then fizzling out within the next 24 hours or so.

Still providing a lot of rain, though, pretty much wrapped up for Hong Kong, but Shanghai will

get a pretty good dose of rain as we go through the next 24 to 48 hours. In fact, look at these rainfall totals. The bulk of the rainfall is going

to stay to the east of Hong Kong. Some areas picking up 150 to 250 millimeters of rainfall. And then as we travel to the north, Shanghai

could get isolated amounts of 250 millimeters of rain. So quite a bit.

In fact, Hong Kong rainfall impacts normally for the month of October receive about 100 millimeters of rain. We've already received 550 for

this month, so about five times the average, Kristie, well above for the rainfall totals.

Good news, though, the storm looks like it's moving on. Conditions will be improving for you.

LU STOUT: OK, so the worst is behind us. Jennifer Gray there, thank you.

Now to the Korean peninsula now, where intelligence officials in the south believe North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un is living in fear of

assassination.

Paula Hancocks reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:35:01] PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is Kim Jong-Un an assassination target? South Korea wants you to think he is. The

defense minister says an elite team is on standby to take him out if there is a nuclear threat. The intelligence agency backing him up this week

telling lawmakers that they believe Kim Jong-Un is worried about his personal safety, changing venues and schedules at short notice. Claims we

cannot independently confirm.

But some question whether South Korea could even get close to the North Korean leader.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think there is any other leader protected like Kim Jong-Un is. If you were to assassinate Kim Jong-Un, Seoul would be

completely destroyed, and undoubtedly North Korea would lose that war, but you are just flaying with fire.

HANCOCKS: This man believes that the threat to Kim Jong-Un is closer to home.

The son-in-law of a former prime minister of North Korea he has contacts with some of the elites still in Pyongyang despite defecting two

decades ago.

"Since Kim Jong-Un keeps killing many of the high class, they don't trust him. There is a possibility someone could assassinate him to save

their own life, not an organized plan but a very real chance of an impulsive assassination."

He met a member of the elite who still lives in North Korea who confirmed the threat of an inside job is creditable.

Since Kim Jong-Un executed his own uncle in 2013, a number of defectors say elites feel for their own safety. Further high-profile

executions just reaffirm that mistrust.

(on camera); There have been a number of elite defections since Kim Jong-Un took power at the end of 2011, including one a couple of months

ago, a senior diplomat stationed in the united kingdom, which would suggest those closest to the North Korean leader still do feel serious fear about

falling from favor.

South Korean intelligence officials estimate that, so far this year, Kim Jong-Un has ordered the public execution of 64 people.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And it was the must-have gadget for years. Now the iPod is believe it or not celebrating its 15th

birthday. And the music is still going. We'll look at how the iPod has evolved over the years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Nintendo has unveiled their latest came console, it's called the Nintendo Switch. It's both a home console and a portable one. The unit

itself is a tablet, but putting it in a dock allows you to play Nintendo Switch games on a TV. The controllers on the tablet also detach and can be

used wirelessly.

Nintendo also showed a few games for the system, including a brand new Mario game, but that wasn't enough to sway investors. Nintendo shares

plunged 6 percent in Tokyo.

Now, when Switch goes on sale in March 2017, it will mark a major change for Nintendo. Now, the company has always made two distinctive

types of game consoles: home consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System, or Wii, and also portable consoles like the Gameboy and the 3DS.

The Switch is an effort to bring the two sides together, giving Nintendo's developers one platform to focus on.

Now, the iPod is celebrating its 15th birthday. The musical gadget has evolved a lot over the years. Remember when the iconic click wheel was

replaced by a slick touchscreen? Here's a look back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:40:18] STEVE JOBS, CO-FOUNDER, APPLE: What would iTunes be without iPod?

iPod has been a giant hit for us. We've got the 5 gigabyte iPod, 1,000 songs in your pocket.

With iPod, we struck a middle path. And we've made our users happy, and we've made the music companies happy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normally, DJs didio (ph) through their vinyl or CDs, and we use iPods.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Steve Jobs debuted the new iPod mini MP3 player yesterday. The new gizmo can hold 1,000 standard songs, or one copy

each of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida and Free Bird.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a shuffle. It's all about the shuffle.

Volume. And then if you want to (inaudible) just keep pressing.

UNIDENITIFIED MALE: The Nano is small, it's light, it's unbelievable. I think every person who has an iPod is ultimately going to get a Nano.

UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: I'm wondering how long Apple can really coast on this whole iPod trend. At some point everyone is going to have one.

UNIDENITIFIED MALE: iPods are huge with the kids. The older kids want the iPod Nano.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had to take the iPod to the next level, and I think they did.

UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: The video iPod and then the one with all the gigabytes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone had been expecting for Apple to come out with a video iPod, but no one expected it to be this big.

Jason from Pennsylvania writes, "after buying the original iPod, the Shuffle, and the Nano -- why would I want to buy the video iPod?

UNIDENTIIFIED FEMALE: If you had to run around on the subway here in New York City and trying to get into one cab and not see one person with...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, the new survey taking on the campus of NYU shows 20 percent of students would trade their vote for an iPod Touch.

UNIDENITIFIED MALE: Apple to release new iPod Touch today, complete with gold option.

UNIDENITIFIED MALE: Why are people still buying iPods, because don't you just use your phone?

UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

UNIDENITIFIED MALE: I'm kind of confused on what...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But a gold one would be pretty cool to have.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Wow, 15 years old, really makes me feel old here.

Now, an attempt by Samsung to make people forget about its exploding Note 7 phones as soon as possible is, well, it's kind of backfiring.

This video shows a specially modified version of the game Grand Theft Auto 5 where a phone handset that looks similar to the Note 7 is being used

as an explosive. It's important to note that this is a fan made modification, not an official version of the game.

And Samsung tried to get a video of the mod taken off YouTube, but gamers are responding by posting more videos.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, World Sport with Alex Thomas is next.

END