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North Korea Missile Launch; U.K. Researcher Stops Spread of Cyber Attack; Portugal Wins Eurovision 2017. Aired 2-2:30a ET

Aired May 14, 2017 - 02:00   ET

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


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CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): North Korea test-fires yet another ballistic missile. We'll bring you reaction from across the Korean Peninsula.

Plus, the global cyber hack that locked up tens of thousands of computers has stopped spreading, thanks to British researcher and a little luck. But it could start up again soon.

And the search for a new FBI director is on, candidates are being interviewed in Washington this weekend and Donald Trump says he expects to make a decision next week.

Hello, everyone, thank you for joining us, I'm Cyril Vanier, live from the CNN NEWSROOM in Atlanta.

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VANIER: The U.S. says the missile that North Korea launched a few hours ago did not threaten the continental United States. The ballistic missile flew about 700 kilometers and landed in the sea, it's the first launch from Pyongyang since the new South Korean president was sworn in just a few days ago.

During the campaign, President Moon Jae-in favored a moderate approach to the nuclear crisis but Mr. Moon now says that talks with Pyongyang are only possible if the region of Kim Jong-un changes its attitude. Here's Alexandra Field in Seoul.

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ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest missile launch from North Korea didn't threaten the continental United States, it was not consistent with an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to U.S. defense officials.

But they are still trying to determine exactly what type of missile was launched. They say it traveled several hundred miles before landing in the waters east of the Korean Peninsula.

This launch comes just days after South Koreans elected a new president, President Moon Jae-in, the Democratic Party candidate on the campaign trail had advocated for greater engagement with North Korea, a return to the previous sunshine policy with North Korea.

That marks a strong change from the Conservative Party's line toward North Korea, which argues for stricter sanctions and less engagement. Conservative Party has been in power here in South Korea for the last 10 years. This election of a new president certainly marks a shift in attitude potentially toward North Korea.

A meeting of the National Security Council was convened immediately --

(AUDIO GAP)

FIELD: -- officials in Japan also met to (INAUDIBLE) security situation They are now condemning the latest launch. This is the seventh day since the start of the year that North Korea has attempted a ballistic missile launch -- in Seoul, Alexandra Field, CNN.

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VANIER: And David McKenzie is in Beijing, let's get the reaction from the Chinese capital.

David, it seems that North Korea has a knack for embarrassing China and reminded that earlier this year, one of the tests came when the Chinese president was meeting with Donald Trump and now this latest one is happening now even as Xi Jinping is hosting world leaders in Beijing.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is true. And certainly it shows, at the very least, that Pyongyang really is not too concerned about China's concerns and its calls for North Korea to stop its missile program and stop testing these missiles.

So it is in particular today a slap in the face for President Xi Jinping as he hosts these world leaders for perhaps the most important day of his presidency from the world stage perspective since he came into power.

And the ministry of foreign affairs has now reacted, telling CNN that China opposes North Korea's launch that violated relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, they say that all sides need to calm the situation down and exercise restraint try to and bring -- and try and stop escalation in the region.

So certainly, yes, China is giving out the same statement they usually give out for these missile tests. And the fact that they said anything at all shows that they are deeply angered, though not necessarily as publicly as you would expect, from other nations about this missile test.

VANIER: And this was actually separately a big day for Xi Jinping, the Chinese president. He is showcasing a massive new trade initiative, he has world leaders and heads of government in town for that.

Why is that a priority for him?

And what is it going to change?

MCKENZIE: It's a big priority and certainly this One Belt, One Road priority summit, which is happening here in Beijing, is trying to launch this infrastructure and trade plan that will spread from China into the West, through Central Asia into Europe and across through the ocean routes to Africa.

It is the signature plan of Xi Jinping. And certainly it has been going on for several years, already resulting in billions of dollars of infrastructure investment in this region. But this is really the push by China --

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MCKENZIE: -- to be seen as the new globalizing player. You had President Xi Jinping giving the address as well as President Putin from Russia and Erdogan from Turkey, those kind of strong, controversial leaders, saying in a way, in not so many words, that China is becoming the center of global trade power certainly as the U.S., under President Trump, appears to be retreating from its aims of globalization.

Worth noting as well that North Korea got a late invite to the summit, yet another reason that this missile test today is embarrassing for the Chinese -- Cyril.

VANIER: David McKenzie, reporting live from Beijing, thank you very much.

And an international cyber attack has been stopped, thanks to a security expert in the U.K. Tens of thousands of computers were getting error messages like this one, demanding a ransom to use the system again.

The U.K. even had to call a crisis meeting after the attack froze files at several hospitals, forcing them to turn away patients. The British home secretary says this is no small software bug.

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AMBER RUDD, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: If you look at who's been impacted by this virus, it's a huge variety across different industries and across different international governments.

This is a device that has attacked Windows platforms. The fact is the NHS has fallen (INAUDIBLE) -- fallen victim to this. I don't believe it is to do with their preparedness. There is always more we can all do to make sure that we're secure against viruses. But I think that there had already been good preparations in place by the NHS to make sure that they were ready for this sort of attack.

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VANIER: A few days ago, just before the hack, the Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn spoke and addressed this very threat.

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JEREMY CORBYN, LEADER, U.K. LABOUR PARTY: Cyber attacks are real and extremely dangerous. Listen, we live in a very high-tech, complicated world where, if you interfere with security systems surrounding power supplies or anything else, then you actually endanger life (ph) very, very quickly. You can kill people very quickly without firing any kind of gun or anything else. This is the challenge of our time.

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VANIER: A new political era is just hours away in France. Emmanuel Macron is about to be inaugurated as the next president a week after defeating far right candidate Marine Le Pen.

(INAUDIBLE) takeover from outgoing president, Francois Hollande, who will leave the Elysee Palace after five years in power. The centrist Macron is a former investment banker; he is the former economy minister. He's also only 39 years old and that makes him the youngest president in French history. We'll be following that on CNN.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the search has begun for a new FBI chief. The person who will take over could be among these eight candidates who are being interviewed on Saturday. More interviews could come on Sunday. Mr. Trump predicted that he may pick the new FBI director by next Friday.

If that is true, it would be a lightning-fast process. The president got a lot of criticism after abruptly firing James Comey on Tuesday, adding to the controversy of the conflicting accounts on why Mr. Trump chose to sack Comey.

And Donald Trump delivered his first commencement address as U.S. president. On Saturday, he spoke to graduating students at Liberty University in Virginia, after a week of turmoil following the abrupt firing of Mr. Comey. Mr. Trump told the students that they should stand firm in their beliefs, even if they face criticism.

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TRUMP: No one has ever achieved anything significant without a chorus of critics standing on the sidelines, explaining why it can't be done. Nothing is easier or more pathetic than being a critic because they're people that can't get the job done.

But the future belongs to the dreamers, not to the critics. The future belongs to the people who follow their heart, no matter what the critics say because they truly believe in their vision.

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VANIER: Mr. Trump also told the students that they should embrace the label of outsider and never fear challenging the status quo.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now.

Derek, you have rare footage of a tornado in Southwestern China? DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that doesn't happen that often, this is peak tornado season here in the central U.S., we're talking about the month of May.

But this is a scene you don't see in the Hunan (ph) province. The last time this happened was 1985 in this particular location and cell phones were not even around back then, let alone cell phone footage.

So we're actually seeing a historic moment here, a lot of cell phones captured this rare tornado, that's in the Hunan province, no injuries or property losses reported just yet. But this kind of weather phenomenon is rarely seen inland, let alone to have so many people witness this tornadic event.

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VANIER: I've got a few things for you. The world's most popular singing competition crowns a new winner.

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VAN DAM: I saw this.

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VANIER: So here are a few facts and figures for you, Derek, Portugal's Salvador Sobral won Eurovision 2017 with a ballad that was written by his sister. You didn't know that. It's the first win for Portugal in the competition's 61-year history. You didn't know that, either.

And actually, just to give you a sense of how many people watched this, last year 200 million people across the world watched this competition, so probably similar numbers this year, we don't have that yet.

VAN DAM: Wow, that's incredible.

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VANIER: There you go, with some facts and figures of my own.

VAN DAM: I have learned something new and I hope everybody else does as well.

VANIER: Derek Van Dam from the CNN International Weather Center, thank you very much.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Cyril Vanier. "MARKETPLACE AFRICA" is next and we'll have the headlines in 60 minutes. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)