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CNN NEWSROOM

Winter Olympics to be Attended by Kim's Sister; Taiwan Struck by a 6.4 Earthquake; Trump Wants a Military Parade; Jacob Zuma's Presidency Hanging by a Thread; North Korean Hackers Accused Of Internet Heist; Pence Reassurance To Japan; European Markets Higher In Early Trading; Space-X Successfully Launches Falcon Heavy Rocket. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 7, 2018 - 03:00   ET

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


[03:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: After a wild rebound day for the Dow, global stocks are still recovering. It is a roller coaster week on the markets.

In Washington, new marching orders inspired by France. President Trump says it's time for an American military parade.

But first, North Korea's Olympic delegation gets a new member and her visit to the South is unprecedented.

Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church, and this is CNN Newsroom.

And we have this breaking news for you. South Korea says Kim Jong-un's sister will be part of North Korea's high-level delegation for the Winter Olympics. Kim Yo-jong will be the first member of the ruling Kim family to visit South Korea. She is a close adviser to her brother and a powerful figure in the North Korean regime.

So let's bring in CNN's Paula Newton who joins us from Seoul. And Paula, this is, of course, a very big deal and a surprise too coming just before the start of the Winter Olympics. What are we all to make of this?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is incredibly interesting. What you make of it is that North Korea's deadly serious about this being the best charm offensive that they can put on for these Olympics. They had insisted that they wanted this to go well in terms of them being invited to the Olympics and agreeing to come.

And the fact that his younger sister, someone who you just said is apparently very close to his government there and to his regime, the fact that she's coming here will be visiting South Korea for the very first time, will be meeting with government officials here in South Korea, will be attending the opening ceremonies, extraordinary.

And I can tell you here in South Korea, it has been quite a bit news. And it shock everyone, even though it was rumored that perhaps somebody at this level might visit. Rosemary, I can tell you that for western diplomatic sources here in

Seoul they were watching very carefully to see how the North Korean delegation would round out. They kind of suspected that perhaps someone of this caliber might arrive.

Having said that, there are some problems also attached to this. I mean, she is under sanction and that will pose a problem. The South Korean government has been very careful that in terms of allowing certain exemptions from everything from hockey sticks to fuel, it will be interesting to see how they deal with this situation as, again, she is under sanction in terms traveling to places like South Korea.

CHURCH: It is extraordinary news and just reporting there, the breaking news, we're hearing now that Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader, his sister will now be part of the North Korean high-level delegation to the Winter Olympics.

Our Paula Newton bringing us that news. Many thanks to you, Paula. We'll stay on top of that.

Let's go to U.S. news now. Despite his plea for bipartisanship during his state of the union speech, Donald Trump just keep going after democrats in Congress.

The president and his press secretary blamed the democrats Tuesday for not agreeing to his immigration plan. That could jeopardize a funding bill to keep the government open past Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I do love to see a shut down if we don't get this bill taken care of. And if we have to shut it down because the democrats don't want safety and unrelated but still related, they don't want to take care of our military, then shut it down. We'll go to another shut down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And we are waiting to see if the president will approve a memo from House intelligence committee democrat Adam Schiff. I is a rebuttal to his republican colleague Devin Nunes who alleges the FBI abused its surveillance powers during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Meantime, President Trump apparently still wants to sit down with special counsel Robert Mueller in the Russia investigation. Some of the president's allies tell CNN he is eager to speak with Mueller partly because he believes he is innocent and, quote, "can work this." But Mr. Trump's lawyers are still reportedly urging him to avoid an interview.

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden agrees with them. He spoke with CNN's Chris Cuomo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're in a situation where the president has some difficulty with precision.

(CROSSTALK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: That's the most subtle things I've ever heard you say, Joe Biden.

BIDEN: And one of the things that I -- that I would worry about if I were his lawyer is him saying something that was simply not true without him even planning to be disingenuous.

CUOMO: Do you think he has that little control over whether he tells the truth or not?

BIDEN: I just -- I just marvel at some of the things he says and does.

(CROSSTALK)

[03:05:04] CHURCH: Well, President Trump made no secret of how impressed he was by France's Bastille Day parade last year when he was President Emmanuel Macron's guest. So now he wants a military parade of his own in Washington.

The Pentagon says it's looking at possible dates, but there could be some snags.

More now from CNN's Barbara Starr.

BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pentagon officials now confirming that President Trump has requested them to look at the possibility of staging a major military parade in Washington, D.C. This request from the president has led the Pentagon to actually look at dates on the calendar for later this year.

Mr. Trump, of course, attended the Bastille Day, French national day celebration in Paris over the summer and was very impressed by what he saw. And since then he's talked about it as an expression of patriotism and honoring the service of the U.S. troops.

But, and there are a lot of buts, typically, traditionally, the U.S. military does not have parades where they display weaponry, tanks and missiles rolling through American city streets. It is not just the U.S. military way. There was a parade after the first Gulf War, but it really hasn't been done since.

U.S. military commanders, it's fair to say, are all in favor of any celebration of patriotism and the service of the troops, but putting weapons on the street for display may get a very poor reaction around the world if the U.S. military is suddenly seen as celebrating some of its operations overseas, some of its lethal killing operations.

There is no other way to express the type of reaction that this kind of parade may get. And there are some very practical issues. U.S. army tanks U.S. missile systems really most likely too heavy for the city streets of Washington, D.C. likely to cause a lot of damage to these city streets. Add to the cost to the parade take away from military readiness of the

troops that have to participate. And Defense Secretary James Mattis has long been clear, he wants every military activity to contribute to U.S. military lethality. Hard to see how a parade may do that.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

CHURCH: And the director of the center for politics at the University of Virginia Larry Sabato joins us now via Skype from Charlottesville, Virginia. Always great to have you on the show.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR POLITICS: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So let's start with President Trump saying Tuesday that he would love a government shutdown if the democrats refused to back his immigration proposals. It's not the first time he's called for a shutdown.

How wise is it, though, for a U.S. president to use that sort of language and how are the democrats likely to respond to his threat come Thursday? Do you think a shutdown is inevitable?

SABATO: It's very unwise for him to do so. I don't think anyone will be shocked. First of all, it won't work. Shutdowns just don't work for either party and the entire modern history of them shows that.

His own partisans, the republicans in Congress, do not want a shutdown. Apparently, they didn't tell him or he didn't remember. And the other thing that is really critical is he is set himself up to be the fall guy if there is a shutdown.

Everyone will run that little statement and it will be appended to Trump that he's responsible for the shutdown. I don't think it will happen, but we'll see.

CHURCH: Yes, we will. Not too long to see what happens with that. Of course, the other big story is the democrats' memo that rebuts what was stated in the Nunes memo. It's awaiting declassification by the president right now.

In fact, the White House says the vetting of that memo will be done in a responsible way. Do you believe that's the case?

SABATO: Not particularly. I suspect and I think there is plenty of reason to suspect that the democrats will be subject to much more scrutiny than the republicans were but their piece of the -- or that memo that they submitted to the White House. I'll be shocked if there aren't redactions once the democratic memo is released if it is released.

I think they are likely to release something, but they may make it difficult for the democrats to get their message across.

CHURCH: And, Larry, we know now that President Trump has told the Pentagon to start working on a military parade. Let's just listen to what CNN military analyst lieutenant general Mark Hertling had to say about that a little earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK HERTLING, MILITARY ANALYST, CNN: It is not in the culture of the United States military. That is not who we are from our founding fathers. The military were civilians that came together and protected our democracy.

[03:09:57] It's not an over effort to show how tough you are. We come together, we fight wars when we have to and we do the kind of things that we need to do and there's not a whole lot of -- there shouldn't be, in my view, a whole lot of chest thumping and, you know, these overt means of showing how tough you are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Larry, we're used to seeing countries like Russia, China, North Korea hold military parades but it's not something (AUDIO GAP) done. Why do you think (AUDIO GAP) wants the United States to put on a military parade?

SABATO: Well, apparently, the president was impressed with President Macron's parade at Bastille Day in France when he attended. He's mentioned it before. Once he gets an idea in his head, he's pretty much determined to do it.

It's clear that general -- lieutenant general Hertling was absolutely correct. It was well stated. And I will bet you that the military brass by and large strongly agrees to him.

There is another layer, Rosemary, this is very costly. It's going to cost the taxpayers millions and millions of dollars to put on this parade, and the points is not clear.

Trump was saying it's about the military. In the end it will be all about him as everything is.

CHURCH: Right. And then, of course, after his state of the union address, President Trump was annoyed that the democrats didn't clap and cheer for him and for the good news on (AUDIO GAP).

This is what he had to say about it at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They were like death and un-American, un-American. Somebody said treasonous. I mean, yes, I guess why not? You know, shall we call that treason, why not?

I mean, they certainly didn't seem to love our country very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: So, Larry, Mr. Trump used the word treasonous through sharp criticism. So on Tuesday, the White House responded by saying the president was speaking tongue and cheek, he was apparently joking. So, is it too -- is too much being made of this do you think or does the president's use of the word treasonous signal something else?

SABATO: No. Too much is not being made of it. Essentially people have strongly suspected for a long time that Trump has authoritarian tendencies. And also it is completely inappropriate even if you accept the argument that (AUDIO GAP) for a president to political opponents traitors.

That's essential what he did, he has said several things about some of his political opponents in the past. And notice that first part of the statement. He may have been chuckling about treasonous but he mimic when he said un-American. He said it twice. He said it seriously.

There is nothing more American that dissenting from your leaders' views when you believe they are mistaken.

CHURCH: Larry Sabato, always good to chat with you. We appreciate your analysis and perspective always.

SABATO: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Well, the U.S. vice president is assuring Japan's prime minister the U.S. will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Japan against North Korean threats.

Mike Pence met with Shinzo Abe ahead of his trip to South Korea for the Olympics. Japan has the biggest concentration of U.S. marines outside the United States. Pence will address U.S. troops at Yokota Air Base before leaving.

Well, the trading day is just beginning for the financial markets across Europe and we will see if they ride the momentum from Wall Street's big recovery. The Dow soared 567 points on Tuesday, regaining almost half of Monday's record loss. Trading was volatile with a swing of more than 1,100 points over the day.

Analysts are waiting to see if Monday's plunge was a one-time thing or a sign of what's to come. Asian markets were not in a cooperative mood. Tokyo's Nikkei finished flat, Australia's ASX was higher but the markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai were lower.

So let's bring in CNN's Isa Soares now in London. And of course, Isa, the big question, as European markets open how are they looking?

ISA SOARES, INTERNATIONAL CNN CORRESPONDENT: Green arrows all around, breathing a sigh of relief. We're about 14 minutes or so, Rosie, into the trading day here in Europe. And we're looking -- we'll bring up the numbers, we're looking at green arrows right across the board after what has been a roller coaster ride for the European stock markets.

And of course, you know, there's many people hoping for a respite. And some might even call this a bottom. It might not be a bottom as of yet, though, Rosie. It might just be a temporary bottom.

There is a lot of caution, there's a lot of anxiety about how long this route, this market route made be on fall. But of course, like yesterday European markets which are now all up.

[03:14:59] And FTSE up significantly especially after seeing such a large drop, the lowest drop yesterday since the Brexit vote in 2016.

So, for now all staying steady and on course with the green arrows, but, of course, looking at those U.S. futures hoping, keeping a very close eye on them, hoping that the U.S. when it opens will also have a strong steadier day, less of a swinging one that we saw yesterday.

But of course, the fundamentals here in Europe are steady. They are good. This is, of course, as all been led by the United States. We will be listening also to the Fed. We got -- we have some comments yesterday from the Fed.

And we expect also some comments from the Bank of England, Mark Carney, the rated decisions expected tomorrow.

But he will no doubt, Rosie, will be asked about what has been happening in the U.S. and how he sees in terms of long term. So for now, holding steady, but, of course, keeping their fingers in toes crossed hoping that this volatility will not last for longer than the next couple of days, Rosie.

CHURCH: It looks like a good start. Let's hope European markets can stay in that positive territory. Isa Soares, joining us from London keeping an eye on those markets.

And next here on CNN Newsroom, buildings are crumbling and dozens of people are missing after a powerful earthquake rocked Taiwan.

And a look at what's behind the power struck between Maldives' Supreme Court and its president.

Plus, South Africans are waiting to see how much longer their President Jacob Zuma can hold on to power. We'll have all of that in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Dozens of people are missing in Taiwan after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. It struck off the East Coast late Tuesday killing at least four people.

More details now from Alexandra Field.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is an area that is prone to earthquake, it is also well-prepared for earthquakes, but the one that struck in the middle of the night was powerful enough to send several buildings collapsing.

A couple of the city's buildings also the Marshall Hotel. That's where a lot of the early rescue efforts were concentrated. It's also where a lot of the initial injuries were reported. We know at least 50 Japanese source were injured during the earthquake.

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake. That's what we're talking about here. Followed by an aftershock of 5.1 magnitude. Hundreds of rescue workers flooded the streets, trying to reach people who were still missing or trapped.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When the quake happened we took the children and ran. My shop was still open at that time. My wife told me the opposite building has collapsed so we quickly took the flashlights and went over to save the people.

That was it. Because when it first happened we can only save the residents in the lower floors. Those on higher floors, we couldn't reach them, we have to wait for the fire trucks to arrive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: Taiwan's leader tweeted overnight telling people to stay safe and assuring them that government agencies and armed forces were on the streets ready to respond and trying to help , anyone who was still missing.

[03:20:00] You can see some of those images shattered windows, glass blown out of buildings, people actually those windows. Another woman we saw rescued by a crane that was out there on the streets.

And just a frantic effort to try and get people out before any more damage was done to those buildings.

This is an area, again, that has seen a number of earthquakes, several in just the last few days.

In Hong Kong, Alexandra Field, CNN.

CHURCH: And our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now in the studio with more on what's happening there. And of course, it's raining which is making this even more difficult.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

CHURCH: talk to us about the challenges for those rescuers on the ground.

JAVAHERI: You and I just were talking about this, you know, in my nearly a decade here at CNN and hundreds of earthquakes we've covered, I don't think I've ever covered one that has had such in climate weather in a recovery zone. And that's unfortunately the case this go around.

We're going to jump into it, Rosemary, to show you what's happening here. And you know, a quake like this and I often say earthquakes do not kill people, it's the structures, it's the buildings. And unfortunately, happening around 1.30 in the morning. That's the prime time, the most vulnerable, people were in bed that are impacted by quake such as this.

The depths coming in very shallow, roughly 10 kilometers, right, very close to the epicenter there where the communities were so very little buffering at the earth's surface there to absorb that energy as it comes through the rock below.

But we see upwards of 200,000 people that felt strong to very strong shaking. Unfortunately, we think the death toll could increase dramatically inside the next couple of days.

And when you look at survival time in such events we know key factors in survival in humans are metabolism, fat stores when it comes to temperatures. And the temps actually are going to be rather cool with the rainfall that is in store.

Three to five days without water that is what an average human, a healthy human would expect. And if you haven't received any significant injuries, any trauma to the head as much as eight weeks without food is a survival time. But of course, without water, you can't digest the food that's in place there.

So even the food was able to be given to some of these folks it's still a concern. That's why a lot of folks moving very quickly.

The weather pattern you notice very cool, below average. And heavy rainfall potential there from Wednesday going into Thursday. Some showers tapering off and warming up a little more close in line to say seasonal averages as far as temperatures are concerned.

But a very wet pattern ahead of us in the next couple of days. And if you look at this particular region literally the bulls eye of heavy rainfall and that's what I mean by covering a quake zone weather -- and seen as rough as the weather as you can get on a good day.

And then, of course, you put that over quake zone, that's concerning. And with aftershocks, we know statistically speaking you would have hundreds, if not thousands of aftershocks take place. The frequency of the aftershocks could actually continue, but the magnitudes would decrease. And that's what we're looking at as far as the aftershock forecast is concerned.

Plenty of it in store but they would recurring. In fact, one magnitude would be come in, and the fires we've already had that, you would get tens, if not hundreds in the three's and thousands of aftershocks into two's.

But Rosemary, you said you spend time because the quake I believe, right in Taiwan.

CHURCH: Yes, I was there after one of the quakes.

JAVAHERI: So it's very unnerving time to be there when you expect aftershocks in those numbers.

CHURCH: Yes. And so many high-rise buildings there, too.

JAVAHERI: Absolutely. Yes.

CHURCH: Thank you so much, Pedram. I appreciate it. JAVAHERI: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, there is political uncertainty in South Africa as President Jacob Zuma is barely clinging to power. Leaders of his party are trying to decide whether to ask him and how.

Zuma was supposed to address the nation on Thursday in the country's key note political event of the year, but the parliament has now postponed that speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALEKA MBETE, SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF SOUTH AFRICA: We've decided to approach the president of the republic to propose that we postpone the joint meeting in order to create room for establishing a much more conducive political atmosphere in parliament.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The opposition and some members of Zuma's party welcomed the decision to delay the state of the nation speech or SONA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN STEENHUISEN, CHIEF WHIP, DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE: I think that Mr. Zuma delivering the SONA when everybody knows he's on his way will make him (Inaudible) of what SONA should be.

JACKSON MTHEMBU, CHIEF WHIP, AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS: Many partiers here in parliament have raise the issue of us having SONA (Inaudible) President Zuma not to be affected as president once have said, we would like to move away from s state of the nation address that is chaotic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, Redi Tihabi is a commentator and talk show host, she joins us now live from Johannesburg. Thank you so much for being with us.

So, Jacob Zuma's state of the nation address has been postponed as we heard there, and of course, his resignation are intensifying. It's not looking good for him, is it? So when might Zuma be forced out do you think?

REDI TIHABI, JOURNALIST AND TALK SHOW HOST: Well, today, Rosemary, we woke up to indications that the president of the ANC, that is Zuma's party will update the nation about Zuma's fate.

[03:25:05] I think that ANC leaders and government officials are no longer being cryptic about it. There have been negotiations, they have been appealing to him, even besieging him to please step down in a dignified way, but obviously he still had some cards to play.

But right now, Rosemary, it looks like the writing is on the wall, he's got one foot out. The postponement of the nation address is the clearest indication that Jacob Zuma no longer enjoys favor and authority and respect even. This is the most important event in our political calendar.

It is unprecedented. It has never happened before. So, lots to read from that event alone.

CHURCH: Now you mentioned that Jacob Zuma still has some cards to play. What are they at this point? And what's the procedure that needs to be followed that Zuma's departure is as smooth and as an eventful as possible for the sake of the country?

TIHABI: Well, the cards to play are the following. That Jacob Zuma, in my mind, and there is no debate about this in the country has been the most scandal prone president that South Africa has seen post- apartheid.

What do I mean by that? The allegations of looting, corruption, fraud, using state's chauffeurs to make improvements at his home.

Now some of his cabinet colleagues, ministers that he has appointed have also been complicit, are also facing allegations of their own. So they are unlikely to just turn their bet on him. They will protect him precisely because exposing Zuma and getting rid of him in an undignified manner exposes their own skeletons, if I may put it that way.

So those comrades are still rallying around him because the looting happened among many people, including cabinet ministers.

So, onto your second question about making the transition as smooth as possible, you know, Rosemary, at this point, there is growing impatience. Zuma must leave office whether chaotically or smoothly.

Many commentators are saying in South Africa he has violated the Constitution. And this is an allegation. It's the highest court in the land that found that he violated the Constitution.

So he has been undignified in his conduct and many people believe that he doesn't deserve the dignity that the ANC wants to afford him. But right now impeachment/motion of no confidence would me missing. The easiest thing to do would be, for Jacob Zuma, to resign.

CHURCH: Right. So are we talking about days, weeks or months here? And what, when it does happen, what's the next step for South Africa once he leaves?

TIHABI: Well, Rosemary, let me be bold and say I'd be very surprised if Jacob Zuma is still the president in the next 48 hours. There's been so many postponement, press releases going out about this meeting, this collaboration.

There is a lot happening behind the scenes. So I would boldly say in the next 48 hours, we should be able to have clarity as to the fate of Jacob Zuma. So what happens when he steps down? The speaker of the house, Baleka Mbete, whom we've just seen in that clip, becomes the acting president. So I think that's why they want to avoid a motion of no confidence because if there is a motion of no confidence, it means that entire cabinet must step down with Zuma. However, if he resigns, they get to keep their posts that allows for some institutional stability and order so we will have an interim president until another president is nominated from the House.

And it is likely to be Cyril Ramaphosa who is now the president of the ANC by simultaneously the deputy president of the Republic of South Africa. So we will have an interim president if Zuma steps down and that person as for the Constitution, is the speaker of the house.

CHURCH: Right. And of course, as we mentioned the state of the nation's speech was postponed to allow for the leadership issue to be worked out. So what is the state of the nation right now?

TIHABI: Your guess is as good as mine, Rosemary. I think right now opposition parties are feeling emboldened that they are voices that they amplified over the last two years, in particular, calling for Zuma to step down. It has been the ANC that has protected Zuma.

Now there seems to be agreement, even within the ANC that Zuma must go. And I think, Rosemary, nobody will be shedding any tears, because as I said earlier, Zuma's presidency has been chaotic. I think South Africans feel battered and traumatized by the extent of the corruption and the scandals.

What is happening behind the scenes is that there are investigations that are going on and prosecutions are likely in the next couple of months.

Zuma has been seen as a stumbling block precisely because he has been the torch-bearer of much of the corruption. So, I'm saying alongside the political leadership changes we are going to see some prosecutions. There are clear signs yet that evidence is mounting, credible evidence that there was widespread looting, even conducted by some of the cabinet ministers.

[03:30:00] So, I do think that South Africa will be on a positive footing. Our democracy will not collapse. And I actually think that the state of the nation right now seems to be a bit more positive with the imminent departure of Jacob Zuma.

Cyril Ramaphosa is loved by the markets, by business, and we've got high unemployment rate and this are the urgent method that we need to focus our energies on that we have not been able to do so as we had been battered by one corruption scandal after another. So I am feeling positive about the state of the nation without Jacob Zuma, but we got some cabinet minister and high profile official who also encompasses in the corrupted, it is not just Jacob Zuma but the entire system is contaminated and needs to be clean up. It begins with getting rid of Jacob Zuma and that is imminent.

CHURCH: Interesting not to the end of this by any means. Thank you so much for joining us live from Johannesburg we appreciate it. All right let us take a very sort break here, but still to come on CNN Newsroom, North Korean hackers accused of stealing millions in digital currency. We will show you how they operate and how the U.S. and South Korea would retaliate.

Winter games could be the setting for a pivotal meeting. First the U.S. Vice President makes the stop in Japan to talk about security. We are back in a while with that and more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back to the CNN Newsroom I am Rosemary Church. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has made a schedule stop in Japan as he makes his way to the Olympics in South Korea. Right now was for the vice president speaking in Tokyo alongside Japanese Prime Minister (inaudible) let us listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENTIAL-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: the ministry of defense, where I view the advance missile defense battery that provides protection, tomorrow I will visit your coda airbase to receive a briefing on our bilateral ballistic defense capabilities and have a great privilege of addressing numbers of both our Armed Forces. I will thank our forces and yours for their stand for freedom and on behalf of the commander-in-chief of our Armed Forces, I will call the men and women in the uniform of the United States to remain vigilant, ready to confront and defeat any enemy that threatens our people, the people of Japan or allies across this region.

Mr. Prime Minister thank you for your leadership and your actions to strengthen Japan's role in our lives as we discussed today the United States is committed to provide Japan with additional cutting-edge working together to deliver these systems as quickly as possible, the people of Japan can be assured.

[03:35:08] The full range of the Armed Forces of the United States will continue to be dedicated to the protection of Japan and working together the United States and Japan will continue to confront the most dangerous threat in the Indo Pacific, the rogue regime in North Korea. For decades the cruel dictatorship in North Korea has subjected its people to life and what President Trump rightly called a prison state. As the president observed in his remarks to the South Korean national assembly last October, in his words an estimated 100,000 North Koreans suffering gulags, poorly and forced labor during torture starvation, rape and murder on a constant basis. Even as they have impoverish their citizens and an agent will continue North Korea as we discussed today continues to threaten our country Japan and the wider world are supporting terrorism developing nuclear weapons and testing ballistic missiles.

In the past the United States Japan and freedom loving nations across the globe responded to Pyongyang's actions with failed diplomacy the result of which is been a cycle of broken promises willful deception and escalating provocations with the era of strategic patients is over. Patrizio's in 1994 the Kim regime committed to freeze its plutonium program only to continue making progress. In 2005 as we discussed today it promised to dismantle its nuclear program, but North Korea only accelerated over the years North Korea has is the president has said repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism including assassinations on foreign soil in the regime even secretly help Syria build a nuclear reactor in the mid-2000 here in the end of the Pacific, North Korea has continued to develop and test ballistic and nuclear weapons and last year within less than 30 days the regime launched two missiles over Japanese territory and conducted yet another nuclear test in the same period time.

This week as the world knows North Korea is sending a delegation to participate in the winter Olympics. They will march under the same banner as South Korea, but we should not forget that North Korea and South Korea have marched under the same banner before. The world witness it at the Olympics in 2000 and 2004 in the winter Olympics in 2006 only to see North Korea continuous its pursuit of threats and provocations. In fact North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon only eight months after the conclusion of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Later this week I will have the privilege to leave United States delegation to the Winter Olympics will be there to cheer on our American athletes, but we will also be there to stand with our allies and remind the world that North Korea is the most heretical and oppressive regime on the planet. I will be joined by the father of Otto Warmbier a promising young man was imprisoned and tortured in North Korea only to pass away shortly after his release. As President Trump has said, we will honor Otto's memory with resolve. We will not allow North Korean propaganda to hijack the message and imagery of the Olympic Games. We will not allow North Korea to hide behind the Olympic man of the reality that they enslave their people and threaten the wider region. As we discussed Mr. Prime Minister today the American people and the people of Japan and freedom loving people everywhere long for the day when peace and prosperity replace Pyongyang's belligerence and brutality, but we will not repeat the mistakes of the past. As President Trump is said past experiences taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation and so vigilance and resolve will be our lodestar. All options are on the table.

[03:40:00] And the United States is deployed some of our most advanced military assets to Japan and the wider region to protect our homeland and our ally and we will continue to. We have also brought unprecedented diplomatic and economic pressure to bear on North Korea through our maximum pressure campaign last November as well. Our administration re-designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terror together with Japan and our allies let the world know this. We will continue to intensify our maximum pressure campaign until North Korea takes concrete steps for complete verifiable and irreversible denuclearization. To that end I'm announcing today that the United States of America will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever and we will continue to isolate North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile program once and for all.

Mr. Prime Minister, President Trump and I are grateful for your friendship and your strong leadership. We are grateful for your commitment to stand strong and stand together in the face of North Korean and were thankful. Thankful that you share our desire to strengthen our ties of friendship, commerce and security. Japan is one of the most successful democracies and vibrant economies in the world. It is a living testament to the power of freedom built on a foundation of respect for the rich heritage history and traditions of this ancient land. The United States of America and Japan have long stood together in defense of our most precious values in our way of life and we will continue to stand together as allies and as friends as the bond between our nations grows even stronger, I know it will benefit our two peoples it will benefit the world. Thank you again Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for hosting us here today and I look forward to our evening together.

(END VIDEO)

CHURCH: The United States will soon unveil the toughest sanctions against North Korea ever, we heard it there from the U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. He is in Tokyo, Japan there to stand and show and ensure the people of Japan and indeed the prime minister that the United States is shoulder to shoulder with that country under the threat of the shadow of that prey coming from North Korea. We also heard the U.S. saying is dedicated to the protection of Japan, he also pointed out again that North Korea was the biggest threat and the most tyrannical regime on this planet. He reiterated his message to that the era of strategic patience is either he's on his way to South Korea ultimately to leave the delegation of the United States at the Winter Olympics. We will continue to follow the news on the other side of the break, stay with us.

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[03:45:32] CHURCH: Welcome back everyone we are keeping an eye on financial markets across Europe open for just under an hour now. Let us bring up those numbers you can see there all in positive territory which is a good thing, but only slightly the FTSE 100 .66 percent the Dax up nearly half a percent there similar territory for CAC and then in Zurich up .7 percent. In Asia K finish flat Hong Kong's Hang Seng and the Shanghai composite will lower and Australia's ASX finished highest. So let us bring in CNN emerging market editor John Defterios live in Abu Dhabi. Hi, John good to see you and we so you, U.S. markets bounced back on Tuesday, but markets across Asia will mixed Wednesday which is so and you started in positive territory, we hope they can sustain that how is all likely to play out, what do you think?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: I think it is best described Rosemary as a sigh of relief we mopped up a lot of ready for the losses on Wall Street yesterday with the gains of a 1 quarters of 2 and a quarter percent depending on the indices in the S&P 500, the NSADQ and of course the Dow Industrial, but I was suggest that the open in Europe and also the finish in Asia is not overwhelming. Let us bring that back up that Asian chart, I'll explain why. Tokyo had a very solid gain at the beginning but actually is finish with just a slight gain, Hong Kong was lower and same thing with Shanghai as you suggested here is on Australian recovery. I think the watchword here is caution and I will tell you why. Some of the factors that are behind the selloff that we had on Friday remain with a very solid growth international 3.9 percent it's around 2 1/2 percent growth in the United States, but were worried about higher wages, we had a tax cut in place in the United States that means employees will be making more will spend more and this will push up inflation in the future.

Now the big question the financial markets is whether the new head of the Federal Reserve Board Powell will be aggressive in raising interest rates, so they have this global growth of solid visits feed into profits are going forward. This is the key question that everybody has right now and whether the president decides not only to go the tax cut is huge spending plan as well which will juice up inflation were wanting about the independence between the White House and the Federal Reserve with that new chairman juts sworn in on Mondays. So I would do some of it up. This is not bad. I don't mean to be cliche about it, but you could describe it as a dead cat bounce. What I mean here's the pop up alright plot and then pause a little bit and he could see selling, we had seen this cycles before historically of the 2008 and 2009 to now interest rates of been very low, we know that's coming to an end, but does it have to be a nasty into that rally after the big gains we had seen over the last 12 months. That is a huge question mark that remains, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. We will be watching very carefully to see what happens on Wall Street when markets open on Wednesday, John Defterios thank you so much we appreciate your analysis.

DEFTERIOS: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well the Maldives Supreme Court has reversed its order to free nine political prisoners the court's initial ruling had settled the political prices when the president defined the court's order and declared a state of emergency. CNN's Michael Holmes explains what led up to this point.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: A power struggle between the president and the Supreme Court is sparking protests on the island nation of the Maldives. The office of President Abdullah Yameen now saying the Supreme Court tried to subvert the government and perverted the course of justice. Monday declaring a state of emergency and quickly ordering the arrest of the Chief Justice and another judge. The face-off with the Supreme Court started after the justices ordered the release of political prisoners as well as the reinstatement of opposition party member's empowerment had been fired.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His ruling is very significant, because it gives the opposition the majority of the parliament and president Yameen has control of the parliament as well.

HOLMES: On Sunday the Maldives Attorney General urge law enforcement to uphold the Constitution warnings of the Supreme Court could issue a ruling to impeach the president, but just one day later troops brought into the Supreme Court. They also arrested the president's own half- brother from he's a strange. (Inaudible) groove the country for 30 years until the transition to democracy.

[03:50:05] President Abdullah Yameen rose to power in 2013 in an election critics say was rigged. He has been accused of cracking down on the opposition and the road to democracy. The country's first democratically re-elected president, he was trailed in 2015 on terrorism charges his supporters it was false. He was found guilty by a criminal court and now lives in exile in Sri Lanka. He has been calling for India to help with the current political crisis asking New Delhi to send an envoy to secure the release of the Supreme Court judges.

(END VIDEO)

CHURCH: Michael Holmes reporting there. North Korea is now used in a massive cyber theft. Brian Todd reports on the global impact and how sophisticated the company hackers appeared to be.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: North Korea is now being accused of a brazen and lucrative Internet heist likely committed by Kim Jong-un's hackers. A South Korean lawmaker's brief by that country's intelligence service says North Korea stole millions of dollars in digital money last year all from South Korean exchanges. The lawmakers of the attackers used a spearfishing method which analysts it was a clever way to pluck that money noticed crypto currency from victim's electronic wallets.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A new actual credentials of real existing people to fabricate a job application using the crypto currency exchanges are booming in South Korea right now and that they're hiring a lot of new employees.

TODD: For most accounts North Korean hackers are now in overdrive becoming much more aggressive in recent months and over the last few years growing more sophisticated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: they had improved drastically if you go back to the Sony hack a few years ago, if you go back to the want to cry ransomware hack last year which was worldwide even if it didn't get a lot of money, because a lot of habit.

TODD: The want to cry hack in May of last year was the biggest cyber- attack the world has ever seen. Hundreds of thousands of computers around the world in about 150 countries were targeted, businesses, homes and hospitals were hit even parts of Britain's National Health Service were crippled putting lives at risk. The U.S. government placed the blame for want to cry assault squarely on the shoulders of Kim Jong-un army of hackers. Experts believe he's got more than most of them working for North Korea's top intelligence agency. Millions of dollars from banks around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That money is used in turn by the regime for its various purposes for the nuclear program, for the missile program.

TODD: The key question now what are the options for the U.S. South Korea and their allies to retaliate against Kim's hackers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One is trying to disrupt North Korean offense of operations inside cyberspace and even some reporting today that they had been doing this that the vent getting into the North Korean offensive operations in trying to disrupt the, trying to foil those attacks. More on Kim Jong-un's hacking targets, analyst say he could go after U.S. or South Korean military installations, but those are fairly well protected in cyberspace, most likely to say is hackers will keep targeting banks and crypto currency exchanges. They are fast and easy way for Kim to get cash and they only allow him to achieve another one of his goals causing panic among his own enemies. Brian Todd CNN Washington.

CHURCH: We will take a quick break here, but still to come Space-X launches the world's most powerful operational rocket. The details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Space-X has made history with its successful launch of the falcon Heavy the world's most powerful rocket.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: 3, 2, 1.

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[03:55:00] CHURCH: And CNN Rachel Crane watch the rocket take flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tuesday Falcon Heavy launch was a massive success and the energy here at Kennedy Space Center was powerful. People came from all over the world to witness this historic launch. Coco Beach Cape Canaveral were buzzing, I mean the hotels were sold out, the parking lots were jammed pack, and they were a mile long line getting in to Kennedy Space Center this morning. And this are complex here, the sold viewing tickets and those tickets sold out in less than 24 hours. A lot of people, very excited, wanting to get a piece of the action and witness this amazing rocket launch and it was incredible to feel this rumble.

It is important to remember that this was a test launch, there was a lot that could have gone wrong. It is a very powerful rocket never been launch before and had 27 engines at full throttle more than 5 million pounds of thrust and of course there was no one no worry about a catastrophic failure. The rocket design that Elon Musk, take a listen to what he had to say out the press conference following the launch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, INVENTOR: I am very proud of those Space-X teams they had done an incredible job of creating what it really is the most advance rocket on the world and biggest rocket on the world, I am still trying to absorb everything that happen, because seems surreal to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CRANE: Space-X was also hoping to land the rocket, three boosters now they were successful at landing the two side boosters unfortunately the core booster was lost. Elon Musk reveal that in that press conference that he held. He said that it crashed into the ocean at around 300 mph and there were cameras on board of that crashed booster either that they survived the crash and the footage survived the will release it, but of course there is other footage at Space-X has released capturing the imagination of the internet and inspiring (inaudible) around the world, of course that is the footage of the tesla roadster traveling through the darkness of space. You can see the space dummy on board there, so what is next for Space-X, well of course Elon Musk is hoping to make good on his investment in the falcon heavy program which he reveled to worth half a billion dollars, they say that they could berate a launch another Falcon Heavy in the next three to six months. He also revealed that the company is prioritizing crewed mission and he hopes to have a crewed mission to the international space station launching by the end of the year. Back to you.

(END VIDEO)

CHURCH: Many thanks to Rachel Crane there, of what incredible images. Thanks for your company this hour. I am Rosemary Church the news continues with Max Foster in London. Have a great day.