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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Americans Detained in North Korea Plead for Help; Bae's Sister Speaks Out

Aired September 01, 2014 - 12:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We're devoting much of this hour to three brief yet momentous interviews with Americans held prisoner in North Korea.

Kenneth Bae, Matthew Todd Miller and Jeffrey Edward Fowle were arrested under different circumstances, yet each says the charges against him are true. And each wants the U.S. government to negotiate on his behalf.

The interviews with CNN were hastily arranged with our network. Our correspondent will Ripley conducted them. He was on a government orchestrated tour of the country when suddenly he was told he could meet with the detainees, albeit for five minutes each.

Will joins me live now from Pyongyang. Take me behind this extremely hastily planned series of interviews, and give me the back story on how they happened.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, you know, when we first arrived here in Pyongyang five days ago, Ashleigh, we put in an official request to speak with the three Americans and also a high- ranking government official.

What happened subsequently in the last days here was a government- guided tour of the monuments and temples and museums of North Korea, the things that the government wants the world to see, new construction projects and whatnot. That's what we were doing today, two miles North of Pyongyang, about to go look at a temple.

We were sitting down and having lunch. Suddenly, I was pulled away from our lunch table, brought out into the hallway. told that me and my crew needed to get in a van and drive to the capital city right at that moment and not say a word about anything else.

We were told we were going to be talking to somebody within the government; we didn't know who. Our government minders were on the phone. We pulled over. They stepped away from the van, made more phone calls.

We know that's when they learned we were not going to be speaking with a government official but would be speaking with Kenneth bay, Matthew Miller and Jeffrey Fowle. We continued our drive, pulled up to this hotel. Only when we were standing at the front door were we told, once we walk through those doors, we were going to be seeing the three detained Americans.

We had five minutes, and we had to follow strict guidelines, could only talk about the charges they're facing, the conditions they're being held, and the message they have for their families and for the American government.

We were told if we went over the time or if the interview took a different turn, there could be some very serious consequences. We agreed to the guidelines. We walked in. We started talking.

BANFIELD: I want to just remind our viewers, you're still in North Korea right now, speaking with us live about this.

When you entered those three different hotel rooms to speak with each, you know, detainee separately, I did notice that at least one of them had a series of notes in front of him. It felt as though he had to refer to those notes when you asked him questions about what he was guilty of.

Did you have any other takeaway from the essence of the interview?

RIPLEY (via telephone): Well, he was clearly very glad to see us. glad to see a CNN crew. I suspect he wrote down those notes because he wanted to organize his thoughts and make sure he said everything he wanted to say.

His number-one focus was worry about his family. His wife, who's a part-time hairstylist, as you heard in the interview, and his elementary school-aged children. He was arrested on his daughter's birthday.

I don't know if they were spoken to beforehand, but I would imagine they were, like we were, the guidelines were laid out, because all three of them, Ashleigh, gave us the same message, which is they want a special envoy from the United States to come here to Pyongyang to talk to the government here and perhaps try to work out some sort of deal to secure their release so they can go back home.

BANFIELD: It seemed they all had the same answers, almost to the tee in a script, that I've admitted wrongdoing and I'm seeking forgiveness from the DPRK.

Beyond that, I also noticed in one of your interviews, it was with Bae, and I could see in the mirror reflection what looked to be a -- perhaps a guard was standing behind you.

What was in the background that we couldn't see?

RIPLEY (via telephone): Yes, what you didn't see behind the camera was a room full of people who were watching us. We were being video recorded. There was a photographer in the room. There were other government officials standing, listening to our interview. There was someone with a timer. From the moment we asked our first question, there was five minutes on the clock. I was try to move the interview along. I wanted all of them to have adequate time to get across what they needed to get across within our allotted time and within the guidelines that were clearly set forth by the North Korean government here.

BANFIELD: The guidelines, you mentioned it briefly off the top of the interview. You were told there would be serious consequences if you strayed from those guidelines.

Were you told what these consequences would be for you or your crew?

RIPLEY (via telephone): We were not, but we are scheduled to have a flight out of North Korea tomorrow, and the government told us they were aware of that and just reiterated they had a lot of thought that went into granting this interview to CNN.

And they said they were doing this, they were doing this favor because they wanted to give these Americans the opportunity to speak directly to their families through the vast network reach of CNN, and to also speak to the American government.

So the sense I'm getting on the ground here through conversations with various government officials I've met over the past few days is that perhaps now, more than ever, they're very eager to open a direct line of communication with the U.S. there's a lot of regional tension here.

One of North Korea's biggest benefactors, China, things have gotten tense with them as of late. Of course there are sanctions that have crippled this country's economy for a long time, and I think that North Korea feels that they haven't -- they're at a standstill here and they need something. And these three Americans may present an opportunity to the North Korean government to reopen a line of communication.

What they hope to accomplish as a result of that, we don't know. Because we haven't spoken directly to any government officials about their motivations here. That request that we made so far has not been granted.

BANFIELD: Excellent work, you and your crew, Will, certainly a lot of grace under pressure for these interviews to be conducted in the manner which they were, Will Ripley reporting live from Pyongyang.

The interviews with the Americans were carefully orchestrated by the North Korean government. What is the significance of these interviews? Is it perhaps a signal that the North Koreans might be ready to talk about their release?

We're going to get some insight from a man who has been to North Korea and who has met face-to-face with officials there to talk about nuclear weapons and detained missionary Kenneth Bae revealed details about his health and living conditions.

I'm going to speak live with his sister about what seeing him on television today meant to her and her family and what she has learned about his life there.

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BANFIELD: They didn't speak very long, but they certainly said a lot, Jeffrey Fowle, Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller, American citizens being held in North Korea, today allowed to speak for five minutes each with CNN.

Each man talked about how he's being treated. I want to read some quotes. Bae has been held the longest, almost two years. He's been tried and convicted of hostile acts against North Korea and sentenced to 15 years hard labor.

He tells us, quote, that he's working eight hours a day, six days a week. He says he has a sleep disorder right now and severe back pain and also blood circulation is not doing so well. He says he has numb and tingling hands.

Matthew Todd Miller is the youngest of the three. He says he's in good health, received medical checks and is provided with humanitarian treatment.

And Jeffrey Fowle, age 56, says food's been good, that he gets a daily walk with the guides and even medical care has been furnished, but he adds, quote, "I'm getting desperate."

Jim Walsh joins me now to talk about what North Korea could be up to with this access to these detainees. He's an expert in international security and one of only a handful of Americans who has traveled to North Korea for talks with officials there about nuclear issues.

Jim, thanks very much for joining me today. Your first reaction upon seeing these three interviews?

JIM WALSH, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: First, they are dramatic. They are new, but they also come on the heels of a month-long set of activities.

You know, we hadn't heard anything from these guys in a while. Beginning on August 1st, their families started having press conferences. There were visits by our representative in North Korea from the Swedish embassy to go and visit them.

And then, Ashleigh, some time around August 20th, just before we had military exercises with the South Koreans, there's rumored to have been a high-ranking official that traveled to Pyongyang for talks.

And then after that alleged visit, the military exercises were shortened by one day, and then now we have this, so one wonders how this might all be tied together.

BANFIELD: It's almost as though so much of the interview news that's been consumed here in the United States has been about Ukraine, ISIS, and Iraq, and I almost wonder if this leader, who is unusual in his own regard, wants a high level of attention, not an envoy, but a government-related envoy. WALSH: Well, that's one of the things that we saw in those interviews,

is that the people that the interviewees were discussing as possible visitors were all former presidents.

And so there's clearly -- the North Koreans are clearly putting out a message they're ready to deal, they're ready to talk, but they want someone who has a high profile to come and speak to them.

Now, the U.S. has been down this road before. They have wanted to get these guys out. About a year and a half ago I think it was there were secret discussions and then the communication just dried up. And I think for the federal government, the U.S. -- for President Obama, the difficulty is, can we trust this process to go through? Is this guy erratic? Can we go by the government's word? You know, things have not worked out before when we tried to talk to them. So that's one of the central questions is, will they be able to follow through on any commitments that are made?

BANFIELD: Will anything come of this as well. Jim Walsh, thanks. Good to see you. Thank you for this.

WALSH: Thank you.

BANFIELD: Can you imagine what it must be like for the families of these three detained Americans to see these interviews on television? The sister of Kenneth Bae is going to join me next live to give her thoughts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNETH BAE, AMERICAN PRISONER IN NORTH KOREA: I've been asking the American government to act upon getting me released here. And I do believe that special envoy need to come in order to resolve the situation that I am in right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: That was Kenneth Bae speaking this morning with CNN. Bae is a missionary who has been held by Pyongyang since November of 2012. North Korea says Bae was trying to bring down the government through religious activities. His family has been anxiously awaiting any news of how he's doing. His sister Terri Chung joins us live now on the phone to talk about her brother's plight.

Terri, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. My first question to you is, how does he look and sound to you?

TERRI CHUNG, KENNETH BAE'S SISTER (via telephone): He doesn't sound like himself and he seems like he's under an incredible amount of stress and he's lost so much weight. We're concerned for his health.

BANFIELD: And did you take from anything, and keeping in mind there are guards in the room and this interview was highly orchestrated, did you take anything from the manner in which he said he's confessed to these crimes and he's seeking forgiveness from the DPRK?

CHUNG: You know, I think he - that's, you know, he -- under their laws, he's been convicted and tried and sentenced. And, you know, I think nobody, including myself, is in a position to dispute that. But what we do need is to pay more attention to what he's saying and what the other detainees are saying in saying that they need help and intervention from the United States government.

BANFIELD: And your brother says that he's suffering from some afflictions. He's feeling numbness in his hands. He's been back and forth from the labor camp to the hospital. Do you think -- are you able to ascertain with the very brief, you know, appearances that you've seen in video from him, do you think that his health is worsening?

CHUNG: Yes, I do believe that. I mean I think his health isn't great, but he was still sent back to the labor camp and that's -- that's our biggest concern is that he's been back already only a month and he's already lost 15 pounds just in the last month at the labor camp and, you know, he's doing hard labor out there in the field, eight hours a day, six days a week, so we just are afraid his body's not going to be able to withstand that, the toll that's going to take on his body.

BANFIELD: Terri, there was something odd that he said in the interview, which I wasn't aware of. I don't know if you and your family have been aware of it. He said he's the only prisoner in his camp. That there's a handful of guards always watching him, but that he's the only person. It must be remarkably isolated.

CHUNG: Yes, you know, he's been so isolated for almost two years and, you know, I think he's -- anybody who knows my brother, knows he's very social, very friendly, outgoing person. He's like, you know, always surrounded by friends. And I think outside of the physical strains, I think that's got to be one of the most difficult things because he's so cut off from everybody, including family. We have so little access to my brother and it's really difficult to watch these little glimpses from TV being released from North Korea and, you know, it's really hard to watch him plead for help again and again.

BANFIELD: About that access, when was the last time you had any news or any images come from North Korea about your brother?

CHUNG: We had a, you know, a rare phone call from him about three weeks ago and that was his fourth phone call to us in the last two years. So they've been very few and far between. And, you know, he reiterated the same, you know, just -- that his health is failing, he's back in the labor camp and, you know, we hadn't heard from him for over four months and, you know, that last time was a letter that we heard at that time. So it was really hard.

BANFIELD: Well, listen, our thoughts go out to you. This has got to be just excruciating. And hopefully, if anything, that's given you at least the comfort to know that he is OK and that he was able to speak to Will Ripley. But, Terri, thank you for taking time to speak with us. We hope to speak with you again.

CHUNG: Thank you so much.

BANFIELD: Terri Chung joining us live from the West Coast.

And turning to our other top story now, the threat that ISIS terrorists are posing to western countries. Britain's prime minister revealing new information on why the U.K. has raised its alert level. More on that just ahead.

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BANFIELD: And we're turning now to our other top story. Another round of U.S. air strikes in Iraq. And this one has destroyed some ISIS equipment. U.S. military officials say that a few trucks apparently and some armored vehicles were hit by American warplanes and their air strikes. And all of this happening in northern Iraq near the Mosul Dam, where there's been quite a bit of air strike activity.

And in London today, something interesting. The British prime minister, David Cameron, has ordered sweeping new powers to fight terror. This after Britain raised its terror threat alert to the second highest level last week. The new orders temporarily would block the return of any U.K. born jihadists from Syria or Iraq. And also any British citizen suspected of terrorism, suspected of terrorism, could be stripped of his or her passport. You know, understandably, some members of parliament say this steps on civil liberties, but Prime Minister Cameron strongly defends the orders. Did so this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: To achieve this, there are two key areas where we now need to strengthen our powers to fill specific gaps in our armory. These are around preventing suspects from traveling and dealing decisively with those already here who pays the risk. Mr. Speaker, passports are not an automatic right. The home secretary already has the discretion to issue, revoke and refuse passports under the royal prerogative if there is reason to believe that people are planning to take part in terrorist-related activity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And, by the way, the prime minister wasn't done there either. Mr. Cameron says he is also asking for a brand-new law that will not allow commercial airliners to land or take off in the U.K. if they don't comply with U.K.'s no fly list and other security measures.

Again, the United States has not changed its security alert since all of this activity in the U.K.

Thank you so much for watching this Labor Day. It's been nice to have you with us. Please stay tuned. My friend Brianna Keilar is filling in for Wolf. And the program "WOLF" starts right now.