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North Korea Announces It Conducted Nuclear Test; North Korea's History of Nuclear Tests; Tearful Obama Lays Out Gun Control Plan; Donald Trump Claims Obama Trying to Take America's Guns; Campaign Speeches Take on Sharper Tone; Armed Protest Leader Called Hypocrite. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired January 06, 2016 - 01:00   ET

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


ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

[01:00:32]JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. We'd like to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause in Los Angeles. We begin with breaking news.

North Korea says it has conduct a test of a hydrogen bomb just a few hours ago. New photographs show North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un signing the order to carry out the test. The country's official news agency says it went perfectly. The U.S. says it may take days to confirm the underground testing claim but if true this is a significant military advancement for North Korea which has only tested less powerful plutonium weapons to date.

Japan has sent aircraft to collect dust in the atmosphere to confirm if there are already active materials. Regional leaders are strongly condemning the test.

Let's go to Paula Hancocks in Seoul, South Korea with more on this.

So, Paula, what do we know from the North Koreans and what do we know about the South Korean reaction?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, just in the last few minutes, we've had a reaction from the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, strongly condemning this nuclear test. She says it is clearly a provocation and it's threatening people's lives and safety.

She says that South Korea had continuously warned that North Korea would pay a price if they carried out a nuclear test and said there is now a need for a strong international response against North Korea.

Now we've also heard from Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe. He said that it is a threat to Japan's security. He condemns it. He says he cannot tolerate such a nuclear tests. So we can see this condemnation from the regional powers and across the world is starting to flood in the U.K. Foreign Ministry, that Foreign secretary, Phillip Hammond, also condemning this provocation.

This is obviously what is expected and what we have seen in previous tests. This is test number four for North Korea. But the difference, as you say, this time around is North Korea claims it is a hydrogen nuclear test, a far more powerful test than the atomic tests it has carried out before. If, in fact, that is the case, senior U.S. administration officials say it could take days before they can confirm that or not -- John.

VAUSE: Paula, clearly the North Koreans are delighted by this. The news coming to the world via state-controlled media and also interestingly, putting out those images of leader Kim Jong-Un signing the order for the test to be carried out.

HANCOCKS: That's right. He is far more media savvy than his father, the late Kim Jong-Il, ever was. He understands the power of the media, the power of these photos, a very quick response to what has happened. Of course this has been in the planning for some time. It may have taken others by surprise, the timing of it. But not for North Korea. It was back in December 15th that the North Korean leader signed the -- or issued the order for this to be carried out. And then it was January 3rd, just a few days ago, that he physically signed that order.

Those are the photos that we're seeing in that handwritten note that he is signing to say, yes, this will go ahead. So it is interesting that they've released this. It was very quick, just a couple of hours after this happened that they announced it had happened. It was 10:00 a.m. local time that they carried out the nuclear test and then just 2 1/2 hours later, they had the official announcement.

So they really have become very savvy and very quick in responding to these kind of events. And clearly this is something they will be very proud of. They have said it was successful. They've said it was to defend themselves against the U.S. A justification they've used many times in the past when carrying out a test like this -- John.

VAUSE: Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks live from Seoul with our breaking news coverage there from the Korean Peninsula.

Now earlier, the South Korean Foreign Ministry convened an emergency meeting. An official telling CNN North Korea's testing of a hydrogen bomb is in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions. They went on to say the ministry is currently under emergency and collaborating with related organizations.

Japan issued a similar condemnation. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated South Korea's comments, calling the test a serious challenge to the nuclear nonproliferation efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHINZO ABE, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER: North Korea's nuclear test is a serious threat to our nation's security and absolutely cannot be tolerated. We strongly denounce it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Mike Chinoy joins us now live from Hong Kong. He's a senior fellow with the U.S. China Institute at the University of Southern California.

[01:05:01] He's also the author of "Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis."

Mike, it's good to have you with us again. The South Korean president saying this latest test could change the fundamental nature of the situation over North Korea's nuclear program. What does that mean?

MIKE CHINOY, AUTHOR, "MELTDOWN": Well, I think it certainly is going to put a real chill into North Korea's dealings with South Korea. It certainly is going to have an impact in Japan where Prime Minister Abe's efforts to strengthen japans' own military capability will probably gather steam. And it's going to more broadly provoke a big debate about how best to respond to this.

The predictable pattern based on what we've seen after the other three nuclear tests is there will be condemnation at the United Nations, there'll be the imposition of some additional sanctions, but nothing really will change. Because the sanctions are not going to be tough enough to really force a change in North Korean behavior.

My guess is that's what's going to go on now and that in effect the North Koreans will get away with it. But it is going to sour the North's relations with China and it's also going to really sharpen the debate about whether some kind of diplomacy where you hold your nose and try to deal with the North despite all of its provocations offers perhaps a better route to slowing down the acceleration of the North's nuclear program or whether you continue in this pattern we've seen in the last three years of sanctions and pressure that don't work.

VAUSE: Do you think Beijing would have been given notification ahead of time? And if they weren't, what does that say?

CHINOY: It's hard to tell. I doubt it. I think this is a demonstration that the North Koreans really don't care what the Chinese think. It's a real slap in the face for China. Beijing in recent months had modified an approach to the North that we'd seen in the last couple of years in which relations had chilled. But in the past several months the Chinese had sent a senior official to North Korea. There had been a visible warming in the atmosphere.

Beijing's calculation I think was that by embracing North Korea you would have greater leverage to encourage the North not to engage in provocative acts. Now really North Korea has just slapped China in the face. It's a personal affront to Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Beijing will no doubt be furious. The question is, at the end of the day is China prepared to take the kind of steps that would really bring the North Korea regime to its knees and force it to abandon its pursuit of enhanced nuclear capability? I very much doubt that.

VAUSE: And so much for that relationship which was once described as being like the lips and teeth.

You know, Mike, I know you're not a nuclear scientist, but I wonder if you could explain the difference here between a plutonium explosion and a hydrogen explosion and why this is so significant from a military and technological point of view.

CHINOY: Well, I'm not a nuclear physicist but a hydrogen explosion fundamentally is just much more powerful. It gives you a much more powerful weapon. And even if the North Koreans didn't actually succeed in a full on hydrogen test here, and there are some doubt about whether they did, it's clear that's the direction they're going. So that's very worrying. And it's particularly worrying in the context of the North's development of a long range missile capability.

The North Koreans have this mobile missile called the KNO-8. It's something that the American military calls it shoot and scoot. You can hide it in a cave or in -- where it's not visible. Bring it out, fire the missile with a warhead on it and then hide it again before anybody can retaliate and attack it.

And each time the North Korean stage a nuclear test, whether this was a full-fledged hydrogen device or not, it enhances their capability, enhances their technical knowledge and it's one further step towards the eventual goal of miniaturizing a warhead that they can place on the missile. So in the broader security sense, this is potentially a very worrying development because if the North continues in this direction, they will eventually have a miniaturized warhead that can be placed on a missile that can reach the United States and certainly targets in the region.

VAUSE: Very quickly, if they had developed a hydrogen bomb, is it at a point of being a game changer or we're not there yet?

CHINOY: It's conceivable, if this really is a hydrogen bomb, that it could be a game changer. But even so, the options are very, very difficult. No one wants to go to war with North Korea. But sanctions don't work and negotiations have not been successful and the U.S. is very uneasy getting back into them. So no options are good here. There are no good choices.

VAUSE: Yes. You've got to look for the least bad ones, I guess.

Mike, thank you. It's always good to speak with you. We appreciate it.

Mike Chinoy, live for us this hour in Hong Kong.

[01:10:06] And this is not the first time North Korea has conducted a nuclear test. Will Ripley looks at Pyongyang's nuclear program and he speaks with North Korean scientists who insist their work is peaceful.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): August 1998, Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un is just 15 years old when his father, the late leader Kim Jong-Il, fires a multistage rocket over Japan. Demonstrating North Korea's frightening potential to develop rockets that reach around the region.

Then this, October 2006, North Korea announces its first underground nuclear test, joining the small group of nations that posses nuclear weapons.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The United States condemns this provocative act.

RIPLEY: The U.N. slaps crippling sanctions on an already struggling regime. But North Korea forges ahead, claiming nukes are its only lifeline, protection from the U.S. government which it says is hell bent on toppling the regime.

In 2007, Pyongyang agrees to halt its nuclear ambitions in exchange for international aid, but it's short-lived and the program resumes.

December 2012, in spite of U.N. resolutions condemning rocket launches, North Korea fires what it calls a peaceful satellite into space. Increased sanctions stoked the North's anger further.

State media announcing a third nuclear test in February of 2013. With each test, North Korea gains valuable new knowledge in weaponizing its nuclear technology. In May, another bombshell, North Korea claiming it has miniaturized nuclear weapons, warheads small enough to put on a missile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the situation is very dangerous. There are no constraints on his program and North Korea seems determined to build its nuclear arsenal.

RIPLEY: North Korea also seems determined to develop rocket technology despite the sanctions, including recent upgrades to its Sohae launch site. U.S. intelligence believes the facility has an underground rail line, moveable building and a cover over the launch pad, all designed to hide activity from prying eyes in the sky.

But North Korean space scientists we met in September told us their purpose is peaceful.

"Our launch is no threat to the U.S.," said this researcher, speaking to us outside Pyongyang's new satellite control center.

(On camera): What can you say to the world to prove that this is not a ballistic missile program in disguise?

(Voice-over): "Why on Earth would we have any intention of trying to drop nuclear bombs on the people of the world, including the United States?," said the director of scientific research and development.

But North Korea's own state media boasts a growing nuclear arsenal and willingness to strike if provoked. This latest escalation leaves many wondering just how far is North Korea and its unpredictable young leader willing to go.

Will Ripley, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And that is a good question. And with that, we'll bring in Jasper Kim, the director of the Center for Conflict Management at Ewha Women's University in South Korea. He's on the line from Seoul.

Jasper, so that is the question that Will post in his report, just how far is Kim Jong-Un prepared to go? I guess what does he want and why would he do this now?

JASPER KIM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR CONFLICT MANAGEMENT: Well, from Kim Jong-Un's perspective, I mean, viewed in the world 50 years ago in a very (INAUDIBLE) type of perspective and basically he just wants power, he wants prestige and he wants respect. And how does he get that? He gets it through things like this. Nuclear tests, provocations, and the world paying attention to him and his regime.

So if that's what his success metric is, that's exactly what he's getting. And he's pushing it further and further as each year goes on.

VAUSE: So clearly this is a military test. This is a nuclear blast which has military purposes. So what does this say about the internal dynamics right now of the regime in Pyongyang?

KIM: Well, no one really knows exactly. But it could be very good or it could be very bad. Very good in the sense that he's basically saying that we have control over these nuclear technologies that we are using this for peaceful purposes and we're displaying it, trying to be transparent. But more likely it's something that's kind of a risk to the international community that North Korea has the potential, although it has to be verified to have this types of miniaturized nuclear warhead capacity and that is going to put everyone in a very -- this level of high concern and that's going to make everyone very nervous.

The international communication will condemn the action of North Korea and this is basically a communication message from North Korea to the Oval Office. And it's trying to get attention the last year of the Barack Obama administration.

VAUSE: I'm also wondering about what it says about, if anything about the recent purging of dozens of high-ranking North Korean officials and also that mysterious death of another North Korean official who was responsible for contact with the South Koreans. Is any of this linked together?

[01:15:07] KIM: Yes. I mean, there could be a linkage. I mean what we see are patterns and maybe not one similar event is that alarming, but in a state where nothing shocking patterns can be very concerning. And we see basically Kim Jong-Un kind of prune his power base. And that means that there could be possible risks or interactions against his leadership, or it could be nothing. But we're not quite sure.

But what we are sure is the end result of all that. Maybe it's paranoia based on nothing. But North Korea is on a determined art towards establishing nuclear weapon capabilities. So I think the question now is, not whether it has done so, but what does the world look like now that North Korea assumes -- we assume has nuclear miniaturization capabilities? How does the world function and react to North Korea in that type of world? VAUSE: It's a question they'll be looking at the U.N. in the coming

hours and, of course, governments around the world will be dealing with days and weeks to come.

Jasper, thank you. Jasper Kim on the line there from Seoul. Appreciate it.

Next here on CNN NEWSROOM, fed up, U.S. president Barack Obama gets emotional as he lays out executive actions he's taking to curb gun violence in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every time I think I those kids, it gets me mad. And by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:30] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. Updating our breaking news now. North Korea claims it has tested a hydrogen bomb. This happened just a few hours ago. And these are photos of leader Kim Jong-Un signing the order for the test.

If its claim of an h-bomb is verified, it would be a significant military advancement for North Korea which has only tested less powerful plutonium weapons to date.

The U.S. says it may take days to confirm the claim. The United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting in New York in just a few hours from now.

And we had this statement just in from South Korean president, Park Geun-hye. "North Korea's nuclear test is a clear provocation and threatening the lives of people and safety. We are being continuously warning that it will pay a price for conducting a nuclear test. It's important to bring about a stern measure with the U.N. Security Council and international community and the U.S. and our allies."

Well, to guns in America now. President Obama conceded in his speech that his executive actions will not stop every shooting massacre. But he insisted that preventing even one death is important and tightened gun controls he said are long overdue.

Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was perhaps the most emotional speech President Obama has ever given in office. First embracing the crowd of mass shooting victims and their families on hand, then openly crying as he made the case for new executive actions on gun control.

OBAMA: From first-graders in Newtown.

ACOSTA: The president wiped away tears as he recalled what he's described as his saddest day in office, the slaughter of 20 first- graders and six adults in the Sandy Hook school shooting.

OBAMA: Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad. And, by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day.

(APPLAUSE)

ACOSTA: Under the president's new executive actions, a warning to nearly all gun sellers to conduct background checks or risk prosecution, plus new FBI and ATF agents, $500 million for mental health care, and a new push to develop smart gun technology.

To hammer home the argument, the president was joined by the father of Daniel Barden, who died at Sandy Hook.

MARK BARDEN, FATHER OF SANDY HOOK VICTIM: As a nation, we have to do better. We are better. We're better than this.

ACOSTA: And former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was nearly killed by a mass shooter five years ago. Her husband, Mark Kelly, is now a leader of victims' families.

(On camera): Well, it's almost like you're a community of people now.

MARK KELLY, HUSBAND OF GABRIELLE GIFFORDS: We are, for -- I mean, you know, unbelievable, devastating circumstances. So it's not a community that people want to belong to. We'll just leave it at that. I mean, you don't want to be invited into that club.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The new executive action stopped short of a law mandating universal background checks across the country. The president blamed the NRA and Republicans in Congress for that.

OBAMA: So the gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage right now, but they cannot hold America hostage.

ACOSTA: The NRA responded, saying, "The proposed executive actions are ripe for abuse by the Obama administration, which has made no secret of its contempt for the Second Amendment."

And Speaker Paul Ryan said, "Rather than focused on criminals and terrorists, the president goes after the most law-abiding of citizens. His words and actions amount to a form of intimidation that undermines liberty."

A sentiment echoed on the campaign trail.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's obsessed with undermining the Second Amendment. He's obsessed with burdening law- abiding citizens who are going to follow the law, no matter what it is.

ACOSTA: The White House says that's pure politics.

OBAMA: I believe in the Second Amendment. It's there written on the paper. It guarantees a right to bear arms. No matter how many times people try to twist my words around.

ACOSTA: Much of the president's ability to enforce these new actions depends on Congress spending the money to hire new investigators at the ATF and FBI. Republicans have long said the president should enforce the nation's existing gun laws. Now the White House is saying those lawmakers have a chance to do just that.

Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, for days now, Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump has been warning that Mr. Obama wants to take away their firearms, something the president denies. But many of Trump supporters say they do believe Mr. Obama is plotting to strip away their constitutional rights.

[01:25:02] CNN's Randi Kaye spoke with them in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's an assault on the Second Amendment. You know, Obama is going to do an executive order and really knock the hell out of it.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When Donald Trump tells supporters President Obama is attacking their Second Amendment, and that he's going to take away their this guns, they believe him.

(On camera): Do you fear that President Obama is coming for your guns?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do believe that his main objective, yes.

KAYE: Do you think the president is looking to take away your guns?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

KAYE: So you don't believe it when the president says he's not coming for your guns?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course not. I don't believe that one bit.

KAYE (voice-over): We caught up with these Trump supporters, many of them gun owners, at this rally in Claremont, New Hampshire, just hours after the president laid out his new requirements for gun sellers and buyers which include expanded background checks.

(On camera): Anyone who can legally buy a gun now will still be able to legally buy a gun. So what's the problem with greater background checks?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I think you just made the case if you think about. If they're already covered, why make another regulation to say what's already being said? Bad guys are going to get control of guns because they're going to do things that are illegal. All this is doing is punishing good people for what bad people do.

KAYE (voice-over): And despite the president saying this to calm fears --

OBAMA: This is not a plot to take away everybody's guns.

KAYE: Many we spoke with her are considering buying up guns before the laws get any tougher, like this woman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think if he tries to take away our guns, that he's basically breaking the law. It's our Second Amendment right and we have every right to protect ourselves.

KAYE: And while we found a few in the crowd who don't mind the tougher background checks, they still don't believe it will make any difference.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would make America safe, what would really make America safe, would be to take the guns away from the criminals. Not the law-abiding citizens. I'm not the problem. I'm a good guy with a gun, not a bad guy with a gun.

KAYE: But wouldn't extra background and extra controls do that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Wouldn't it be great if they just enforce the laws that are currently on the books.

KAYE: 30,000 people a year die from gun violence. So what's the answer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I don't believe making more laws to make it harder to get guns is going to do anything for that. Like I said, if the criminals want to get more guns, they're going to get them one way or another.

KAYE (voice-over): Trump supporters are confident if he makes it to the Oval Office, one strike with a pen and Mr. Obama's gun regulations are history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump is right in identifying that we need to address the problems of people who are making bad decisions and understand that guns are just a tool and as Americans we should have rights to all the tools we want including guns.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Karma, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Please join CNN for a special look at "Guns in America" with U.S. president Barack Obama. Anderson Cooper hosts an exclusive one- hour live town hall event, Thursday night at 8:00 in Washington, that's 1:00 a.m. Friday in London and 9:00 Friday morning in Hong Kong. You will see it only here on CNN.

We'll continue to follow the breaking news. North Korea says it has carried out an underground nuclear test. We'll tell you how the U.S. is reacting to Pyongyang's latest move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:36] VAUSE: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

Our top stories this hour --

(HEADLINES)

VAUSE: Our other major story this hour, North Korea says it has carried out a successful test of a hydrogen nuclear bomb. New pictures show North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un, signing an order to carry out the test. A senior U.S. official says it could take days to determine if the underground test was successful. North Korea has tested plutonium nuclear devices three times in the past.

Let's go to Paula Hancocks is in Seoul, South Korea, with more on this.

Paula, it's been about, what, six hours now that word came through that this seismic activity occurred in the region. Recap exactly what we know to this point.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They say it was a successful hydrogen bomb test. We don't know for sure if it was, in fact, hydrogen, as you say. At least the first two of those three tests that have already happened were plutonium. The 2013 one, it's not known if it was plutonium or uranium. If it is a hydrogen test, it would be a significant jump in capability for North Korea.

Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean leader, signed the official order for this to go ahead back on January 3rd, according to North Korean state media. They have published a photo of him doing so and also a handwritten statement that he has signed to issue the order for this.

And we have been hearing international condemnation already flooding in from the region, from South Korea, from Japan, from the United Kingdom. And we also know and we just heard that right now a meeting is under way between the South Korean foreign ministry and the commander of the U.S. forces here in Korea. So they will be discussing what has happened. Remember, there are close to 30,000 U.S. troops here in South Korea. So, obviously, they are watching things very closely. The South Korean defense ministry saying they are on a high state of alert -- John?

VAUSE: Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks once again with an update on the break news on the Korean peninsula. Thank you, Paula.

We have more now on that U.S. reaction. A spokesman at the White House has said this, "While we cannot confirm these claims at this time, we condemn any violence of the U.N. S.C. resolutions and again call on North Korea to abide by its international obligations and commitments." The statement went on, "We will continue to protect and defend our allies in the region, including the Republic of Korea," which is South Korea, "and will respond appropriately to any and all North Korean provocations."

We're joined Philip Yun, the executive director of the Ploughshares Fund, a foundation which aims to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons. He joins us via Skype from San Francisco.

Philip, thank you for joining us.

(CROSSTALK)

[01:35:] VAUSE: We should stress that right now there is no independent verification of the North Korean claims. We have the U.S. Geological Survey and others detecting this 5.1 tremor, which was a seismic event. We have the claim by the North Koreas. With that in mind, though, let's talk about what this hydrogen bomb can do. What are we talking about here in terms of a weapon, if you like, a hydrogen bomb compared to, say, a plutonium nuclear weapon?

PHILIP YUN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PLOUGHSHARES FUND: What we're talking about is a conventional atomic weapon which was dragged in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which has something between 15 to 20 kilotons. The first test by the United States of an actual hydrogen weapon was something on the scale of 100,000 kilotons. We're talking about a significant jump in capability.

I have to note, though, that a lot of speculation at this point is that North Korea appropriate hasn't done a full fledged hydrogen bomb. They more than likely have the capability to do an atopic weapon or fission exPLOsion that was boosted by some fission material, so added on to boost the actual explosion. We're going to have to find out what actually occurred.

VAUSE: North Korea is probably the most heavily sanctioned country in the world. Where would the North Koreans get the resources and technical know-how if they have, in fact, developed an H-bomb?

YUN: They had the know-how all the time. It's all brain power. And the North Koreans are very capable with little resources to put a satellite up in the air, to build a nuclear device. So this is something that is significant in the sense that they have demonstrated a political will despite a lot of condemnation that is going to occur to probably what I think is going to create a sophisticated nuclear weapons arsenal. This is the big picture and this is what I think ultimately has the potential to be a game changer.

VAUSE: When we look at this statement coming from the North Koreans, they don't just say they developed the H-bomb, this hydrogen bomb, they've talked about militarizing a hydrogen bomb. How significant is that?

YUN: That would be -- as I said, for them to have a sophisticated nuclear weapons arsenal, they have to be able to miniaturize, which is a significant technological feat. What that means is they can basically put on top of a missile a long-range missile that has the capability of hitting places as far as the United States. I think that's still a little ways away. Ultimately, that is their aim, and having this test gives them an incredible amount of data to continue that quest.

VAUSE: Philip, thank you. Philip Yun joining us from San Francisco with some of the technicalities here on what this bomb entails and what the implications may be. Thank you, Philip.

YUN: Thank you.

VAUSE: A short break here, CNN NEWSROOM. The U.S. kickoff to the primary season now just weeks away. We'll have the latest on the presidential campaign when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:41:23] VAUSE: More now on our breaking news out of North Korea. Pyongyang says it has conducted a successful underground nuclear test of a hydrogen bomb, a news picture shows North Korea's Kim Jong-Un sighing the order to carry out the tests. It vows to make the world look up to North Korea, opening the year with the exciting noise of a first hydrogen bomb. If the test is legitimate, it would be considered a significant advancement over North Korea's three previous tests of plutonium nuclear devices.

Less than a month now before the Iowa caucuses and the first electoral test in the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign in Iowa. And the speeches by the candidates are taking a bit of a sharper tone.

Sara Murray has more from the Republican side.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R), NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't care whether your name is Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz, who never did a thing of consequence in their life.

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Months of raising money, honing policy positions and polishing stump speeches coming down to this.

(CHEERING)

MURRAY: The last few weeks before voters hit the polls, and now the knives are out on the stump and on the air waves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Weak economy, scandals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Chris Christie bashing his GOP rivals who hail from the Senate.

CHRISTIE: They're scheduled when they're supposed to be there. They tell you where to sit and then they say, yes or no, say yes or no. Senator Rubio can't even seem to get that right.

MURRAY: While Marco Rubio tries to turn one of his potential weaknesses in a GOP primary, immigration, into a shot at Ted Cruz.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He supported our massive expansion of temporary workers, guest workers coming into the United States. He supports a massive doubling of the number of green cards. So his record on immigration in the past is a little different than what it is now.

MURRAY: And Donald Trump, he's sticking to one of his favorite punching bags, Jeb Bush.

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Bush was three. Bush?

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: That's not good. How would you like to spend $59 million and you're three. See this young guy over here? Stand up. Stand up. If I spent $59 million at him, he would be at least five, OK?

(APPLAUSE)

MURRAY: All those millions of dollars coming straight to the homes of early state voters as candidates blanket the air waves with ads.

A super PAC backing Rubio slamming Christie as too cozy with Barack Obama and his liberal principals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Chris Christie could well be Obama's favorite Republican governor. Why? Christie's record.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: While Cruz tries to rally voters over the threat of illegal immigration.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I understand that when the mainstream media covers immigration, it doesn't often see it as an economic issue. But I can tell you it is a very personal economic issue.

MURRAY: Vowing to secure the border.

CRUZ: If I'm elected president, we will triple the border patrol. We will build a wall that works.

MURRAY: And using some language that sounds awfully familiar to Trump. TRUMP: He says, we're going to build a wall. Here is the good thing.

He's a politician, so he wouldn't know where to start. I know how to build a wall.

(LAUGHTER)

OK? I know exactly how to build a wall. I know the footings. I know how deep they have to go. I know how high we could to go with the precast. I know everything.

MURRAY (on camera): And now Donald Trump is taking an even sharper tone against Ted Cruz, telling "The Washington Post" that the fact that Ted Cruz was born in Canada would be a big problem for the Republican party if they end up nominating Cruz.

This could be the beginning of a political feud bubbling up between Trump and Cruz who are in a neck-and-neck race in Iowa.

Sara Murray, CNN, Fairmont, Nevada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:45:07] VAUSE: And the U.S. financial sector was the main target on the Democratic candidates for the White House. Bernie Sanders is promising to break up America's biggest banks, saying the greed of Wall Street and corporate America is destroying the fabric of the nation. And he says his rival, Hillary Clinton, is too close to the financial industry to take on the issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My opponent says that, as a Senator, she told bankers to, quote/unquote, "cut it out" --

(LAUGHTER)

-- and end -- and end their destructive behavior. But in my view, establishment politicians are the ones who need to cut it out.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: With respect to my opponent, who is a friend of mine, I think I have a broader, more comprehensive set of policies about everything, including taking on Wall Street. You know, I think Bernie is giving a speech today in New York about what he wants to do to shut down the big banks in a week. Everybody who has looked at my proposals say my proposals are tougher, more effective and more comprehensive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Now, according to a gallop poll, American trust in banks has fallen to a historic low of 20 percent.

A short break here. A man accusing the U.S. government of illegally taking land is now a little bit on the defense himself for using federal money for his own business. We'll have more on that story when we come back.

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(WEATHER REPORT)

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[01:50:31] VAUSE: Recapping our breaking news, North Korean leader says it has conducted a successful nuclear test. New pictures show North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un, signed an order to carry out the nuclear tests. It's the country's fourth underground test since 2006, but the first using more powerful hydrogen instead of plutonium.

The South Korean foreign ministry convened an emergency meeting to conduct the testing and called on the United Nations to take action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translation): As we all know, North Korea's provocation is a complete violation of Security Council resolutions and a serious challenge to world peace and security.

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(HEADLINES)

VAUSE: To Oregon now, where armed protesters occupying a national wildlife facility since Saturday say they're not backing down, at least for now.

As Sara Sidner reports, the group is upset over land they claim the federal government is illegally taking.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Authorities say the armed protesters at the Mulheur Wildlife Refuge need to leave, but the protesters say they aren't going anywhere.

(on camera): Can you give us some sense of exactly how long you might be here?

AMMON BUNDY, RANCHER: This is a lot of work. It definitely -- it's going to take some months.

SIDNER: Months that some local residents in Burns, Oregon, worry could turn into much longer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like they lied to us. I feel like the whole protest march was a ruse so that they could do what they're doing right now.

SIDNER: There are some people that aren't ranchers saying they came into our community and took over. Why are they coming from outside into our community? BUNDY: I understand that concern.

SIDNER (on camera): That group that now calls themselves Citizens for Constitutional Freedom are still here. It's now day four. We don't see any federal or state police out here and it is in the middle of nowhere. We're about 35 miles from the closest town.

(voice-over): The lack of police presence is a stark contrast to the deadly siege and confrontation at Ruby Ridge in Idaho that left three dead, including a U.S. Marshal in 1992. Less than a year later, there was the deadly raid in Waco, Texas, that left at least 75 people dead, including women and children and four federal agents.

(on camera): The word Waco comes up quite often when they start hearing words like takeover. Are you with worried this is going to end that way?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nope. America isn't going to tolerate another Waco.

SIDNER: But you're the only ones here. America is at home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, well, there's a neat quote from World War II that said we can't do that because there would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.

SIDNER (voice-over): The armed group says the government is illegally grabbing blades of grass from every land and they want to give it back to local ranchers and farmers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they can do it in a nonviolent way, it will be worthwhile.

SIDNER: The group's leader, Ammon Bundy, is a Nevada rancher who comes from a long line of Mormons. But in a statement, the Mormon Church says, they "are deeply concerned that those doing this say they are doing so based on scriptural principals. This armed occupation can in no way be justified on a scriptural basis."

This group is made up of men and women from Nevada and Arizona. And while they do not call themselves anti-government, they are opposed to the Bureau of Land Management, a federal agency.

Sara Sidner, CNN, Princeton, Oregon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And there is an interesting footnote to this story. The leader of the group who is known for battling the government has financially benefited from a government loan.

But Ammon Bundy denies he's being a hypocrite for taking the money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[01:55:08] BUNDY: There's a role -- but all government's roles are, are for the people, for the individual. So whenever those governments step out, then that's when we step in, and that is what we're doing.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What do say to a critic who says that's hypocrisy, you taking a small business loan from the federal government?

BUNDY: Well, again, I agree there are roles the federal government can play. Right? That was an SBA loan, and I took that loan, and that was an effort in assisting the people in using their rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Public records indicate that in 2010 Bundy borrowed $530,000 from the U.S. government for his truck maintenance company in Arizona.

You've been watching CNN live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

A lot more on our breaking news about North Korea's underground nuclear tests with Rosemary Church and Errol Barnett after a short break.

You're watching CNN.

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