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Pyongyang Claims Satellite Launch; Republican Presidential Debate; Earthquake in Taiwan. Aired 12-12:30a ET

Aired February 07, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:28] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, everyone, live from Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen.

Our breaking news is from North Korea, and that is where we begin. North Korea launching a multistage rocket just a few hours ago. North Korean state media are lauding what they say is the launch of an earth observation satellite. But the U.S., South Korea and Japan says it was a front for a long range ballistic missile test. It is not clear if the satellite made it into orbit. Parts of the rocket splashed into the waters of the Yellow Sea and farther south into the Pacific. The rocket launch comes just one month after North Korea tested what it says was a hydrogen bomb, raising anger and alert in an already tense region.

We're covering this story across the world. We'll be talking with military and foreign policy experts throughout the night. Several hours to go here. We also have CNN's Alexandra Field. She's in Beijing for us. And we have Paula Hancocks in Seoul, and that's where we will begin.

Paula, North Korea did make an official response a short time ago. What can you tell us?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Natalie, they have made the announcements and as far as they're concerned this was a successful satellite launch, North Korea, on their state run media, saying that this was launched at 9:00 in the morning local time and saying that within nine minutes and 46 seconds they'd reached orbit. So they say they have a satellite in space at this point.

And the reason for this, they're saying it's -- it was -- it has measuring apparatuses, it has telecommunications apparatuses needed for observing the earth. But as you say, many countries outside of North Korea believe it's just a front for a long range ballistic missile test.

But North Korea is certainly very pleased with what they've done. You can see photos there which have just been aired in the last half hour on state run television of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, watching this launch. Now, I've got to say, this is probably the quickest that I have ever

seen North Korean state media turn around this kind of footage and these photos. So clearly they want to show the world, they want to show the domestic audience exactly what they have done. They say that it has been successful.

Now, we've heard from a U.S. defense official as well earlier on this morning saying that they believe that something has been put into space, saying that the launch vehicle appears to have reached space. We're hearing conflicting information though from the South Korean defense ministry. They say that the first stage, the booster stage, may well have exploded. They even said it exploded into 270 pieces. So fairly specific. But it's not clear whether they believe that would have affected the ongoing rocket or not.

Natalie.

ALLEN: And as you're talking, Paula, we continue to see more pictures released from North Korea of this rocket and Kim Jong-un watching it as it goes. You talk about military watchers there in South Korea responding to what they believe happened. What about the South Korean government? What have you heard from them on this?

HANCOCKS: Well, President Park Geun-hye gave a statement to the nation a couple of hours ago. It was a fairly quick statement saying -- obviously condemning what had happened, saying that she calls for very strong sanctions, saying there is a need for those strong sanctions against North Korea. Also saying that she believed that it was a challenge to world peace.

Now bear in mind, the sanctions that she's talking about and calling for, they haven't even been put in place yet for the nuclear tests that North Korea carried out a month ago, back on January 6th. Washington, Seoul, Tokyo, have all been calling for these strong sanctions. Beijing has been dragging its heels, though, not wanting such strict sanctions, preferring dialogue. And so, obviously, Kim Jong-un can see that there isn't international concessions on these sanctions at this point. There is a school of thought here in South Korea among many observers that Kim Jong-un may have thought, I'm in trouble anyway, there will be sanctions against me anyway, why not go ahead with this satellite launch at this point. And maybe there will only be one set of sanction against him.

Natalie.

ALLEN: Interesting perspective there. We thank you. Paula Hancocks, watching developments from Seoul.

Let's go now to China. A spokeswoman for China's foreign minister says Beijing regrets that North Korea went ahead with this. Alexandra Field is monitoring developments from China for us.

Is there more from the government there in Beijing, Alexandra?

[00:05:03] ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in fact, Natalie, there is. While they're saying that they believe that North Korea should have the right to peaceful exploration of space, if you believe that this is about launching a satellite, they are saying that they express regret, as you put it, given the fact that the North Koreans used ballistic missile technology to launch this rocket, which is directly in defiance of U.N. sanctions against the country. The Chinese are now calling for all parties to exercise what they call calm and restraint. They're saying that dialogue and consultation is the only path forward, the only way towards stability and peace.

This, of course, is sort of in response to what the U.S. has continued to call for from China, which is for the Chinese to use some of their leverage. They have more leverage in terms of North Korea than any other country internationally. That's because of the close international -- rather the close economic ties that the two countries share. They, of course, share a border. China is the key trade partner for North Korea. Also the key international investor. The U.S. has said that a tighter squeeze on the economy, an effort to could be led by China, would force some cooperation from North Korea. But the Chinese have been very clear that they won't support sanctions just for the sake of sanctions. Instead, they say that North Korea's provocations, this series of provocations that have come from Pyongyang, are geared toward getting the attention of the U.S. and that it is incumbent on the U.S. now to engage in dialogue with North Korea.

Natalie.

ALLEN: All right, thank you. Alexandra Field for us live there in Beijing, watching the response from the government there.

Let's talk more about China's situation and the North Korean story. Mike Chinoy is CNN's former senior Asia correspondent. He is now a senior fellow with the U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California. And he's on the line now with us from Hong Kong.

Mike I just wanted to get your reaction on this launch and what we're hearing about the response from China.

MIKE CHINOY, SENIOR FELLOW, U.S.-CHINA INSTITUTE, USC (via telephone): Well, this is really a poke in the eye of the Chinese by the North Koreans. They did this launch the day before the lunar new year, the Chinese new year, a time when everything in China shuts down. And so it's really a kind of -- an egregious slap in the face at the Chinese to do this in this way, disrupting the Chinese military and the diplomatic apparatus, at a time when everybody's trying to get some time off. And it comes after the nuclear test, which was done over strong Chinese warnings as well.

I think what it shows is that Kim Jong-un has -- the North Korean leader, has calculated that he can really push the Chinese and test their patience because in the end its -- it appears that however provocative North Korea's behavior, the Chinese are more concerned about the possible consequences of sanctions in terms of generating instability in North Korea and they're not going to go along with it. So, in effect, he can get away with it.

I think one thing this will do is this will -- this will certainly give the United States and South Korea in particular more ammunition to go to the Chinese and say, you've got to join us with sanctions that will actually force North Korea to change its policy. And I think this will increase the pressure in the United States and South Korea, their determination to move ahead with much tougher sanctions that will include targeting Chinese entities that operate in North Korea in response to the missile test.

ALLEN: It will certainly be interesting to see China's response to the U.S. continuing to urge them out of somewhat complacency with North Korea to this end.

But I want to ask you, Mike, Kim Jong-un -- and you talk about the timing of this before the lunar new year there in China. Kim Jong-un has been said, unlike his father or grandfather, not to really think about crossing a red line. For him it seems there is no red line that he is worried about crossing.

CHINOY: Well, Kim Jong-un's central sort of governing philosophy is called the gun jin (ph), which means promoting North Korea's nuclear program and trying to develop the economy. And part of the nuclear program involves developing a delivery system that a miniaturized warhead could be put on top of a missile that could eventually reach the continental United States. And so this missile test is a very important step forward.

I think Kim Jong-un has clearly shown that he's going to make his own decisions, that he's not going to pay attention to pressure from the Chinese and that he calculates the Chinese aren't going to exert enough pressure for it to make a difference. He knows that the U.S. and South Korea aren't going to go to war with North Korea over this and that up till now sanctions have proved ineffective. So he's actually, I suspect by his own calculations, in a pretty strong position.

[00:10:13] This also, I think it's important to note, is significant domestically in North Korea. The 16th of February is the birthday of Kim Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il, and so this is part of glorifying the family dynasty. And in May the ruling party in North Korea is going to have a congress, its first one in 36 years, and Kim Jong-un can now point to the nuclear test and a missile test to show that he's taking steps to strengthen North Korea's defenses and increase its power and clout internationally.

ALLEN: And, Mike, we know that the U.N. Security Council is holding an emergency session over this launch on Sunday. What do you think the response will be from there? And is this a time for the United States to step in, to encouraging any talks, renewed talks with North Korea?

CHINOY: It's a -- the issue of talks is a very complicated one. In an election year in the United States and given the track record of the Obama administration of having been very reluctant to talk to North Korea unless the only item on the agenda was North Korea getting rid of its nukes, which is something the North has said it won't do, I think the notion of talks is a complete nonstarter. And certainly given that the critics of the Obama administration on the Republican side and the states have accused him of weakness in foreign policy in many areas, I see no way politically, even if Obama were interested, which I don't think he is, that talks are likely.

The U.N., I think the interesting question here is, what kind of eventually sanctions resolution will they pass? Will it be, as has been in the past, a resolution that China and Russia water down so that it doesn't make that much difference? Will the sanctions resolution be so tough that the Chinese veto it, which there are some officials in Washington and Seoul who would like to see that as a way of exposing the Chinese, or will it be a case of whatever the U.N. passes, the U.S. and South Korea, but the U.S. in particular, will then impose unilateral sanctions. I think that's the likeliest outcome, particularly because the U.S. Congress is in the midst of passing a new law that would authorize much, much tougher sanctions. I think what that's going to mean is greater tension between China and the United States because those sanctions are likely to target Chinese companies that do business -- and banks that do business in or invest in North Korea.

ALLEN: A very good point. This happening, of course, in the midst of an election year in the United States, so that will make it all the more interesting to see the response. We appreciate it. Mike Chinoy talking with us from Hong Kong.

Now, let's get the response from Japan. The prime minister is calling the rocket launch "intolerable," and Japan, along with the U.S. and South Korea are seeking, as we mentioned, an emergency meeting at the U.N. Security Council. We'll talk more about Japan's response in a moment.

Let's turn now to South Korea. South Korea's president, Park Geun-hye, is pledging to protect her citizens. We have this quote from her. "We don't know when North Korea is going to do another provocative action, so our government needs to come up with a plan to protect the safety of our people," end quote.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says, and we quote, "the United States strongly condemns today's missile launch by the DPRK, a flagrant violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions related to the DPRK use of ballistic missile technology."

We'll take a short break here. News of the launch broke just as the Republican presidential debate was beginning, so the presidential candidates had something to say. Next, we'll tell you where they're placing the blame for this action by North Korea.

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[00:16:11] ALLEN: Welcome back. We are live in Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen. And we turn now to the presidential race.

U.S. presidential candidates on the Republican side were quick to use North Korea's missile launch to slam the Obama administration during their debate. Ted Cruz argued the administration's recent nuclear deal with Iran would lead to a similar outcome from Tehran. Cruz says the U.S. needs missile defense to protect against North Korea. He was then asked whether he would preemptively strike North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At this point I'm not going to speculate on that without the intelligence briefing that any commander in chief would have, knowing what exactly is there. One of the real problems is --

MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC NEWS: Senator Cruz, let me tell you that you have talked tough about the Mideast. You haven't gotten those intelligence briefings about that. Why not tell us whether you would preemptively strike a missile on a launch pad that threatens the U.S.?

CRUZ: Actually, with respect, I have gotten the intelligence briefings on the Mideast. Those have been going on for many years. I haven't gotten the intelligence briefing tonight on what North Korea is doing because I'm here in New Hampshire. And when you're responding to an immediate incident, you need to know the intelligence of what's occurring.

But what I was saying, look, it is qualitatively different dealing with a country once they have nuclear weapons. It's why you prevent them from getting nuclear weapons in the first place, because your hands are somewhat tied once they have nukes. It's why this Iranian nuclear deal is so catastrophic and it's why I pledge, on the very first day in office, to rip to shreds this Iranian nuclear deal so we're not sitting here in five years wondering what to do about an Iranian missile launch when they have nuclear weapons. The stakes are too high for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Candidate Marco Rubio somewhat backed Cruz there, saying there are already provisions in place to destroy such a missile.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is standard procedure of the United States to shoot down those missiles once launched if they pose a threat to civilians, land --

RADDATZ: Senator Rubio, I'm talking about a preemptive strike on the launch pad.

RUBIO: Well -- no, I understand and that's -- but -- but I think it's important to note that it is, and Senator Cruz I think was alluding to this as well, it is the standard procedure of the United States if in fact those missiles pose a threat to land, civilians, our allies or any of our assets to shoot down that missiles in mid-flight. I understand your question was about a preemptive strike, but my point is that, there is in place now contingencies to avoid any sort of that strike from going errant and destroying any -- any assets of the United States or implicating or hurting any of our allies or any of our assets in the region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: That was some of the reaction there as news spread about what North Korea had done as far as the rocket launch.

For more on Saturday's Republican presidential debate, CNN political commentator Jeffrey Lord joins us now live from New York.

Jeffrey, thanks for being with us. We know it's been a long night.

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hello, Natalie.

ALLEN: Hello there.

So we heard some of the reaction to the North Korea story, but how was it overall for the candidates? What -- I've been hearing is -- perhaps it was not Marco Rubio's night, but whose was it? Was it Donald Trump's?

LORD: Yes. Yes -- well, I think Donald Trump did very well. I mean, at this point, he's been through, what, five, six debates, whatever it is. All he had to do basically is be there and express his point of view. Everybody knows pretty much where he is on these issues.

What was interesting I thought was that the governors, former Governor Bush, Governor Kasich, Governor Christie, seemed to be the one having a good night at Marco Rubio's expense. So I think that Donald Trump is -- did well. I think he's still in the lead here in New Hampshire, although, you know, New Hampshire voters are notoriously independent. I'm a New Englander myself and I can attest to -- attest to that independence. The question is whether somebody will come in second to Donald Trump, who is one of the so-called lower card from the earlier debates. You know, will -- could Governor Kasich grab second or former Governor Bush or Governor Christie. If that did, that would do real damage to Marco Rubio and Senator Cruz as well.

[00:20:08] ALLEN: And, as you say, all the -- the governors there tonight in the debate you feel did a good job. What about Chris Christie? Some have been saying that he seemed more like the moderator. He really went after Rubio.

LORD: Boy, I'll say. I was looking at one of the headlines out there. I think it was in "The Daily Caller." And the headline was "Christie Smokes a Cuban." It was -- it was pretty brutal. Chris Christie is a former federal -- U.S. attorney, a prosecutor, and, boy, he really pressed that case against Marco Rubio tonight. And it was just interesting to see that dynamic at work because frankly if Governor Christie doesn't do well here in New Hampshire, he's going to have a problem. So everybody sort of senses I think that Marco Rubio was surging after his third place showing in Iowa and so they went after him tonight and hammer and tong.

ALLEN: Was there any particular sparring between Jeb Bush and Donald Trump, as there had been in the past?

LORD: Yes, there was -- there was a little -- a little bit on eminent domain and I think that was primarily the big one were the disagreement on that and Donald Trump talking about, well, you're a big supporter of the Keystone pipeline. So am I. You've got to have eminent domain to build the pipeline. And this is going to be done by private companies, et cetera, et cetera. So it was very interesting. Candidly, I'm not sure that eminent domain will decide a presidential election, but we will see.

ALLEN: So, yes, absolutely. Doubtful --

LORD: My colleague, David Axelrod, said that he always thinks of the term eminent domain as a good champagne.

ALLEN: Yes, or some sort of sci-fi movie or something perhaps.

LORD: Right.

ALLEN: OK, well, I want to ask you, Jeffrey, so do you think this debate tonight did anything to move the dial toward anyone as far as guessing what this independent state will do on Tuesday?

LORD: Oh, I think Donald Trump did very well. He's in the lead in double digits. But could it have moved somebody up closer to him? That's possible. That's possible. I notice afterward in the spin room he was not -- he was very -- he felt very good about his performance, but he was very cautious in predicting victory, which I think is exactly the right thing to do. I'm old enough to remember the Goldwater-Rockefeller race in 1964, if you can believe it, when I was a child, and they were going on it hammer and tong and the winner was Henry Cabot Lodge in a write in, who was then the U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam and never campaigned a day. So it's things like that that gives candidates pause here.

ALLEN: Yes, buckle up, it's going to be a wild ride perhaps.

All right, Jeffrey Lord, thank you.

LORD: Thanks, Natalie.

ALLEN: Thanks a lot.

Well, according to the latest CNN/WMUR poll, Donald Trump is coming out on top of his Republican rivals in New Hampshire, holding an 11 point lead over Marco Rubio, ahead of the primary there on Tuesday.

On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders is leading Hillary Clinton by a two to one margin. He, of course, from the state of Vermont, right next door to New Hampshire.

We've got more news ahead here live from Atlanta. In Taiwan we will show you the moment a powerful earthquake hit and we'll tell you about a little boy rescued from the rubble.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Welcome back.

Provocative and a challenge to world peace, that is just some of the condemnation from world leaders following the launch of a rocket by North Korea just a few hours ago. And we are now seeing the moment when North Korea claims Kim Jong-un signed the launch order. Pyongyang says the rocket is meant to send a satellite to space and that it is only for peaceful purposes, but there are fears the launch is the first step to develop technology capable of sending nuclear missiles.

[00:25:29] We turn now to Taiwan, where more than 100 people remain unaccounted for after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. At least 18 people have been killed, including a 10 day old baby girl. Emergency crews are still digging through that building right there which collapsed and pancaked, looking for survivors. And this surveillance video shows the moment the earthquake hit. Smoke rises and chunk of cement comes crashing down.

Our Azadeh Ansari (ph) takes a look at the people fortunate enough to survive this earthquake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AZADEH ANSARI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Taiwan's oldest city, a fragile life lingers behind the steel bars of a collapsed high-rise apartment complex. This is the destruction left in Tainan, in the wake of the powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake. Life and death lie within the cracks of the uprooted buildings in this concrete jungle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (through translator): I was so afraid that what if the rescuers couldn't find us. That I would start screaming as soon as I heard anyone looking for survivors. And since my husband and I were trapped in different rooms, we kept making sure each of us was OK.

ANSARI: Others were not so fortunate. More than a dozen people have died. Hundreds have been rushed to nearby hospitals and many more are still missing. Rescue workers rummage through the rubble in the early morning hours, searching for a little sign of life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): In current (INAUDIBLE), we are busy rescuing and relocating the victims. There's enough manpower at the site to carry out the rescue. And as for relocation, we will provide 1,200 beds in the nearby military academy for the victims.

ANSARI: This small island nation lies near the junction of two tectonic plates, making it one of the world's most active earthquake zones. This quake, a flashback of Taiwan's devastating earth tremors of September 1999, which killed more than 2,000 people.

For now, the search for hope amidst a mountain of destruction continues.

Azadeh Ansari, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: And if there are any more lives rescued from that search, we will certainly bring you that news from Taiwan.

Thank you for watching our live coverage. I'm Natalie Allen. Our headlines are right after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)