Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Putin Orders Russian Forces Out of Syria; Inside the Decimated Remains of Aleppo; Kim Jong-un Reportedly Orders Nuclear Warhead Test; Global Crude Oil Prices Tumble; Five Critical Contests Set for Third Super Tuesday; U.S. and France Pledge Help after Ivory Coast Attack; Photographer Smuggles Pictures out of North Korea. Aired 12-12:30a ET
Aired March 15, 2016 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST (voice-over): This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.
Ahead this hour, Vladimir Putin declares mission accomplished in Syria and announces his troops will be pulling out.
Nuclear warning: North Korea's leader says another nuclear test is on its way soon and multiple rocket launches as well.
And Super Tuesday 3.0 in America: five states will vote in primary election for a presidential nominee and it could be Terminal Tuesday for one or two campaigns.
Hello, everybody. Great to have you with ut. I'm John Vause. The first hour of NEWSROOM L.A. starts now.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
VAUSE: In the coming hours, Russian troops are expected to start pulling out of Syria on the orders of Vladimir Putin. The Russian president's surprise announcement came the same day as peace talks resumed in Geneva.
U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed the pullback and both leaders are calling for an intensified process to end the five-year-long civil war. Syria's main opposition group, though, is wary, saying, quote, "Nobody knows what's in Putin's mind." Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has details of the pullout.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A stunning announcement from Russian president Vladimir Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): I believe our armed forces have fulfilled the goals we set. That's why I have ordered the ministry of defense, starting tomorrow, to begin the pullout of the main part of our military forces from Syria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR (voice-over): But there is more than meets the eye. Putin says two bases in Syria will continue to operate, the naval base at Tartus, which provides the Russian navy access to the vital Eastern Mediterranean and the air base at Latakia.
The Russians dug underground fuel tanks, signaling a long-term operation for both airstrikes and resupplying the Assad regime. The announcement came after Putin spoke by phone with Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, now in a much stronger position, after months of bombing opposition and civilian targets by Moscow to shore up his once-teetering regime.
The regime able to participate in peace talks in Geneva now from a position of strength. Since the temporary cease-fire agreement two weeks ago, Russian airstrikes have diminished but certainly not stopped, numbering now about 30 a day instead of 100.
JOHN KIRBY, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: Just mathematically it's beyond dispute that they have made an effort to abide by the cessation of hostilities.
STARR (voice-over): But the Syrian regime, still backed by Russia, continues dropping bombs on civilians and opposition groups. More than a quarter million Syrians have died in the last five years.
STARR: And, of course, even if the Russians fully withdraw from Syria, ISIS still controls large amounts of Syrian territory -- Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: UCLA history professor James Gelvin joins me now with more on this.
Professor Gelvin, is the best way to read this pullout, Putin didn't actually want to win the war for Assad?
He basically wanted to ensure that Russia had a seat at the table for any final peace deal.
JAMES GELVIN, UCLA: Yes. That's a good way of looking at it. Russia went in at the point at which the government of Syria was losing, very much on the defensive. They were able to turn the tide and now what the government actually has is a certain amount of wind at their back.
And this is exactly where Putin wants them to be, it's the best they can possibly be. But Putin withdrew the troops in order to ensure that the Assad regime knew that it was pretty much on its own, that it would have to sit down and negotiate. VAUSE: So in other words, sort of leave Assad sufficiently weakened, that he has to negotiate with whatever the opposition and the West and the United States and Russia puts on the table.
GELVIN: Well, there was really nothing the Russians could do in order to totally turn the tide. Yes, he could win in the West. Assad could win in the West. But there was no way he was going to be able to retake all that territory, there was no way he was going to be able to destroy the opposition.
So the only alternative, if Russia wants to keep its influence in Syria, is to ensure that there are negotiations that take place and that those negotiations are successful.
VAUSE: So it's interesting, though, Putin was making a cost/benefit analysis here. There was no real benefit for continuing on with his military intervention. Staying would not have produced a better result for Syria.
GELVIN: Right. And we have to remember that Putin is a war president. He has been in multiple wars since his presidency, starting with Chechnya, Ossetia, the Ukraine, Crimea, et cetera. So it's not as if that he's approaching this as a --
[00:05:00]
GELVIN: -- rank amateur.
VAUSE: Yes.
Certainly -- this is a question, is he this tactical genius?
Was this all planned out from the very beginning?
Or is he -- does he just adapt to the situations as he sees them and, obviously, makes some good, instinctive calls?
GELVIN: I think it's probably the latter but I couldn't really say. Here's somebody who came up through the KGB and now is president of Russia. Obviously he's got a gut for this sort of thing.
VAUSE: OK. I'm just curious about the situation with Assad now.
By having, you know, supported the Assad regime, with the Russian military, has Putin sort of made Assad acceptable to the West?
He's still this genocidal dictator who used chemical weapons but no one is really calling for him to go right now, are they?
They haven't been -- no one is calling for him to be turfed out. There's now this acceptability for Assad.
GELVIN: Well, the opposition definitely is calling for him to be gone -- immediately to go.
VAUSE: We don't hear the same calls in the West. I mean, Obama hasn't said it --
(CROSSTALK)
GELVIN: You're absolutely right. That would cause a breakdown of the talks immediately. But we're not really sure what the bottom line is either for the Americans or for the Russians. For the -- it's probable for the Russians, what they want is they want a foot in the door, no matter who runs Syria. And that's very important to them.
For the Americans, it may or may not be getting rid of Assad; they really haven't said. But most importantly for the Americans is that Syria maintain itself as an integrated, independent state.
VAUSE: One of the reports said that Assad actually found out that the Russians were leaving by a phone call on Monday.
Is that an indication to you that Putin is willing to throw Assad under the bus?
GELVIN: It may or may not be but I think it's really an indication of what the talks are all about. I mean, what you have is the elephants are playing right now. You have the United States and Russia. And it's for the opposition and Assad to get in line with how these two blocs are able to negotiate this situation.
VAUSE: Assad is sort a minor player, I guess, in all this. Professor, thanks for being with us.
GELVIN: Thank you.
VAUSE: OK. CNN senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward and producer Selma Abdelaziz (ph) went deep under cover into war-torn Syria, where virtually no Western journalists have gone in more than a year.
Along with a Syria-based filmmaker, Badal Abdulkarim (ph), they took the last remaining rebel-held route into Aleppo and they met a few brave residents there, clinging to their homes and hope.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You can tell when you're getting closer to Aleppo: the streets are pockmarked with the aftermath of fresh airstrikes. Berms of earth flank the road to protect the way from enemy fire. It's a dangerous journey to a city few dare to visit.
WARD: We now have to drive extremely quickly along this portion of the road because, on one side, you have the regime. And on the other side, you have Kurdish fighters, who are now fighting against rebel forces. And there are snipers all around here. But this is the only road now to get into Aleppo.
WARD (voice-over): As you arrive in the city, the scale of the destruction is breathtaking, stretching on and on, entire residential neighborhoods reduced to rubble. Aleppo was once Syria's largest city, a bustling economic hub, now an
apocalyptic landscape. Russian warplanes have bombed these areas relentlessly, allowing government ground forces to encircle the rebel- held eastern part of the city.
Still, we found pockets of life among the devastation, the fruit market huddled in the shadow of a bombed-out building. A line of people waiting patiently to collect water, now a precious resource here.
WARD: This is basically what is left of rebel-held Aleppo, after months and months of thousands of Russian bombs raining down on here. The streets are largely deserted. The buildings have been destroyed. And the people who once lived here have been pushed out.
And the very few residents who are still here, who we've spoken to, have told us that they don't expect the situation to get any better. In fact, they're convinced it will only get worse.
WARD (voice-over): Seventy-year-old Suad (ph) has lived in the city for 40 years. Her grandson, Farouq (ph), is a fighter with the Islamist rebel group, Akra al-Sham. In all, nine members of her family have been killed in the fighting, including two of her three sons.
SUAD (PH), ALEPPO RESIDENT (through translator): They all died on the front line. We raise our heads high for them. God willing, they are in paradise.
WARD: What would it take for you to leave Aleppo?
FAROUQ, AKRA AL-SHAM FIGHTER (through translator): It is true there is shelling and Russian planes and Iranian militias. And every day there is a massacre. But it is enough for us to --
[00:10:00]
FAROUQ (through translator): -- express our religion and our faith as free people without anyone stopping us. It is enough for us to fight as mujahidin and defend our honor and our women.
SUAD (PH) (through translator): Should we leave our country and go to another country?
No. This is our country. And we will remain in this until we die.
WARD (voice-over): The people clinging on to life here feel that the world has abandoned them, leaving them only with God. Their existence becomes more precarious with every passing day but surrender is unthinkable -- Clarissa Ward, CNN, Aleppo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: So how do those left behind in Syria's war-torn cities actually manage to live? In her next report, Clarissa Ward brings an exclusive look at the state of civil institutions in rebel-held Syria as well as the forces set on destroying them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARD (voice-over): Any civilian infrastructure is a potential target, including hospitals. Last month, four were hit in a single day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They want to kill the maximum number of people. Also they want to forbid the area from having medical service. If there's no doctor, no nurse, no hospital, then there is no health care for the people and people will flee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It's all part of our exclusive coverage "Inside Syria: Behind Rebel Lines," only here on CNN.
U.S. official says Iran could launch a three-stage rocket with a satellite on top at any minute. State media reports Iran test fired two ballistic missiles this week. Washington suggests those tests are a violation of a U.N. resolution calling on Tehran to refrain from ballistic missile activity.
Russia contends a call is not the same as a ban, so Iran did not violate the resolution.
North Korea is warning it intends to carry out more nuclear and rocket tests shortly.
State media reports leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the test of a nuclear warhead and the missiles which could carry one but there are doubts if North Korea can actually carry out this threat.
U.S. and South Korean military exercises now under way have triggered a barrage of threats from Pyongyang in recent weeks.
For more let's go to Seoul and our senior international correspondent, Ivan Watson, tracking the very latest developments there.
And Ivan, it seems King Jong-un has taken a very personal role in these upcoming nuclear and rocket tests.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. He, in these photos that have been released by North Korean state media, he is there, watching as these series of tests are being conducted on what could be described as a tip for an intercontinental ballistic missile, a heat-resistant shield.
And he's watching as they're testing that heat-resistant coating and then making that declaration that North Korea has achieved what they claim is re-entry capability for an international -- intercontinental ballistic missile.
That is a capability that the U.S. and South Korea claim that North Korea does not have, even as it has continued its nuclear testing and its rocket tests in defiance of the United Nations Security Council.
And I think, with this latest declaration, it's making clear that fresh sanctions against North Korea and even criticism coming from its only real ally, China, will not stop it from its path to develop more nuclear weapons and nuclear warheads that could eventually be mounted on top of a missile -- John.
VAUSE: Ivan, is it possible the North Koreans aren't bluffing, that they actually have developed this type of military technology?
WATSON: So difficult for us from this vantage point to confirm or deny these claims. But the South Korean government has come out and insisted that North Korea has not developed this re-entry capability yet. And the South Korean president had some very stern warnings for the North Korean regime. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARK GEUN-HYE, PRESIDENT, SOUTH KOREA (through translator): If North Korea continues its provocation and strong opposition against the international community and does not take the way for change, it's taking the way for self-destruction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: She also went on the to say that the South Korean government and military should get ready to find a way to continue punishing the North Korean regime for its actions and also calling on the U.S., China, Russia, other world powers to help in this effort -- John.
VAUSE: Ivan, thank you, Ivan Watson, our senior international correspondent in Seoul, appreciate it.
Well, we'll have more from North Korea later this hour. Ahead on the program, you'll see the pictures that North Korea wants you not to see and you'll hear from the man who smuggled these photos --
[00:15:00]
VAUSE: -- out of the Hermit Kingdom.
Also, the U.S. presidential candidates make their final pushes ahead of a crucial day of primaries.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(HEADLINES)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING) VAUSE: In just a matter of hours, voters in the United States may shift the political landscape in what has already been a tumultuous White House race. Five states will hold Republican and Democratic primaries in what's being called Super Tuesday number 3.
But it could be goodbye, Rubio, Tuesday if Senator Marco Rubio does not win his home state of Florida. The same for John Kasich in Ohio. That would be goodbye Kasich Tuesday. That didn't sound as good.
Donald Trump already has a victory of sorts in North Carolina. Authorities there have decided not to file charges against him for inciting a riot last Wednesday. That's when one of his supporters sucker-punched a protester who was being led out of one of his rallies.
Joined now by Dave Jacobson, CNN's John Thomas.
Dave is a Democratic strategist and a consultant with Shellman Communications and John's a Republican consultant and the founder of Thomas Partners Strategies.
VAUSE: OK. Got that all in.
Let's start with the Republicans because that's where all the fun is.
(LAUGHTER)
[00:20:00]
VAUSE: OK, Donald Trump leading in all the polls, all except for Ohio.
Will the violence over the last couple days, the widespread condemnation, will that impact the results?
JOHN THOMAS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think no, actually, I think it serves to galvanize Donald Trump supporters. You see at some of these rallies what his supporters are yelling when they're trying to outyell the protesters, they're yelling "USA, USA." They're using this as a rallying moment.
I think it just reinforces Donald Trump and his supporters and, quite frankly, the protesters need to be careful because it could serve as a way to build up Donald Trump's candidacy in a general election and embolden some of his Republican supporters to come out and fight back against these protesters.
DAVE JACOBSON, SHELLMAN COMMUNICATIONS: I think it's doing tremendous damage to America abroad and people who are watching from all over the world in terms of our democratic process. This isn't something that you've seen for decades.
So, look, I think it's not going to impact whether or not Donald Trump is successful. Tomorrow, I think his supporters are still going to turn out in huge numbers. But I think it's going to help at a certain level for John Kasich. I
think it will help him solidify the moderate vote and help propel him to a nail-biter victory tomorrow.
VAUSE: Anybody think it was odd that Sarah Palin continued to campaign today for Donald Trump while her husband was in intensive care after a serious accident?
THOMAS: Well, I had read that he had a fractured rib.
VAUSE: Right.
THOMAS: And I don't know, I'm not a medical expert, John, but I think for a fractured rib you just kind of lay low.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Maybe I got it wrong. But I thought he was in serious condition.
THOMAS: Well, he's a professional snowmobiler. He got in an accident. And, look, Sarah Palin loves America. She thinks maybe it makes a difference in Florida. It's a long flight to Wasilla so...
VAUSE: You are the Republican here. I'll let you go with that one.
How soon after the Florida results does Marco Rubio suspend his campaign?
(LAUGHTER)
JACOBSON: That's very bold. But, look, he said that he's going to stay in this thing for the long haul.
But I think there's going to be no clear --
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Is that in a matter of hours?
JACOBSON: Right. Right --
(CROSSTALK)
JACOBSON: -- we could very well see a concession speech tomorrow night. It's definitely possible, particularly if John Kasich wins tomorrow in Ohio. I think there's a strong possibility that, if he does sort of pull off a big victory in Ohio, he could get the Romney endorsement.
And I think that's going to give more credence to the fact that Marco Rubio really ought to get out of this race.
VAUSE: So if Kasich wins Ohio, do we pretend he has a chance or do we actually know this is going to an open convention?
THOMAS: Yes, Kasich is running for V.P. If he proves that he can hold Ohio, he's got a chance. That's all.
I think Rubio probably gets out right after Florida because, look, he's the guy who says Never Trump. So he has got to quickly unite probably behind Cruz or Kasich -- probably Cruz.
I think the big thing we're going to see tomorrow night is Cruz is already prepped and ready to say this has to be a one-on-one race, that Kasich has to get out, Rubio has to get out because that's the only way we stop Donald Trump.
JACOBSON: Well, and I think real quick, if there's any chance at all that Marco Rubio wants to have a successful run for governor in 2018 in Florida, he has got to get out of this race quickly and he's got to back a winner in someone who's going to go up against Donald Trump.
VAUSE: All this turmoil on the Republican side obviously it's not good for the GOP, it's causing a lot of damage. But it is good for President Obama. Take a look at his approval numbers. They're at 51 percent right now, highest they've been in three years. I mean, it's up almost 12 points in about four months.
And if you look at those numbers, with his approval rating surging -- and, Dave, I want this question to you -- is that good news for Hillary Clinton, who has basically wrapped herself in the Obama legacy?
Is there a direct correlation there?
JACOBSON: Of course there is. She was part of his administration for his first term. She's essentially hugging him throughout this campaign. I think that's why she's been so successful with African American votes, particularly in the South.
So, of course, yes, I mean, Barack Obama is seen as the less polarizing figure at this point when you look at the extremists on the Right and the Democratic socialists on the Left, he's the guy in the middle. So I think that does bode well for her.
VAUSE: What do Republicans think when they see those numbers, that Obama has gone from low 40s to over 50 percent in his approval rating?
I mean, how much you can say of that is because of the Republicans it's a contributing factor, right?
THOMAS: I think President Obama looks like the adult in the room right now. There's -- like Dave said, there's extremes on both sides. And right now President Obama has kept a pretty low profile. He may be doing well now. I think there's a long road until November, John. Things are going to change.
VAUSE: Sure.
THOMAS: It's going to be a referendum on Barack Obama's legacy. I don't think he'll be enjoying these approval numbers once we get to the primary.
VAUSE: We'll have you back.
OK. Let's stick with the delegate count here. For Hillary Clinton, this is not really about delegate count because she's going to be the nominee. Tomorrow is more about knocking out Bernie Sanders sooner rather than later, right?
JACOBSON: Right. She's going to continue to sort of run up the delegate score. But I don't think there's a viable path for Bernie Sanders at this point to really either tie her or clinch the 2,383 that he needs to secure the nomination.
I think tomorrow if she pulls off a win, we know she's going to win in Florida and North Carolina. But if she pulls off a big win in Ohio, where now it's within the margin of error, you're seeing single-digit polls, I think the argument for him to continue on is going to be much more different from a delegate perspective.
From a fund-raising perspective, he's really got the resources to fuel a campaign all the way until the June 7th primary in California.
[00:25:00]
JACOBSON: He raised $42 million to her $30 million in February. He raised $5 million in 24 hours after Michigan. So he's going to have the resources to compete and to continue moving forward this income inequality message all the way until the convention. But in terms of locking up the nomination, I think that window is closing very quickly.
VAUSE: You need votes.
(CROSSTALK)
THOMPSON: But Bernie Sanders is cooked, I think, though, he's already won. He's won because he helped shape, he pushed Hillary to the Left, helped shape the policy debate on the Democratic side. And with the delegates, he might be able to extract something out of her at the convention.
VAUSE: Like what?
THOMAS: A policy point. You know, a tax rate that he wants on the 1 percent. Something against the big banks.
VAUSE: Yes.
THOMAS: He's going in with some political capital. Quite frankly, at his age, what else does he have --
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Good point. Exactly. Dinner at 6, o'clock, home with the kids.
THOMAS: Might as well run for president.
VAUSE: Why not?
Thanks, guys. Appreciate you both.
JACOBSON: Thanks for having us.
VAUSE: OK.
A short break here. But when we come back, Turkey buries the victims of the latest terror attack in Ankara as the government launches airstrikes in retaliation.
And Ivory Coast begins three days of mourning to the victims of a deadly terror attack there over the weekend.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
VAUSE: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles, I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour.
(HEADLINES)
VAUSE: Turkey's prime minister says evidence suggests a separatist terror organization is behind a deadly car bombing in Ankara. There's been no official claim of responsibility for the bombing, which killed 35 and wounded more than 100 near a busy transport hub.
An official says a female suicide bomber and a male accomplice carried out the attack. At least 10 people have been detained in connection with the bombing. As funerals were held for the victims, Turkish warplanes reportedly struck Kurdish militant camps in Northern Iraq.
Joining us now for more on this, CNN military analyst, Lt. Col. Rick Francona.
Col. Francona, thank you for being with us. Turkish prime minister says they're almost certain the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, was behind this attack yet didn't wait to launch those airstrikes against those Kurdish bases in Iraq.
Does that suggest that this was a political decision to carry out these airstrikes?
LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think they were going to carry out those strikes in any case, John. They use any excuse they can to go after the Kurds, particularly in Northern Iraq.
We've seen this for months now. The Kurds say they've joined the coalition to fight ISIS and what they're actually doing is going after the Kurds in Northern Syria and the Kurds in Northern Iraq. I read the prime minister's statement, he said they're almost certain.
I think we're going to find out it probably was the Kurds.
Everything seems to point to that direction and they're taking out their vengeance. I get the feeling that the Turks are very frustrated right now. Remember, this is the second bombing within a month and the third within about six months.
So they are feeling under the gun. Their intelligence service, usually very effective in the internal security realm, has fallen down. They're not able to predict these. They're not able to stop them. And this is causing a lot of angst inside the government and the population.
So something's got to give. The Turks have got to do something to either knock these down or show their population that they got a handle on this and they're trying to do something about it. So I think we're going to see a lot of strong reaction from the Turks.
VAUSE: Is part of that reaction from the Turks essentially what some have described as a scorched earth policy against the Kurds?
FRANCONA: Well, they've been pretty effective against the Kurds and pretty brutal against the Kurds, not only in Northern Iraq, as they were doing today, but over the last several months we've seen them launch artillery strikes and some airstrikes into Northern Syria, under the guise of fighting ISIS or those allied with ISIS or what they brand as terrorists.
The Turks make no distinction, as we do, between the Kurds in Syria and the Kurds in Iraq. We believe that the Kurds in Northern Syria, the YPG, are allied with us and they are fighting with us, allied with some Sunni Arab groups, the Syrian Democratic forces and taking on ISIS. In Iraq, the Kurds are the most effective force on the ground.
VAUSE: Yes, I just want to pick up on that point because this is the bit that gets confusing for a lot of people out there.
So we've got the PKK or the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is considered a terrorist group by both Turkey and the United States. They had those bases in Northern Iraq, which were then hit by the Turkish airstrikes.
Then there is the YPG, which is the Kurdish militia in Syria.
Turkey does not differentiate between the two. They say they're terrorists as well. But the YPG are the U.S. allies fighting ISIS in Syria.
So obviously this is something which is going to cause a lot of friction between and is causing a lot of friction between Ankara and Washington.
How does this play itself out?
FRANCONA: Well, that's the real problem and, you know, the Turks are under fire from a lot of direction right now. They alienated the Russians by shooting down that jet. They've got problems with the Kurds.
They've alienated the Europeans because of the flow of refugees and they've had trouble with the United States because we believe they're not prosecuting the right war.
You're right. They make no distinction between the two Kurdish groups. So I think there's going to have to be a sit-down with Washington to figure out how we're go to go forward. And now with the announcement that the Russians are going to be withdrawing much of their forces, this throws all of Northern Syria kind of into a flux right now.
VAUSE: Just what they did not need right now for an already chaotic situation.
FRANCONA: Yes.
VAUSE: Colonel, thank you for being with us.
The U.S. and France are promising support --
[00:35:00]
VAUSE: -- to Ivory Coast as the country investigates a deadly terror attack in Grande-Bassam. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claims responsibility for the gunman who stormed three resort hotels, killing 18 people.
The president there held a moment of silence on Monday and declared three days of national mourning in memory of the victims who died.
A short break here; but coming up, it looks like an ordinary train station but the man who took the photograph says the North Koreans staged the whole thing just to impress the tourists.
Plus: Monday was not your typical afternoon at the White House. A Broadway star swung by to show off his freestyle rap chops with the president. (MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
VAUSE: North Korea might be the most secretive country on Earth but every now and then the curtain is pulled back just a little for a glimpse of life under the brutal regime of Kim Jong-un.
Michal Huniewicz is an amateur photographer, who traveled recently to North Korea as a tourist. His photographs and blog postings are in stark contrast to government propaganda which tries to create an image of a strong, prosperous nation with a gleaming modern capital city.
And Michal joins us now from London. Thank you for being with us.
I'm wondering, out of all of the photographs you took -- and there is -- there's a lot of them -- which ones stand out the most and why?
MICHAL HUNIEWICZ, PHOTOGRAPHER: Thank you. I think all of the pictures I took are North Korea seen through my eyes. But there's a couple of them which I think are particularly important. There is one with a mother, helping out her child. And it looks like an ordinary scene which you could probably shoot in any country.
But in North Korea, we saw very little human emotions and even it reminded me of a certain song that North Koreans learn, and that song teaches you that your mother's love is nothing compared to how much the Communist Party loves you. So I think that picture kind of helps to show maybe that isn't always the case.
VAUSE: Can I ask you about the photograph at the train station in Pyongyang, the one which was filled with busy, well-dressed people?
HUNIEWICZ: Yes. This was the first picture I took in Pyongyang. We arrived by train from Dandong and it just -- we looked through the window and it looked like something you would see in a theater, like a stage, where everything looks like a train station.
But it's a bit too perfect and people are walking in a manner which is a little bit too organized and they are a bit too elegant. They're not in any great rush.
And when you look through the window -- and the window had curtains which even amplified the effect of being in a theater -- and we all thought the same thing: this is not real, this is fake. It was the only train coming that day to Pyongyang. There were no other trains leaving. There was absolutely no reason --
[00:40:00]
HUNIEWICZ: -- for those people to be there. They were not travelers but they were there to make it seem like it's a normal, ordinary capital city.
VAUSE: A couple things stand out; when you entered the country, they searched your laptop and you say one of the things that they're actually looking for was a copy of, you know, the comedy movie, "The Interview," which is a comedy about Kim Jong-un and North Korea?
HUNIEWICZ: That's right. They were looking for that. They were looking for books on North Korea. We were told not to bring any guidebooks because all of that would be confiscated.
They were looking for GPS units. They were looking for films other than "The Interview." They found a film on one of my fellow traveler's laptops, which was a film about Yugoslavia and that film, they said you can't bring that film in. We don't really know why but they deleted that film from his desk. VAUSE: Very quickly, we'll ask you about some of the photographs you took when you were in Pyongyang, especially the rundown apartment buildings.
And we have to keep in mind that Pyongyang is essentially for the elites of the country. And I think you say the people who live in Pyongyang, they have to wear a badge which signifies that they're residents of the capital?
HUNIEWICZ: I believe so, yes. You cannot buy that badge. You can be given that badge if they decide you're a friend of North Korea.
And the blocks of flats reminded me of the ones I saw in Eastern Europe, it's pretty much the same thing, that brutal architecture, which is supposed to make you feel small and unimportant as an individual, because only the community matters.
VAUSE: Yes, I know you managed to smuggle all these photographs out. Some of them were, I guess, taken illegally by North Korean standards, most of the were taken legally.
But I'm just wondering, are you concerned about what might happen to your government minders who you left behind?
Could they be in trouble because of this?
HUNIEWICZ: I am a little bit concerned because -- I don't really know whether they are in any real threat because there's nothing highly controversial in those pictures, I don't think.
But to me, this -- I am aware of this and, for me, it has always been a question of whether we agree to play by North Korean rules and whether we agree to being blackmailed by them.
VAUSE: Michal, great to speak with you. Thanks so much.
HUNIEWICZ: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Well, finally, here, the cast of the hit Broadway show "Hamilton" visited the White House on Monday with the star and creator of the musical, Lin-Manuel Miranda sharing his famous freestyling rap skills with the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
VAUSE: That's pretty impressive stuff. Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause. "WORLD SPORT" is up next then I'll be back with another hour of news from all around the world. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WORLD SPORT)
