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N. Korea: Nuclear Warhead Explosion Test Conducted; 33 People Trapped Overnight In Alps Cable Cars. Trump Gains In Battleground State Polls. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired September 09, 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."

[01:00:12] JOHN VAUSE: Hello, everybody. Thanks for joining us. I'm John Vause. We are following "BREAKING NEWS," North Korea's most powerful nuclear test yet. A short time ago, Pyongyang confirmed Friday morning's test on state-run TV. South Korea says it set off a 10-kiloton explosion. That's a double the last test this past January, and by comparison, the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in World War II was 15 kilotons. The U.S. Air Force is planning to take air samples in the coming hours. South Korea's president says this nuclear test is in direct violation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions. Let's head to Seoul, South Korea. Paula Hancocks standing by live this hour. So, Paula, clearly, there

is a lot of concern, a lot of outrage across the region right now.

[01:01:02] PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John. We have - as you say, we've had that confirmation now from North Korea, a North Korean state-run media broadcasting a very appeased, a very excited announcer confirming that they have carried out their fifth nuclear test, and said that North Korea has carried out a test of a nuclear warhead. Now, they say that they have standardized their nuclear warhead, and that now, it can be loaded onto their ballistic missiles. So, clearly, this is a great concern to those in the region, and also to Washington. They also say that they've managed to miniaturize that nuclear warhead, a claim that they - excuse me - have made back in March, but they now say that they have tested that warhead itself.

Now, I did just speak to a nuclear scientist here at the Asan Institute, a nuclear expert, and they say that - she said that they do consider this a successful test. The fact that it was 10 kilotons, double what we saw at that fourth nuclear test just eight months ago, shows it was a successful test and shows that they have effectively completed their program.

VAUSE: Paula, we might leave it there as you try and have a drink of water, and get over that coughing fit that she was - very quickly though - no, I think we might leave it with Paula. We'll come back to Paula probably next hour.

But in the meantime, let's head off to Christopher Hill, his the former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea. He joins (INAUDIBLE) in Denver, Colorado. Ambassador, thank you for being with us. The North Koreans saying they've standardized a nuclear warhead. They could now miniaturize it, put it on a - on a ballistic missile. Do you take them at their word?

[01:02:46] CHRISTOPHER HILL, FORMER AMBASSADOR OF SOUTH KOREA: Well, whether they've done it now or whether they'll do it next year, or a year after that, it's very clear this is a military testing program. They've had their setbacks. They don't seem to be particularly slowed down by the setbacks. So, yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they've done that. I mean, the real question is not whether they've done it or not, it's what we are going to do about this? I mean, this is a very disturbing development. They've - they're working on a ballistic missile program including a submarine-launched missile. They've got a - clearly, they've made progress on miniaturization and before long, I think they're going to have a nuclear warhead on a missile and I think we have to really look very carefully, and see what we're going to do. Clearly, they don't care what we think. They don't care about our admonitions. They don't care about joining the international community. They certainly don't care about U.N. Security Council resolutions. They don't care what the Chinese think or what the U.S. thinks. So, I think we've got a situation now. I'm not sure we need too much more evidence to make a decision here.

VAUSE: What will that decision be, though, because clearly, something needs to be done, but it always gets back to the point, what is that something?

HILL: Right. Well, I think there needs to be something more than sanctions. I think we need to sit down with the Chinese and rather than say, "Look, China, you need to solve this," or have the Chinese say to us, "look, you need to solve it," which they often do. I think we need to sit down and say, "OK. Together, we need to solve this." And I think the solving part has to do with more than just sanctions or public admonitions. I think we have to be looking at the dimensions of their program and what direct means we can take to, you know, slow it down or kill it.

VAUSE: You know, there's always a calculation - well, there was under Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un's father that the North, they wouldn't carry out any kind of first strike. They wouldn't initiate an attack because that would be essentially regime suicide. Does that calculation still hold with the son running the country?

HILL: Well, I wouldn't make any bets on what he would do and such a circumstance. I think it's pretty clear that nuclear weapons are something they consider very important to their national defense. But I don't put it past them to kind of threaten countries and suggest that they would be prepared to launch a nuclear strike. So I think we will be in a whole world of hurt as soon as they announced they've got a warhead on a missile. So, I wouldn't make bets on whether Kim Jong- un would be a reasonable guy. We certainly don't have much evidence to suggest that he is, and quite to the contrary, he seems totally unflappable and uninterested in what we have to say about this.

VAUSE: They does seem to be in a situation that we've got to a point where, at least in the west, or, you know, with the South Koreans or whatever that'd be, every time there is a test, it's been downplayed or it wasn't successful. The yield wasn't very big or it was a ballistic missile launch, it was a failure, they - or they can't bring it back in on re-entry. They miniaturized it. And it seems that all - for years, it's being downplayed. And that - and in your opinion, has that essentially been, you know, the huge mistake here?

HILL: Well, I don't know if it's a huge mistake. It certainly - I completely agree with your analysis. It's been downplayed partly because people don't really know what to do about it. But what's clear is they are not doing these things to "get attention," or to be provocative. This is a military testing program that they have. If they don't succeed in gaining altitude on a missile, they'll see what kind of data they learn from it, and do it again. So I think the real issue is that we have a country that is looking to become a serious nuclear country, that is a nuclear country with deliverable nuclear weapons. And I really don't think we can allow that, and I don't think this is a matter of just passing more security resolutions. We have Security Council resolutions. So, I think we have to sit down with countries like China, and go through what could be conceivable options that would physically slow this thing down. I don't know about the prospect at this point of getting the North Koreans to part with these weapons, but there are measures that could be taken, provided there's enough sort of international cooperation on it, to slow these things down, and make it hard for them to conduct further tests or develop these weapons further.

VAUSE: So, just to be clear, are you - are you talking about military options here?

HILL: Yeah, I'm talking about things that we probably shouldn't talk about, yeah.

VAUSE: Uh-hmm. OK. Ambassador, we'll leave it at that. Ambassador Hill, very much appreciate you being with us and your insights, sir. Thank you.

HILL: Thank you.

VAUSE: Well, the director general for the International Atomic Energy Agency has released a statement. It read in part, "This is in clear violation of numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions and in complete disregard of the repeated demands of the international community. It is a deeply troubling and regrettable act. I strongly urge the DPRK to fully implement all relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and the IAEA." And I spoke last hour with our CNN U.N. Correspondent, Richard Roth about where the Security Council will fall on this one.

[01:08:20] RICHARD ROTH, CNN U.N. CORRESPONDENT: The Security Council was very happy to finally get China on board on a statement condemning the three midrange ballistic missile launches just two days ago. Now, the nuclear test. The council was going to meet on other issues Friday morning in New York. One security council diplomat thought that China was really on board regarding the missile launches, especially since they took place while the G20 was meeting in China, a source of embarrassment there. And of course, the age-old issue you have discussed with me and others countless times is how much influence does Beijing truly have with North Korea? A lot of people think China helps North Korea evade sanctions and get needed parts for a nuclear or missile program. There was a statement on Tuesday condemning what happened with the missile launches. It included reports and, you know, the other resolutions that they've issued countless times, that there have been violations of. Some diplomats think there's more to be done that you could do more with sanctions. The question is how far China is willing to go, John?

VAUSE: At this point, many people are asking what are the point of sanctions anyway, even if you do get China on board? In July, the U.S. even sanctioned Kim Jong-un by name.

ROTH: I certainly hear you on that. It appears that nothing will stop Pyongyang's missile and nuclear test. As the U.S. ambassador just two days ago said that North Korea now has violated 22 times, Security Council resolutions, now it's 23. The tests are coming faster than the statements.

VAUSE: CNN U.N. Correspondent Richard Roth speaking to me a short time ago. Well, the sun is rising over the French Alps, which means help could be on the way for 33 people trapped there overnight in cable cars. The cars were left stranded when two cables crossed Thursday afternoon. Rescue efforts will start once there is enough daylight. Helicopters rescued 65 people before it became too dark on Thursday. Another 12 escaped by walking to a connecting cable car, which then carried them safely to Italy. However, officials says those stranded overnight have blankets and rations. Operators in France say the cable car is the world's highest vertical ascent.

Also to come, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump battling over who would be the best military leader for the United States. Meantime, new polls showing Donald Trump making some big inroads in some key swing states.

Also ahead, the U.S. and Russia back at the negotiating table. The countries' top diplomats pushing for a ceasefire deal in Syria as hundreds of thousands desperately wait for help.

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[01:13:14] DEREK VAN DAM: Unfortunately, a deadly landslide took place just south of Guatemala City this week. You can see of the destruction left in its path. There were fatalities. Elsewhere across North America, it's been rather quiet. There has been the leftover remnants of a tropical system across the Four Corners region, but that has since fizzled out. As we look in to the day today, we do have a possibility of severe weather if you are located perhaps in Southern Iowa, Northern Missouri, and perhaps central or eastern sections of Kansas. That's where we have a slight risk of damaging winds and large hail, and perhaps even towards the Chicago suburbs. Speaking of Chicago, you'll reach 28 degrees today. 26 degrees if you're located near Denver and the Colorado Rockies. The west coast, from San Francisco to Los Angeles, very comfortable, 22. Still hot and humid for the Southeastern United States. Look at the temperatures for New York City, staying well above average through the course of the weekend. It's been extremely hot for the past several days, but we finally see a dip in those daytime highs as we head into Sunday, and for the day on Monday. Unfortunately, more rain in store for Guatemala City today. That means the potential for landslides and mudslides still exists. Kingston, Jamaica, 32, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 31 degrees. Traveling a little further to the south, not too bad in Rio, 23 with a few thunderstorms.

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[01:14:56] VAUSE: The latest on the "BREAKING NEWS" out of the Korean peninsula, the South Korean President is calling North Korea's fifth and latest nuclear test fanatically reckless. The test was carried out Friday morning local time in North-eastern North Korea. Seoul says the blast had the explosive power of 10 kilotons, that's nearly twice as powerful as North Korea's previous test in January. A U.S. Air Force jet is expected to take air samples in the coming hours, and Japan has sent four jets there to test for radiation as well.

Politics now, Hillary Clinton pouncing on Donald Trump's performance at a national security forum. He gushed with praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he also said U.S. generals had been reduced to rubble by the Obama administration.

CLINTON: As your commander-in-chief, I will not trash our country's most cherished values. I will defend them.

TRUMP: This is yet more evidence that Clinton is unfit to be your commander-in-chief.

VAUSE: But a new round of polls show Donald Trump gaining ground in some Battleground States including North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Joining me now for more on this Wendy Greuel, a former L.A. City Councilwoman and Hillary Clinton supporter. And CNN political commentator, John Philips, Talk Radio host, political columnist for the Orange County register, and a Donald Trump supporter. I think that is all of your titles. Anything else you want to throw in there? I think - I think we got it all. Again, the polls are really interesting. And so, let's take a look at John King because he's at the magic wall and he breaks down the numbers for us. Look at this.

[01:16:37] JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: New Battleground State polling in four big states, and what does it tell us? A competitive race heading into the final 60 days. Let's take a look at the numbers. Quinnipiac University doing the polling in four always big presidential Battleground States. In Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton up five points. In Ohio, Donald Trump up four points. In North Carolina, a Clinton lead, four points there. And in Florida, 43 percent to 43 percent. In all of these states, the third party candidates are in the question. Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate is not on the battle at North Carolina. But look at this, Clinton leads but narrowly, Pennsylvania. Trump leads narrowly, Ohio. Clinton leads now in North Carolina and Florida is a tie. This match is what we saw in our recent national poll, the CNN/ORC poll showing a tightening national race.

Now, look at this, on August 15th, this is the RealClearPolitics average. On average, Clinton was leading by nice points in Pennsylvania, now it's six. She was leading just a couple of weeks ago by two in Ohio, now it's a tie. She was leading by two in North Carolina, now it's one. And she was leading by three in Florida and now it's a tie. Again, a tightening race in four Battleground States that matter enormously. Always, even more so this year, because of how important they are to Donald Trump. He knows its advantage Clinton when you look at the state by state map. In fact, if you look at our map right now, the CNN map actually puts Secretary Clinton over the top, because of the solid blue states and the lean blue states. But those four states we just mentioned, Donald Trump is in play in Florida. If he can make that red, North Carolina, if he can keep that red - Mitt Romney won it in 2012.

In Ohio, if he can make that red, then the fourth state we mentioned would be Pennsylvania. We now lean it democratic, but if Donald Trump can come back and Clinton's lead is just about five right now, if he could flip that one also, 273. That is Donald Trump's most plausible path to 270. That's what his campaign advisers tell us. Would that be easy? Absolutely not. But does this new polling leave the Trump campaign encouraged? Absolutely.

VAUSE: OK. Wendy, first you. If you look at those numbers, it seems that, you know, for most of August and for a little bit of September, the Clinton campaign strategy was let Donald Trump basically screw it up. And clearly that strategy now is not working if you look at these numbers.

[01:18:42] WENDY GREUEL, FORMER L.A. CITY COUNCILWOMAN: Well, I think for a while, we got a great bump after the convention and a much longer bump than Donald Trump did from his convention, the Republican Convention. But she's always known that it's going to be tighter. I mean, they talked about it, the staff has talked about it, and really has been working hard to making sure that no state - those Battleground States that she has an organizational structure to get people out to vote. I think that's what - you know, no one's talking about.

VAUSE: Yeah.

GREUELL: Donald Trump has no organizational structure in these states. The Republican Party has not been able to pick up the slack. And so, she's going to be able to get those people to vote, and as John said, it's going to be tough for Donald Trump to win all four of those states and to be able to get to that 270.

[01:19:21] JOHN PHILIPS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, John, we have two very unpopular candidates for president this time around. Now, I've long said that the winner of the race is going to be the person who can make the election a referendum on the other person. If you look at what happened on Donald Trump in those weeks after the conventions, it was Donald Trump feuding with Paul Ryan, it was Donald Trump feuding with CNN, it was feuding with the Khan family. It was negative story after negative story. And that's when Hillary really started to expand her lead. What's happened the last two weeks? It's been Hillary Clinton involved in scandal after scandal. She's feuding with Colin Powell, she's feuding with Matt Lauer, she's feuding with others. She's making the same exact mistakes that Trump made after the conventions, and she's paying a price for it with the polls.

And also, if you look at the prediction of who's going to win from 538, they're now saying Clinton still with a 69 percent chance of winning this election. But just a few weeks ago, that number was as high as 89 percent. So Wendy, this also, I think, you know, if you look at the tightening of the race, this does play into the narrative that Clinton is not a good campaigner, and especially towards the end of it, she chokes.

GREUELL: Well, I think that what we've seen is that she is prepared and that, you know, you learn from mistakes, you learn from your past experiences, and improve upon it. That's going to be those Battleground States where she's going to have the people there. Donald Trump is going to continue to have gaffes. Donald Trump is going to continue to be Donald Trump. And so, I think as we go forward to, you know, November, she is going to continue to have that lead. Will it continue to tighten up? Yes. But she's prepared for that. She's always been prepared.

VAUSE: It is still a tough road. It's a very narrow path for victory -

GREUELL: A very tough road.

VAUSE: -- for Donald Trump, right?

PHILIPS: Right. It all - it all goes through The Rust Belt. And if you look at those states, Donald Trump is now leading in Ohio. You look at the State of Wisconsin, where previously was not thought of being in play, that's a three-point state. Pennsylvania is much closer than anyone thought it would be.

VAUSE: But also on the other side of the equation, Missouri is in play, you know, in the - on the college map. I mean, Georgia is sort of, you know, maybe it show -

PHILIPS: Recent polls show the margin a little bit bigger.

VAUSE: Sure, but, you know, this is a weird election.

PHILIPS: It is. That's why we love it, though.

VAUSE: OK. What - you talked about Donald Trump making gaffes. I mean, is this Putin - love affair with Putin, is this a gaffe? Because, you know, Donald Trump keeps going on about Vladimir Putin, and he did it again at that leadership forum, talking about Vladimir Putin. This is what he said. TRUMP: If he says great things about me, I'm going to say great things about him. I've already said he is really very much of a leader. I mean, you can say, "Oh, isn't that a terrible thing?" He called - the man has very strong control over a country. Now, it's a very different system and I don't happen to like the system, but certainly, in that system, he's been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader.

VAUSE: And, you know, he goes out, he talks about love of Donald Trump, and then his running mate, Mike Pence has to clean it up. This is what Pence had to say to CNN.

MIKE PENCE, REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think - I think it's inarguable that Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country. And that's going to change the day that Donald Trump becomes President of the United States of America. I mean, look, you've seen incidents in this last week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) I mean, I don't need to tell you, you were in congress. He has - Barack Obama has a true democracy here with the congress that pushes back those checks and balances. Vladimir Putin doesn't have that.

PENCE: That's exactly right. And so then -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, it is hard to say -

PENCE: And Donald Trump - and Donald Trump said last night he doesn't particularly like the system.

VAUSE: Is this an issue? Do people actually care if Donald Trump has some kind of weird infatuation with Vladimir Putin?

PHILIPS: This is politics, though. These guys are charmers. This is what they do. I couldn't sleep the other night, so I was watching C- SPAN, and they're showing congress, right? And what do they do on the floor of congress? The distinguished gentleman from California -

VAUSE: Right.

PHILIPS: -- the distinguished gentlelady from California, and then what do they do? They rip each other's throats out. That's part of the game. That's part of how these people interact with one another. Donald Trump takes a lot of heat for insulting people and coming up with the duratives, and when he heaps compliments on someone like Vladimir Putin, who he wants to move in a different direction, then he takes criticism for that, too.

VAUSE: Should he be heaping praise on a man who, you know, has a -

GREUELL: Absolutely not.

VAUSE: -- a loose -

GREUELL: I mean, I think when you look at this picture, he's trying to charm Putin. He is trying to be that person across the table. He has no experience in foreign policy, Donald Trump. This is not the way you're going to be able to ensure the protection of the United States of America. And I will say, when people go, say, "Putin is a leader. He is a - he's a leader in his - in his - there's a lot of dictators that you would say, "Oh, they led the country." Yeah, because no one had a choice. That's not, to me, the kind of praise you want to put on someone like Putin.

VAUSE: It does - yeah, it does play this narrative that Trump likes the strong guy, you know, can I say, you know -

GREUELL: The dictator.

VAUSE: -- the dictator, the fascist leader, you know. There's a lot of bad dudes out there that the next president is going to have to deal with. OK. Very quickly, look at this, Gary Johnson who basically, I think - you watched a presidential campaign implode this morning on breakfast television. Look at this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you do if you were elected about Aleppo?

GARY JOHNSON, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: About Aleppo. And what is Aleppo?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're kidding.

JOHNSON: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aleppo is in Syria. It's the - it's the epicenter of the refugee crisis -

JOHNSON: OK, got it. Got it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

JOHNSON: Well, with regard to Syria, I do think that it's a mess.

VAUSE: OK. Very quickly, Johnson released a statement. He's a Libertarian Party Nominee. It reads I began my day by setting aside any doubt that I'm human. Yes, I understand the dynamics of the Syrian conflict. I talk about them every day. But hit with 'What about Aleppo?', I immediately was thinking about an acronym, not the Syrian conflict. I blanked." Not really a plausible explanation, but is this the end of his campaign?

PHILIPS: No, it's not.

VAUSE: No?

PHILIPS: First of all, Aleppo sounds like a drug that will help you with osteoporosis. Second of all -

VAUSE: Used every day.

PHILIPS: -- let's be honest about what his role is in this campaign. He is not a viable candidate. He is a walking, talking, none-of-the- above option for people that don't like the top two candidates. His numbers aren't going to change because of this.

VAUSE: Wendy?

GREUELL: Look, I don't think his numbers are going to go up at all because of this, but I think people are going to say, "Wow, we could never have this person as president," and try to figure out a more focus attention on Clinton and on Trump.

VAUSE: It struck me as a whoops moment, you know, what's that third one, you know, the Rick Perry moment at the debate in 2012. Anyway, Wendy and John, thanks for everything. I do appreciate it.

GREUELL: Thank you.

PHILIPS: Thank you.

VAUSE: OK. The U.S. Secretary of State has just arrived in Geneva for talks on Syria. John Kerry will meet later on, Friday with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to try and once again reach a ceasefire deal. They have a mandate from their bosses, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have urged them to move quickly on a ceasefire, so humanitarian aid can reach areas which are being cut off by the fighting.

Air strikes have killed a top rebel commander near the besieged Aleppo, a Syrian city, Aleppo. A London-based activist group says, the air strikes targeted an area where the commander and other rebels were meeting. Meantime, Syrian government forces appear to be expanding their control of areas surrounding Aleppo. They've now reportedly seized a key district of Ramouseh on Aleppo's southern outskirts. They took that from Syrian rebels and their allies. The Syrian government forces are said to be getting help from Iraqi and Iranian militia. A short break here on NEWSROOM L.A. When we come back, more about "BREAKING NEWS" from North Korea, testing their most powerful nuclear device so far. We'll have more detailed analysis as well as reaction from the region.

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[01:30:30] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm John Vause, in Los Angeles.

We are following breaking news from the Korean peninsula. North Korea confirms its fifth nuclear test and most powerful one so far. The presenter on the country's state run TV says it was a nuclear warhead explosion and she said the warhead has been standardized to be mounted on ballistic rockets. South Korea says Friday morning's test delivered a 10-kiloton explosion, which is five kilotons less than the one dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in World War II. This is also about double the yield of January's nuclear tests.

John Delury joins us live from South Korea. He's an assistant professor at Yonsei University

John, thank you for being with us.

If we look at the technical advances with the North Korean have made over the last year or so, where is this all heading?

JOHN DELURY, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, YONSEI UNIVERSITY: Well, with each test whether it's declared a success or a failure, they learn. And so far with the assessments of this test is it a real success and they have a demonstrable nuclear weapon. What we'll see is questions about their claim it is miniaturized and what kind of missile they can put it on but it is harder and harder to say North Korea is not a nuclear weapons state.

VAUSE: So I guess, that's the issue now is it's a question of when, not if North Korea is considered a nuclear weapon state and once they get to that point how does that then change the dynamics within the region?

DELURY: Yeah, well I would argue they are really there and we have "r" kidding ourselves to have the debate. Again it's a matter of what kind of delivery system they have for this nuclear weaponry. So you know, from an American perspective you're in L.A., the calculation there has to do with their long-range ballistic missile programs. I'm standing here in Seoul, you know, and you read the North Korean statement which said they are ready to mount this on rockets. The CNN bureau here is well within artillery range of North Korea. It also depends on where you stand when you ask the question of whether they are there or not. From the perspective of Seoul, they are there.

VAUSE: Has there been a substantial shift in the way the North Koreans view their nuclear program or the way we view their nuclear program. A couple years ago we looked at it as a way of getting attention and increasing their leverage at the bargaining table. Now it seems it is what it is, it's a weapons program which is meant to arm the North Koreans with nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.

DELURY: Well, you know, I think one problem we've had is precisely as you said we thought this was a bargaining chip and underestimated the degree of which this is about their insecurity the fact they feel threatened and know they are weaker than South Korea, obviously than the United States, both countries which have hostile relations with North Korea. We can say we are hostile because of their behavior but we fought a war with this country and never recognized its existence. They are in a position of deep insecurity and the only real guarantee in the world that you can have is to have a nuclear weapon and so I think -- I'm not sure they've changed but I think we are coming around to the realization hey wait a second this is not a bargaining chip. They are not playing a game with us. This goes to something more fundamental in the view of the regime and how it can continue to exist and how the country can continue to exist.

VAUSE: Just from a technical point of view, is the progress, which the North Koreans have made, is all of that domestically driven? It seems to have accelerated in the last year or so. Is it possible they are getting help from outside? [01:34:53] DELURY: Well, you know, you have to break down all the

component parts of the program. They are heavily sanctioned. It is very difficult and dangerous to the any kinds of arms deals with North Korea. They had to be very scrappy and creative how they can do this mostly on their own. There is documentation of help they've gotten from going back to the -- network. But I think your point about acceleration is very important. One thing we've seen under Kim Jong- Un is that the whole process is getting faster. And even this test has come only barely half a year since the last test and of course there's been a torrent of missile tests of various kinds. So what we're seeing is that as he's promised in his national strategy which is to make progress on the nuclear weapons and to make progress on the economy. We haven't seen see much on the economy but we have seen a more rapid pace of trying to get a demonstrable nuclear weapons program. Kim Jong-Un has been proving himself within the elite structure of North Korea and to his people and he knows that a nuclear weapons program is good politics in the DPRK. I think we have to infer that from his behavior.

VAUSE: John, we'll leave it there. John Delury there in Seoul, South Korea, with some analysis on where all of this is heading.

Thank you, John.

VAUSE: This week's encounter between a Russian fighter jet and U.S. aircraft is being compared to a similar provocation last spring.

As our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, explains, it joins the list of increasingly of brazen military challenges from potential U.S. adversaries.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fresh reason for concern following the close encounter of a Russian jet and a U.S. reconnaissance plane. The Russians coming within 10 feet of the U.S. aircraft.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the deck below the bridge length.

STARR: Just the latest in a series of Russian provocations directed at the U.S. military in the air and at sea this year.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter warning the Russian government this week that the U.S. is watching and is ready to act.

ASH CARTER, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Make no mistake we will defend our allies, the principle international order and the positive future it affords us. We will counter attempts to undermine our collective security.

STARR: With Russian aggression not decreasing, some see a deliberate strategy at work.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: The fact that they are engaging the U.S. in a dramatic fashion indicates they are willing to challenge the U.S. in every way.

(CROSSTALK)

STARR: And Russia is hardly the only country attempts to provoke the U.S. military.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Appears to be unsafe, unprofessional.

STARR: Iran continues to harass U.S. ships with dangerous approaches like this that U.S. military officials have deemed unsafe, some coming within 100 yards of U.S. Navy vessels. In the most recent, an Iran boat came to a dead stop in front of a U.S. Navy ship, risking collision.

The Pentagon points out there have been 31 such encounters this year so far, up from 23 incidents all of last year.

LEIGHTON: They are telegraphing the way they will counter U.S. vessels. That shows they want to challenge U.S. vessels and are willing to do so, not only in wartime but also in peacetime.

STARR: Each incident carries with it the risk of miscalculation and the United States being drawn into an unintended conflict.

And the stakes even higher in the Pacific where North Korea continues to test ballistic missiles often with little warning and the potential for dire consequences, weapons that may be able one day to reach the United States.

(on camera): Tensions have been rising on the peninsula since Pyongyang alleged tested a hydrogen bomb earlier this year.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And we'll be right back.

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[01:41:32] WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship "Enterprise." Its five-year mission to explore strange, new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

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VAUSE: Little did Captain Kirk know, back then, but that five-year mission is now 50 years and counting. The first episode went to air on the U.S. network NBC half a century ago. The special effects were cheesy, William Shatner, who played Kirk, infamous for overacting. Still, during its three-year run the show tackled some major social issues, from race relations to the Vietnam War. 13 movies were to follow and five more series on television. And on the subject of new frontiers, NASA is celebrating a successful

launch.

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ANNOUNCER: Four, three, two, one. And liftoff of Osiris Rex. Its seven-year mission to boldly go to the asteroid belt and back.

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VAUSE: NASA is sending that probe into space with a mission to rendezvous with an asteroid and bring a sample back to earth, a first for the United States. NASA says that asteroid is one of the most dangerous we know of because there is a small chance it could hit earth one day. This is one step to try to make sure that doesn't happen.

You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more of the main stories.

But first, "World Sport" starts with Kate Riley after a short break.

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[01:45:13] KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley. Welcome along to "World Sport" live from CNN center.

We start with the biggest shock of the U.S. Open tournament so far. Serena Williams lost to tenth seed Carolina Pliskova. Here we are in the second set. Tie break Williams would battle back to force a tie break and a great backhand return. It would be a backhand winner by Serena to take a 4-3 lead. The American chasing her 22nd career grand slam win. But down to 6-5 in the tie break the world number one would double fault and it would be 24-year-old from the Czech Republic who wins the match. World number 11, Pliskova became the first player in six years to beat the siblings at the same edition of a tournament. And she said it was quite the accolade.

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CAROLINA PLISKOVA, PRO TENNIS PLAYER: There is not more to beat both sisters in one tournament in New York. So I'm really excited about those two wins. It doesn't happen often you are in the final of a grand slam. So I'm really excited to be there and really excited to be in a grand slam full-time for the first time for my life.

SERENA WILLIAMS, PRO TENNIS PLAYER: I think she played great today. And you know, I think if I -- if she played less then maybe I had a chance. So I wasn't at 100 percent but I also think she played well and she deserved to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RILEY: What about the other semifinal? Wozniak taking on Kerber, the winner of the Australian Open. Now the German knew that if she won she would become the world number one in the new rankings. In the second set, Kerber up four games to one. The German, you can see at the top of the screen, with the nice forehand cross-court winner to win the game. Kerber's form and strength unrivalled here on court in New York. Kerber would win this one, 6-4, 6-3. The German celebrates her forth coming coronation as world number one by booking her place in the final of a major for the third time this year.

Friday sees the focus fall on the two men's semifinals. Novak Djokovic is the firm favorite against Gael Monfils. Now the Serbian who is going for his 13th major is also aiming for a third title in the season's final grand slam.

In the other match, Japan's Kei Nishikori, who is coming off the back of a superb win over Britain's Andy Murray.

Here is CNN's Patrick Snell talking to our tennis analyst, James Blake, on why New York seems to bring the best out in Nishikori.

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JAMES BLAKE, CNN TENNIS ANALYST: I think it's the faster courts. He's a smaller guy. He uses his speed. But he doesn't generate as much pace or winners as easily. On the fastest courts he is able to generate winners more effectively. So it's been great. He has never lost to a top ten player at the open. He's 5-0 against top-ten players. It's an amazing record. And he is one of the best in all time in deciding sets, fifth sets or third and deciding sets. So he just comes through in big pressure moments. The crowds energize him, I think. Used to living in Tokyo and coming here he can get lost in the shuffle in New York and I think he likes it a lot.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: You mentioned the crowd playing a part. From your experiences, just talk more about that. How does the crowd get in there and can play an active part?

BLAKE: This crowd and the U.S. Open is amazing. They get so excited. You feel like it is tough to get New Yorkers excited about anything but they get excited about tennis for two weeks in the year. And you can feel that even when you are just in the city. When you get out to the site, all the fans are finals through the turnstiles and in Arthur Ashe Stadium it is all so thrilling to me and now with the roof on it's louder and louder. I can't wait to see a huge match under the closed roof and you see the crowd getting excited, how much that crowd really makes them rise to the occasion. They are going to be so loud and right on top of you with the roof closed.

SNELL: Nishikori inspired by it all. And I want to talk about the other men's semi, and Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils. Looking for his first career grand slam title. Djokovic has played just six hours of tennis to get this far due to injured opponents. How if at all, James, that lack of game time might impact on him?

[01:49:53] BLAKE: Well, I think it's going to be the opposite. I think it is going to be a positive for him. For other players it might be tough without the matches you expect to have seen coming into a semifinals without a real test. But for Novak he has played so much tennis this year and had a little injury coming into this event with his wrist and forearm. I think giving him that plenty of time to rest is dangerous for his next opponents. And Monfils is 0-12 against Novak. So I think Novak is the heavy favorite. It's tough because Monfils plays a defensive game and it's tough to cat-and-mouse and out-grind Novak Djokovic, the best defender in the game today, probably.

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RILEY: Coming up on the show, the NFL season is officially underway here in the United States. Thursday's big kickoff was that Super Bowl rematch. But we'll tell you why the champions are looking nothing at all like they did back in February.

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RILEY: Welcome back. The American football season got underway on Thursday in the United States. We saw the Denver Broncos hosting the Carolina Panthers in what was a rematch of last year's Super Bowl but minus the retired Peyton Manning, of course. And with the eyes of the nation watching Brandon Marshall decided to take a knee during the American national anthem. He is the third player not to stand for the anthem since 49ers' quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, revealed his protest for social injustice last month. Denver were trailing in the fourth quarter until

C.J. Anderson makes it 21-17 to the Broncos. In the dying minutes, Carolina missing the opportunity to win the game but it's wide left and the Broncos win a repeat of Super Bowl's 50 outcome back in February.

First day of competition got underway at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. A Kenyan won the first medal. This was in the 5,000 medal T11 competition. It's his second Paralympics gold. He set the world record winning 1500 meters gold at the London games four years ago.

Now, plenty of super-human stories to focus on during these Paralympics Games. One athlete we're looking at is Kurt Fearnley, born without part of his spine, and this is his fifth Paralympics.

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KURT FEARNLEY, PARALYMPICS ATHLETE: There was no indication I was going to be any different to any other of the four other kids that mom had had. It was a period of time they weren't sure I would live out the hour, the day, the week, the month. I was born without the lower portion of my spine.

My name is Kurt Fearnley and I'm a three-time gold medal winning Paralympian. My life motto is probably that struggling is all right. If anything, struggling is strengthening.

[01:55:03] At the Paralympics, I compete in the 1500, the 5,000, the marathon. I won two silver medals in Sydney, two gold medals and a silver medal in Athens. Gold, two silvers and a bronze in Beijing and a silver and a bronze in London. I grew up in a little town. It's a town of 250 people. We have this

incredible kind of family atmosphere.

Introduction to wheelchair sport changed my world. I saw wheelchair racing in 1994. I saw these guys who were these big men and better than any football field or cricketer. They were these gladiators and I loved it.

I kind of just found where I'm meant to be. Most people were surprised. Telling your mom and dad you are going to turn down your traditional kind of place at university to be a wheelchair racer. I could have been sitting there saying I want to be a professional unicorn hunter. It was a bit of an unknown experience.

I've run in 35 marathons, placed in another 15 all around the world. I have won -- a yacht race.

My biggest dream is the day I stop racing wheelchairs, there's no rock unturned. There have been occasion after occasion when I'm living someone else's life when I'm going through those things but those moments, those things, those things that you never saw coming, they are some of the most memorable and most incredible experiences.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RILEY: Truly inspiring.

And that is it for this edition of CNN "World Sport." I'm Kate Riley. Thank you for your company, as always.

Stay with CNN.

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[02:00:10] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.