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NEWS STREAM
Final countdown to landmark face to face; Kim Jong-un outraces nuclear ambitions of predecessors; Trump appears to take credit for Korean talks; Trump allies defend his mental fitness; Chinese officials oil tanker in danger of exploding; Tech convention kicks off in Las Vegas. Aired at 8-9a ET
Aired January 08, 2018 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout Seoul, South Korea, and welcome to News Stream.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Historic talks due in this building. Less than 12 hours from now, representatives from North and South Korea set to meet face to face
for the first time in more than two years at the Peace House.
Defending Trump -- the president's senior adviser said allegations made in a new book about his boss are quite, grotesque and ruling out the latest
tech innovations, including a poster-shaped TV, all from the consumer and electronics show in Las Vegas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: You're watching a special edition of News Stream, coming to you live from Seoul, as we count down to a watershed moment between North and
South Korea.
Now less than 12 hours from now, representatives from these two countries are going to be meeting face to face for the first time in more than two
years.
The meeting location is called the Peace House, a building situated in the DMZ on the boarder between North and South. Now the talks are going to
focus on the upcoming Winter Olympics but are also expected to touch on broader issues.
Now, joining me now is CNN's Ivan Watson. And, Ivan, we know little bit about the talks and we're learning more about who is going to be there.
How is this going to go down tomorrow?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, again, they meet in this Peace House along that demilitarized zone. And it's going to be two five -- top five
officials from both countries and leading each delegation from the South Korean side, the Unification Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon.
And then from the North Korean side, the counterpart who leads something called the Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, Ri Son-
gwon.
They're also accompanied by officials from each other's basically sports ministers in charge if the sports portfolio and the Olympic portfolio
again. So that highlights the fact that there are talks about the Olympics -- Olympic diplomacy, this is not nuclear diplomacy, at least not yet.
LU STOUT: Olympic diplomacy paving the way for North Korean participation at the games in Pyeongchang, which is what lessen among the way and that's
the focus of these talks. In terms of the goal setting here though, the South Korean, what do want to come out in tangible terms.
WATSON: Well, I mean, the key thing is to get that symbolic presence of North Korean athletes at the upcoming games here in South Korea which are
going to take place from about month's time.
But we also have reports that they want to address other issue like the reunification of families who have been separated ever since the Korean
War. But that's another issue that they would want to bring to the table.
From the North Korean side, well, probably alleviation of the sanctions, which have gotten tighter just in the last couple of days, this is going
back to earlier United Nations Security Council resolutions but China's customs administration announced that it would really start to enforce the
latest measures just this week.
So that would presumably be an area where they would like things to be loosened somewhat, but definitely it's a step forward. And it's remarkable
if you think about the speed here. It's just like November that North Korea fired its most recent missile. And now suddenly we're on the eve of
face to face talks.
LU STOUT: Yes, and for the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, it is incidentally his birthday today. No doubt he would delight in seeing his
athletes take part in the games. Could he also claim victory, the fact that joint U.S.-South Korean drills won't be taken place at that time?
WATSON: I think, judging by North Korean propaganda and that statements, North Korea will always claim victory.
LU STOUT: Yes.
WATSON: No matter what happens. As some of the other parties in this real crisis around the Korean Peninsula have been known to do as well, but
President Trump has claimed that he directly contributed to enabling these talks coming together.
But it will also be a step forward for the South Koreans who has very much wanted North Korean participation at these upcoming games.
LU STOUT: Ivan Watson, thank you for your reporting. We'll talk to you again soon. Take care. Now, coming up next in the program, as these two
nations prepared to meet, North Korea's unpredictable leader and his nuclear ambitions, they have the world on the edge. Paula Hancocks takes
closer look at Kim Jong-un.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: North Korea's leader turns a year old on Monday. He is young but he is also ambitious and brutal.
Kim Jong-un has gone further and faster than his predecessors by accelerating North Korea's nuclear missile program, far outpacing his
father Kim Jong-il and his grandfather, Kim Il-sung.
[08:05:00] In the last year alone, North Korea fired 23 rockets during 16 tests. The most recent one in November flew higher and further than any
other, an achievement that Kim boaster about during his recent New Year's address.
KIM JONG-UN, PRESIDENT OF NORTH KOREA (through a translator): The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons and a nuclear button
is always on my desk.
HANCOCKS: The rapid advancement of North Korea's missile program has rattled world leader, most notably, U.S. President Donald Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies,
we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.
HANCOCKS: Kim himself joined in the war of words with the U.S. by calling Trump a mentally deranged doted, an insult that sent many around the world
scrambling for a dictionary. Kim Jong-un is used to operating in the shadows of world approval but U.N. Security Council recently tightened
sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear weapons program.
And in 2014, a U.N. Commission of Inquiry found North Korea's leadership guilty of crimes against humanity, a claim which Pyongyang denies.
Within his own country, Kim is feared and trusts only a select few. He is famous for his tactic of hurting senior official having purging a dozens
since he took power including his own uncle.
And Kim's half brother, Kim Jong-Nam, was mysteriously murder in the Kuala Lumpur Airport after two women wiped his face with a VX nerve agent. The
women he both pleaded not guilty.
Both Malaysia and South Korea believe North Korea to be behind the assassination, though North Korea denies anything to do with his death.
It's unknown how the ruthless leader of a rogue nation marks a birthday and whether or not the official talks with South Korea which begin the day
after will lead to a year of dialogue or more deadlock. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: The U.S. will not be attending the talks. They'll be taking place tomorrow. The two key player of course, being North and South Korea.
The highest leveled talks will take place between these two countries in about two years.
Now let's learn more about this topic -- about the talks that will take place tomorrow with our guest, John Delury. He is at Yonsei University.
Thanks for joining us.
It's not that long ago when we were talking here in Cheonggyecheon Stream in downtown Seoul and tension was at such an extreme high. Now we have the
different thawed relations despite the very wintry, cold weather.
Could you just set the scene for us, how did we get here? What was the kind of, you know, public and private diplomacy led by South Korea that
brought us through this moment?
JOHN DELURY, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, YONSEI UNIVERSITY: Yes, it think that's kind of missing the picture because we all heard what Kim Jong-un's New
Year's speech suddenly he made a move to the South.
But for months preceding that, President Moon Jae-in has been working very hard publicly and privately to get this channel move the North. So Kim
Jong-un is really responding the said thing that the South Koreans were doing.
President Moon had been saying he wanted to get the North Koreans to come to the Olympics. He wanted to use that as a launching off point to improve
the relationship and we have also learned that there were contacts between South Korean and North Koreans.
Sporting officials happening in China and different locations, so there is a lot of leg work that went into this. And now you see the South Koreans
are, you know, finally have their meeting tomorrow.
LU STOUT: This is interesting because there was that perception that it was Kim Jong-un through that New Year's Day speech who initially gave that
olive branch and said let's talk -- let's talk about the Olympics.
But the conditions were already set by the South Korean president. First, let's talk about the South Korean side. What does Moon Jae-in want to
achieve? What does he want to come out of these talks tomorrow?
DELURY: Well the short-term goal is definitely, they need to make this Olympics plan Happen, you know. Moon doesn't want people worrying about
the Olympics.
He doesn't want any countries thinking should they send their athletes or not? He wants to have a safe and successful Olympics. So, that is a clear
agenda and of course Kim Jong-un has already affirmed.
He wants to do that, too. So that's kind of the easy part. But the bigger piece is to use the Olympics as again, a move toward peace. Kim Jong-un
talked about alleviating military tension on the Peninsula. And Moon Jae- in and both of them talked about improving inter-Korean relations.
LU STOUT: Yes.
DELURY: So that opens up a whole, you know, can of worms in terms of all the problems that the two Koreas have had, but not just years but decades
really. And you know, that's the agenda that they had beyond the Olympics.
LU STOUT: Yes, Korean family reunion, something on the South Korean side, they want to see come up in addition to you talking about bringing the
North Korean delegation after Pyeongchang for the Olympic Games. What in the eyes of Kim Jong-un would be seen as a political win that will come out
of the talks tomorrow?
DELURY: He's already winning in the sense that he has actually like the statements, you know. He is not engaging in the Twitter back and forth as
much. In his speech, he didn't talk about Trump.
He made the nuclear button comment but said this is reality. This is not a threat. So this was forward -- I mean potentially, you know, one of the
things down the road would be the third inter-Korean Summit, you know.
[08:10:04] We are getting ahead of ourselves here but where the president of South Korea and president of North Korea would meet at some point.
So now you're talking about Kim Jong-un kind of entering the world stage and meeting with other heads of state. And so I do thing that there is a
bigger reputational piece of this for Kim Jong-un to be interested.
LU STOUT: What comes next after tomorrow's talks? That is what we're going to be talking about later on in the hour. John Delury of Yonsei
University, thank you so much. We'll be talking again soon.
Now again, the U.S. will not be attending these talks on Tuesday. But President Trump does seem to be taking credit for the upcoming meeting.
A few days ago, he tweeted in part, does anybody really believe that talks and dialogue would be going on between North and South Korea right now if I
wasn't firm, strong and willing to commit our total might against the North.
Mr. Trump also said that he is absolutely of no talks with North Korean Kim Jong-un. But America's U.N. ambassador is laying down Washington's terms
for any possible future discussions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Yes, there could be a time where we talk to North Korea. But a lot of things have to happen before that
actually takes place. They have to stop testing.
They have to be willing to talk about banning their nuclear weapons. Those things have to happen. And what we are trying to do is make sure we don't
repeat what has happened in the last 25 years, which is them start to act like they are coming to the table, then ask for a lot of money and then
cheat their way through.
We're going to be smart this time. We're going to make sure that whatever happens makes the United States safer and make sure that we denuclearize
the Peninsula.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Meanwhile, CIA Director Mike Pompeo says that he's not surprised that Kim Jong-un is now open to meeting with South Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, DIRECTOR, CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY: He is looking for a foothold to walk himself back. This would be entirely consistent with his
historical activity.
When he sees the threat, he tries to pacify it. And you can be sure that this administration is not going to fall prey to the same trap that
previous administrations did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: President Trump's biggest allies are jumping to his defense after new tell-all book alleges that he is not mentally fit to be
president.
His senior policy adviser appeared on CNN Sunday to defend his boss and in a highly contentious interview with our Jake Tapper, Stephen Miller called
Bannon's comments grotesque. He also had some choice words for the book and its author.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR POLICY ADVISER: A book is best understood as work of very poorly written fiction. And also I will say
that the author is a garbage author of a garbage book.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Let's bring in CNN's Joe Johns. He is live for us in Washington. Wow. Joe, they couldn't block the book. Now the Trump White
House is out there in the press circuit, they are trying to control the messaging. Tell us more about how they're doing it.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a very predictable response from the president's subordinates in the administration and not just the
subordinates, also the president's political allies all over Washington, D.C. as this latest question about the president's fitness to serve really
hits full steam.
The president, of course has been pushing the opposite very much as possible as he can. But the fact of the matter is the questions about the
president have continued unabated since Michael Wolff's book went public.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HALEY: No one questions the stability of the president.
POMPEO: President Trump is completely capable.
MILLER: The reality is that the president is a political genius.
JOHNS: Members of President Trump's administration coming to his defense, insisting that Mr. Trump is fit to serve, despite questions about his
mental stability raised in the new tell-all book, Fire and Fury.
REX TILLERSON, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: I have never questioned his mental fitness. I have no reason to question his mental fitness.
JOHNS: The president himself sending a flurry of extraordinary tweets, declaring, throughout my life my two greatest assets have been mental
stability and being, like, really smart, before asserting that he is a very stable genius. Mr. Trump saying this when asked by CNN why he felt
compelled to weigh in.
TRUMP: I went to the best colleges or college. I went to a -- I had a situation where I was a very excellent student. Came out, made billions
and billions of dollars. Ran for president one time and won.
And then I hear this guy that does not know me, doesn't know me at all -- by the way, did not interview me for three -- he said he interviewed me for
three hours in the White House. It didn't exist, OK? It's in his imagination.
JOHNS: President Trump continuing to attack Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff.
TRUMP: I consider it a work of fiction, and I think it's a disgrace that somebody is able to have something, do something like that. The libel laws
are very weak in this country. If they were strong, it would be very helpful. You wouldn't have things like that happen.
JOHNS: Wolff standing by his reporting, insisting that the president's mental fitness is regularly discussed by Mr. Trump's aides, along with the
25th Amendment, which spells out the removal of a president.
[08:15:09] MICHAEL WOLFF, AUTHOR, FIRE AND FURY: The 25th Amendment is a concept that is alive every day in the White House.
JOHNS: Mr. Trump's senior advisor, Stephen Miller, also taking aim at the president's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, who was quoted in the
book, calling the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump campaign staffers and Russians treasonous.
MILLER: It's tragic and unfortunate and tragic that Steve would make these grotesque comments, so out of touch with reality, and obviously, so
vindictive. And the whole White House staff is deeply disappointed.
JOHNS: Bannon responding to the backlash, releasing a rare statement, insisting that his remarks were aimed at then-campaign manager Paul
Manafort, not Don Jr., and praising the president's son as both, a patriot and a good man.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: A source said Steve Bannon drafted a similar statement before the president said that he thought Bannon had lost his mind.
Today, the president is expected to travel to Nashville, Tennessee, where he is going to speak to the farm bureau there about issues relating to
farmers as well as rural Americans in general. From there, he goes on to Nashville, Tennessee.
LU STOUT: Yes, though it was interesting...
JOHNS: Atlanta, I'm sorry.
LU STOUT: Sorry to interrupt you just in. About Steve Bannon, it was interesting just to hear his comments and his attempt to try to take the
sting out of what was quote in that Michael Wolff book. He's trying to back away from those explosive comments in the book. Is Donald Trump or
his allies showing any sign of forgiving Steve Bannon?
JOHNS: Well the president did repeat the fact that Steve Bannon had already sort of done a mea culpa. So it's clear that the White House is
paying attention to Bannon's moving back and forth.
Of course, for Bannon, clearly, this is a political problem for him internally because he does have people who are simply deciding to choose
the president over Steve Bannon.
So we've said before there's a possibility that these two men could come back together and one example of the president coming back together with
people who have been critical of him is Senator Bob Corker, who has been highly critical of the president, even questioned his stability today. The
president will be traveling with Bob Corker on Air Force One to Nashville.
LU STOUT: And, Joe, the Republican Party, what does it make of all this drama going on?
JOHNS: Well, it's been -- quite frankly it takes somebody like Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader on Capitol Hill. He has, quite
frankly, sided with the president because many establishment Republicans have been highly critical of Steve Bannon and don't like the kind of
language he has used when trying to push his own agenda.
LU STOUT: Joe johns live in Washington for us. Thank you. Now you're watching News Stream coming to you live from Seoul. And up next, Chinese
officials say an oil tanker that crashed into another ship off the coast of Shanghai could explode. We've got the latest on that warning and the
search for dozens of missing people just ahead.
And a big screen that you can roll up. Could this be the next trend to greet consumers? Our tech reporter puts it to the test as one of the
biggest tech shows gets under way in Vegas.
[08:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back. You're watching News Stream coming to you live from Seoul. A day ahead of historic talks are waiting to take place
tomorrow, the first high-level talks to take place between North and South Korea in almost two years, to take place at the Peace Village in the South
Korean side of the DMZ.
Welcome back. You're watching News Stream coming to you live from Cheonggyecheon Stream here in downtown Seoul. Now The Shanghai Maritime
Bureau is warning that an oil tanker that earlier collided with a ship could be in danger of exploding.
They're closely monitoring the situation and rescue work is under way. Our Matt Rivers is watching this closely and he file this had report for us
earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was an Iranian oil tanker and a Chinese grain ship colliding of the coast of Easter China. And as a result
of that collusion, there was a fire on board that oil tanker.
Thirty-two of its crewmen were missing and search and rescue operations began shortly after that. We know the South Korean Coast Guard was
involved. We know the U.S. Navy is involved.
But unfortunately, the Chinese government did confirm that one body had been recovered so far. They made that announcement on Monday afternoon,
local time.
Of course, the immediate concern remains the search for those missing crewmen, in waters that are quite cold this time of the year. But the
other major concern here is going to be about a potential environmental impact.
Chinese officials said that some oil on board that tanker had leaked into the seas, the waters around that collision already. We're not sure exactly
how much had been spilled so far.
But the bigger concern is, what could happen as a result of that fire? That fire could potentially cause an explosion according to Chinese
officials, which could then cause that ship to sink. There are 136,000 tons of ultra light crude oil on board -- on board that oil tanker.
And were it to sink, it could cause a tremendous environmental catastrophe, compounded by the fact that the type of crude oil on board that ship is
incredibly light. It makes containing a potential oil spill that much harder.
Now, that ship, as far as we know, has not gotten to that point, as of yet. Details are slowly trickling in from the agencies responding here.
But if the immediate concern is trying to find those missing crewmen, the next big concern is what kind of environmental impact an oil spill of that
size could have in this part of the world. Matt Rivers, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Syria's brutal civil war is not letting up in the New Year. There are reports of government and Russian warplanes killed 17 civilians
near Damascus on Saturday. Air strikes have pummeled, the enclave of Eastern Ghouta for a week now.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the air strikes targeted residential areas. The group also reports an explosion killed 23 people in
a Northwestern city of Idlib on Sunday. It turned that the headquarters of a group and may have been a car bomb or drone attack.
Travelers faced a weekend of chaos at New York's JFK airport. Dozens of flights either they were canceled or delayed because of a winter storm.
And then this happened. A water main broke on Sunday, flooding the busy international terminal.
Part of it had to be evacuated. Now it has been so cold at the airport that equipment stopped working on the ground and on planes.
And on top of all that, baggage claims were backed up and some luggage got soaked by the water main brake. One of the world's biggest tech inventions
has kicked-off in Las Vegas.
Driverless cars, VR, companion robots, among the latest global trends being showcased there at CES, but if the chance has stumbling on the next big
thing that can whip up some industry frenzy. Samuel Burke puts one gadget to the test.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This box above me has a rollable television inside of it. I'm sitting under it, so that you can see it's
not just going up and down. It's actually unrolling out of the box.
[08:25:00] We'll show you the technology in a second but for the past few years, lots of people have thought they knew where TV was headed, 3D TVs,
when the last time you saw somebody with 3D glasses?
Curved televisions -- but who needs those when you can roll up a television into a box and store it away? A couple of years ago here at CES, LG
Display showed us another prototype, smaller, 18-inch display that you might be able to roll up and stick in your back pocket like a newspaper one
day.
They've taken that same technology and applied it to a TV. But this is just a prototype. An LG Display just makes screens. They hope that one
day, TV manufacturers might actually incorporate this technology into their sets.
But what you can see here is how the technology works under the hood as the TV shrinks down. So, what's the point of having a rollable television?
You can tuck it away when you're not using it, but LG Display thinks you might actually want to use your television at different height.
Maybe just to know what music is playing in the house or what the weather is. But they also think you might want to use a super wide format like
we're used to in movie theaters or possibly just watching it to watch television in the format we've all become accustomed to. Imagine that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Imagine that. Samuel Burke there. You are watching News Stream coming to you live from Seoul. And just ahead, we've got more in-depth
coverage of the upcoming talks between North and South Korea. We are in Seoul less than 60 kilometers away from the DMZ. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Seoul, South Korea. You're watching News Stream and these are your world headlines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: North and South Korea are getting ready for their first face-to- face talks in more than two years. Early on Tuesday, representatives from the rival nations will meet at the Peace House inside the demilitarized
zone.
The talks are focused on the up coming winter games but could touch on broader issues. The U.S. president says he is happy that North and South
Korea are now opening lines to communication.
Mr. Trump also appeared to take credit for the upcoming meeting between the two countries. Tweeting that the talks wouldn't be taking place if he
wasn't quote, firm, strong and willing to commit or total might against the North.
Now former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon says he regret not speaking out sooner to dispute some comments in a new tell-all book about
the Trump administration, Fire and Fury quoted Bannon as being highly critical of President Trump and his family.
A top Trump advisor Stephen Miller called Bannon's comments in the book, quote, grotesque. An oil tanker that collided with the ship of the coast
of China is in danger with exploding the Shanghai Maritime Bureau were in explosion would release poisonous gas. And that would endanger rescue
workers who are looking for more than 30 people who went missing. They recovered one body so far.
Turning now to our top story. Planned talks between North and South Korea. They will sit together in a building located on one of the world's most
heavily fortified borders. Will Ripley knows the border well. He filed this report for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Korean demilitarized zone, a place where two worlds collide, dictatorship and
democracy staring each other down.
CHAD O'CARROLL, MANAGING DIRECTOR, KOREA RISK GROUP: It's a very, very vivid reminder of just what's at stake on the peninsula.
RIPLEY (voice over): The first official talks in two years between North and South Korea will be held in Panmunjom, the so-called truce village
straddling the 38th parallel, the tense dividing line between two neighbors still technically at war.
Delegations from both sides of the DMZ will be sitting a stone's throw away from the path a North Korean soldier took in November in a dramatic
defection, shot five times running South. The talks will take place in peace house, one of three buildings in the truce village, built
specifically for discussions like this. Two in the South, one in the North.
O'CARROLL: Sometimes the two Koreas have disagreements over which side the talks should be on.
RIPLEY (voice over): This time, they're on the South side. North Korean officials will likely pass through the same blue huts I first visited in
2015, the year the last round of marathon talks took place, lasting some 44 hours, nearly two days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): In favor or armed intervention --
RIPLEY (voice over): To understand the DMZ, we need to go back to the end of World War II. The Soviets and Americans divided Korea just like they did
Germany. Most historians say the communist North tried to get it all by invading the south. The North says it was the other way around.
Technically, the war never ended. An armistice agreement put both Koreas back on their side of the dividing line, a standoff nearly 65 years and
counting.
Today, North Korea is facing its toughest sanctions ever over leader Kim Jong-un's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
O'CARROLL: For the North Koreans, the motivation to take part in these talks is undoubtedly due to the pressure that is building up on the
country.
RIPLEY (voice over): Pressure that only stands to increase in 2018, unless both sides find a diplomatic path, a path that begins here in Panmunjom, a
painful reminder of the region's violent past, tense present, and uncertain future.
Will Ripley, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And I'm joined once again by John Delury. He is an associate professor at Yonsei University. Thanks again for sticking by this hour and
for joining us again.
So, tomorrow, we got these peace talks underway between North and South. The focus is going to be on getting that North Korean participation at
Winter Games in Pyeongchang. But after tomorrow's talks, what's next? Are these talks going to translate into better inter-Korean relations or even
bring down an attempt to an overall nuclear standoff?
JOHN DELURY, PROFESSOR, YONSEI UNIVERSITY: Definitely the goal for the South. If you look back at last year, it was a terrible year for South
Korea security wise, right? You had on a weekly basis a missile test in North Korea, and then a tweet or military exercise. So, that tempo is
really not what South Koreans want.
South Korean government is trying to take some initiative here, to start off the new year on a different, you know, a different level. And so far,
Kim Jong-un is moving along with them. But, you know, the bigger question out there is, what does this mean for the missile test? What does this mean
for North Korea's nuclear capabilities and the goal of denuclearization?
You know, that's frankly much harder than their goal of trying to improve their relationship bilaterally.
LU STOUT: There's a lot of talk out there about the wedge --
DELURY: Yes.
LU STOUT: That Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, is trying to drive a wedge between the alliance, between South Korea and United States. I know
you have very strong thoughts against that.
DELURY: I just think the fears are overblown and in some ways by fixating on this idea that North Korea is trying to create a wedge between South
Korea and United States, you can actually create that wedge.
So, if Washington starts to doubt Seoul and starts to say, hey, wait a second, guys, you can't talk to the North Koreans unless you're advancing
denuclearization. That's going to create a real problem between South Korea and United States.
But so long as Americans have an attitude of understanding that South Korea has a relationship, it has work out. And in fact, it could help deal with
North Korea if you get people on the room with Kim Jong-un senior aides and start that conversation going to those impossible (INAUDIBLE) down the road
back and help get some practical gives (ph) on the nuclear issue. But you can't ask for an upfront and you have to give the South Koreans room.
[08:35:00] LU STOUT: John Delury, thank you so much for your analysis.
All right, now, McAfee security firm says it has uncovered a hacking threat that is related to the Pyeongchang Olympics. Malware-infected e-mails were
sent to several organizations and aimed at stealing passwords and financial in4zrmion. An Olympic official tells CNN the attacks were not successful.
The official declined to comment on whether North Korea has attempted a cyber attack.
You are watching "News Stream" coming to you live from downtown Seoul. Up next, Hollywood held its first major award show since the wave of sexual
harassment scandals in the industry. We will tell you how some of the biggest names in the entertainment addressed the scandal, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back to "News Stream." We are live from Seoul, South Korea. Talks between the North and South now less than 12 hours away.
But now, some other headlines are following. Now, the BBC's China editor has quit her position in Beijing because of pay inequality with her male
colleagues. Carrie Gracie will continue to work for the BBC, but back in London. Gracie says her employer hasn't lived up to stated values of trust,
honesty, and accountability. She expects to receive equal pay. She says she received a lot of support.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
CARRIE GRACIE, FORMER CHINA EDITOR, BBC: It has been very moving, actually. And the two thins that have struck me most about it and moved me
most, one is, I think, the scale of feeling not just among BBC women but also just more widely across the country and also internationally, the
support that I've had in the last few hours over this. I think it does speak to the depth of hunger for an equal, fair and transparent pay system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And that was Carrie Gracie of the BBC there. Now, the comedian and television host of --
(START VIDEO CLIP)
Happy new year, Hollywood.
(APPLAUSE)
SETH MEYERS, AMERICAN COMEDIAN: It's 2018. marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn't.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And that was Seth Meyers, of course, the T.V. host. He is opening the 75th Annual Golden Globes, immediately taking on two of the
biggest issues in America right now. This year's ceremony was one of the most political yet the red carpet was brimming with actresses wearing the
color black in solidarity with the movement called "Time's Up," a group fighting sexual harassment in the workplace.
Oprah Winfrey, wow, she gave a moving speech that brought the crowd to their feet. Now, she spoke as she accepted the Cecil B. Demille Award for
her contributions to the world of entertainment. She had a stern warning for sexual predators.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, AMERICAN MEDIA PROPRIETOR: For too long women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those
men, but their time is up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: CNN caught up with some of the stars ahead of the award ceremony and talked to them about why they were wearing black.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are here. This isn't just about us on this carpet in this moment. We are here standing in solidarity with women everywhere,
[08:40:00] saying time's up. Enough is enough on sexual harassment, assault, abuse of power. We are here standing with everyone.
DANIEL KALUUYA, ACTOR AND WRITER: It is for me to take, to give, to use my platform to help people take the floor, to take the floor and tell you I'm
standing with you and draw more attention to what's happening because it needs to stop and our culture needs to change.
CLAIRE FOY, ENGLISH ACTRESS; I didn't want to wear a dress. I feel like these sort of events are not the time as a woman, your (INAUDIBLE) where
what you're wearing is more important than what you do for a living, especially. And this felt like a real opportunity to let it all go and not
engage in it, in that sort of way anymore.
TARANA BURKE, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: It's humbling but it's also empowering. I just think that this is such a bold statement for women who
work in Hollywood to make and solidarity for women across the world.
SUSAN SARANDON, AMERICAN ACTRESS AND ACTIVIST: To make sure that this action has substance to it and has some kind of follow-through by
interconnecting to all of this. The imbalance of power in every industry and our vulnerability and our power that we share. It seemed like the
perfect idea. I'm very happy to have it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Powerful messages from the red carpet there. Now, let's take a look at some of the winners of the night's top honor. Best film drama went
to "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." It's a story about a mother's tireless effort to see a killer rot to justice for the rape and
murder of her daughter.
"Lady Bird" is a coming-of-age story by Director Greta Gerwig to call the award for best film comedy. Best T.V. series for drama went to "The
Handmaid's Tale." And Sterling K. Brown became the first African-American to win best actor in a T.V. drama for his role in "This is Us." Azis Ansari
won for his role in "Master of None," making him the first Asian to win best actor in a T.V. comedy.
That is "News Stream." We'll be back with more on the Korea talks in Seoul tomorrow. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, "World Sport" with
Amanda Davies is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
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