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NEWS STREAM
Cottarelli Gets Mandate To Form Interim Government; Calls For Abortion Vote In Northern Ireland; Women In The Philippines Seek Dangerous Abortions; U.S. Loses Track Of Nearly 1,500 Immigrant Children; Migrant Hero Who Rescued Gets French Citizenship; Stigma And Lack Of Resources Holding Many Women Back; World Headlines; Trump-Kim Summit; Trump Took Another Aim At The New York Times; U.S. Irks China By Sailing Warships By Paracel Islands; U.S. Lawmakers Concerned By Deal To Save ZTE; Surfing Near The DMZ; Raging Issue For Korean Air's Top Family; K-Pop Craze. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired May 28, 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] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Strout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream. Off again -- on again. The U.S. sends
diplomats to North Korea for a possible summit that has anything for certain.
Forming a government, Italy's President nominee to former IMF official to be the country's interim leader. And the Spider-Man of Paris, a Malian
migrant makes a daring rescue, and gets offered French citizenship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: A U.S. delegation is in North Korea. The clearest sign yet that the summit between Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump maybe back
on.
On Sunday, Mr. Trump tweeted that the U.S. team is making arrangements for the planned meeting, he said this, quote, I truly believe North Korea has
brilliant potential, and will be a great economic, and financial nation one day. Kim Jong-un agrees with me on this.
Now just four days ago you will recall Mr. Trump abruptly canceled the June 12 meeting set for Singapore, citing hostile rhetoric from the North.
South Korea's President Moon Jae-in held surprise talks with Kim in the DMZ on Saturday. He says the North Korean leader is still committed to
denuclearization.
Let's bring in Matt Rivers with the view from Seoul, South Korea. And, Matt, thank you for joining us. There has been, wow, so much diplomatic
activity in the last few days to make this meeting actually happen. Tell us about what is driving this process forward.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let us talk about the two different kind of American teams right now that they are doing two separate tasks in
Asia at this point.
The first what you meant to write off the top, it is an American delegation who spent the day at the demilitarized zone on the North Korean side, very
close to the same place that Moon Jae-in met with Kim Jong-un over the weekend on Saturday.
We know the American delegation led by Ambassador Sung Kim, who is currently the Ambassador to the Philippines, but is one of the few people
in the State Department that you can really point to as a North Korea expert if you will. He's been a veteran of North Korea negotiations in the
past.
And then the other thing that is going on right now, Kristie, is that you got a logistics team from the United States down in Singapore.
And so if the North Korean -- well the DMZ team right now is really all about focusing on the agenda, what is going to happen at the summit if in
fact it does happen, the logistics team down in Singapore is kind of figure out how it will happen, where it will happen, what kind of media access
there will be, et cetera, et cetera.
But really what you are seeing push this process forward is a commitment from South Korea, from North Korea, from the Americans, even though the
summit was canceled, but it does seem that all the parties involved, even China you can throw in there want this summit to happen.
LU STOUT: Yes, the will seems to be there that the summit is going to happen. But, you know, just reading the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un,
does he appear eager not just to meet, but to get a deal?
RIVERS: Well, take for example the fact that it was Kim Jong-un who reached out to Moon Jae-in to set up that meeting that surprised everybody
on Saturday, and he didn't have to do that, he didn't have to push for that, he didn't have to do that so quickly.
So that gives you a sense of the fact that North Korea clearly wants this happen. I don't think there is any doubt about that. In terms of coming
up with some sort of deal, what is North Korea really want out of this, that is where things start to get into that gray area.
And there is the same kind of problems in coming up with some sort of lasting solution in Korea that there has been for the better part of two
decades now.
None of the issues that are being discussed right now about denuclearization, security guarantees, human rights violations, all that
kind of stuff, those are the same issue that we were talking about 10 years ago when there's the six-party talks going on, what's different is the
North Korea's nuclear capabilities have certainly increased quite a bit.
You could argue that North Korea has more leverage now than they ever have. But in terms of what kind of deal Kim Jong-un wants, what he is willing to
give up, what he wants in ex-change from the Americans, that is the kind of grayer that we don't really know. But it is clear, I think, Kristie, that
he wants this summit to happen.
LU STOUT: Yes, encouraging signs from him, and elsewhere that this big meeting in Singapore is going to take place. Matt Rivers reporting live
from Seoul, thank you. Now, we are hearing a lot of names being thrown around these negotiations.
Let us talk about two of the key players. Now on the U.S. side, you've got Sung Kim. As Matt just mentioned in that report, he is currently the U.S.
Ambassador to the Philippines, but he used to serve as the U.S. special representative for North Korea Policy.
On the envoy, he was involved in the six-party talks during the early 2000's when North Korea destroyed a cooling tower at Yongbyon nuclear
facility. Those talks eventually broke down, and Sung Kim will be meeting with Choe Son Hui, an experienced North Korean diplomat who specializes in
the country's relationship with Washington.
She is a Vice Minister in North Korea's Foreign Ministry. She is the one who called the U.S. Vice President Mick Pence a, quote, political dummy for
comparing Libya to North Korea.
We hear that she is a rising star in the North Korean government. She was promoted to Vice Minister earlier this year. It has been a dramatic 24
hours in Italian politics.
[08:05:00] A short time ago, Carlo Cottarelli accepted a mandate to form an interim government, the former IMF official now with the country's
President Sergio Mattarella in Rome. Cottarelli says if his interim government can win parliamentary approval, there will be fresh elections
early next year.
On Sunday, Giuseppe Conte, who was expected to leave the country, declined to form a government. Now Conte's choice of a Eurosceptic finance minister
had been rejected by the country's president who said it would scare investors. Well, let's get the latest from Rome now. CNN's Delia
Gallagher is standing by. She joins us now. And, Delia, thank you for joining us. The election turmoil there, where do we stand now?
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, we have heard just about two hours ago from the new potential Interim Prime Minister Carlo
Cottarelli, whom as you say is a former official of the IMF.
What happens now is that Mr. Cottarelli devises a list of potential ministers, and that he and the ministers must be approved by parliament.
That should happen in the next few days.
And Mr. Cottarelli in his public statement outlined two hypotheses, either he is approved by the parliament in which case his government will govern
through the end of the year, enough time for them to approve the 2019 budget, and new elections can be held early next year.
If they are not approved, Kristie, he said they will work through the summer, and new elections can be held after August. I must tell you,
Kristie, this morning, Italy is waking up to a lot of tension caused by the decision of President Mattarella not to accept the proposal of the two
leading parties, the Five Star and the League with regard to their new government.
In particular, the President said he objected to the appointment of a Eurosceptic Finance Minister. You can imagine that did not sit well with
the leaders of those two parties. Luigi Di Maio, who is the leader of the Five Star movement even called for the impeachment of President Mattarella.
Kristie.
LU STOUT: Delia Gallagher reporting on the political situation in Italy live from Rome, thank you. Now, the British Prime Minister Theresa May is
facing calls to allow a vote on abortion in Northern Ireland.
On Saturday, voters in the Republic of Ireland voted to liberalize abortion in a historic referendum. The practice is still illegal in Northern
Ireland even though it's permitted in the rest of U.K.
So Members of Parliament are calling for referendum, but there is strong opposition from pro-life lawmakers who are keeping Theresa May's government
in power. Let's get more now from London.
CNN's Erin McLaughlin is there. She joins me now. And, Erin, I mean, the pressure is now on in Northern Ireland to change its abortion laws. But
can there be reform?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kristie. Well, reform is certainly possible, although look difficult at this point, especially when
you consider how abortion law is determined in the United Kingdom.
And it is determined by the devolved assemblies, which is why Northern Ireland had different laws when it comes to abortion compared to England,
Wales, and Scotland.
But the issue here is that the assembly in Northern Ireland, well it's been suspended, and has been suspended for the past 18 months after a power
sharing agreement fell through, which is why there is tremendous pressure right now on British Prime Minister Theresa May to have Westminster step,
and affect change on this issue.
We are seeing some 160 MPs, including Members of Parliament from within her own party call for an amendment to a domestic violence bill, pushing for
change on abortion in Northern Ireland, also calls for Theresa May to stage a referendum on the issue, and Northern Ireland calls, which so far Downing
Street is resisting pointing to this being an issue for the assembly in Northern Ireland.
Nevertheless, campaigners are continuing to push forward, hoping to build on the momentum from what we saw over the weekend in Ireland, some
campaigners putting forward a petition amnesty international, some 30,000 signatures, and growing so far, calling for change in Northern Ireland on
this issue.
Some campaigners even driving a bus around Northern Ireland planning this week to handout abortion pills, so campaigners clearly are pushing forward,
hoping for change on this issue. Kristie.
LU STOUT: After the Ireland referendum there have been growing calls for abortion reform around the world, in Northern Ireland, and elsewhere.
Let's take it back to Ireland. What is the situation there after this historic referendum? What's the mood there?
MCLAUGHLIN: Well, right now, I mean an overwhelming victory when it comes to that referendum, people there are extremely happy. They see this as a
sign of progress for Ireland, that it's moving forward on this issue, although those who are against this referendum going forward are upset.
[08:10:00] But we do expect to see e legislation perhaps in the fall, affecting change to the laws if they've had this referendum. The next step
really is at a legislative level, again with Prime Minister behind this issue going forward, we expect to see that legislation pass in the fall.
Kristie.
LU STOUT: All right, Erin McLaughlin reporting live from London, thank you. Abortion remains illegal in many countries, and abortion laws around
the world are complicated. Take a look at the map, countries shown in red prohibit abortions under any circumstance, or in some cases to save the
life of the mother.
Countries in yellow allow abortions under certain conditions, such as in cases of rape, or incest, or to protect the health of a woman. And
countries shown in green abortions are available without restrictions.
And one country that's in red is the Philippines where abortions are illegal. It means that some women feel they have to resort to dangerous
procedures. Now earlier this year, CNN's Alexandra Field went to investigate. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A woman we're calling Anna (ph) to protect her identity says an unplanned pregnancy
left her in a situation so desperate she considered killing herself.
I didn't know how to react, she says, when I found out I was pregnant again. I just cried in the bathroom. We had so many kids already, and we
are so poor.
Abortions are illegal in the Philippines. Anna (ph) considered a dangerous procedure before the birth of her fifth child. She says, they were going
to insert something made of metal. I was scared of that, and wondered how big was that piece of metal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Harrowing account there. Let's find out more about the situation in the Philippines, especially after the referendum at the
weekend in Ireland. Clara Rita Padilla is an attorney and spokesperson for the Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network.
She joins us from Manila. And, Clara, thank you so much for joining us here on the program. Now that Ireland has voted to legalize abortion, is
there more momentum there in the Philippines to change abortion laws there?
CLARA RITA PADILLA, SPOKESPERSON, PHILIPPINE SAFE ABORTION ADVOCACY NETWORK: Well, that's what we are trying to do. In fact, I was just in a
forum today, and I was talking about what happened in Ireland, and recently what also happened in Ireland (ph), so thus moment is important for us,
specifically because Ireland is a predominantly Catholic country, and the Philippines is predominantly Catholic country.
It was good for us to talk about such kinds of using of abortion restrictions, and soon, Argentina will soon be voting also. So this
creates a good momentum for us advocates here in the Philippines.
LU STOUT: Let's talk about the saddest quote that you're fighting against. You are fighting for reform. You know, as abortion remains illegal in the
Philippines, how many women -- how many girls are getting hurt, or dying from unsafe procedures?
PADILLA: What we have as statistics -- and it's going to be 2012 statistics, and we have about 610,000 women who induce abortion. And these
are (Inaudible), 100,000 women were hospitalized just in 2012, and 1,000 women died in 2012 due to complications from unsafe abortion. So this
translates to about three women dying daily from complications from unsafe abortion. And now...
LU STOUT: The three have died every day in the Philippines due to complications from unsafe abortion.
PADILLA: Yes.
LU STOUT: So how do you change public opinion? You know, we know that the Philippines is a deeply Catholic nation. How do you reframe the discussion
on abortion there, so it is not about morals, it is not about religion, it is about women's health, and it is about human rights.
PADILLA: Right. So what they are saying is that we should really advocate for the right, and safe, and legal abortion. And it's a very prevalent
issue, that it's a public health issue, that women are ding because of lack of access to safe and legal abortion. So we are what are seeing is that is
should not be a moral issue.
It's moral and legal issue as well. So we feel that it's time for the Philippines to decriminalize abortion. Without such access to safe and
legal abortion, we actually have much more than just three women dying everyday because the three women dying everyday is from 2012 statistics.
And now, given our large population, now that we have over 100 million Filipinos, there would be more women inducing abortion, and more women
dying from complications from unsafe abortion.
LU STOUT: Clara Rita Padilla joining me live from Manila, thank you so much for your work, and for joining me here on the program. Take care.
[08:15:02] Now in South Asia, a recent report says third of girls miss school because of their periods. Just ahead, we're going to meet an
activist who is trying to give women and girls the tools, and the education they need, so periods aren't a limiting factor for them.
Also ahead, a real life Spider-Man comes to the rescue of a toddler in Paris. You may have seen the video. Now the French President is praising
the young migrant for his heroism.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is News Stream. A shocking admission by the U.S. federal government, nearly 1,500
unaccompanied immigrant children have essentially gone missing, but the government insists it's not legally responsible.
Now, CNN's Rosa Flores, se is following the story from San Antonio, Texas. She joins me now. And, Rosa, how did the U.S. government lose track of
1,500 immigrant children?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kristie, it's mind boggling. But here is the process, normally these children would be introduced into
the system through the Department of Homeland Security at the border, or because they are separated from their family at some point in the process.
Then they're moved on to the Department of Health and Human Services. Now that department has to find a sponsor for the children, that's where they
call it, whether it is a parent, a relative, or a non-relatives, so that they can place the child in a home.
Now, since 2016, they are doing background checks to make sure that these children don't got in the hands of traffickers, or other dangerous
individuals. But the latest is that these 1,500 children that they can't find, that they have found being, they learned about this because in
December of last year, they tried to track about 7,600 of these children, and those 1,500 children, they can't find.
So I am sure you are wondering, so what does the United States government doing to try to account for these children, and the answer is that they are
not. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there a pursuit to try to figure out where they are or what happens next?
STEVEN WAGNER, ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY AT HHS: There is not a pursuit. We give DHS visibility on where the child has been placed. But once we
provide that information, then we don't have a mechanism for tracking down the kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: So we followed up at the Department of Health and Human Services to ask about this. And they said that once that child is in the hands of
the sponsor, than they say, quote, he or she seizes to be in the custody of the United States government, and all HHS provided subsistence, and at that
point, and the child becomes the responsibility of his or her parent, guardian, or sponsor.
So, Kristie, some U.S. senators on both sides of the aisle here in United States are asking, if we don't have a legal responsibility, do we have a
moral responsibility to make sure that these children are safe, and that they are not in the hands of human traffickers.
LU STOUT: Absolutely. That's the fear that they would be in the hands of human traffickers or smugglers. And, Rosa, the policy of separating
children from their parents at the border, is that going to go on despite this revelation?
[08:20:06] FLORES: You know, it is. Attorney General Jeff Sessions being very clear earlier this month saying that anybody that crosses the border
will be prosecuted. Now we know just based on the facts, and figures, a lot the individuals who are crossing the border, and turning themselves
into immigration at the border are women with young children.
So by default, through the prosecution process in the United States, these children would be separated from their mothers at that point in time, which
raises the obvious question here. If the United States has already lost 1,500 children, why would they be separating more parents?
And of course there is a lot of questions and issues involved in this because they have to make sure that the parents of course are keeping those
children safe, and also that they are not handing over these children to dangerous individuals.
The United States is now doing background checks, are doing fingerprint checks, checking sex offender registries, and trying to do their due
diligence there, Kristine. But, again, a lot of questions still remain on this.
LU STOUT: Yes, absolutely, 1,500 children have gone missing. The U.S. government is saying not they are not legally responsible with no plans to
of tracking down. Rosa Flores on the story for us live from San Antonio, thank you.
Now, a Malian migrant who rescued a child dangling from a balcony in Paris, he has been awarded French citizenship. We've got to checkout this
incredible video, please take a look at it closely if you haven't seen it yet.
Mamoudou Gassama, he scaled four floors in just seconds until he reached the toddler, and pulled him out to safety. French President Emmanuel
Macron invited Gassama to the Elysee Palace to thank him personally. Jim Bittermann joins us now live from Paris.
And, Jim, I mean, tell us more, wow, about this dramatic rescue, and how he is known as the Spider-Man -- the Spider-Man of the 18th, how he has been
hailed as a hero there.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He was baptized as Spider-Man in about five minutes after that action, and what looked like an action film at
(Inaudible) Paris on Saturday night, when this child was dangling from a fourth floor balcony, and he scale up, and grabbed the child, and saved his
life.
So since then, everybody's life has changed a little bit here because Gassama himself, and the President -- the President he is going be fast
tracked to citizenship. He was here is an asylum seeker. He did not have the right to work, and he didn't have an official residence permit, but he
was here legally.
And he was hoping to get what is now going to be good his in just a matter of days if the French bureaucracy goes along with it. He has also been
offered a job by the French fire department. They said anybody that could do something like that, scaling the outside of a building, and saving a
toddler, they should be -- he should be a member of the fire department as well.
So, his life has certainly changed. The father of the child's life has also changed. He was in court this morning because he left his four-year-
old child home unattended while he went out, and did a little shopping. So he is in trouble with the police for that. So, all-in-all, an unbelievable
story, and something had changed a lot of lives here over the weekend. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Absolutely, especially the life of the little boy, and the migrant hero, a stunning rescue, a beautiful. Jim Bittermann reporting
live from Paris, thank you.
For many women and girls around the world, there is still a stigma associated with menstruation, or a severe lack of resources, so a nonprofit
started world menstrual hygiene day to call attention to the challenges many still face.
On some parts of the world, for example, girls stay home from school when they have their period. A recent WaterAid and UNICEF report shows a third
of girls in South Asia reported missing class once a month.
The problems are at a basic level, a lack of access to sanitary pads, and toilets. The World Health Organization recommends at least one toilet for
every 25 students, but it is far less in some places. One district in Nepal only has one for every 170 girls.
There is also a lack of educational across the region. In Sri Lanka, for instance, two thirds of girls don't receive information about menstruation
in the years leading up to puberty.
Suhani Jalota is an activist who works to improve women's sanitary hygiene in India. She is the founder of the Myna Mahila Foundation. Her
organization is also one of a handful of charities chosen to benefit from donations, marking the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
She joins me now from Mumbai. Thank you so much for joining us here in the program. There is, you know, a pretty disturbing new research out from
WaterAid and UNICEF that says about one of three girls in South Asia can't go to school during their periods.
[08:25:04] Why is this happening?
SUHANI JALOTA, FOUNDER, MYNA MAHILA FOUNDATION: Yes, I think we're called on to different patterns here, where, you know, women don't have access to
these product, they even didn't have knowledge to these products. They grow stigma around it.
There is a lack of facilities, and infrastructure at schools which comes to toilets, and we see often the girls are dropping out to improve puberty
because they don't have access to the right products of infrastructure. And there is this huge confusion and stigma around this. And they have
little outward information about what's happening to their bodies.
LU STOUT: Yes, and that's the problem. There is the lack of access to sanitary products. There is also the lack of education, and how much to
that is due to stigma? I mean, for example, right now you and I can talk openly about periods, and about pads. But many parts of the world,
especially there in India, there is a social stigma there. What is the health cost to that stigma?
JALOTA: It's huge. It's actually one of the reasons why we started Myna, when we notice that women where kind of making statement between dignity
and health, often at the cost of health. So, you know, I think one example is when a woman has to take a pill that constipate herself, and when she is
going to wait to a public toilet justifies she (Inaudible) the toilet because otherwise, she finds it very challenging.
A women is told a number of time that she is going to the toilet and (Inaudible), if the person seen that happened with the national phenomenal,
but it actually becomes a vital things that everybody has been observed.
And if you go a pair or a packet of sanity napkin today, you can go to a shop or a medical store, which is manage men, male shop keepers, and their
male bystanders, and male customers, and there is this one woman there who is announcing that she wants a packet of pads, implying that she has her
periods, so the male shopkeeper kind of look at her straight.
So I think that embarrassment that comes, that is a sign of phenomenal, we stand ultimately makes (Inaudible), and if she doesn't get it, then she is
compromising (Inaudible). And that a huge, huge (Inaudible), becomes a fully rational with it to the lack of -- the lack of use of sanitary
napkins here. But a lot of the hygiene, we can definitely relate to each other.
LU STOUT: Tell us about your organization, and what Myna Mahila is doing to address these issues.
JALOTA: So, Myna Mahila Foundation essentially has been started in 2015 with a mission to empower women, to speak about the things that they're
most afraid to discuss about. And we started this movement around menstrual hygiene first because we feel that it is a very tangible way of
attacking in parliament.
So here we realized working for a popular field, we have been working (Inaudible), that in this communities, women, their voice are very
powerful, and they were powerful in their own way, and this is where (Inaudible).
And it's women's power to consider themselves to be more important than truly it would a conversation on domestic violence and (Inaudible), the
things that women were currently trying to go away from.
LU STOUT: Suhani Jalota joining from Mumbai.
JALOTA: Thank you so much.
LU STOUT: Take care.
JALOTA: Thank you.
LU STOUT: Now, is it on or is it off? We're going to have the latest on plans for that Singapore summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The view from the White House is next.
[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.
In Italy, a former IMF official Carlo Cottarelli has accepted (INAUDIBLE) to form an interim government. Mr. Cottarelli says if he wins parliamentary
support as temporary prime minister, there will be new election next year. On Sunday, the man who had been expected to lead the country, Giuseppe
Conte, declined to form a government after the president rejected one of his key ministers.
Dramatic pictures out of the U.S. state of Maryland. One person is missing after flash floods rushed the streets in Ellicott City near Baltimore.
There were 30 rescues that took early on Monday and many of the residents have only just finished rebuilding after flooding -- major flooding there
two years ago.
Donald Trump says a U.S. delegation is in North Korea to make plans for his upcoming summit with Kim Jong-un. It is tentatively set for June the 12th
in Singapore. That appears to be back on after Mr. Trump abruptly canceled it days ago, citing harsh rhetoric from the north.
Our Kaitlan Collins joins me from the White House with more on plans for the summit. Kaitlan, only two weeks left for until Singapore. Does the
White House they are ready for the big meeting?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that depends on who you ask inside the White House. President Trump seems quite confident that
the summit could still take place on June 12th even though he scrapped this meeting just four days ago at the end of last week because he didn't feel
that this is the appropriate time to meet with the North Koreans, especially after they issued that fiery statement, calling the vice
president, Mike Pence, a political dummy and at the end of it, threatening nuclear war, essentially.
So it raises the question of what has changed over the last few days. The president's aides certainly don't seem to be as confident as he is, that
they could pull this off by June 12th given the amount of planning and logistics that goes into a summit of this scale.
But president seems quite confident. He is pushing his aides to make it happen on June 12th, put it back on the schedule. So that is the question
here. Now, we have seen several developments over the weekend in between these two talks.
We went from having little to no communication when they called off the summit last week to now we know there is a U.S. delegation in North Korea
meeting with their counterparts right now to really discuss what it is they want to achieve by the summit and what denuclearization does truly mean to
the North Koreans.
So that's the big question here, also whether or not they could actually pull this off logistics wise by June 12th. Of course, that is just a little
more than two weeks away. But if it does seem to be up to President Trump which of course in the end it will be, he does seem quiet confident that it
could happen as planned here, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yeah, very confident but so many issues that need to be hammered out, as you pointed out. And I also want to ask you before you go, Donald
Trump's claim about this phony source put up by The New York Times, a source that (INAUDIBLE) to be very real, has there been any comment from
the White House about that?
COLLINS: No comment from the White House. But just to give the viewers a little explanation to what this is, the president said this person was
phony, that it didn't exist because of course, The New York Times had reported naming this person as a senior White House official who was
doubting the idea that the summit could take place on June 12th given the timing.
Now, the president said this person was made up, that this person very much was not -- this official actually briefed dozens of reporters in a briefing
room here at the White House about the plans for that summit after President Trump called it off last Thursday.
And as they are going through, one of the reporters raised a question of, could this actually happen on June 12th if the president wanted to. Now,
this official noted just how difficult it would be to plan out logistically and pull it off by then given the fact that it has just been canceled.
And he said something to the effect of June the 12th as in the next 10 minutes, basically saying that it would be impossible to pull the summit
off by June the 12th. Well, the president seemed to clearly not know about that comment from a White House official which is on background attributed
to a White House official because the White House insisted that it not be on the record.
But this person very much made this comment. What speaks to the larger effect here, Kristie, is just how on two different pages the president and
his own staffers are about whether or not the summit could go forth as planned.
[08:35:04] LU STOUT: Yeah, a sign of perhaps miscommunication in the White House, also Trump's ongoing feud with the media. Kaitlan Collins,
thank you so much as always. Take care.
Meanwhile, another tense moment in the South China Sea. Now, the U.S. sailed two warships past the contested Paracel Islands as part of Freedom
of Navigation Operations. Those operations challenged many of China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Beijing is quick to accuse Washington of encroaching on its territory. Experts say this movement could be a show of support for U.S. allies ahead
of the U.S. defense secretary's visit to Singapore.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and China are also dancing warily around their trade disputes, and U.S. lawmakers are concerned that a new tentative deal to
save ZTE is being too lenient on ZTE. Now, according to President Trump, ZTE will have to buy U.S. parts, change its management and board, and pay a
fine.
Senator Chris Van Hollen tweeted that ZTE is a national security threat to the U.S. and told President Trump, quote, nothing in your reported deal
addresses that fundamental fact. If you won't put our security before Chinese jobs, Congress will act on a bipartisan basis to stop you.
Senator Marco Rubio mirrored that sentiment in an interview with ABC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: China is trying to overtake the United States as the world's most powerful country. They are not doing it by out
innovating us or out-competing us. They are doing it by stealing. They still our intellectual property. They force our companies to transfer the
stuff over.
And the only way that we are going to stop them is that they face significant consequences for continuing what they are doing. Putting out of
business a company like ZTE is the kind of significant consequence that China will respond to to understand that we are serious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: So, there is a deal but the story not ending there. You're watching "News Stream." Still to come right here, surf's up in South Korea.
Ivan Watson (INAUDIBLE) one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back. You're watching "News Stream." Now, when you think of DMZ, you probably think of
geopolitical tension. But, it also has some pretty decent beaches nearby. Ivan Watson watches down (ph) a surfboarding catches a wave at this hidden
gem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The morning after a big storm is a day for some people to get up early, wax up
the surfboards and head out to the beach.
South Korea is relatively new to surfing but some here are clearly hooked on the sport, and they are kind enough to share the waves with the beginner
from out of town.
(on camera): And the crazy thing is everybody is out here surfing, and we are pretty close to North Korea.
(voice over): We are just a short drive from the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea's border with North Korea. The coastline here dotted with military
bases. Long stretches of the beach fortified with razor wire, guard towers, and security cameras.
[08:39:58] (on camera): This area is heavily militarized to protect against the threat of possible North Korean incursions. But it is also a
home to some of the best waves in South Korea. So if you want to surf, sometimes you literally have to go through the fence.
(voice over): And this is what surfing looks like near the DMZ. The military and the surf community somehow coexist on the same shores.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is to trippy, by the way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But a lot of foreigners, they come over and they see the scene. They're like, wow.
WATSON (voice over): Lee Hyung-joo runs a surf camp on a beach that, until a few years ago, was off limits to civilians.
LEE HYUNG-JOO, SURF CAMP OWNER: Just here about 200 meters, about 300 meters is an artillery base.
WATSON (voice over): North Korean trash regularly washes up on the beach here.
LEE: Sometimes you find like North Korea cigarette packs, that's trash, of course, also some water bottles.
WATSON (voice over): Lee hopes the current talks between Pyongyang and Seoul may one day lead to real peace with South Korea's northern neighbor.
LEE: If the Korean, North Korean relations get better, then I don't think they will have use for these barbed wires anymore, right? And also the
military bases on the beach, which means more opportunities for tourists business like us.
WATSON (voice over): That yearning for peace shared by Kwan Ming-joo (ph) and her boyfriend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love peace and waves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
WATSON (voice over): Every weekend, the couple drives three hours from Seoul to surf here. One day they hope they can keep driving through the
DMZ.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that is a very good place for surfing.
WATSON (on camera): In North Korea?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Maybe we can go there and surf one day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you know, I don't think I will be sneaking through any fences to get into North Korea anytime soon to surf there. But if it's
possible, I would love to check it out.
WATSON (voice over): For now, people like Canadian Jake McFadyen (ph) can only dream of chasing that elusive North Korean wave. Surfers stoked for
the day when peace may come to these shores.
Ivan Watson, CNN, at the 38th Parallel Beach in South Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Such an incredible story there. Now, let's go (ph) to this one, because it seems to be a family problem. Korean Air's family in charge is
in the headlines yet again. This time, mom is the one in trouble.
The 69-year-old has been questioned by police for allegedly hitting construction workers. The airline's chairman has had to apologize for his
family several times. First, it was nuts on a plane as elder sister, Heather Cho, raged over her macadamia nuts. And then the younger sister, as
you recall, she followed suit by throwing (ph) a drink at an executive's face. And now it looks like their mother is joining in.
And finally, their perfectly coordinated dance moves and energetic songs have shot South Korea's BTS boy band to the top of U.S. Billboard 200. They
just debuted their new album with this lead single that is called "Fake Love."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fake love. Fake love. Fake love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: BTS is the first ever K-pop group to hit that prize number one spot. No other K-pop release has ever even made it to the top 10.
And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere. "World Sport" with Alex Thomas is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
END
