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NEWS STREAM

U.S. Allies Trade Partners Promise To Fight Back; Pedro Sanchez Becomes Spain's PM; E.U. Trade Commissions Reacts To New U.S. Tariffs; North Korean Ex-Spy Chief To Give Letter From Kim To Trump; World Headlines; Korean Diplomacy; U.S. Jobs Report For May Released: Pew Research Shows Teens Leaving Facebook; Canon Ends Sales Of Last Film Camera; Texas Teen Wins Scripps National Spelling Bee. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired June 01, 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 in Hong Kong, and welcome to News Stream.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Tariffs for allies, any moment now the E.U. is expected to fire back at the Trump administration's new economic penalties. A new Prime

Minister for Spain after a historic vote of no confidence to get rid of the former leader.

And special delivery, North Korea's former spy chief is on his way to Washington with a letter which could make or break the June 12th Trump-Kim

summit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Just a few hours ago, the U.S. hit some of its closest trading partners, and allies with punishing tariffs on steel, and aluminum, and any

moment now, the E.U. is expected to hit back with billions of dollars worth of countermeasures.

The U.S. penalties target goods made in Canada, Mexico, and the European Union among others. Their steel is subject to tariffs of 25 percent on

entering the U.S., and there's a 10 percent tariff on aluminum.

These tariffs could negatively affect Americans as well. The U.S. Chamber of commerce says Mr. Trump's trade policies could cost the U.S. 2.6 million

jobs. Atika Shubert is in Berlin with more, and she joins us now live.

And, Atika, the E.U. has been quick to respond. We're awaiting a press conference from the E.U. trade commissioner to kick off any minute now, but

how will Germany, how will the Eurozone strike back?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, it going to be launching legal proceedings at the World Trade Organization, but that's a process

that could take a very long time, months, or longer, so it's also drawn up a list of U.S. products that it might target with duties.

Now, previously, they had mentioned very all-American products such as Harley Davidson Motorcycles, Bourbon Whiskey, and Levi's Jeans, but take a

look at this list, it's ten pages long, full of fine print.

The first item on it is sweet corn, the last item on it is playing cards, and there are hundreds of American products in between, and this is likely

to cost upwards of $3 billion.

So, we don't know exactly what the duty is going to be on different products, or which products will be included, but clearly, it's the line

that the E.U. is trying to draw here is enough to punish the U.S. in retaliation for these tariffs it's imposed.

But at the same time it doesn't want to escalate this further into more of a trade war. So, it's going to be interesting to see what comes out of

this press conference.

In the meantime, Germany, specifically, has said it is not happy with what's -- with these tariffs imposed by the U.S. Take listen to what the

Economics Minister had to say last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER ALTMAIER, GERMAN ECONOMY MINISTER, (through a translator): Today's decision of the U.S. government is wrong in itself. It is harmful for

Europe, but also for the U.S. itself. Those have succeeded who backed protectionism, and one-sided measures. That is unfortunate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUBERT: Now, Germany's Foreign Minister had even tougher words. Yesterday, he called the tariffs not only incomprehensible, but also

illegal, and he said the answer to America first would be Europe united. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, we've heard so far pretty tough response from Europe -- a united Europe. We are waiting to hear the details of any tit-for-tat

retaliatory tariffs from Europe targeting the United States. The E.U. say it wants to avoid a trade war, but if there is an all-out trade war, could

it hurt Germany the most?

SHUBERT: Well, Germany certainly has a lot to stand from this, particularly if not only is there a tariff on steel, and aluminum, but also

on Germany's luxury -- Germany's luxury cars. This is something that President Trump specifically has said he wants to target.

In fact, he sent out an investigation, seeing whether it would be good to target luxury cars on the basis of national security -- of protecting U.S.

National Security, so for makers of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, which has Rolls- Royce, for example, or even Volkswagen, which has Bentley, Porsche, and Audi, this could have a tremendous impact on them.

But you know, all these car manufacturers are quick to point out that even though they export a lot of cars to the U.S., in fact, last year, it was

about 500,000 cars, they make even more cars inside the United States.

So they say, look, these kinds of tariffs are going to be bad for everybody, especially an escalating trade war. We're contributing to the

U.S. economy. We shouldn't be labeled as the bad guys.

LU STOUT: And we're waiting to hear from the European commission, its response to the Trump tariffs, that's due to take place any moment now.

We're going to be monitoring that. Atika Shubert reporting live from Berlin, thank you so much. We'll talk to you again soon.

And now to Spain where a new prime minister has taken power in historic vote. Socialist party leader Pedro Sanchez won the endorsement of the

country's parliament after defeating the sitting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a motion of no confidence.

[08:05:02] Now this is the first time that has happened in Spain's modern democratic history. Earlier, Mr. Rajoy was given a farewell from

parliament by his supporters.

His party has been plague by corruption allegations for years. Let's get more on this developing story. Nina dos Santos joins us from London.

And, Nina, Pedro Sanchez, leader of the central of Socialist, he is the new Prime Minister of Spain. How is he going to rise to the challenge of

leading the country?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's a very good question considering, Kristie, he's only got 84 seats of the 350 seats from

parliament. So, he's going to have to rely on some fringe and Separatist parties, particularly the Catalonian parties, as well as the party from the

Basque Region, too.

Just as he had to rely on them to try, and make up the numbers to get this motion of no confidence through, as you quite rightfully pointed out, it is

significant. It's not the first time Rajoy has faced a motion of no confidence though.

There was a vote of no confidence against him back in 2017, but he survived that one. Now, obviously, he's had to bid goodbye to the prime

ministership. He had been prime minister of Spain for seven years.

He'd seen Spain through some really tough economic times, but it really was the failure to stamp out corruption in his party that ended up being his

undoing.

About a week or so ago, the former treasurer of his popular party was sentenced to 33 years in jail on charges of fraud, and Rajoy had given

evidence as part of that case. And that, Pedro Sanchez said, was enough to table this motion of no confidence against him, one which passed with 180

votes. It only needed about 176. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Mariano Rajoy, as you mentioned, it was that scandal, the allegations of illegal party funding that brought him, and his party down.

Now that he has been forced out, is Rajoy going to be forced to confront those allegations, and to answer questions about what happened?

DOS SANTOS: Well, we'll have to see from here. As you pointed out in your introduction, Kristie, you know, corruption allegations surrounding this

party, and the other big parties in Spain has been part for the course, really, for Spaniards.

And that's helped to push them towards some of the new upstart movements like, for instance, the Leftist Podemos Movement, which translates

literally as, We Can. Also, the Citizens' Movement on the other side of the aisle which was actually the only party that didn't really want to see

this motion of no confidence go through.

Instead, it wanted snap elections. That brings up to less about Rajoy, but the future of Sanchez. He said he's going to be calling elections at some

point, but he hasn't said when.

And as I pointed out, he has such a slim position inside the parliament at the moment, he really will have to rely on some of the other parties to

try, and get any bills through parliament until he gets a stronger mandate by going to the polls.

That means he's probably going to have to stick to the plan that Rajoy had already in place. He said he's going to stick to the budget that was

passed by Rajoy previously as well as socio and economic reforms, too. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Nina dos Santos reporting live for us. Thank you, Nina. Now, the European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom is speaking. She

is responding to those heavy tariffs that Trump has decided to place on metals effecting, of course, the E.U., its biggest trading partner,

arguably. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CECILIA MALMSTROM, EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR TRADE: We have spent a lot of time, numerous talks via different channels, to try to present rather a

positive agenda, a positive transatlantic trade agenda as friends and allies.

And you have seen the conclusions from the Sofia Summit only a week ago with the heads of states where they unanimously articulated the elements of

such a positive trade agenda, and I remind you that that could include voluntary regulatory cooperation on certain areas, whether it's mutual

benefit for us to cooperate.

It could include cooperation on energy, notably the gas. It could include cooperation to reform, and work to strengthen the WTO, including to unblock

the very unfortunate situation of the blocking of the appellate body arbitrators.

And it could include discussion towards how to achieve a smaller agreement, focused on tariffs on industrial goods, on both sides, that would be

mutually beneficial, and where we will discuss industrial goods, and also public procurement.

So, we had this numerous talks, and we have also explained from the European Union' side that we think that the core reason for the concerns

that the U.S. have on steel and aluminums is not the European Union. We are not the cause of this.

We have also suffered from the overcapacity from the dumping that is mainly caused by China. And we have a positive agenda here as well. We have also

explained to our American counterparts what we have done in order to counter the dumping, and the overcapacity from China with our anti-dumping

measures, with reforming our trade defense instruments, et cetera.

[08:10:12] The U.S. were not ready to engage on these premises. They tried to push us to make concessions before we knew what would happen with this

to limit trade, and our exports on a voluntary, or on a quota basis. This is not the way the European Union is negotiating. So here we are. We have

tariffs.

They were also imposed this morning on Canada, and on Mexico. We have been very clear about the consequences of doing this. The European Union will

today send a request for consultations, and later a panel to the WTO.

Other countries will as well, maybe not today, but in the coming days. We have started the preparation for the so-called rebalancing measures. We

will do that on a proportionate and a measured way in a couple of weeks.

The deadline for this is the 20th of June as announced in the official journal, so we have started the preparation. We will of course consult

with other states in the coming days, and our safeguarding investigations, and the pre-surveillance on the market of steel and aluminum in Europe to

see whether there is steel, and aluminum entering here that should -- that is intended to the American market.

We are determined to protect the multilateral system, the WTO is not perfect, but we have constructed this together with our American partners,

and we are expecting everybody to play by the rules. At the same time, a bit paradoxically, we also have a parallel cooperation with the U.S. and

Japan on the issues of overcapacity on forced technology transfer, et cetera.

Japan and U.S., we met with Secretary Lighthizer, the USTR, and the minister secretary from Japan to discuss how we can enforce the rules in

the WTO, and also cooperate, see if we need to develop new rules because, of course, WTO needs to change all the time.

And we had long meeting yesterday in Paris. Because we believe in the system, and we are ready to reinforce the system, but also to bring those

responsible who break the rules, and that is why we also today decided to launch legal proceedings in the WTO against China.

This concerns the Chinese legislation that undermines intellectual property rights of European companies. There's been a long concern for our

companies and our business. Because when they come to China, they are forced to grant ownership or usage rights of the technology to Chinese

entities.

And as you know, technological innovation, know-how is the bedrock of a knowledge based economy, keys the company competitive, and the over market,

and need to supports hundreds and thousands of jobs across the European Union.

So we cannot let any country force our companies to simply give away this knowledge outside when you enter a border. And this is also something that

goes against the rules of the WTO. So if players in the world do not stick to the rule book, the system might collapse, and that is why we are

challenging today both the U.S. and china at the WTO, and it demonstrates that we are not choosing any sides.

We stand for the multilateral system for a rule-based global trade. And this is also shows our determination to deal with the root causes of the

current tensions in the trading system, but we need to do that within the rule-based system, and its remedies in its full potential. I think that

summarizes the picture. If you have any questions, I'm ready to take them now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sure there will be quite a few. If I just might say that a press release was just issued on this WTO case on China that the

commissioner just mentioned, and now we'll open the floor for your questions. I'll start with Joanna. You need to identify yourself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible). Commissioner, yesterday Secretary Ross said that he was hoping to continue negotiations with the E.U., Canada, and

Mexico, so the question is whether you are ready to get back to the negotiating table, and further discuss the tariffs or other issues.

And one more question, if I may. After all this hours of talks with top U.S. officials, can you tell us what we can expect next, in particular in

regards to the -- to another threat, which is the tariffs on the E.U. car imports/exports to the U.S. Thank you.

MALMSTROM: Thank you. Well, as far as I am informed, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. have been engaged for quite some time now to modernize the NAFTA

negotiations.

[08:15:04] And this comes in the middle of those discussions. How that affects those negotiations is for those partners to respond, but you saw

the very strong reactions both from Mexico, and from the Canadian Prime Minister yesterday on the -- on these tariffs that were also imposed on

them.

When it comes -- talks about going back to the negotiating table, we were not at the negotiating table. Our offer was that you take this away from

us, we sit together as friends, and equals, and discuss eventually this could lead to negotiation.

This would, of course, require a mandate from the member states. So, we never got this. And now that door for the moment is closed. As I said, we

are cooperating in other -- in parallel strand with USGR, which is Ambassador Lighthizer on the overcapacity issues, and some other WTO-

related matters. And that's where we are. So, we are not going to enter into any negotiations. On the -- sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cars?

MALMSTROM: On cars -- yes, on the car issue, yes, we follow this with a lot of anxiety, of course. This is something that if they were to be

imposed, that would create enormous damage, not only to the European economy, also to the U.S., and to many others.

We issued -- I issued yesterday, and I think that is available as well, a joint press statement with Minister Seko from Japan, also important car

producers as you know, on this. There has also...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Quote, protectionism can never be a solution, unquote. You've been listening to the European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom

responding to the Trump tariffs on E.U. metals, namely steel and aluminum.

She said, quote, we will now trigger, a dispute settlement case at the WTO since the U.S. measures on steel and aluminum clearly go against

international rules, unquote.

Now, Malmstrom also adding that the E.U. has been making preparations to rebalance trade. Now let's get more now from our own John Defterios. And,

John, I know you have been listening into this press conference. Your response to the measures announced just now by the European Trade

Commissioner.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well I have to say, Kristie, I thank this is a level-headed response from the European Union, and the Trade

Commissioner Ms. Malmstrom. Well, they have two weeks to impose tariffs.

We were expecting them to go ahead and announce something that's been drafted for a long, long time to counterbalance the 7.5 billion of tariffs

put on aluminum and steel products that President Trump instituted last night, not only again the Europe Union, but Canada and Mexico at the same

time.

This is a 12-page, exhaustive list from the European Union, but they decided not to act with haste, but this list is not a surprise, and

includes whiskey products from the United States, orange juice, blue jeans, cigarettes, cigars, a number of household appliances, and ironically, yes,

steel products from the United States going into the European Union.

But if you read between the lines here, there's a couple of important points to suggest, Ms. Malstrom introduced the challenges they too have

with China. As we know, President Trump has put on $50 billion worth of tariffs on China.

The European Union has suggests we have the problem of global dumping of Chinese steel on to the market that's affecting Europe at the same time.

They have a like-minded challenge with intellectual property rights as she referred to as IPR.

And this is the intellectual property rights of particularly when it comes to financial service, and especially technology. But the difference

between the United States here, and I think this is worth underscoring during the analysis is that the European Union is suggesting we're not

going to rush to put on the tariffs.

And number two, we will operate within the World Trade Organization. As a candidate, President Trump hastily went after the World Trade Organization,

suggesting, look, we're not going to negotiate right now.

We'll have a response by June 20th, but we're going to abide by the multilateral apparatus that was set up after World War II. My final point

here is that President Trump is using the argument of national security.

There's an obscure law that dates back to 1962 that he's leaning on here, suggesting that it's very important for the U.S. to be a manufacturer of

steel and aluminum, where it gets very complicated, and the question was raised right at the end here.

And she said it's alarming, you know, the potential tariffs on European Union cars, particularly German cars. There's over 1 million exported to

the United States, but ironically, 850,000 European cars are produced to the United States, employing 110,000 Americans.

So where does President Trump draw the line going forward. It's a huge question mark, but the headline is European Union's not rushing to

judgment. They'll have a response, but not negotiating until they put that response on the table.

LU STOUT: Yes, a very metric response from the European Trade Commission, as you mentioned just now, those potential moves to rebalance trade that's

still on the table.

[08:20:00] John Defterios reporting live for us from CNN London, thank you so much. You're watching News Stream.

DEFTERIOS: Thanks.

LU STOUT: We'll be back right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is News Stream. Now, U.S. President Donald Trump is expecting a very important

delivery. North Korea's ex-spy chief is now heading to Washington with a letter from his country's leader.

Kim Yong-chol has been leaving his New York hotel early on Friday after two days of talks with the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. There's still

no confirmation that a summit between Trump and Kim Jong-un will happen in Singapore later this month, but Mike Pompeo sounded optimistic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The conditions are putting President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un a place where we think there could be real

progress made by the two of them meeting. It does no good if we're in a place where we don't think there's real opportunity to place them together.

We have made real progress towards that in the last 72 hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: North Korea has also been talking with Russia. Kim Jong-un hosted the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday. And North

Korean state media reports that they agree that the leaders of the two nations should meet this year.

That meeting would mark 70 years of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Russia. Now Nic Robertson joins me from Seoul with more. And,

Nic, let's focus on Kim Yong-chol because now we know he's left New York. He is on his way to Washington with that letter in hand. What is the White

House hoping to get out of this meeting with him?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, one thing would be to get a greater degree of certainty, and presumably that may or may not come in the

content of this letter that North Korea is ready to make some of the changes.

And while Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, you know, said that progress had been made in the 72 -- past 72 hours, he also said that he wasn't sure

that that summit could go ahead, and he also sort of described the United States' understanding of where North Korea's leadership at the moment is,

is in a belief that the United States thinks that they are ready to make a shift in their strategic direction, but he isn't certain about that.

So, this letter may add to the certainty of the direction, or the understanding that North Korea is prepared to do something with its nuclear

weapons, and ballistic missile systems that so trouble the international community, so trouble South Korea, so trouble the United States.

So, you know, I think while Mike Pompeo and President Trump as well have been sort of talking this up, President Trump yesterday said the talks had

been going well, the reality is that the space, and time for talks has been massively condensed way shorter than normal diplomacy.

[08:25:00] There are bumps -- significant bumps left in the road, and it's still not clear that they can get to this summit. By the way, it does very

much feel at the moment as if it is President Trump's intent to get to it, and hold it on the 12th in Singapore.

LU STOUT: Yes, I mean, despite the optimism conveyed by Mike Pompeo, there's still so much uncertainty. I also want to get your thought on the

optics of what's happening in America.

And we have, effectively, a sanctioned North Korean spy -- spy chief, sharing a meal, raising a glass with the U.S. Secretary of State in New

York City. We may very well see him in the Oval Office. Is this visit itself a coup for Pyongyang?

ROBERTSON: Well, to be able to had deliver the letter, that's significant. It was necessary for Kim Yong-chol to get a special waiver to allow him to

go to Washington.

He went to New York because being on the sanction that sort of limit the dispensation that he could get to travel to the United States allowed him

to go within a certain sort of distance from the United Nations, 25 miles circumference circle in New York, so in a way this represents something of

an achievement for North Korea.

But you know, when we talk about Kim Yong-chol as being North Korea's spy chief, I mean, it's worth sort of just remembering a couple of weeks back

when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a visit to Pyongyang and met with Kim Jong-un there several weeks earlier, he'd made the same trip to

Pyongyang.

And met with Kim Jong-un, and of course he was the United States spy chief at that time, albeit not under sanction in North Korea, but he was the spy

chief, the head of the CIA. So there's some reciprocity here, you could argue, and who knows what those discussions have been looking like,

sounding behind the -- behind the scenes there.

LU STOUT: Yes, good point, and I also got to ask you, I mean, just getting there to June 12th. It is going to be so tough. I mean, these overhanging

issues, and they're big issues, denuclearization, security guarantees from North Korea, they remain unresolved. Do these sides -- both sides somehow

manage to -- do they need to resolve these issues before we can actually see this summit take place in Singapore?

ROBERTSON: I think we've had several things happening here. You know, the past couple of comments by President Trump, the past couple of comments by

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have indicated that this could be a phase process, that there could be several meetings.

Potentially, are we looking at a summit where they meet, they get in a room, that they agree that there is scope to move this forward, and they

both, you know, give their officials the green light to go ahead, and begin to try to make some of these compromises.

Is that what we're looking at? We're certainly not looking at some big one-time agreement in Singapore on July 12th. I think -- think that is

clear. But I also get a sense, and this is certainly the language coming from the White House, coming from the secretary -- U.S. Secretary of State

as well, that this requires bold move by Kim Jong-un.

This requires, you know, taking a significant step, so the message from the United States is still very clear that onus is absolutely -- from their

perspective, it's absolutely on North Korea here to make those substantial steps.

Both sides are a part on this issue of what does denuclearization mean for the -- for North Korea, it means denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,

which means, you know, the sort of umbrella of nuclear cover that the United States provides allies in this region over the Korean Peninsula, the

United States comprehensive verifiable irreversible denuclearization for North Korea.

That's huge, that means inspections, that means that potentially the presence of the National Atomic Energy Agency, this means, you know,

outsiders coming into North Korea to delve into what they're doing now, and what they've done in the past. That's the kind of intrusion that North

Korea has balked at in the past.

LU STOUT: Got it. And at the immediate moment, we're keeping our eyes on that very special delivery, that letter from Kim Jong-un being hand

delivered to the U.S. President in the White House, and we'll be going live to Will Ripley on that in just a moment. But Nic Robertson, thank you as

always for your reporting, your analysis there in Seoul. Take care.

Now, the U.S. jobs report, you know, for the month of May, that is about to be released., the U.S. economy has added jobs every month for seven and a

half years. Is it going to do it again? And how is Donald Trump going to react? Find out right here on News Stream.

[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.

The European Union trade commissioner says the block (ph) is preparing punitive tariffs against the U.S. to come into force June the 20th. This

after Donald Trump imposed hefty steel and aluminum tariffs on imports from some of America's biggest trading partners. The E.U.'s list of goods

includes steel, orange juice, and bourbon. The E.U. is also filing a complaint to the WTO over the Trump administration's tariffs.

Socialist party leader Pedro Sanchez is the new prime minister of Spain after Mariano Rajoy lost a no confidence vote. He is the first leader in

Spain's democracy to lose such a vote in parliament. One hundred eighty of the chambers, 350 lawmakers voted to ousts Rajoy who's party has faced

allegations of corruption.

Donald Trump has hinted that he could be ready to pardon or commute the sentences of two contestants on his former reality show, "The Apprentice."

Martha Stewart spent five months in prison for obstructing justice over a decade ago.

And former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich is currently serving a 14-year sentence for corruption. On Thursday, Mr. Trump pardoned conservative

author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza who was in prison over campaign finance violations.

North Korea's former spy chief is on his way to hand-deliver a letter from his leader, Kim Jong-un, to U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington. It

is still unclear if the planned summit is going ahead but U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says his meetings with the North Koreans are moving in

the right direction.

This letter from Mr. Kim comes just days after Mr. Trump canceled the June 12th meeting with this letter of his own. In fact, there's been a whole

series of letters between North Korea and other nations during this whole diplomatic process.

Let's take a closer look at that with Will Ripley. He has covered the recent talks extensively. He has reported several times from inside North

Korea. He joins us now live from Singapore. Will, good to see you. Thank you for joining us.

We got to talk about these letters because we have these letters being hand delivered in this drawn out, lengthy process. It seems so Jane Austen. Why

is this 18th century form of diplomacy, back and forth writing, why is it taking place today with North Korea?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you need to understand the significance of an official letter in North Korean culture. I have been

in North Korea. We have presented a letter to a representative of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.

And just to handover the letter, you dressed up in a suit. There is a formal ceremony. You meet in a special room. The letter is usually in some

sort of a leather binder because there is no higher form of communication for North Koreans than writing a letter to someone.

And that is why it is so significant that Kim Jong-un is sending this letter through his spy chief to President Trump. That is the highest, most

respectful way that you can communicate to somebody if you're North Korean. And there have been a number of incidents over the last year.

[08:34:56] I think we built a graphic starting back in February when Kim Yo-jong, the sister of the leader, presented a letter to South Korea's

president, Moon Jae-in. Then one month later, President Moon sent a letter to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. Again, a very formal process of

communication but a lot of significance when you send someone a letter.

Then of course just last week, President Trump wrote that letter that you mentioned, calling off the summit here in Singapore that was scheduled for

June 12th and may still happen. We have no confirmation of that.

I will say that President Trump's letter in many ways struck the right tone. It was respectful. It was cordial. It did call off the summit but it

also allowed an opening for the North Koreans to respond and they did favorably, the very next morning, hoping to continue to engage, saying that

they're willing to sit down and talk with the U.S. at any time.

And now that brings us to today. Who knows what the contents of the letter that President Trump will be receiving are. Perhaps the White House will

release it, perhaps it won't. But it really is a historic and significant moment and it shows how far we've come really in communications between the

United States and North Korea, Kristie.

LU STOUT: The letter, so anachronistic in this day and age, but so laden with meaning for the North Koreans. Will Ripley reporting for us live.

Appreciate that. Thank you.

Now, this just into us here at CNN. U.S. jobs report for May just released and unemployment has edged down, just 3.8 percent. The U.S. economy added

223,000 jobs last month. In fact, the economy has added jobs for every month for seven and a half years. That's the longest streak on record.

However, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been warning that, you know, on the back of these Trump tariffs, more than two million American jobs are in

jeopardy because of Trump's tariff plans.

Joining me now from London with more on this is Florian Hense, European economist at Berenberg Bank. Thank you so much for joining us here in the

program. The U.S. jobs report is out. Your thoughts on the numbers?

FLORIAN HENSE, EUROPEAN ECONOMIST, BERENBERG BANK: Well, it's a pretty remarkable report. I mean, any number sort of beyond the sort of 100,000 at

this stage of the cycle is remarkable. Now, we go about to 223,000 unemployment, as you said, dropping to a multi-decade year low. So, I mean,

it shows you that the labor market in the U.S. is in exceptional condition.

LU STOUT: Yeah, this is a remarkable number.

HENSE: Yeah.

LU STOUT: Yeah, the lowest level since 1969, a major milestone in recovery from what 10 percent unemployment. That was the figure back in 2009. We're

showing our viewers images of Donald Trump right now because the question I want to ask you is, how much credit should we give to him? How much credit

is due to Donald Trump and his administration for this incredible jobs growth picture for America?

HENSE: Well, partly, you see global upswing across the whole world. I mean, Q1 was sort of a soft patch and the trade tensions stoked by

President Trump have probably produced some slightly disappointing data across the globe apart from the U.S.

And the U.S. is benefiting from tax reform that President Trump pushed and also sort of from a deregulation agenda which has definitely pushed some

companies to raise their hiring. And so partly, this can be accredited to him. But obviously, we've come a long

way from the financial crisis, and we are just sort of a year in -- a year and a half with the Trump administration.

LU STOUT: Yeah, let's factor in the Trump tariffs because, you know, of coursed as you know, Canada, E.U., Mexico all plan to retaliate. At the top

of the hour, we heard from the E.U. trade commissioner who says, she is going to put matters to the WTO.

But Europe is already lining up, tit for tat, punitive tariffs to hit everything from American orange juice to bourbon. I mean, could that

retaliation, could that put a big dent in the U.S. jobs growth picture going forward?

HENSE: No, not yet. I mean, the direct impact from any tariffs from the U.S. to the E.U. or the other way around, so far, are pretty tiny, even if,

for example, the U.S. would impose tariffs on kind exports to the U.S. But obviously, you've got the indirect impact which is sort of uncertainty.

And businesses may be stalling some of their investment and spending decisions. And so far, that seems to have an effect on Europe, not so much

on the U.S., which is benefiting from this sort of pick up in fiscal spending.

But obviously the question is, are we heading into sort of a different trading regime, which would have severe effects on GDP, not just in the

short-term but obviously over the long-term?

LU STOUT: Florian Hense of Berenberg Bank, thank you so much for joining me on the program. Take care. Now, it is the end of a tech era for

photographers. Canon is saying good-bye to its very last film camera. More on that, next.

[08:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: It is Friday night here in Hong Kong. Welcome back. You're watching "News Stream." now, there is no escaping the numbers. Facebook is

increasingly a site for grown-ups. A Pew study reveals teenagers in the United States appear to be abandoning Facebook in droves.

Only about 51 percent of American teens use the site now. That's down 20 percent from 2015. So where are they going? Well, not surprisingly, they

seem to have been moving to YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat.

And speaking of old tech, Canon is finally ending sales of its last film camera and fully embracing the digital camera life. Canon actually stopped

making the EOS-1v about eight years ago but it still sold the remaining units.

This marks the end of an era for the famous camera company and if you are a film photo enthusiast, if you still own EOS-1v, don't worry. Canon says it

will still repair your relic until the year 2025.

Now, a 14-year-old from the USA of Texas has won the Scripps U.S. National Spelling Bee after 18 rounds of competition and here is the winning word.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARTHIK NEMMANI, SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE CHAMPION: Koinonia. K-O-I- N-O-N-I-A.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is correct.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations, Karthik. You are the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Look at that smile. Koinonia means Christian fellowship or communion. Karthik Nemmani's other prizes include $40,000 in cash,

encyclopedias, and a savings bond. This year's spelling bee had 516 competitors, the largest in its history.

That is it for "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere. We got "World Sport" with Christina Macfarlane coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

END