Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Tensions High at G7 Summit; Anthony Bourdain Dead at 61; Manafort and Associate Face New Charges; U.S.-North Korea Summit; China Hosting Summit of Major World Leaders; Warriors Sweep Cavaliers to Win Championship; Royal Family Celebrates Queen's Birthday. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired June 09, 2018 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When it all straightens out, we'll all be in love again.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The U.S. president confronts America's closest allies. But the smiles and handshakes of the G7 summit are cut short.
And from one summit to another. Mr. Trump will head to Singapore ahead of his historic meeting with the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un.
Plus here on CNN and around the world, we remember the life of the renowned chef and colleague, Anthony Bourdain, who brought the world together through food, through travel and through storytelling.
Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, we welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HOWELL: And we start this hour at 5:00 am here on the U.S. East Coast with the G7 summit in Canada.
It kicked off on Friday, despite growing animosity toward the U.S. president over the issue of trade. So far there have been no outward signs of hostility. Whether the seven Western allies can produce a joint statement as they normally do, that is still an open question.
Mr. Trump arrived late at the two-day meeting and he'll be leaving early. On Thursday, he'd been feuding publicly on Twitter with the Canadian prime minister and the French president. The tone on Friday, however, was much more civil.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The United States has had a trade deficit many years with the European Union and we're working it out and Emmanuel has been helpful in that regard and something will happen. I think it will be very positive.
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): I think on trade there is a critical path but there is a way to progress all together. We had a very direct and open discussion. And I saw the willingness on all the sides to find agreements and to have a win-win approach for our people, our workers and our middle classes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Shortly before he arrived at the summit, Mr. Trump caused another uproar when he openly suggested that Russia should be readmitted to the group, making no mention of why Russia was kicked out in the first place.
Our Boris Sanchez picks it up from here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump arriving in Quebec for the G7 summit, a summit that sources indicate that he was hesitant to attend. Though the president greeted his counterparts with smiles and handshakes, he is fighting public battles with some of the United States' closest allies over trade, the Iran nuclear deal, climate change and now Russia, after Trump suggested Vladimir Putin should have a seat at the table in the group of seven.
TRUMP: Russia should be in this meeting.
Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting?
And I would recommend and it's up to them. But Russia should be in the meeting. It should be a part of it.
You know, whether you like it or not and it may not be politically correct but we have a world to run. And in the G7, which used to be the G8, they threw Russia out, they should let Russia come back in, because we should have Russia at the negotiating table.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Other G7 leaders disagreed, including British prime minister Theresa May, telling reporters, quote, "Let's remember why the G8 became the G7. And before discussions could begin on any of this, we would have to ensure Russia is amending its ways and taking a different route."
Some within the president's own party also dismissed the idea, Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse writing, quote, "This is weak. Putin is not our friend and he is not the president's buddy. He's a thug, using Soviet-style aggression to wage a shadow war against America. And our leaders should act like it."
Another sore spot: trade tariffs. After exchange barbs on Twitter with French president Emmanuel Macron and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, Trump touted his ability to strike a deal.
TRUMP: It's what I do, it won't even be hard and, in the end, we'll all get along. But they understand and they're trying to act like, well, we fought with you in the war.
They don't mention the fact that they have trade barriers against our farmers. They don't mention the fact that they're charging almost 300 percent tariffs. When it all straightens out, we'll all be in love again.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Macron initially suggested Trump may force the other six G7 countries to sign an agreement without the United States. Though he later posted a video of a private chat with Trump, writing, quote, "Dialogue again and again. Exchange try to convince constantly to defend the interests of the French and also of all those who believe the world --
[05:05:00]
SANCHEZ: -- "is built only together with the U.S. president before the opening of the G7." -- Boris Sanchez, CNN, Quebec, Canada.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Boris Sanchez, thank you.
Let's now bring in Inderjeet Parmar, who teaches international politics at City University of London, live for us in our London bureau.
A pleasure to have you with us today.
First, we're hearing from Senator John McCain on this Russia thing. Here's what he had to say.
Quote, "Vladimir Putin chose to make Russia unworthy of membership in the G8 by invading Ukraine and annexing Crimea. Russia is assaulting democratic institutions all over the world."
That's from Senator McCain. Keeping in mind so this came out of the blue really from the U.S. president at the G7.
Or, Inderjeet, did it, when you consider Trump world's curious connections with that country?
INDERJEET PARMAR, CITY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: Well, it's difficult to know what the motivation of Donald Trump might be in suggesting that Russia return to become part of the G8.
But on the other hand, there are inconsistencies in the ones who are opposing what Donald Trump has said. Russia's not the first country, if you like, to violate somebody else's borders or engage in regime change abroad. Several other G7 countries have done that themselves.
And I think, in the broader picture, Russia is a great power and it is better, as with any so-called official enemies, for example, North Korea, it is probably better to extend a hand of dialogue as well. But I suspect that Trump is playing some politics here to show he can be a disruptive force within the group of G7 as well. HOWELL: President Trump did arrive late to the summit, missing his meeting with the French president, though the two did speak later, Emmanuel Macron offering a positive statement, saying that progress was made.
And then there was this friendly exchange with the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, about trade. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Justin has agreed to cut all tariffs and all trade barriers between Canada and the United States. So I'm very happy.
I'd say NAFTA is in good shape.
We are actually working on it. We are actually working on it. But our relationship is very good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: All right, joking aside there, this face-to-face we saw between these two leaders very different than the Twitter barbs we've seen play out before the summit.
Inderjeet, is the relationship truly in good shape, as they say, or can common ground be found here?
PARMER: I think there's two things. One is there are clear, very, very serious frictions between the Europeans and the United States. I think the United States sees a changing world and there are new powers.
And even the old allies, if you like, are having much more -- trying to use the opportunities of a changing world, in the Middle East, in Asia, with regard to China, in Africa and elsewhere.
And that is actually challenging, if you like, the global market, in which the United States is very powerful. So I think what Donald Trump is trying to do at that global level is trying to reassert American power, particularly economically.
And those tariffs that he's talking about, in effect, are part of what he's trying to do. He's sort of laying down the law economically. And that also plays well to his domestic base.
But if you like in the bigger picture, the levels of interdependence between the United States and Europe also suggest why they're so friendly in the immediate run-up to the G7 meetings. That is to say, although they have frictions, they also have a great deal of interdependence.
I think in the longer run, there's a loosening of the whole system going on. It's not just the United States which is reasserting its authority. I think Germany and France are doing the same.
Britain, as you know, is trying to Brexit the European Union and reassert itself as global Britain. China has a Chinese dream to reassert its power. So I think there's a loosening of a world order.
And I think what the U.S. is trying to do is make sure it remains predominant within that emerging world order, trying to discipline some of the other powers.
HOWELL: Inderjeet Parmar, we'll, of course, see how things come together as the president leaves one summit for another. Thank you for your time.
PARMER: Thank you.
HOWELL: Now to a story that is truly difficult to cover. It is the death of our colleague here at CNN, Anthony Bourdain. Tributes have been pouring in from around the world. This after the news Friday that Bourdain took his own life.
In New York, fans have been leaving flowers and notes outside the French restaurant where Bourdain once worked as a chef. Many, many other people from all walks of life have been posting tributes on social media, reflecting on his remarkable life as a chef, as a modern day explorer --
[05:10:00]
HOWELL: -- and as host of CNN's "PARTS UNKNOWN."
Bourdain's girlfriend, Asia Argento, tweeted this, "Anthony gave all of himself in everything that he did. His brilliant, fearless spirit touched and inspired so many and his generosity knew no bounds.
"He was my love, my rock, my protector. I am beyond devastated. My thoughts are with his family. I would ask that you respect their privacy and mine."
Millions of people followed Bourdain's career and he made many friends along the way. One of them was Chef Andrew Zimmern, who spoke with CNN earlier. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW ZIMMERN, CHEF: I think what's given me just enough of a wrinkle of hope and positivity on the day is seeing the incredible impact that he's had on our planet, although then 30 seconds later, I realize it's probably why I miss him even more and I feel we got shortchanged.
At first I thought it was the sickest joke that had ever been played until I started to see, you know, that there were 40 messages on my phone memos. And I realized, oh, my God, this isn't a joke.
And I read the -- I opened the first one; I forget who it was from. And I swung my knees over the edge of my bed. And I always do a little morning spiritual check-in and I just started crying. It was -- it was so, so sad.
For anyone who's played team sports or worked in a kitchen or worked on a TV crew or anything, where you have that camaraderie and that esprit de corps that's necessary to be successful, they can certainly relate to that.
But Tony was one of the most important cultural interpreters of our time. The idea that any human being, let alone someone you care about who's your friend, who's been there for you, Tony was always there for me whenever I wanted to talk about struggles in my own life and was always far more interested in other people or in news of the day than he was in talking about himself.
But I would, you know, the idea that we go to bed at night, night after night after night, in so much pain until finally that's the only solution that comes to mind, to think of a friend or a loved one in that situation is just -- it's agonizing me right now.
And my heart is breaking for, you know, the people who loved him, you know, his girlfriend, his wives, his daughter, who -- you know, I have relationships with many of those people. And it's a very sad day for all of us.
In the professional culinary world, in the world of television and storytelling, where I come from, and for his fans all over the world, Tony understood the transformative power of travel as well as anyone. He almost, you know, created the idea himself, you know, as Americans especially, we devour other cultures with our mouths first.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: That's well said.
ZIMMERN: We take in and understand and accept other cultures through food, which is why Tony starts with food, which is why I start with food. But what's much more important than food -- and Tony knew this better than anyone -- are people and their stories.
CUOMO: Absolutely.
ZIMMERN: And things that you can learn on the road that transform you. And then you hope, bit by bit, to import a little bit of that back into your day-to-day life once you get back home, the things you learn on the road. We're better versions of ourselves on the road. And I think Tony loved the version of himself that was on the road.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Anthony Bourdain was surely a personal inspiration to me. It was a style, it was his energy, it was his authenticity that made him such an incredible storyteller and a remarkable man. Alex Marquardt has more on his life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CNN HOST: To me, one of life's great joys is cheese.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Anthony Bourdain, the recipe for understanding people, understanding cultures around the world and creating a hit TV show couldn't be more straightforward.
BOURDAIN: We ask very simple questions.
What makes you happy, what do you eat, what do you like to cook?
And everywhere in the world we go and ask these very simple questions, we tend to get some really astonishing answers.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): Bourdain was found dead Friday morning by a friend in a hotel room in France, where he was filming for his award- winning CNN show, "PARTS UNKNOWN." The cause of his death was suicide.
Bourdain started working in kitchens at a young age and would become a celebrity chef and author as he made his way into television. The Smithsonian called him the original rock star of the culinary world, the Elvis of bad boy chefs.
It was his way with words, his irreverence, curiosity, ease and warmth that fueled his massive following. Bourdain didn't shy away from talking about past demons, heavy drug use that included an addiction to heroin as well as cocaine use. So bad, he said, he should have --
[05:15:00]
MARQUARDT (voice-over): -- died in his 20s but instead lived what he called a charmed life.
BOURDAIN: Massachusetts is quite small-town America.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): He addressed his past head-on while highlighting the opioid epidemic in Massachusetts in an episode of his show.
BOURDAIN: I thought I'd start the show by returning to Provincetown, all the way out on the tip of Cape Cod, which is where, at age 17, I started washing dishes and started working in the restaurant business and as a summer job and began my sort of trajectory into both the restaurant business and into drugs.
Somebody who wakes up in the morning and their first order of business is get heroin, I know what that's like.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): Bourdain came to CNN in 2013, bringing his show to a global audience. Throughout his TV career, he won award after award.
BOURDAIN: First order of business, dinner.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): It was the food that lured people in. But viewers knew it was about so much more.
BOURDAIN: Incredible.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): Quickly finding themselves immersed in an experience that focused on people, exotic places and faiths from around the world. He insisted he wasn't a journalist but over the years forged a unique style of storytelling that was unmatched -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: The man was one hell of a journalist. Let's bring in our Jim Bittermann, following the story across from the hotel where Bourdain was found dead.
What more can you tell us about what people are saying, Jim?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: George, in fact, here his reputation is not as great as it was in the United States in the French-speaking world. Even though his grandparents were French, he spent his last night in this hotel, where Chef Ripert, who was one of the co-chefs on the program he was producing, found his body yesterday morning.
The medical examiner came through here. And as far as the judicial investigation is concerned, it's just about over. Police are still waiting for the results of one blood test but, in fact, the medical examiner has already classified this a suicide. And as far as they're concerned, the case is pretty much closed.
No one here at this hotel, the Michelin Center chef Olivier Nasti is the owner of this place, no one, including Chef Nasti wanted to say anything about this, except that he did issue a statement a short while ago, saying, "Out of respect for the family and friends, my team and I want to preserve his memory in silence."
So that about Anthony Bourdain -- George.
HOWELL: Jim Bittermann, live for us, thank you so much for the report.
Tributes from around the world have been pouring in for Anthony Bourdain. And here are just a few of them.
His long-time production company tweeted this, "We want to express our deepest and most sincere sympathy to Tony's family. We will remember him for his immense talent and, more importantly, for his friendship. We've known and worked with Tony for decades. This loss we feel today is deep and extraordinarily profound. We miss him already."
The former U.S. President, Barack Obama, posted this. You'll remember this from "PARTS UNKNOWN," that meeting the two had there on that show.
"Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer. This is how I'll remember Tony. He taught us about food but, more importantly, about its ability to bring us together, to make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We'll miss him."
And the American astronaut Scott Kelly said this, "Just saw the sad news that Anthony Bourdain has died. I watched his show when I was in space. It made me feel more connected to the planet, its people and cultures and made my time there more palatable. He inspired me to see the world up close."
Since his passing, we've been asking you for your stories of how Anthony Bourdain touched your life. Thousands of people have offered heartfelt stories. You can read them and see them on cnn.com. We'll continue to update the site through the weekend so you can continue to see these responses.
And if anyone you know needs help, this is important. If it's a friend, a family member, a colleague, if it's you, please reach out to this website, the International Association for Suicide Prevention. There you can help get support. You can find people who will guide you to get help.
It doesn't matter where you are, anywhere around the world, any time of the day, you can go to iasp.info and click on help. We also have information on how you can make a difference on preventing suicide. That is on cnn.com/impact.
Of course, our deepest condolences here at CNN to Anthony Bourdain's family, to the many people around the world who loved him. He spent his life bridging cultural divides through food and he was followed by millions of people.
And as we head into break, listen as Anthony talks about some of his --
[05:20:00]
HOWELL: -- simple pleasures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOURDAIN: All of the things I need for happiness, low plastic stool, check; tiny little plastic table, check. Ooh, something delicious in a bowl, check.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HOWELL: President Trump's former campaign chair is hitting back after being slapped with more charges in the Russia probe. In a court filing, Paul Manafort and his attorneys say they're based on the thinnest of evidence. This as he and an associate face obstruction charges over alleged witness tampering. CNN's Sara Murray has more for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Paul Manafort and his business associate, a man with alleged ties to Russian intelligence, are facing new criminal charges after allegedly tampering with witnesses. According to court filings, the special counsel's team is charging
Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice, meaning they allegedly worked together to try to convince witnesses to commit perjury.
It's the first time Mueller is naming and bringing changes against Kilimnik, who lives in Moscow and assisted Manafort in his lobbing work for Ukrainian politicians. He's the 20th person to face charges in the Mueller investigation.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's team first raised the allegations of witness tampering in a court filing earlier this week. But Friday's move to bring charges ramps up the pressure on President Trump's former campaign chairman to cooperate in Mueller's probe.
Under house arrest for more than seven months, Manafort recently got a glimmer of hope that Mueller's team might be amenable to allowing him to be released on bail. But in a sudden shift, prosecutors unveiled the alleged witness tampering and requested he be sent back to jail to await trial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a little bit of the dangling of the carrot to say, OK, we're finally in agreement on bail and now we may yank it back from you. So that adds to the pressure.
MURRAY (voice-over): Earlier this year, Manafort was slapped with additional charges by Mueller's team in February. And his long-time business partner, Rick Gates, struck a plea deal and agreed to cooperate with Mueller's team.
After that, prosecutors say Manafort and Kilimnik began reaching out to witnesses to try to influence their testimony. The obstruction of justice charges come on top of charges Manafort faces for failing to disclose his lobby work for a foreign government and --
[05:25:00]
MURRAY (voice-over): -- other crimes. He's currently awaiting two trials and has maintained his innocence. But if he's found guilty, the 69-year old could be sent to prison for the rest of his life.
Today, President Trump played coy about whether he'd be willing to issue a presidential pardon if a former associate like Manafort is convicted.
TRUMP: I haven't even thought. I haven't thought about any of it. It's certainly it's far too early to be thinking about that. They haven't been convicted of anything. There's nothing to pardon. It's far too early to be -- it is far too early to be thinking about it.
MURRAY (voice-over): Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: The historic summit between North Korea and the United States is just a few days away. We take a look at what's at stake and how Singapore is preparing for that very important meeting.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for being with us. I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you.
(HEADLINES)
[05:30:00]
HOWELL: The streets of Singapore are busy, as the United States and North Korea prepare to come together for this very important meeting. And crews are tightening security outside the St. Regis and the Shangri-la hotels. This is reportedly where Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un are to stay.
Mr. Trump says he hopes that the summit will be a friendly negotiation to lay the groundwork for North Korea to end its nuclear program. But if talks are difficult, the two could return to exchanging threats. Our Paula Hancocks has a front row seat to history, live in Singapore, again, which is the site of this summit.
Paula, how are things coming together in advance of this meeting and what's expected to come out of it?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George, clearly this is one of the biggest security operations that Singapore would ever have had to carry out. You have two leaders of nuclear powers meeting here, the first time the North Korean leader has met with a sitting U.S. president.
And clearly there is a lot of stake. We know around about 3,000 journalists have been accredited for this. We haven't gotten an exact figure of exactly how many security and police personnel will be involved. But you can imagine it will be immense.
And that Capella hotel on Sentosa Island, just about 3 kilometers away from where I am right now, will be completely closed off. This is the venue for that historic summit. But of course you can have all the preparations in the world, all the pomp and ceremony you like, what really matters at this point is what these two leaders are going to be talking about.
What we heard from the U.S. president Donald Trump over recent days is it will be more than a photo op; it is a process. But he's also said at the same time that he thinks it's more of a getting-to-know-you meeting.
So it's unclear at this point what exactly we can expect from any kind of a communique, a statement at the end of the day on Tuesday. We heard from the U.S. secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, saying it would be nice if there is some kind of written statement. But that, of course, depends on how these two men get on.
HOWELL: Anecdotally, I'm curious to get your perspective on this. We're talking about two of the world's most unpredictable leaders.
What is the sense, the mood there ahead of this summit?
HANCOCKS: Well, for people in Singapore themselves, I mean, some are taking advantage. Of course, as you can imagine, you've got every kind of summit-themed food and drink you can imagine in this area. The Trump and kimchi burgers, you've got the cocktails, the Kim and Trump cocktails, the bromance cocktails.
You have impersonators here of Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, the very same impersonators we saw at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
And then on the other side you have some people in Singapore who think it's bit of an irritation because they know there's going to be a shutdown of certain areas, some of the central areas as well, from the 10th to the 14th. We understand from authorities there'll be an enhanced security special event.
As you can imagine the immense security that follows these two men. And we heard from officials that this is one of the main concerns, when they were trying to sort out the logistics of this summit not just from the U.S. side but also from the North Korean side, to make sure that their leaders are completely secure.
We also heard it from the South Korean side, hearing directly from Kim Jong-un, he wanted to guarantee his security.
HOWELL: The Trump-Kim cocktail, very curious about how that's made. Thank you so much, Paula, we'll stay in touch with you.
Let's dig deeper on this now, this upcoming summit, with Graham Ong- Webb. Live in Singapore, Graham a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
It's good to have you here on the show this hour. I want to set the scene and get your thoughts. On one side, the dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-un; on the other the unpredictable President of the United States, Donald Trump.
In the background, nuclear weapons and in the middle of it all, this unlikely middleman, former pro basketball player, Dennis Rodman. That's where we are. Your thoughts.
GRAHAM ONG-WEBB, S. RAJARATNAM SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: This is one of the most interesting mixes we've seen in any kind of summitry in a long while. In fact, I'm not even sure there's any historical reference to relate to what's going to happen next week, just an interesting convergence of personalities.
You know, a former basketball player, a good buddy of Kim Jong-un. And then we have, as you say correctly, two extremely unpredictable, fluid and volatile heads of state coming together to meet in what is also an equally unpredictable meeting. The outcomes are not clear; the agenda itself is not clear.
[05:35:00]
ONG-WEBB: That's still a work in progress, if you believe it or not. From now until the 12th, no one has a clue as to what the exact agenda is going to be.
So it's still up for grabs, in a sense, and it all depends how these two individuals and other people who may accompany them are going to talk it out.
HOWELL: I'm curious to know your thoughts about the approach this president will take here. What we know of him is that he uses a transactional and binary approach to the G7. We see how that plays out as the America first approach.
And how will that play out here?
Because President Trump says it's a, you know, get-to-know-you meeting, optics are certainly important. But the big question many people want to know, what are the details and how does the president's style approach play into this?
ONG-WEBB: That's a good question, George. I think a binary approach for this issue, which is highly complicated, highly nuanced, lots of moving parts, is not going to work very well.
So if president Donald Trump insists with a binary approach, it's either black or white, this or that, either/or, then I think the summit may unfortunately be set up for failure. Because clearly there will have to be a lot of compromise on both sides in reaching some kind of common ground.
Mr. Kim Jong-un, one could guess, also approaches from a very transactional hard bargaining perspective. So I think a good business metaphor, the coming together of two CEOs, I think, would be a very useful metaphor to try to relate to what's going to happen next week.
Nevertheless, I think all sides will have to manage their expectations and to be patient. Small wins, I think, would be the way to go forward and have tons of patience and endurance in mapping out the next few steps and charting out the next few meetings. I think that's going to be essential.
So here in Singapore, at least from the way we are observing it, quite pragmatic about the outcomes, just getting the handshake going and getting the rapport, the camaraderie going, which is clearly not there to begin with because they haven't met yet, would be essential in injecting that necessary capital for the second or third or fourth meetings, which, presumably, we have to expect for these things to be really resolved.
HOWELL: From the U.S. perspective, it's all about the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. That's what has to be achieved and whether it takes two, three, four meetings still unclear.
But here's the question, from the North Korean perspective, that nation has always wanted recognition as a world power, a nuclear power alongside the United States.
Does North Korea win simply by being there?
And who basically has the advantage here?
Is it the United States or is it North Korea, even going into the meeting?
ONG-WEBB: Big question once again. I mean to answer your first question about, you know, North Korea's objective, essentially, yes, absolutely. They have a win already. Just having this meeting, shaking hands; it's that simple for Mr. Kim. That's his baseline goal.
And there are tons of benefits for this man. He's going to bring back a lot more legitimacy coming home in front of all of his people, shaking hands with the leader of the world's superpower. He's been gunning for legitimacy, recognition. He's getting all that and we're giving it to him.
Look at the last few months, he's been meeting all the heads of state from major powers, important countries, the key stakeholders to the ongoing crisis, the six parties, so to speak. And he's getting it. Everyone's lining up to meet this man.
He's going to meet them in their capitals. So he's done very little, in a sense, I would argue, to get to this point. He's said a lot of things, done very little in action and he's meeting all these objectives.
So unfortunately, I think we are playing into this game plan that he has. But I would also argue that it may also be an pyrrhic victory for Mr. Kim, because in order for him to carry on with this game plan of his, he's got to deliver something tangible to the United States and to the other parties in the room that are involved this.
He's got to denuclearize to some extent; something's got to give. He's got to give up some portion of his arsenal, blow up or dismantle elements of his nuclear infrastructure. So he has to deliver.
If he doesn't deliver or at least indicate that he's going to deliver something and work that out, I think he's going to get cut off pretty soon. So he's going to have to be careful as well.
HOWELL: Graham Ong-Webb, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, thank you so much for your time today.
Still ahead here on NEWSROOM, with friends like this, who needs the G7, that's the question. The latest summit between the leaders of China, Russia and other major countries. They're asking that ahead.
Plus the queen of England, she's 92 years old and her birthday calls for a celebration --
[05:40:00]
HOWELL: -- a big one, in fact. We'll take you there. Straight ahead.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HOWELL: The leaders of Russia and China, they are not at the G7 but they're keeping it up with each other, keeping each other company. The presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping enjoyed a youth hockey game on Friday as part of Mr. Putin's state visit to China.
They're also attending a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The president of Iran and the prime ministers of India and Pakistan will also be at that summit.
It's taking place in Qingdao and our Matt Rivers is following the story live there this hour.
Matt, is this being seen as sort of an alternative to the G7?
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you could certainly look at it that way, George. I don't think most people would argue it has the same kind of global impact as the G7 potentially could.
But you do have a long list of very powerful leaders, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, China. So clearly there is a lot going on here in Qingdao. This is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It was actually started with only five members back in 2001. And it was posited as a kind of alternative kind of summit. Both Russia and China were original members there.
But as China really has gotten more powerful on the global stage, the importance of this summit has become more ascendant as well. And that's why you see the leaders of these other countries also taking a role here.
And, look, this is a summit like many others. There's going to be geopolitics discussed, national security issues, economic issues but none of this happens in a vacuum. And so there are other things going on in this part of world that will take precedence.
So for example, North Korea, you know that China and Russia, their leaders will be talking about the North Korean issue.
[05:45:00]
RIVERS: Both Russia and China have clear significant strategic interest in making sure that June 12th summit goes a certain way, in a way they would want it to. Also they want a role in the protracted negotiations that would happen afterwards. So you would imagine both these countries would take this opportunity to get on the same page when it comes to North Korea.
Also going on, we've heard the Iranian president actually say publicly that he wants a conversation with Russia about what Iran calls the illegal disengagement that the United States has done when it comes to the Iranian nuclear deal.
So those are two of the issues that we expect to be discussed here at this summit. But given it's a summit in China, George, we have very little access. The media center has nowhere near the actual convention center where these discussions are taking place.
We haven't even gotten really an official schedule about what these bilateral talks will be. So that's very different than the G7. Yes, there's not a ton of access there, either. But when it comes to China, we're not getting any access to any of these leaders. And that's a hallmark of these kinds of summits, especially when they happen here.
HOWELL: Certainly a lot still uncertain there. But we get the gist of it there, Matt. Thank you for the great reporting. We'll stay in touch with you.
Russian president Vladimir Putin could hold bilateral talks with the U.S. president Donald Trump, this is according to Russian state media, citing a government official. It reports the two leaders had discussed holding talks in Vienna, Austria. No date yet for that potential discussion. We'll continue to follow that.
Still ahead, a parade fit for a queen. It's all to celebrate the world's longest reigning monarch for her 92nd birthday. We'll be there live -- ahead.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS)
[05:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HOWELL: That's the scene in Oakland, California, and here's why. That city just got another NBA title. A lot of happy people there. The Golden State Warriors won game four on Friday, sweeping LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the final score a whopping 108-85.
The only real competition may have been who would be the final MVP. It was a close call but the Warriors' Kevin Durant won over his teammate, Steph Curry. Here's what he said about his second title as a Warrior.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEVIN DURANT, NBA FINALS MVP: We all want something that's bigger than ourselves. I think we love to see each other succeed. We love to come together and figure stuff out on the basketball court.
And I think tonight everybody just played their roles well. Feels so good to be a part of a group like this and to win two championships is -- that's what you want as an NBA player.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: All right. And now to the U.S. state of Hawaii. It has been more than a month now since the Kilauea volcano erupted and it's still going strong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL (voice-over): This is new lava flow entering the ocean. It's pouring over about a mile or about a kilometer and a half of shoreline on the east coast of the big island. Those big steam bursts rising up are called laze and are quite dangerous.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOWELL: Although she turned 92 years old in April, Saturday is the official birthday celebration for Queen Elizabeth. It's a military parade called trooping the color. And the royal family will be at the queen's side, including the newest member of the family, the Duchess of Sussex, the former Meghan Markle.
Our Nina dos Santos is following the story outside Buckingham Palace.
And Nina, a live look there what's happening this hour.
What can you tell us?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR: The action kicked off just a few moments ago. We saw the first members of royal family emerging from Buckingham Palace behind me. It was the Duchess of Cornwall, accomplished by the Duchess of Cambridge, formally known as Kate Middleton, who were in the first open-top carriage, followed by the newest member of the royal family, formerly known as Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, accomplished by --
[05:55:00]
DOS SANTOS: -- her husband, Prince Harry.
The cheers went up among the crowds as they made their way along the mall tours, Horse Guards parade and then the monarch herself, the queen in a very fetching blue outfit came out of Buckingham Palace to officially begin what is known as trooping the color.
This is not just the birthday celebration of the monarch but also an opportunity for her to inspect her troops. About 1,400 soldiers take part in these events; 200 of the most expert cavalry men and also marching bands, 400 people inside those marching bands. Expect pomp and pageantry; the crowds are here. The international
media has also given this a little bit more coverage, I should say anecdotally, than we have seen in years gone by and that's largely because of the recent interest in the royal wedding and the fact that this is the first big public engagement of the newest member of the royal family, Meghan Markle.
HOWELL: Nina dos Santos, and, of course, we'll be watching for that moment, the balcony moment. Of course you'll keep us in touch as that happens. Thank you so much for the live report.
And thank you for being with us for CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
For our viewers in the United States, "NEW DAY" is next; for our viewers around the world, "AMANPOUR" is ahead. Thank you for watching CNN, the world news leader.
