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At Least 12 Killed in Virginia Beach Mass Shooting; Trump U.K. Trip; Auto Dealers Worry Tariffs Will Increase Prices; Mexican Foreign Minister Says He'll Meet Pompeo over Trump Trade Threat; Syrian Military Ramps Up Offensive in Last Rebel-Held Enclave; U.S. Defense: North Korea "Extraordinary Threat"; North Korea Purging Officials after Trump-Kim Summit; Just Hours until Greatest Show in Club Football. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired June 01, 2019 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Authorities in the U.S. state of Virginia search for answers after a shooter opens fire, killing 12 people at a city office building.
Plus the U.S. president threatens tariffs on Mexico. We'll take a look at the impact of this latest move.
Also ahead this hour, a safe haven no more. Syria's Idlib province becomes the latest target in the country's civil war.
Live from CNN headquarters, welcome to viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts now.
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HOWELL: We are following breaking news out of Virginia Beach, Virginia, where a busy vacation town on the U.S. East Coast is coming to grips with a terrible mass shooting.
By the time police arrived and got to the scene, 12 people were already dead. Four others seriously wounded. This happened inside a city building, as workers were preparing to leave for the weekend.
Police say a disgruntled long-time city worker entered the building at 4:00 in the afternoon local time and opened fire, armed with a semiautomatic handgun and extended magazines and a silencer. An employee described what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZAND BAKHTIARI, WITNESS: I was on the first floor. And my boss had just left. I heard screams in the parking lot. I assumed there was a car accident or something. Then he called his boss, who works right beside me and he told us that there was a gunman and we needed to shelter in place.
And we locked our doors and I immediately texted my loved ones and maybe a couple minutes after that, I just heard rapid, rapid gunfire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: That gunman was identified as a 40-year-old engineer in the public utilities department. The police chief said officers engaged in a lengthy gun battle with the suspect and an officer was shot but saved by his bulletproof vest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JAMES CERVERA, VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE: I can tell you that it was a long gun battle between those four officers and that suspect.
We've recovered a .45 caliber handgun with multiple extended magazines that were empty at the time. The suspect was reloading extended magazines in that handgun, firing at victims throughout the building and at our officers.
I want you to know that, during this gun battle, basically the officers stopped this individual from creating more carnage in that building. When the suspect went down due to his injuries, our officers then immediately rendered first aid as they were removing him from the building to the waiting EMS personnel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Shortly after that, the mayor and the governor both tried to comfort the grieving community.
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BOBBY DYER, MAYOR, VIRGINIA BEACH: Once we get over the shock of it, you know, we're going to move forward as a city, as a community.
We're going to be there for the families and, you know, don't forget, you know, the people that were victims of this tragic event, you know, they were family members, they were co-workers, they were a vital part of the community of Virginia Beach and they will not be forgotten.
RALPH NORTHAM, VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: Their families are facing painful loss and grief. They each leave a hole in a family, in their neighborhood, in this community and in our commonwealth. We mourn with their loved ones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Of the people caught up in this, there were so many stories of people who did their best to survive. Shortly after the gunman was identified, the investigation immediately shifted to the gunman's home. Our Brian Todd was there.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're here at the home of shooting suspect DeWayne Craddock. He lived in this attached home over my left shoulder, where the porch is illuminated. The police have been here all night, looking for different clues.
This is going to be one of the key components of the investigation as they piece together parts of this investigation. And one of the key parts of that is to try to piece together a motive for the shooting that left at least 12 people dead at that municipal center in Virginia Beach.
We know that the suspect, according to police, did come in with two guns --
[05:05:00]
TODD: -- a .45 caliber pistol, semi automatic with extended magazines and a silencer, plus a rifle. So he apparently came in ready to do battle with police and he did do battle, according to police.
This was a long, drawn-out gun battle inside that municipal center. He went up to three floors and left victims on each floor and was engaged by police fairly quickly in a long gun battle, where they were able to stop him. One police officer shot and wounded but he was saved apparently, according to police, by his bulletproof vest.
Again, a key component of what we don't quite know yet and what police are trying to learn more about is the motive.
What set him off?
Sources tell CNN that Craddock was a disgruntled employee of the Virginia Beach Public Works Department.
But beyond that, at this moment, we don't know a lot and officers are here, FBI agents and others here, processing some evidence. This is going to be one of those key crime scenes where they are going to try to put all that together and hopefully learn more about the specific motive and whether he actually targeted people specifically in that building.
Clearly these were coworkers, most of them, who he killed.
But was he targeting people specifically in that building?
We are told he fired indiscriminately. But again, specific motive and possible specific targets that he might have had, that's going to be pieced together in the hours and days ahead -- Brian Todd, CNN, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Brian, thanks.
Employees who were caught up in the shooting explained as best they could, the short amount of time this happened which felt like forever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEILA COOK, WITNESS: We heard shooting. We heard shooting but we didn't think it was that close, that close, like in proximity of the building. So I just thank God that they were able to alert us in time because, if it had been 10 minutes more, we all would have been outside. So that's what I'm grateful for today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
I just don't know why anyone would do something like that. I don't know what would possess somebody to come in and start shooting at people. I have an 11 month old baby at home and all I could think about was him and try to make it home to him.
We go through the corridor and the lady on the stairs unconscious and blood on the stairs and her face. We don't know what happened. When I went upstairs, I found out to get out of the building.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Joining me now to talk more about this is CNN law enforcement analyst and former Washington, D.C., police chief, Charles Ramsey, joining via Skype.
Good to have you, Charles.
CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It's good to be here.
HOWELL: So a disgruntled worker entering the building and opening fire. We know the attacker used a handgun with a sound suppressor so, unlike other shootings, many people in his path, they didn't hear the sound of gunfire.
RAMSEY: Yes, that is unusual. You know, a lot of people think that a silencer totally muffles the sound. It doesn't. But it takes a minute to understand that was a handgun going off as opposed to the regular sound of a gunshot. So I imagine it was confusing for people there.
HOWELL: So, look, as a city worker, Charles, this attacker would have obviously had knowledge of the building.
Could that have played a factor into how he moved from room to room, especially when police officers closed in on him?
RAMSEY: There's absolutely no question about that. He was a veteran worker. Been in the building God knows how many times. He had victims on all three floors. So he moved around and he moved around with ease. He had a .45 caliber semiautomatic with extended magazines. I don't think we are sure whether or not a rifle recovered belonged to him or not. But he clearly intended to kill as many people as possible. And because he knew the building, he knew where people would be gathered where you'd have clusters of building. He went in the building. Yes, he didn't waste any time.
These things go down fairly quickly and the police response was very quick. And he was still able to kill 12 people. I mean, it is just terrible.
HOWELL: Charles, would that have given him an advantage?
Again, when police cornered him and tracked him down, would that give him some advantage?
RAMSEY: Yes, there's no question about that. I mean, he knows the layout. When you get dispatched to a scene, whether it's a school or a factory or what have you, odds are you have probably not been in that building very often.
Now this was a municipal building. Officers probably go in and out of the building. But it doesn't mean they really know the layout that well, especially beyond the first floor. So he would have an advantage, especially since it appears he planned this out to some extent.
So he knew what he was doing. There's no question about that. He would have the advantage because he knows his actions. You are trying to figure it out and trying to locate him and trying to neutralize the situation.
HOWELL: You touched on this. As far as weapons, we understand a .45 caliber handgun was used; investigators found a rifle --
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HOWELL: -- multiple magazines and extended magazines were used.
What does this tell you about the gunman going into the situation?
RAMSEY: Well, he planned on an awful lot of carnage. I mean, the average .45 caliber semiautomatic -- or at least the one I had -- carried 14 rounds. With
one in the chamber, that gives you 15. With the extended magazine, you can carry 30. It depends on the magazine itself. They come in different sizes.
So he had multiple extended magazines. So he had a lot of ammunition. If he had not been taken down when he was, there's no doubt in my mind more people would have either been wounded or killed.
HOWELL: Charles, at this point, the motive is still unclear.
It raises the question, were there warning signs?
What can businesses, people do to identify risks like this as early as possible?
RAMSEY: Well, you know, one of the things that will be part of the investigation is to kind of backtrack everything, to find out what it was that made this individual disgruntled to a point to become violent.
We have a lot of people disgruntled in the workplace but they necessarily don't go out and kill people. They're going to have to really dig deep. What I would say to people is this. If you have a person who is really being threatening -- and I don't know if this guy was threatening beforehand or not -- but certainly don't take it lightly. Report it. Pay attention to that sort of thing.
And if it is serious enough, give police a call and at least have it looked at. But I don't know if this was an actionable type of situation or not.
Did he behave in a way that would really allow law enforcement to take pro-active steps?
We'll find all that out during the course of the investigation.
HOWELL: Charles Ramsey with perspective. Charles, thank you.
RAMSEY: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: The U.S. president us promising tariffs with Mexico but it's U.S. consumers who will feel the effects especially, when they go buy cars. Details on that ahead.
Plus, another alleged shakeup in North Korea. the U.S. responds to reports that some of Kim Jong-un's top advisers were executed. Why it is so hard to find out all of the details.
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HOWELL: President Trump is setting the stage for next week's state visit to the United Kingdom. In an interview with the British newspaper, "The Sun," he --
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HOWELL: -- criticized outgoing prime minister Theresa May for the way she handled Brexit and said Boris Johnson would be an excellent replacement. Theresa May is stepping down as Conservative Party after his visit, triggering a leadership contest.
Mr. Trump had also had something to say about Meghan Markle, the new Duchess of Sussex. Back in 2016, she said she would move to Canada if he won the presidential election. He said he didn't know she was, quote, "nasty."
While in the United Kingdom, President Trump is to have lunch with her husband, Prince Harry.
Trade tensions between the United States and Mexico could come to a head on Wednesday. Mexico's foreign minister says he will be in Washington to discuss the president's threat to impose tariffs on Mexico.
He and U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo have already talked by phone and Mexico's president says his country will not fall for any provocations.
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ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, PRESIDENT OF MEXICO (through translator): We are forced to act with great prudence and we will insist on dialogue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Mr. Trump is vowing to impose escalating tariffs on June 10th if Mexico doesn't stem the flow of migrants into the U.S. while analysts say the tariffs will hurt the economies of both countries. One White House adviser says it won't hurt consumers.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why American consumers' prices on all of that stuff coming from Mexico?
PETER NAVARRO, TRUMP TRADE ADVISER: So this is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the Trump tariffs. China, for example, bears the burden of the tariffs in the form of lower exports, lower prices for the products, lower profits for the companies. People say that somehow American consumers will pay for this. It is simply not true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: But retailers and other business groups are disputing that. They say prices will go up and even lawmakers in Mr. Trump's party say they are concerned and surprised by this move.
Republican senator Chuck Grassley released a statement, calling this move "a misuse of presidential tariff authority." He said making good on the threat "would seriously jeopardize the passage of the USMCA," the United States, Mexico, Canada agreement. It is a replacement for the current North American Free Trade Agreement.
Automakers have backed the new arrangement but are pushing back on the idea of new tariffs on Mexico because prices could go up on cars and just about everything else Americans buy. Our Tom Foreman explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than a third of all vegetables bought in the U.S. wine, beer and snack foods too, more than a third of all televisions, nearly half of all air conditioners, machinery, medical tools and much more.
Americans buy so much from Mexico, economists are warning a new tariff on Mexican goods could hit very hard, especially when it comes to cars.
Every U.S. auto plant uses parts from Mexico, which is the largest foreign supplier. Almost $60 billion worth of parts were imported from Mexico last year alone. And while automakers have supported Trump's efforts to rewrite the
North American free trade agreement, NAFTA, an industry group says the imposition of tariffs against Mexico will undermine its positive impact and would impose significant cost on the U.S. auto industry.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is calling Trump's proposed tariff a tax, plain and simple.
NEIL BRADLEY, U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: So, at 5 percent, that's $17 billion in additional taxes on American consumers and businesses.
FOREMAN: The president's defenders say, no way, his use of tariffs is a powerful tool to force other nations to trade more fairly and consumers will not be squeezed.
NAVARRO: The governments of China and Mexico will pay for it and the producers in Mexico and China pay for this.
FOREMAN: But China, already feeling the heat of Trump's trade policies, is currently threatening to hit back by restricting exports of rare natural minerals mined there, metals critical to high-tech and manufacturing companies in the U.S.
Such a move could drive up the cost of electric cars, cell phones and other products paid for once again by American consumers.
So how much could it cost you?
It is more than a few cents on a piece of fruit. If the Trump administration goes through with the most severe threat, a 25 percent tariff on Mexican goods, that means the average cost of a new car could rise $1,300 -- Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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HOWELL: Let's get perspective now on both of these trade disputes. Political analyst James Boys joins us from London.
Great to have you with us.
JAMES BOYS, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Good morning, George.
HOWELL: The White House is leaning on the tariffs aimed at motivating Mexico. Certainly Mexico on the issue of illegal immigration. The president's team is saying it puts the ball in Mexico's court. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: One of the biggest things they can do is the repatriation of the thousands of people coming from Central America. They can return them back home, they can stop these caravans from coming through their country into ours. That would be a very big first step. Certainly we've made some
progress on the asylum. But we need to do a lot more on that front and, again, we're hopeful that they will do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: The question of tariffs as the magic bullet, James, does it work?
BOYS: It is interesting to hear press secretary Sarah Sanders talking about this in regard to an immigration issue where what the administration is deliberately doing is using this situation, which is a trade issue.
It is not only Mexico but China and India is in the firing line, the European Union. All of these major trading blocks in the line of fire for the Trump administration for the imposition of huge tariffs, all of which will impact the American consumer primarily because you will see, as the report talked about, a huge rise in the cost of everything, frankly, if these tariffs are indeed imposed in the end.
HOWELL: We heard that before, that other countries would pay for many other things. As you point out, the experts indicate that taxpayers, American consumers, would end up paying for these tariffs.
Let's talk about the timing of this threat on the heels of the successful trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Wouldn't tariffs muddy the water of the deal, which has yet to be ratified?
BOYS: It is strange. Two weeks ago the Trump administration removed tariffs on steel and aluminum coming from Mexico and Canada, which seemed to be a good step forward replacing NAFTA. Now of course, by muddying the waters as you put it, by talking about imposition of tariffs or anything up to 25 percent on Mexico, this really starts to call into great dispute whether the administration can get the replacement for NAFTA, which was a bipartisan agreement passed under the Clinton administration through. That has not helped by the attacks upon Nancy Pelosi. It will be vital if this is to progress through Congress.
HOWELL: Let's talk about the internal tug-of-war in the White House. The president overruled a pair of top economic advisers in moving forward with Mexico, and urged on by Peter Navarro and Stephen Miller, known for his hardline approach to immigration. So there are indications that this came together pretty quickly at the last minute.
BOYS: Yes. It is troubling, frankly, because, if there is one thing which is a constant problem with the White House is they seem not to see the linkage of their policies here. Very clearly the attempt to use a trade issue to combat immigration might well have impact upon Mexico in terms of attempting to stem immigration, which is debatable.
But what it will certainly do is have a huge knock-on effect not only on issues with pricing within the United States but it could severely deal a death blow to any efforts to try to get the replacement for NAFTA through, which, of course, was one of the central points of Trump's candidacy in the first place.
When you consider the idea that he touts himself as the master of the art of the deal, it seems that the idea of political linkage is the lesson the White House simply refuses to learn.
HOWELL: Switching from my side of the pond to yours. Donald Trump set to visit the U.K. on Monday. He will be doing so ahead of comments he made to the British newspaper, "The Sun," where he criticized the prime minister, Theresa May, for her handling of Brexit.
She will step down after Trump's visit. Mr. Trump also signaling he thinks Boris Johnson would make an excellent replacement.
How will these comments affect the president?
How will he be received by his British hosts when he arrives?
BOYS: I think this fits a pattern; when he was in United Kingdom a year ago, he made not dissimilar comments ahead of his arrival then. When he was here, he also criticized Theresa May, virtually side by side with her at Chequers, saying he had taken a very different approach to dealing with the European Union. He --
[05:25:00]
BOYS: -- might have been right, quite frankly, because look at the mess we are in. But there are diplomatic norms which all previous American presidents have taken prior to a visit to the United Kingdom. They will talk about the importance of the special relationship and their relationship with the current prime minister.
We have not seen that from Donald Trump. So it does fit a pattern. Anybody who is surprised by this probably hasn't been paying attention.
HOWELL: The president reportedly calling Meghan Markle "nasty." And he is set to meet with her husband for lunch.
BOYS: That could be interesting.
HOWELL: Indeed. Thank you, James.
BOYS: Thank you, George.
HOWELL: A looming humanitarian disaster as the military ramps up its offensive in Idlib, the last rebel-held enclave inside Syria. We will tell you what happened there.
We will return to the breaking news out of Virginia Beach, Virginia, where a dozen people lost their lives in a mass shooting.
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HOWELL: Welcome back to viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell with the headlines at this hour.
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HOWELL: We want to bring you up to speed now on what happened in the terrible tragedy that played out in Virginia Beach on Friday. Here is what we know so far.
Police are searching the home of a disgruntled city worker who went on a shooting spree on Friday. He entered a municipal building during office hours and killed at least 12 people and seriously wounded four others.
The gunman died after a long shootout with police. One officer was shot but saved by his bulletproof vest. Police recovered a rifle and a semi-automatic handgun equipped with extended magazines and a silencer.
Alyssa Andrews took a picture of one of the gunshot victims and earlier explained what happened. We warn you, what you are about to see here is graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALYSSA ANDREWS, WITNESS: The police were just running back and forth with machine guns in their hands. And I was actually in the car with my grandson. But when I first noticed they had blocked the road off so I couldn't go anywhere, I was parked on the side of the road, and then I just saw a police officer run in front of my car.
This gentleman had just gotten shot. And I told him I was an RN. I said, "Can I help you?"
And they, I guess, brought him over.
He said, "No, stay in your car."
And so they took him away. And I pray that he is OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: That community still trying to recover. We'll continue to follow the story from Virginia Beach.
Now to Syria and Idlib, the last rebel held enclave there. The city is a political and humanitarian tinder box. Over the last seven years, fighters and families have ended up there after the Syrian troops recaptured territory. Idlib is supposed to be a protected area. But the military is ramping up its offensive now and now nowhere is safe.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz reports but we warn you, what you're about to see in this report, it is important to see but it is graphic.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): This is supposed to be a safe place, Syria's last rebel held enclave should be protected by a deescalation agreement. Now that seems all but forgotten.
Here's the aftermath of one of those airstrikes up close. Rescue workers arrive to find a young boy crushed by the rubble. He's still laying in his bed. The bomb killed him before he woke.
His father kneels in prayer. He has more sons trapped inside. Finally, another boy emerges, horrified at the sight of his dead brother beside him.
"Don't worry," they say, "he's just sleeping," a lie meant to bring some comfort.
A doctor there says even the hospitals are not safe. He just returned from a medical mission in Idlib.
DR. ZAHER SAHLOUL, PRESIDENT OF MEDGLOBAL: In Idlib alone in the last four weeks, 24 hospitals were bombed and went out of service. I visited one of the hospitals that was built inside the mountain for protection in the city of Hamas. In spite of that, it was bombed completely and went out of service.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Medical facilities shared their GPS coordinates with the United Nations as part of the deescalation agreement, Dr. Sahloul says.
SAHLOUL: And people are suspecting that Russia, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has either shared the information with the Assad regime or they're bombing us themselves.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Human rights groups have long warned of the catastrophic consequences of a full-scale offensive on the province of 3 million. The recent spike in violence, the worst in a year --
[05:35:00]
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): -- has killed 250 civilians, most of them children, according to the opposition. Syria and Russia both accuse the opposition of violating the agreement first and called on Turkey, which backs the rebels, to end the fighting.
Tens of thousands have fled what's left of their homes. But for most, there seems no safe place left to hide -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Let's bring World Food Programme's Syria director, Corinne Fleischer, joining us from Damascus.
Good to have you with us.
CORINNE FLEISCHER, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: Good morning.
HOWELL: Your group addresses the thousands of people displaced across Idlib.
Given the access you have there, what are you seeing?
FLEISCHER: Well, the situation in Idlib is reaching dramatic levels. Lives are lost. People fleeing conflict are displaced on the move. Civilian infrastructure like hospitals, schools, bakeries are being destroyed. And now what we also see is that farmland is being destroyed.
So far, 300,000 people have fled their homes. They are moving from the south of Idlib and north of Hama to the north to safety. The World Food Programme has been able to reach 190,000 people so far with emergency food assistance, which is food we provide that they can eat on the move.
HOWELL: Let's talk a bit more about that. The conditions for people across Syria today following the many years of a bloody war.
What is the situation with regard to access to food and with jobs and medical care?
FLEISCHER: The World Food Programme has been supporting the people in Idlib since 2014 through the Security Council-approved cross-border operation. We have been moving in food to support 600,000 people every month through Turkey.
With the current surge, we have increased that number. We are now supporting 700,000 people. We are ready to support more people with our monthly ration that they receive and, in addition, with the emergency supplies for them to be able to eat on the move.
But you know, partners -- yes, go ahead.
HOWELL: No, no. Go ahead, please. I didn't mean to interrupt.
FLEISCHER: Partners on the ground, you know, whom we are working with, are telling us that it is already an unbearable situation for people. They have to leave everything behind. They have to move toward the north to the camps.
The camps are overcrowded. This is a very densely populated area. The whole part is overcrowded. So people receive tents from humanitarian partners but they actually have nowhere to pitch them. So they are moving from A to B to nowhere.
You know, one man told our partner that he had to carry his aging mother, who is wounded, for hours on his back until a vehicle would pick him up. Or another woman told them that she had lost, in a blink of an eye, everything because of bombardment. Her children are traumatized. They see the bombs falling from the
sky. So the situation which is terrible. We need to stop this and allow these people to return to safety and to a decent life.
HOWELL: You talk about the people who go to the camps that are overcrowded and some 150,000 others and many people are just living out in the open, not lucky enough to get to the overcrowded camps.
Corinne, we will stay in touch with you and get insight from your group as you have access to the people there across Idlib. Thank you for your time.
FLEISCHER: Thank you.
HOWELL: The U.S. president said that he fell in love with Kim Jong- un. He said that at one time. Now a U.S. official is renewing concerns about North Korea, saying the threat it represents is extraordinary.
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HOWELL: The acting U.S. Defense Secretary is calling on allies in Asia to increase defense spending. And despite Donald Trump saying he fell in love with Kim Jong-un, Patrick Shanahan warned at a national security summit that North Korea is still a major threat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK SHANAHAN, ACTING SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The challenges are significant. We are focused on negotiations to achieve a final, fully verified denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
We acknowledge that North Korea has neared a point where it could credibly strike regional allies, U.S. territory and our forward deployed forces. North Korea remains an extraordinary threat and requires continued vigilance.
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HOWELL: The U.S. State Department is investigating reports by a South Korean newspaper that North Korea executed some top officials after the failed summit between Trump and Kim. Will Ripley has more.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT v o: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his delegation smiled politely when President Trump walked out of February's failed summit in Vietnam.
But South Korea's largest newspaper is saying Kim Jong-un is believed to be carrying out a purge of top officials following the epic failure of negotiations with the Trump administration.
"Chosun Ilbo," citing unnamed North Korean sources, says special envoy to the U.S., Kim Yong-chol, was executed in March on charges of "being recruited by U.S. imperialists and betraying the supreme leader."
FARHAN HAQ, DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: We are aware of the reports that there has been an execution. But since we do not have any way of confirming that, I wouldn't have any further comment.
RIPLEY (voice-over): CNN has checked with numerous sources and is not able to verify the newspaper's reporting. South Korean reports of North Korean executions have, at times, been inaccurate.
A senior diplomatic source with knowledge of the situation tells CNN these top officials have certainly disappeared. But there's no independent information or intelligence at this point on what's happened to them.
Even for the U.S. State Department, credible information is difficult to obtain from one of the world's --
[05:45:00]
RIPLEY (voice-over): -- most secretive nations.
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have seen the reporting to which you are referring. We are doing our best to check it out.
RIPLEY (voice-over): As for secretary of state Mike Pompeo's negotiating partner, Kim Yong-chol, the man who hand delivered a letter to President Trump in the Oval Office earlier this year, the same South Korean paper says he has been dismissed and is doing forced labor.
The paper also say Kim's interpreter in Hanoi is in prison in a political camp for a critical interpretation error. Even Kim's trusted younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is by Kim's side in Hanoi, may have been affected, the paper says. She has reportedly been removed from official activity.
BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: I see it as him feeling he was going to come through with an agreement with President Trump in Hanoi. And he is trying to blame somebody.
RIPLEY (voice-over): The breakdown in talks in Hanoi led to escalating tensions, including two North Korean short-range missile tests in recent weeks. The future of U.S.-North Korea diplomacy is unclear.
What is clear: somebody needed to pay the price for what happened in Hanoi. The question is, did they pay the ultimate price? Will Ripley, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Let's bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks following the story in South Korea.
Paula, we know many people disappeared.
What more do we know around this reporting that we're following?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George, there is nothing more we know around the reporting because it is based on one newspaper report with a single unnamed source. Clearly it is not known whether or not that is accurate.
We have seen officials there. The secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Stephen Biegun, who is in for the defense ministers speaking at the hotel. Everybody is being very cautious, saying they simply don't know if this is accurate.
We had we had a statement from the Blue House on Friday saying they're looking into what could be confirmed over that report. It shows how difficult it is to know exactly what is happening within North Korea. It is not an exact science to try to predict what is happening within the regime, and who is in and who is out.
Quite frankly, sometimes the only way we know for sure if someone has been purged is because state-run media itself will announce it. We heard in the past, for example, Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of Kim Jong-un, was found guilty of treason and was executed on Kim Jong-un's orders.
That, of course, we knew for sure because North Korea had announced it. But we've also had many reports from this newspaper, even from the intelligence service here in South Korea, reporting that individuals have been executed only for them to turn up months or years later, with a promotion in many cases.
So it is a very difficult thing to figure out exactly who is in and who is out. But it is clear someone had to take the blame for the Hanoi summit. It was humiliating for Kim Jong-un, a great surprise for Kim Jong-un when he had to walk away without agreement and clearly would have wanted any blame not to be pointed at the leader himself -- George.
HOWELL: Paula Hancocks, thank you.
Thousands of Liverpool and Tottenham fans have descended on Madrid for the Champions League final. It is more than a little tough finding a ticket. We are live in Madrid with that story next.
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(MUSIC PLAYING) HOWELL: It is the greatest show in club football. The countdown is
underway as fans arrive to Madrid for the Champions League final. Kickoff is just hours away. Some are heading to the Spanish capital without tickets.
There are reports they are being sold for as much as $30,000. In the U.K., 800 extra flights have been put on ahead of the match. An all England final with Tottenham and Liverpool.
We have Amanda Davies in Madrid.
Talk to us about the fans and the tickets and the buildup.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George, the first all English Champions League final that has taken place since 2008. It is a glorious day in Madrid. We are still nine hours away from kickoff.
Incredibly, fans are already arriving here at the stadium. You'd think in hope of expectation of getting their hands on a ticket, which is proving elusive. Between 70,000 to 100,000 fans are traveling to Spain. But only 34,000 tickets inside the stadium have been released to supporters.
So they are very, very much hot property. A lot of the people who left the U.K. at 3 o'clock this morning, of course, do have the tickets. They know they are going to get inside. But the people who have been here for a couple of days now, who come in from the likes of Malaysia and Israel, very long distances, have been hoping to be able to pick up a ticket last minute.
That doesn't really seem to be the case unless people have been prepared to spend a lot of money and UEFA, European football governing body, issued a warning to fans. Do not buy tickets on the black market. They know there is a large number of fake tickets on the market.
For that reason, a lot of the fans are opting to stay in the center of Madrid, eight miles away from here. There are some fan zones set up. The atmosphere is fantastic. They just want to be here to see their team, one or the other, create history later on.
HOWELL: Finally, Amanda, who is the favorite here?
DAVIES: I think Liverpool on paper. And within the fans you speak to, very much the favorite --
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DAVIES: -- given their performance in the Premier League this season. They finished 26 points clear of Spurs in the Premier League and to have beaten them in the majority of their recent head-to-head meetings.
Although the Liverpool contingent in the press conference yesterday were very keen to play that down, they were saying this is a one-off; this is the Champions League final. Our games against Spurs in recent times have been very, very tight, decided on just one mistake.
For example, their last meeting with the Spurs goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris. But we saw in the semifinals with both these sides, they both fought back from those incredible positions. We thought they were down and out. They both fought back to book their place in this final. Nothing can be guaranteed in this game, George.
HOWELL: All eyes on Madrid. Amanda Davies, thank you.
And as for tickets, no winning tickets for a big lotto jackpot in the United States. No one picked the right numbers for the Mega Millions drawing on Friday night. The grand prize was $440 million so that means an even bigger prize next drawing on Tuesday night, a cool $475 million.
And Americans seem to like their lotto tickets. Research shows they spent nearly $73 billion last year. My producer of the show has a theory. You should go out to the part of the country. Don't buy your tickets in the city. Go far out in the woods to that strange gas station. That is where you get the winning ticket.
Thank you for being with us for CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell in the CNN Center in Atlanta. For viewers in the United States, "NEW DAY" is next. For our international viewers, "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" is ahead.
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