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Wolf

American Released By North Korea; Jeffrey Fowle in Guam; Soldier Killed in Canada; Three Girls Found; ISIS Intercepted Aid

Aired October 21, 2014 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

We have breaking news out of North Korea. The American, Jeffrey Fowle, has been released. Fowle had been detained since May after being arrested for leaving a bible in his hotel room in Pyongyang.

Our Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labott is joining us from the State Department as is our Paula Hancocks. She in Seoul, South Korea, as well as the North Korea expert, Gordon Chang. He'll be joining us in a moment.

Paula, let's go to you first. A pretty dramatic word, pretty much of a surprise, out of the blue. All of a sudden, the North Koreans allow a U.S. plane to come to Pyongyang, pick up this American and fly him out on his way to Guam right now. Tell our viewers in the United States and around the world what we know.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's certainly surprising timing. It's 2:00 a.m. in the morning here in Shipham, North Korea. So, just a few hours ago, we understand that a U.S. plane did go and pick up Jeffrey Fowle, this American tourist who was arrested a number of months ago this year when he was accused of leaving that bible in a place where he was staying.

Now, he had been accused of hostile acts against the regime, certainly any unstate(ph) sponsored religious activities are banned in North Korea and are come down on very heavily. We've seen it with at least one other American citizen also as well in detention, at the moment, Kenneth Bae. So, it's certainly interesting timing at a time when there's a diplomatic flurry of activity amongst North Korea. We've seen the foreign minister going to the United States for the U.N. meeting. We've seen him traveling around the world and we've seen many different level -- very high-level delegations traveling around the world. One coming here to Seoul which is effectively enemy territory.

So, this is the latest that we are seeing in that flurry of diplomatic activity. So, Jeffrey Fowle, we understand, when we spoke to him, CNN spoke to him at the beginning of September, he said that he was asking for help from the U.S. government, that he wanted them to get involved more to try and secure his release. And this is what Pyongyang wanted. They wanted the United States, they wanted Washington to engage with them to talk about how they were going to get these three American citizens back, at least one we know has been released tonight.

BLITZER: I know we're monitoring North Korean state television media. Has there been any official word, public word from North Korea as to why they let this American go?

HANCOCKS: No official word, at this point. And it will be many hours before we expect one. North Korea very rarely breaks in with breaking news as most other networks around the world do. They have very set times where they have their news bulletins. And, to be honest, it's about nine or 10 hours until we're going to see another one of those news bulletins. They're not quick with coming out with the night smiths (ph). They're not quick reporting this kind of news, so it's very unlikely we'll get anything from Pyongyang in the coming hours -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Well, I want you to stand by, Paula. Gordon Chang is joining us, as well. He's an expert on North Korea. Gordon, what do you make of this very dramatic development?

GORDON CHANG, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I expected Jeffrey Fowle to be released because he was the most sympathetic of the three Americans who had been in North Korea in captivity. And as you've just heard, North Korea is on this multi-nation charm offensive so it was about time that they were going to release one of the Americans. And I think that Fowle was probably the most likely to actually be freed.

BLITZER: What about the other two, Matthew Todd Miller, Kenneth Bae? They're serving long prison sentences, and they're under hard labor right now. What are the prospects that they might be freed as well?

CHANG: Well, I think eventually they will be freed because North Korea does not want either of them to die in North Korean captivity. Kenneth Bae is in very poor physical condition and actually his prison labor sentence is being carried out pretty leniently.

Now, Kenneth Bae, they probably want to keep for quite some time because he was actively trying to proselytize in North Korea, and they view that as a very severe crime. So, I suspect that they'll want to keep him.

But, nonetheless, you know, Jeffrey Fowle just left a bible. Yes, it was an offense but it wasn't really one of those mortal offenses that the North Korean regime takes great offense to. So, this is, I think, predictable in one sense. We just didn't know the timing. And I'm a little surprised that it would have occurred so quickly.

BLITZER: And how does it play into the mystery surrounding what was for 40 days, we didn't see the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un. Then, all of a sudden, they release some still photos of him with a cane. How does that play into this development, especially in the aftermath of about a week or 10 days ago, the North Korean suddenly sent a high-level delegation to South Korea? CHANG: Yes, I don't think, actually, anyone really knows the

connection between the release of this American and the reappearance of Kim Jong-Un. That's one of those mysteries that are going to have to be solved later. But one of the things about this regime right now is that it's producing a lot of news. And that really means that something is going on. So, in one way, all of these events will be connected. At this point, we just don't know how.

BLITZER: I want to bring in our Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labott who broke this story here on CNN just moments ago. All of a sudden, Elise, you're reporting that this American, Jeffrey Fowle, has been released. A U.S. plane flew to Pyongyang, now bringing him to Guam and eventually, obviously back to the United States. Walk us through exactly what is going on from the sources that you're discussing this with.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we heard from one of our sources in the region that a U.S. plane was in Pyongyang this morning. And in asking around, it was very hush-hush here at the State Department that we did find out that Mr. Fowle was on his way to Guam. The State Department did ask us to wait until he landed to report it because he was very much -- they were worried about his security.

But, at the same time, they were able to report that he did land in Guam. Circumstances, how this came to be, the negotiations very uncertain right now. And if you remember, very similar to when Meryl Newman, that 82-year-old Vietnam -- Korean War veteran who was arrested for his activities in Korea was in jail. All of a sudden, the U.S. got this call, come pick him up.

We have not been hearing, Wolf, about any negotiations going on between the U.S. and North Korea. But as Gordon Chang and as Paula has said, a lot of activity and, obviously, North Korea wanting to keep itself in the news.

BLITZER: Yes, clearly, North Korea is doing this gesture for some reason, obviously they're not explaining. Elise, I don't know where your microphone is but you may want to move it a little closer because we're having a little trouble hearing a little bit of what you're saying. But give us the sense over there, the reaction that we're likely to get from U.S. officials. Are they going to welcome this? Are they going to say this is long overdue? Clearly, something is going on right now, as far as North Korea's relationship with South Korea and indeed the rest of the world. And it comes in the -- in the wake of this mystery surrounding the leader, Kim Jong-Un. He disappeared, what, for 40 days.

LABOTT: That's right. Well, obviously, they're going to welcome the release of Mr. Fowle. But, as we've been talking about, there are two other U.S. citizens still being held by North Korea. Kenneth Bae whose health seems to be in decline and who's serving time in that North Korean labor camp and Matthew Todd Miller. And so, obviously, very cognizant of the sensitivities regarding their families right now. And I think what you're going to hear from Marie Harf and others at the State Department today is that the U.S. will not rest until those two are sent home. So, obviously, welcoming and trying to encourage the further release of those two other North Koreans.

But, as you said, a lot going on with North Korea, not necessarily between the U.S. and North Korea or these kind of so-called multilateral six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. That's really on the back burner right now, Wolf. But this has been a very unpredictable regime. This regime of the young leader, Kim Jong- Un, has really been even more mercurial and more of a mystery than his father. And so, this is kind of par for the course right now, these unpredictable events. Certainly, this is a welcome one from the United States right now.

BLITZER: All right. I want you to stand by, Elise. Will Ripley is joining us on the phone from Tokyo right now. Will, it was only a few weeks ago, you went to North Korea. You were in Pyongyang. They invited you there. All of a sudden they said you could go interview these three Americans. You did back-to-back interviews with these three Americans, including Jeffrey Fowle who has now -- who has now been released.

I want to play a little clip from that interview in a moment, Will. But give us your sense -- because you were just there in North Korea. Were you surprised by this all of a sudden decision by the North Koreans to let Mr. Fowle go?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Wolf, as you know from your trip to North Korea, it's a very unpredictable country. I will say this. I got the sense, after doing those interviews, that the North Korean government was pleased with how Jeffrey Fowle handled himself during the interview. You noticed that he kept referring to handwritten notes on the table. He had talking points. He was very, very apologetic about leaving the bible, saying he didn't realize that what he was doing was a treasonous act that was a violation of North Korean law.

Now, I will say, on the other hand, Matthew miller, the young man who was recently was sentenced, as you reported on your program here on CNN right after it happened. They were not pleased with how he handled himself. His answers were short. He didn't answer a lot of my questions. He didn't seem remorseful. And one government official actually said to me, well, he certainly had a message, message delivered, talking about Matthew Miller. A much different, tone, though, about Jeffrey Fowle's performance when he spoke to us on CNN.

BLITZER: I'm going to play a little clip, Will. Stand by. Here's part of your interview with Jeffrey Fowle in Pyongyang just a few weeks ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY FOWLE: I need to let people know that I'm getting desperate. I'm getting desperate for help. This is -- I understand that there are three Americans in detention now here in the -- in the -- in the debarricade (ph), which I think is the most since the Pueblo incident.

RIPLEY: You have no communication with the others? FOWLE: No, no. I know the name of the third guy. I know Kenneth Bae has been here for the longest. Kenneth Bae. I'm sure he's desperate to get back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. So, he has now been released. Will, you know, I know you didn't get a lot of opportunity to speak with these three Americans privately. It was all very much clearly orchestrated by the North Korean government. But in sort of the body language you got, specifically from Jeffrey Fowle, give us your impressions of this man.

RIPLEY: Well, first of all, from the moment we walked in the room, there was a sense of relief on his face. He was very happy to see an American crew from CNN in the same room with him. He essentially has been isolated during his time in Pyongyang. Treated well, staying in a hotel. But really only allowed out once or twice a day just to walk a little bit around the block and come back and sit in his hotel room the rest of the time.

And so, he was -- he was relieved to see us. He was also nervous, Wolf, because I think he knew how much was at stake. When North Korea decided to give CNN that exclusive T.V. interview, they had a -- had an agenda. And their agenda was to send a message to the United States government through these three detained Americans, Kenneth Bae, Matthew Miller and Jeffrey Fowle. And, again, he was very careful going down his talking points, trying to make sure he got in everything he needed to say.

BLITZER: I want you to stand by, all of our correspondents, our analysts to stand by. The breaking news, North Korea has released an American, Jeffrey Fowle. That American is now in Guam having been flown by a U.S. plane that went into Pyongyang, brought Jeffrey Fowle out of North Korea. He's in Guam on his way back to the United States. A sudden, very surprising decision by the North Koreans to let this American go. Two other Americans remain captive, remain prisoners in North Korea right now, Matthew Todd Miller and Kenneth Bae.

Much more of the breaking news and all of the day's other news right after this.

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: There's another developing story we're following right now and it involves the killing of a soldier just miles from the U.S. border. A killing, authorities say, may have been terror motivated. Two Canadian soldiers were hit by a car in Quebec. One of them has died. Canadian police are saying they believe the man who hit the soldiers had been radicalized. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has been following the developments for us.

Deb, the man who is the suspect here was killed by police. What are authorities saying about what happened?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here's what they know. They know he was a 25-year-old man. He appears to have been recently radicalized. And he's also a Muslim convert. Authorities did have him on radar. The reason for that is because Canadian National Security say that he was being monitored because of what they call clear indications that, in fact, he had become radicalized. One official describes this attack as clearly linked to terrorist ideology.

The two soldiers were from the Canadian Armed Forces. One of them was actually wearing a uniform. They were in a mall parking lot yesterday midday when this man rammed his vehicle into them. Now, one of the soldiers has died of his injuries. The other was also hurt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN BLANEY, CANADIAN MINISTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY: It is with a very heavy heart that I stand here today with Minister Theriault, vice premier of Quebec, yesterday we received a regular update on the evolving situation that took place here in Saint Jean. I am horrified by what took place here. This is a terrible act of violence against our country, against our military, against our value. This is a sobering reminder of the sacrifices and bravery of our men and women who serve our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, the suspect has been identified by Canadian television as Martin Rouleau. He saw these two officers in that parking lot and that's when he ran his vehicle into them. Police did lead him on a car chase about four miles. He rolled his car into a ditch. Then when he emerged from the vehicle, police say that he was armed with a knife. That's when the officers opened fire. He also is dead. They are looking very closely at this. Canadian Security Intelligence service has a lot of suspected extremists under surveillance. They keep a very close eye. And it appears to be these rantings that really is what indicated that he could potentially be a threat. But there's no known motive at this time. It's also unclear, Wolf, whether, in fact, this was a crime of opportunity, that he saw them and he took his shot.

Wolf.

BLITZER: We know, Deb, that the one soldier died. What's the condition of the other soldier?

FEYERICK: The other soldier does have injuries. The officials are being very careful about releasing any details. As a matter of fact, the officer who died, his family has asked that his name not be released. It's unclear why one was in uniform, one was not or what they were doing aside from simply a day out shopping, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. All right, Deb, thanks very much. Deborah Feyerick with the latest on that story.

There's a lot of other news we're following today. Still ahead, U.S. aid flying in with a weapons drop, but take a look at this. This new video claims to show the weapons falling right into the hands of the ISIS terrorists. A live report right after this.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And the breaking news, three missing girls from Colorado, American girls, they have now been found in Germany. Authorities say the girls actually became radicalized and were seriously thinking of joining ISIS. Our Evan Perez is joining us now. He's got more on what's going on.

What are your sources telling you, Evan?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, these three girls are now back home. The FBI is talking to them. The FBI is doing an investigation to try to figure out where they were going, who they were trying to meet.

Now, we -- all we know is that these were two -- three teenagers, two of them were Somali -- of Somali descent and the other was of Sudanese descent. Sometime last week, about Friday, the family contacted police because they had gone missing. And the FBI got into the picture. They flagged their travel documents and the girls were stopped in Germany by the German police. They were sent back home over the weekend and now they're back home and talking to the FBI.

We don't know exactly what their plans were. Looks like the FBI believes that they didn't have much of a plan, Wolf. It looks like they were planning to go to Turkey and then perhaps go across the border to Syria and perhaps join one of these extremist groups. That is something the FBI is checking out.

But, you know, this is one of those cases that really scares the authorities because there was no sign that these girls were going to do this. And the FBI doesn't really know how to stop people like this from -- who don't trip the wires that they normally set up for these types of cases, Wolf.

BLITZER: Evan, do you know the ages of these three girls?

PEREZ: They're 15 and 16 years old. So that's going to be a very big complication for the federal authorities because, you know, they didn't really actually get anywhere, so it's not clear what kind of crime they could be charged, if at all.

BLITZER: And were they all traveling on U.S. passports?

PEREZ: That's right. They're American citizens and they were -- their documents were flagged by the FBI before they could get to their destination in Turkey.

BLITZER: Evan Perez, thanks very much.

Another disturbing story we're following.

We've got other news. North Korea has just freed an American. Much more of the breaking news coming up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The breaking news that we've been following, North Korea suddenly has freed an American, Jeffrey Fowle. The American who left a Bible in his hotel room before trying to leave Pyongyang suddenly has been freed. A U.S. government plane arrived in Pyongyang and took Jeffrey Fowle out of the country and they're actually in Guam right now on their way back to the United States. Two other Americans, Matthew Todd Miller, Kenneth Bae, they remain in North Korea, at least for now.

But, once again, the headline, Jeffrey Fowle, an American citizen who had been detained in North Korea, has been freed and he is now on his way back to the United States. He's in Guam right now. The White House, by the way, just issued a statement. We'll have that for you momentarily.

But let's get to some other breaking news we're following and a very troubling development in the fight against ISIS in Syria. There's new video that has been posted by jihadi media groups purporting to show ISIS intercepting a package of U.S. aid designed to help the people in the city of Kobani, along the border between Syria and Turkey. All of this was meant to help Turkish fighters in their battle against the militants. But looks like, at least, this cargo is in the hands of ISIS right now.