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Acting FAA Chief Testifies Amid Concerns Over Runway Close Calls; Second American Citizen Dies in Sudan; President Biden Welcomes South Korean President to the White House. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired April 26, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

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SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Soon, President Biden will welcome South Korea's president to the White House ahead of a critical meeting. Biden and President Yoon Suk-yeol set to roll out a new plan to boost U.S. and South Korean cooperation amid North Korea's escalating threats.

Our correspondents are covering this meeting from Washington to Korea. CNN's Arlette Saenz is joining us from the White House. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is in Washington, D.C. for us. And Paula Hancocks is live from Seoul, South Korea.

Let us start with Arlette. Can you tell us what is happening at this hour? We heard the band playing, the last time we spoke to you not too long ago. What's going on there now?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPODENT: Well, Sara, any minute now, we are expecting South Korean President Yoon arriving here at the White House setting off the pomp and circumstance of this second state visit that President Biden is holding for him.

But it also comes as the two leaders are set to announce a significant agreement when it comes to efforts to try to deter North Korea's nuclear capabilities. This comes at a time when officials say North Korea has continued its nuclear provocations.

And this agreement, which is called the Washington Declaration, the two leaders will unveil over the course of the day, and one key element of it includes deploying strategic assets to the region to try to amp up the visible efforts towards deterrence. That includes sending a U.S. nuclear ballistic submarine to South Korea, the first time that will be done since the 1980s. It's a move that could upset North Korea.

But it also comes as efforts to try to engage in any diplomacy with North Korea over nuclear weapons appears to have gone unanswered. So, this is a time when South Koreans and the U.S. are trying to strengthen their cooperation when it comes to nuclear deterrents.

There are a host of other issues that will be on the agenda today, including cyber initiatives and the economic agenda, as well. And this is also the first time that the two leaders will be holding formal meetings since those leaks of the classified Pentagon documents, some which related to South Korea.

Now, to just run you through a little bit of the course of the day in just a short while, they will be kicking off the official arrival ceremony. As you can see right behind me, troops from various military branches are here. They will be part of that ceremony. We expect that the two leaders will also be speaking. The two presidents will then break off for a bilateral meeting, which will then be followed by a press conference, which has become a rarity here at the White House.

Now, this will also be the first time President Biden has the full opportunity to answer questions from reporters since he launched his re-election bid just yesterday. And all of this state visit, the second that the White House is hosting, it caps off with that glitzy state dinner later this evening inside the White House that includes a celebrity chef who helped curate the menu as well as performance from a trio of Broadway stars.

So, in just a short while, we expect the state visit to officially get under way with discussions about North Korea's nuclear capabilities very high on the agenda.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Jeff, let me bring you in on this. Because as Arlette is pointing out, this is the second state visit from President Biden, also the day after he's formally announced his re- election bid. What is the significance that you see in the fact that for the second state visit and this timing, the president has chosen South Korea?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, it is very significant. It is just underscoring the importance and the developments in the region. The first state visit was last fall with French President Emmanuel Macron. But this visit from South Korea underscores essentially that the idea of diplomacy or the idea that pressure with North Korea is essentially off the table.

The U.S. has not had any types was talks with them. Of course, in the Trump administration there were face-to-face talks between President Trump and Kim Jong-un. But what has happened since then, the nuclear program has grown, it has multiplied. So, President Biden clearly is signing that Washington agreement, that Washington accord with the South Korean president, and having him at the White House also, of course, sending a message to China. That perhaps is the most important message underscoring all of this, the unity between the U.S. and South Korea.

So, it is very important, this full pomp and circumstance of this arrival, but also the meetings that will take place later today. And I'm told that it's simply a coincidence that this is coming a day after the president announced his re-election campaign.

[10:05:05]

That was not scheduled when this dinner was scheduled, when this state visit was scheduled. But it certainly is all part of the play here with President Biden set to take questions today, as Arlette said, a very rare occurrence in this White House. He has taken -- held fewer press conferences than any recent modern presidents. So, certainly, he will be taking questions on South Korea and this re-election campaign. But the importance of this, certainly, is the nuclear capability in the region.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And, Paula Hancocks, Jeff Zeleny sets it up perfectly for you in Seoul. Donald Trump met with Kim Jong-un three times during his administration. It did not slow the North Korean nuclear plan. That plan actually accelerated substantially over the last four years into the last year. What does South Korea want or think it needs out of this meeting because they're actually, for the first time in a long time, have been serious discussions about the South Koreans saying, hey, maybe it's time to put nuclear weapons back in South Korea?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, John. I mean, when you have Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, saying he wants an exponential increase in the amount of nuclear weapons arsenal he has, it is unsurprising that here in Seoul there are raised concerns.

I mean, President Yoon took power just under a year ago and he has consistently said that he wants more reassurances from Washington. He has said that the extended deterrence, the nuclear umbrella that the U.S. offers to its allies needed to be strengthened in this particular case because of the increasing threat and nuclear threat that Pyongyang was showing to the world and to its closest neighbor.

So, what he has gone to Washington to get effectively is a reassurance, a reassurance that the United States will be there in a time of crisis, if necessary.

Now, of course, many U.S. officials and experts would argue that they already have that deterrence, that they have 28,500 U.S. soldiers based here in South Korea, hundreds of thousands of Americans based here in South Korea. So, they are here for the long haul. But as you say, that has been an increasing call for South Korea to have its own nuclear weapons program.

Ten years ago when I was here, this was a fringe argument. You never spoke about it with much credibility. I certainly wouldn't be talking about it on air. But now, it is a very real possibility. There is a majority of South Koreans in all recent polls who believe that the South Koreans should have their own nuclear weapons program. The argument effectively is if North Korea has nuclear weapons, so should South Korea have these weapons.

And, of course, the hope after this particular summit from Washington would be that that that -- this Washington declaration, this increase, the strengthening of extended deterrence from Washington might actually silence some of those calls because the U.S., many in the region, many in the world do not want South Korea to go down that path.

SIDNER: All right. It just tells you how tensions have risen over these many years. Paula Hancocks, Arlette Saenz and Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much for joining us.

And you are seeing some of those pictures. We will bring you the ceremony as soon as it happens.

BOLDUAN: It looks like it's getting under way very shortly, as you're seeing the vice president coming out, the secretary of state coming out, many -- cabinet members as well as the defense secretary, the treasury secretary all coming out. You can see this is going to be getting under way very shortly.

BERMAN: I think very soon, Kate. They don't usually make the vice president wait too long. Once she's out there, I expect to see the president of both the United States and South Korea very soon.

In the meantime, very quickly, this just in to CNN, two United Airlines flights departing from Houston yesterday reported mid-air strikes. It all happened within 20 minutes of each other. At least one is suspected to have been a bird strike. All of this is happening as the acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration is testifying now before a House committee. He's facing tough questions as the agency deals with all kinds of issues, including in-flight violence, scheduling woes at Southwest Airlines, staffing shortages and several near misses on runways.

CNN's Pete Muntean is in Washington with all of this. These close calls, Pete, today, what are you learning about that?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: But let's talk about the close calls and let's also talk about the bird strikes, John.

BERMAN: Yes, I should ask about the bird strikes. To be clear, explain to me the bird strikes. What's going on with that, Pete?

MUNTEAN: Yes. Two back-to-back bird strikes at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston within 20 minutes of each other, which is so interesting, and, coincidentally, both involving United Airlines flights. According to the airline, United 847, it was on its way to Chile and then United 2806 was on its way to Las Vegas. Both flights had to turn back to the airport. Uneventful, nobody injured, sort of matches the case that we see in many of these bird strikes where it rarely ends well for the bird although almost always ends well for the passengers.

[10:10:04]

We just saw a significant bird strike over the weekend at Port Columbus John Glenn International Airport in Ohio, where an American Airlines 737 hit a bird on takeoff and immediately had to return back to the airport. There was some dramatic video of flames coming out of the right engine. In fact, the crew had to shut down the right engine, although, thankfully, the 737 flies just fine on one.

It's migratory bird season, John. We see this a lot. And over the last 30 years, the FAA says the number of bird strikes has been going up but that could be in part due to the fact that planes are getting quieter and then also more pilots are able to report this easily. Gone are the days are the mountain of paperwork that they had to do. Now, they can do this simply by filling out a form online.

Also, according to Mary Schiavo, one of our aviation experts here at CNN, she says that as the bird population goes up and conservation efforts go up, there will be more bird strikes. In fact, we're seeing them with even more rare birds, where conservation efforts have been put in place, like eagles.

Although most of the time, it really involves things like water fowls, smaller birds, especially considering the fact that a lot of airports on what used to be marshes, a lot of airports are near the water, John. So, it's a big risk although rarely ends up being a big deal. Thankfully, United says in these incidents, nobody on board hurt and the passengers were put on different flights and were able to get out to their destinations okay.

BERMAN: All right. Good to know as of the events this morning, the bird strikes just the last hour that we learned about.

Now, the idea with the congestion, the traffic, which may be leading to some closer calls at these airports, what about that, Pete?

MUNTEAN: Well, today, Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen will appear on Capitol Hill before a subcommittee. And what is so interesting is that the FAA is making a little bit of news prior to this because there have been these high-profile runway incursions, what they are technically called, these close calls involving airliners at major airports near collision since the start of this year. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating six incidents.

Very fitting here that the FAA, rather, is convening this new safety review board of six different members, they will meet next month, over the next six months, to try and find the risk factors in the aviation system. This is a shared onus between the airlines, between operators, pilots, air traffic controllers, and this follows a first ever FAA safety summit. We've not seen one in the last decade. The last time they had one was back in 2009 after these incidents, JFK, Austin, Boston, Burbank, Sarasota, Honolulu. So, these are coast to coast and it's a really big problem.

And the FAA now wants to convene this independent review board to try and figure out really what is the problem here. They're bringing folks together from former NASA administrators, former airline pilots, even the former head of the National Transportation Safety Board, John. So, we'll see here what they figure out and try and make it not just talk but try and put some action into place here, too.

BERMAN: Yes. Obviously, it's been a problem. You don't want it to be a much, much worse problem. Pete Muntean, thank you so much. Please keep us posted.

Where am I going? Kate Bolduan, I believe I'm going to you.

BOLDUAN: This just into CNN, thank you, John. The White House has just confirmed that a second American citizen has died in Sudan, a Sudanese-American doctor killed Tuesday in Sudan's capital. The White House, and announcing this, this morning, also says that it is now actively facilitating the departure of as it's described by the spokesperson for the National Security Council, John Kirby, a small number, a relatively small number of Americans, who have indicated to them that they want to leave Sudan. They're continuing to deploy U.S. intelligence to support land evacuations and routes.

Again, this is according to the spokesperson for the National Security Council, John Kirby, who will be joining us in the 11:00 hour with many questions to answer around this. John?

BERMAN: All right. You are looking at live pictures from the White House. We believe President Biden about to emerge with the president of South Korea. This is the formal greeting at the beginning of this very important state visit. The South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeol, arriving and they have important business. Let's listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Distinguished guests, the president of the United States and Dr. Biden.

[10:15:00]

BOLDUAN: The beginning as we're watching this play out live. We see the South Korean president greeting the vice president and the cabinet that met some family members I see there as well, as they're just beginning what is the -- what is President Biden's only second official state visit to be hosting at the White House since becoming president. This is really a very big moment and the implications of what this 70-year alliance means for the United States and the Indo- Pacific region can't be overstated, John.

BERMAN: Yes. As you mentioned, this is just the second state visit. What you have is a level ceremony that you do not have for most meetings here, pretty much the entire cabinet out there to greet not just President Biden and the first lady, but also the South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeol.

And as we were talking about with Paula Hancocks in South Korea, this is a crucial visit for South Korea here, dealing with these nuclear provocations from the north. And he is getting deliverables in this meeting, which is just kicking off right now before our eyes, promises of a seat at the table when it comes to nuclear weapons in the region, not on the peninsula. South Korea will not put nuclear weapons in the peninsula. They've been gone from South Korea since 1991. But they want some say in the deterrence, Sara, and they're getting it.

SIDNER: And as we watched when they first got together, it was interesting. They didn't just shake hands. There was an actual hug --

BERMAN: There was a hug.

SIDNER: -- between the two presidents. So, interesting to note that there. There they go walking off where they will make some remarks.

BOLDUAN: They're going to take the podium, they are going to make some brief remarks. There will be a press conference later before they are going to be heading into this, all of this highly choreographed and we are expecting to have translation here. So, let's listen in once again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- followed by the national anthem of the United States.

SIDNER (voice over): So, you see President Biden and President Yoon, as you just heard both of the national anthems of each respective country. And now they are going to inspect the troops. We are expecting to hear from them in a bit first.

But while we watch these play out, let's go now to our Arlette Saenz, who is there watching this in-person. Can you tell us what you are expecting to hear? This is a very pivotal time. And this pomp and circumstance -- it's quite, big, isn't it? There's a lot going on here.

SAENZ (voice over): Yes. Right now, we're really seeing the formality of the state visit playing out, as you heard. There was the national anthems of both countries and that 21-gun salute, which we could see taking place just on the south end of The Ellipse here at the White House complex. You now have each of the leaders reviewing the troops, as there are troops from each of the military branches here in the U.S. In a short while we will be hearing remarks from both President Biden and South Korean President Yoon.

Now, I will note that last night, they -- the Bidens, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, accompanied the South Korean leader and his wife, Mrs. Kim, to the Korean War Memorial. That was their first opportunity to visit during this official state visit. This is only the second state visit that the Biden White House has been able to hold. They held one in December for French President Emmanuel Macron.

The White House is actually a bit delayed in being able to hold state visits due to the coronavirus pandemic. But today, we are seeing all of that pomp and circumstance on full display and we are also expecting some pretty significant announcements and deliverables when it comes to this new agreement between the U.S. and South Korea in its efforts to try to address North Korea's nuclear provocations.

Included in that agreement, which is called the Washington Declaration, is a pretty significant element which says that the U.S. will be deploying strategic assets to South Korea in an effort to try to visibly show their deterrence efforts, and that includes deploying a U.S. nuclear ballistic submarine, the first time this will be sent to North Korea since the 1980s. It's a move that could cause some consternation for the North Koreans.

But it does come at a time when efforts to engage diplomatically with North Korea trying to discuss their nuclear ambitions have really stalled out. Those efforts have been unanswered at this time. So, right now, you have the U.S. and South Korea president preparing to meet today as they're trying to show that they are working towards that nuclear deterrence of North Korea.

[10:25:02]

SIDNER (voice over): All right. Let's listen in to the president who is speaking now.

BOLDUAN (voice over): We're going to be jumping into listen to President Biden and President Yoon when they do speak. But as we continue to see these fun pictures, Jeff Zeleny, let me bring you back in. It does beg the question as there's such going to be clearly and understandably a big focus foreign policy, the Biden doctrine, Joe Biden's approach to foreign policy, his track record now on foreign policy, how important is that, what role will that play in his re- election bid?

ZELENY (voice over): Well, Kate, it is very important and these are striking images here seeing is President Biden, the commander-in- chief, asking Americans for a second chance at this, asking Americans to elect the, indeed, oldest U.S. president to be their commander-in- chief.

This is what he loves the most about the job, really restoring these international alliances. One thing that has frustrated him is that he's been unable to bring the country together but he has revitalized international alliances. Certainly his foreign policy will be front and center in a presidential re-election bid, particularly if he is running again against former President Donald Trump.

It is a stark contrast, their policy differences certainly with North Korea, certainly with the Republic of Korea overall in the nuclear posture. So, this is one thing. It doesn't get as much attention, perhaps, in the domestic media or among voters and this is what President Biden sinks his teeth into, these international alliances that he's been able to revitalize. And this is one of the moments he's waited for all his life. He loves this the most about being the president, Kate.

BERMAN (voice over): The Aviators are on. Let's listen to the president of the United States.

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Today, I invite great friends back to the White House. Welcome to the White House. Today, we celebrate the iron clad alliance, the shared vision our future and the deep friendship that unites the Republic of Korea and the United States. President Yoon, Mrs. Kim, you were kind enough to host me in Seoul last year, just ten days after your inauguration, and Jill and I are honored to be able to return some of your hospitality with your second state visit to this administration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

BIDEN: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the alliance between our two nations. It is an unbreakable bond forged in bravery and the sacrifice of our people, sanctified by the blood of American and Korean troops who fought and defended liberty. And I am proud we're joined today by veterans of the Korean War.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

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