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South Korean President Declares Martial Law; Rebels Taking Territory In Syria Are Part Of Terrorist Group; Hegseth Meets GOP Senators Amid New Misconduct Allegations. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 03, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:01:18]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Standoff in South Korea after a declaration of martial law by the country's President. Lawmakers there voting to block that decree, but neither side is backing down.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, he could be the nation's next secretary of defense. But new allegations against Pete Hegseth are complicating his confirmation process. Will Republican senators confront the new claims in face to face meetings with him today on the Hill?

And CNN takes you to the front lines of the war between Ukraine and Russia. Ukrainian troops fighting to keep control of the Kursk region, battling what they call unlimited enemies and their own exhaustion. We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN News Central.

KEILAR: We are following breaking news. South Korea on edge. The Biden administration says it is watching the fast moving developments that are unfolding right now on the Korean Peninsula with quote, "grave concern" after the country's President stunningly declared martial law. He claimed in a surprise late night address that he was declaring martial law to protect the country from, quote, "communist forces".

SANCHEZ: The move drove large crowds of protesters to the streets of Seoul, some of them fiercely clashing with South Korean troops who are trying to enforce that decree. The country's parliament moved quickly, voting unanimously to block it. South Korea's Opposition Leader called the President's move illegal and unconstitutional. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE JAE-MYUNG, SOUTH KOREA'S OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER: Soon tanks, armored personnel carriers and soldiers with guns and knives will rule the country. The judicial system is suspended and an emergency martial law regime where soldiers deliver a summary of judgment has begun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's start with CNN's Natasha Bertrand at the Pentagon Forest where we are expecting a briefing at any moment. Natasha, how concerned are officials there about the situation in Seoul? NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, it is deeply concerning because the U.S. has a very large military presence in South Korea. Approximately 28,500 U.S. service members are serving in South Korea in places like Seoul, at the DMZ, that demilitarized zone between north and South Korea.

And it obviously poses a pretty direct challenge to the U.S. relationship with the Republic of Korea, which they have had a strong alliance for the last 70 years, a decades long alliance that has really been built upon this idea of in more recent years, South Korea's kind of burgeoning democracy and the fact that it stands as one of the most solid democracies in the Indo-Pacific.

And so right now, the Pentagon is really just trying to get a handle on what exactly is going on here, whether martial law there is going to continue, what it's actually going to mean for the many American forces that are there, many of whom typically wander the streets, of course, of South Korea, of Seoul in their American military uniforms.

But look, this is a relationship that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has really touted over the last few years of this Biden administration, particularly as the U.S. has tried to use its military presence on the Korean peninsula as a way to basically serve as a counterweight to the Chinese in the region because, of course, of that very close partnership that the U.S. has with the South Korean military. As well, of course, as a bulwark against North Korea and its many provocations against the South.

And so the U.S. just really watching and waiting to see what happens here.

[14:05:01]

But I think that something that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said when the President of South Korea visited the Pentagon earlier this year is really notable. He said, quote, "The ROK and the U.S. have a shared vision rooted in freedom, democracy and the rule of law. So now obviously, that is very much being tested at the moment.

KEILAR: Yeah, it certainly is. Natasha Bertrand, live for us at the Pentagon.

Let's talk a little bit more about this with retired General Wesley Clark, who's the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander. Sir, what are your concerns here? Because there's so many reasons to be worried when you consider that a stable Korea is certainly important to a very stable American presence or power in the Asia Pacific region. And then you also have tens and tens of thousands of service members, their families, contractors, etc. there.

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Well, that's the -- the first thing, is the safety of the American soldiers there, the civilians, the contractors and their families. But the major installations are outside Seoul. There may be a few people in there, but we're south of Seoul. We shouldn't have a lot of people involved in it. And right now, it's four o'clock in the morning there. There shouldn't be any Americans on the street working with this. We've always been concerned about a certain North Korean influence underground in South Korea. We always knew that they could summon out tens of thousands of demonstrators in the street on certain issues.

And we don't know how much of that is at play here. But our relationship with the South Korean military is built on many, many years of shared exercises, shared schooling, working together day and night. So we've got a very, very solid relationship with the South Korean military.

We know them, they know us, and we work together very closely. We don't see that in jeopardy at this point. Real question is, what's happening here? Why did we -- why did South Korea feel there was a need to declare martial law? How is this going to be resolved? How is it going to be resolved peacefully? And then we got to get into the bigger questions about what it means for foreign policy.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, General, I just want to let our viewers know we're looking at live photos of protesters still gathered outside the national assembly, where we just saw moments ago there are apparently lawmakers still inside the building and their staff. We assume it's 4:06 a.m. local time there. So obviously this -- actually, we want to go straight to the Pentagon. General Pat Ryder is giving a briefing to the press. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. PAT RYDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: As I highlight at the top, the U.S. government writ large is in contact with the Republic of Korea and of course, we'll keep you updated on that front.

MAN #1: Have there been any changes to U.S. force posture with the number of troops we have in there --

RYDER: There have been no changes to my knowledge.

MAN #1: And have you seen any indications North Korea is poised or trying or willing to take advantage of the situation?

RYDER: Of course. We're closely monitoring the situation, but I'm not aware of any force posture changes. Jennifer (ph).

WOMAN #1: General Ryder, can you assure the American people that U.S. troops in Syria are secure and defended tonight?

RYDER: Yes.

WOMAN #1: And who do you think -- can you explain a little bit more about the HTS? Are the Syrian Democratic Forces joining them in sort of potentially overthrowing Assad in these areas? Are they operating separately? Who's behind this group? Do you describe them as an Al- Qaeda affiliate?

RYDER: Yeah. So, you know, I'll answer your question, but I'll say upfront for SDS operations. I'd refer you to them, but I can tell you from what I've seen two separate things. You've got HDS -- HTS, rather, operating up near Aleppo, moving southwards toward Hama. This group is essentially a spinoff of Al-Nusra Front, which was an Al- Qaeda spinoff. And so ,again, a recognized terrorist group and part of the morass, so to speak, of many different groups that have been fighting the Assad regime for several years now.

The SDF, of course, do have personnel that are up in that area of Northwest Syria, but predominantly down in eastern and Northeastern Syria. Our focus has been on working with the SCF rather, as it relates to countering ISIS, and that continues to be our focus.

WOMAN #1: Are you seeing Iranian Brett (ph) groups come across from Iraq? Are you concerned about, again, a flood of foreign fighters coming in from either Lebanon or Iraq?

RYDER: Jennifer, I haven't seen anything at this point to indicate anything large scale like that. I have seen some --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right. We were listening into the Pentagon press briefing there. Pat Ryder telling folks, they were asking if there are any changes to the U.S. force posture in South Korea because of course there's tens of thousands of troops there and this is a deployment where their families often go with them.

[14:10:03]

So there's a lot of Americans there in South Korea, he said no changes at this point in time. We're going to continue to monitor that briefing to see if there's more.

SANCHEZ: CNN's Oren Lieberman, we should point out, also asked if there was any indication that North Korean had moved any of its forces in response to this uncertain moment in South Korea, and his response was no, they were not aware of any posture changes as a result of the declaration of martial law and the protests. In result, I believe we still have General Wesley Clark with us.

General that certainly is a reassuring notion that there haven't been any considerable changes to North Korean posture and that U.S. forces are considered safe at the moment. No posture changes there. I do want to ask you about the U.S. presence there moving forward, specifically in the incoming Trump administration, Donald Trump, who as recently as this summer talked about South Korea potentially being a money machine and asking the south to pay billions of dollars to maintain that U.S. presence there.

Given the strain in relations among South Korean leaders, how do you see the U.S. influence playing out in the region, given that the Trump administration, at least the first Trump turn, saw that relationship as largely transactional?

CLARK: I think the next Trump administration will see it as more fundamental, not just transactional. The Koreans are paying a lot of money already to keep the U.S. forces there. But when you're looking at China, Ukraine, Russia, all of the different geopolitical theaters of contention today, those forces in Korea, the stability of Korea, the relationship with Korea, are fundamental to our security in the western Pacific and dealing with China. So I don't think that you're going to see any great change in the force structure there.

KEILAR: Yeah, explain that, General Clark, because I think, you know, maybe someone listening to something sort of a threat that Trump is making or sort of saying that South Korea seems to be the one benefiting from the U.S. troop presence. The U.S.'s role in the region when it comes to their relationship with Japan and the Philippines and South Korea. Just explain how the U.S. benefits from this that they have decided to have so many troops in the region.

CLARK: So we've benefited enormously economically from the stability in Asia. These are major trading partners with the United States. A third of the world's commerce, Shipborne, goes through the South China Sea. That's to Japan, that's to the Philippines. Of course, it's also to China and Korea. So our forces are there. We're part of geopolitical stability in the region.

And we've pledged to maintain that because it's in America's interest to have that stability. We don't want the supply chains interrupted. We don't want conflict and putting a few thousand troops, leaving them in South Korea, another several thousand troops in Japan, principally air force in Japan and then training exercises and some bases we can go in and out of in the Philippines.

It's -- it's cost effective because the interruptions in and conflict in that region would devastate the American economy and the American consumer. So keeping those troops there working for stability, it's a bargain. The Koreans know it, the Japanese know it, and, and they're paying part of the cost of those troops there.

KEILAR: Yeah. And we'll be keeping our eye, of course, on -- on South Korea as there is this disagreement, obviously, between the President and lawmakers, and we're trying to make some heads or tails of it. General Clark, thank you so much.

CLARK: Thank you.

KEILAR: Ahead this hour on CNN News Central, President Elect Trump's pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, is meeting with Republican senators on the Hill as new allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual harassment threatened to upend his confirmation. We'll have the latest details.

SANCHEZ: Plus, a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon is at risk of falling apart as the two sides continue to exchange deadly fire nearly a week after the truce. We're live in the Middle East.

And jury deliberations are happening now in the manslaughter trial of Daniel Penney. He's the former marine charged in that chokehold death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway last year. These important stories and many more all coming in this hour on CNN News Central.

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[14:19:12]

KEILAR: On Capitol Hill, Pete Hegseth's fate as President Elect Donald Trump's defense secretary hangs in the balance as he meets today with key Republican senators amid scathing new reports of inappropriate behavior. According to the New Yorker, the former Fox host was pushed out as the head of two veteran's advocacy organizations because of accusations of misconduct and mismanagement.

And among the accusations are claims that Hegseth was repeatedly intoxicated at work events and gatherings with staff, and that he sexually pursued female staffers. In one complaint, an employee says Hegseth yelled multiple times, quote, "kill all Muslims" while drunk at a hotel bar. CNN previously reported that Hegseth had reached a settlement agreement with a woman who accused Hegseth of sexually assaulting her back in 2017.

[14:20:04]

He says that that encounter was consensual.

CNN's Lauren Fox is standing by for us live on Capitol Hill. What are we expecting from these hearings today? Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDET: Yeah, we expect more meetings today on Capitol Hill as Pete Hegseth goes from one Republican lawmaker to another having these conversations not just about what his future would look like at the Pentagon, but also some of these questions that you can expect some Republican lawmakers are going to want answers to in the course of the next several days.

You know, I talked to Shelley Moore Capito, who is one of the Republican senators who will meet with Hegseth later today last night. And we were pushing her on what she thought of these recent allegations, some of which you just detailed in the intro. And you know, she argued that these are things that she does want answers on. These are things that may come up in her conversation with Hegseth. She said that she would need to talk with him first before knowing exactly what she thought of some of this new reporting out there.

But that really does contrast with other Republicans he's met with. He met with several Republicans last night. There were about a dozen Republicans meeting with him and his wife in the Capitol. And we were told in that discussion that these issues didn't come up at all. So that just gives you a sense, Brianna, of different ways that different lawmakers are looking at these accusations.

I should note that there's just a narrow number of Republicans that it would take to tank this nomination. We are not talking about 10 Republicans here. We are talking about Republicans not being able to lose any more than three members. So that means that if there are questions from just a handful that could really derail this nomination. But Brianna, obviously watching very closely, some of those meetings happening this afternoon on the Hill.

KEILAR: Yes, we certainly are. Lauren Fox, thank you for the report. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Despite the allegations against Hegseth, a top Trump adviser says the transition team is confident that he will be confirmed.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is live for us now in West Palm Beach, Florida, near Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. Kristen, what are you hearing from within Trump's inner circle about these new accusations against the former FOX News host?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it depends, Boris, if you mean privately or publicly, publicly, they are standing by their man. As you noted, a top -- a top Trump adviser saying that there were no concerns. We'll get to that to one second. But privately, there is always going to be concerns around such a narrow margin, as Lauren was just describing.

I've talked to a number of sources close to Donald Trump, close to Pete Hegseth, who say that they aren't 100% sure that he can be confirmed, but they are still beating the drum for Hegseth. This was the advisor, Jason Miller today talking about Hegseth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON MILLER, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: When it comes to Pete Hegseth, there aren't any concerns, and we feel very good about his positioning for being confirmed by the Senate. The letter of the New Yorker, or the -- whatever they called it, the New Yorker, with their piece that they ran, that was basically just innuendo and gossip. It was written by a disgruntled former employee. And so, again, this was not some legal finding or something in the court of law. This is a former employee who -- who was very much -- very much did not like Pete.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And just to be clear on that, there was a whistleblower report, but then there were also letters that confirmed some of this various reporting. I had been told behind the scenes that Hegseth has said that he has turned his life around and that there are people close to Donald Trump who believe that that to be true.

But one of the concerns that I have heard, which is not necessarily about the allegations that have come out, but also about what could potentially still be out there, we've seen this sort of drip, drip, drip of information coming out about Pete Hegseth.

It started with those allegations of sexual assault back in 2017. Then it was the police report. Then it was the news that they had reached a settlement and there was a payoff involved, and now, this New Yorker article.

So the question is how much that Trump and his allies put up with (inaudible) they turn their back on Hegseth. As we still know, again, there is a narrow margin. That margin probably becomes even narrower if we hear any kind of disgruntled or unhappy talk from Trump's team.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, just a handful of Republicans could tank that nomination.

Kristen, I want to pivot to a meeting that Donald Trump had at Mar-a- Lago with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. You have some new reporting on that.

HOLMES: That's right. So this happened last Friday. We knew that Justin Trudeau came down to Mar-a-Lago to have dinner with Donald Trump. This came after Donald Trump had talked about imposing 25% tariffs on Canada for any of their imports.

And during the conversation at the table, it came up that this would hurt Canada's economy. This was something that Trudeau had said to Donald Trump. It was one of the first things that they had talked about within their long conversation, their long dinner. And Donald Trump at that point joked that if it was going to be such a burden that perhaps Canada should become a 51st state, then they wouldn't have to actually pay those tariffs.

[14:25:03]

Now, I have two sources that briefed me on this. They were told about this conversation. One of them insisted that this was a joke, that everybody at the table received it as such. The other one told me more matter of factly that that was just something that Donald Trump said. Basically we were not there to be a fly on the wall, though to see Justin Trudeau's reaction would be quite something.

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes, live for us in West Palm Beach, Florida. Thank you so much, Kristen.

Up next, CNN joins Ukrainian soldiers as they fight inside Russia. Hear what they told us about the troops they're encountering.

Plus, the NFL finally speaking out on that controversial hit that left Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence concussed on the field. Stay with CNN News Central. We're back in just a few minutes.

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