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South Korean President Says He Will Lift Martial Law; Hegseth Meets GOP Senators Amid New Misconduct Allegations; Rep. Pat Ryan (D- NY) Talks About Pete Hegseth's Nomination; China Bans Sale Of Materials For Chips & Batteries To U.S.; Ukrainian Commander: We See "Unlimited" Supply Of Russian Fighters; Ukrainian Troops Defend Against Drone Attacks in Kursk. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired December 03, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The family, though, has its own questions about how and why she left.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

We have breaking news, South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol is backing down, saying that he's going to lift his martial law order. And this comes after the country's parliament voted to unanimously block that decree that he had made, and after the president's own party urged him to drop it.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Yes, that declaration led to huge swarms of protesters hitting the streets of Seoul, demanding that he lift the order, many demanding the president's resignation. Let's go live to the scene in South Korea's capital with CNN's Mike Valerio.

Mike, what are you seeing?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're seeing people in shock and dismay occupying this block, which is right in front of the National Assembly. One of the scenes where this drama played out, where, as you mentioned, all the members of the National Assembly, or many of the members of the National Assembly, come back and unanimously vote to overturn and suspend martial law instituted here in South Korea.

So let's push in, show you some of these protesters. There were hundreds of people before. You know, when we were on, Boris and Brianna, earlier in the evening, I would say about three hours ago, we saw two military vehicles that were trying to get out of here. One of the pieces of good news that we've been able to report since we were on the air, we saw troops, members of the military, who were positioned up and down this street.

Again, one of the main streets of Seoul, one of the main avenues looking to the beautiful National Assembly, all of those military assets seem to have dispersed after that unanimous decision from the parliament and after we heard from South Korea's president that, yep, he was going to back down. Now, what we're waiting for, the cabinet has to come in of the presidential administration and simply give the rubber stamp and say, okay, this is all over. But it seems to be, you know, a palpable sigh of relief. People still honestly befuddled, Boris and Brianna, of how this happened. We have the South Korean president giving a speech over live TV, unannounced, saying that, from his point of view, pro-North Korean and anti-state forces were working to overturn the government and infiltrate the state.

And we're all kind of wondering, what is he talking about? Very unclear, no specific pieces of evidence and people who you talk to are wondering similar things. How did the president even decide this? How did he take us down this path? It's such a sensitive, of course, tributary of South Korean history, wrapping up here, because this is the first time since 1980 that martial law was instituted right after the Korean War. This is a place where dictators ruled, essentially. We have 28,500 American troops who are spread throughout the country, a crucial American ally.

Stability here is key, so we seem to be breathing a sigh of relief, but need to hear from the president about why he did this and what is next, Boris and Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. And Mike, what about his future? He's so unpopular, as you have noted in your reports. Can he survive this ...

VALERIO: Yes.

KEILAR: ... politically?

VALERIO: You know, so many rules of politics have been rewritten over the past couple of years. It seems unlikely that he will be able to survive. But his critics would say that he does thrive on drama and taking a tough stand, especially against North Korea and being a fighter. So who knows? Unable to answer that question before the sun rises.

If he will resign, so many people want him to. Will he survive? It seems unlikely, but we're buckling up here in East Asia. It remains to be seen.

SANCHEZ: Mike Valerio with the latest from Seoul. Thank you so much for that update.

Let's bring in CNN Political and National Security Analyst, David Sanger.

David, thank you so much for being with us. One of the outstanding questions here is why South Korea's president would have taken this step of declaring martial law if he had all suspected that his National Assembly, including the members of his own party, even the leader of his own party, would vote unanimously to overturn that declaration. What was he trying to accomplish?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: You know, it's a real mystery because it does seem as if he has made one of the great political errors you possibly could. Now, I covered South Korea back in the days when martial law was coming to an end in the 1980s. And the population does not want to go back to that age when even the first presidents who were elected were former generals.

[15:05:07]

And so the transition to a true democracy and to becoming the world's 12th largest economy, which is South Korea's position today, is something that South Koreans of both parties cherish. And so how he thought he was going to get away with this is a mystery to me, especially because, as one U.S. official noted to me in his initial statement five or six hours ago, there was no mention of North Korea, of a threat to the sanctity of the state of South Korea. This was all about a way to resolve political gridlock.

KEILAR: Yes, I mean, to that point, how is the U.S. viewing this, David, because a stable and democratic South Korea is so important to America when it comes to commerce, when it comes to its alliances and its power in the Asia-Pacific region. How are U.S. officials reacting?

SANGER: Well, first, they were shocked, Brianna, because they had gotten no advance notice of this, which is, you know, violation of rule number one with your major allies. Second, they viewed it initially as a huge embarrassment to President Biden, who in May - I'm sorry, in March of 2023, invited South Korea to be one of the co- sponsors of one of the White House democracy summits, and the agenda calls for countering authoritarianism. So, martial law doesn't exactly fit into that.

You may recall that the Biden administration, to its credit, brought South Korea and Japan together to help counter China and, of course, North Korea, and considered that one of its major accomplishments in the Indo-Pacific. And that was an initiative that ran through with President Yoon. But they were clearly worried about him, just because of the question of his political unpopularity.

They were shocked today. I had text messages from administration officials who said their public statements were going to be pretty mild, so that they could leave the president room to back down, President Yoon room to back down. And that's exactly what he did. And, you know, we'd all love to hear what those private messages to him were.

SANCHEZ: David, I'm curious about the veracity of his claims, his justification for installing martial law, one of them being that pro- North Korean operatives had infiltrated the state apparatus. Now, we've seen North Korea conduct some international operations before. I think that the Sony hack is one example, Kim Jong-un going after family members abroad, murdering family members abroad. But is that a legitimate concern for the South Korean government?

SANGER: Well, as I mentioned before, the statement said nothing about the stability of the South Korean state. So are there North Korean operatives or sympathizers in South Korea? Yes, of course. Have there been since the war ended in 1953? Yes, of course there have been. And so what he didn't do was make the connection about whether or not those influences were actually a true threat to South Korea. And, you know, the only threat to South Korea from the North that I can see is a nuclear one, right? The North now has 60 or more nuclear weapons. Even mounting a conventional attack across the DMZ would be hard for North Korea.

So this seemed more like pretense in order to get the upper hand in what I described before as political gridlock than any real threat to the South Korean state. In fact, I can recall many other moments when I think South Korea's nascent democracy was more threatened in the late '80s and early '90s, than it is today.

KEILAR: Great perspective, David, drawing from your years of reporting there and watching in the last decades. David Sanger, thank you so much.

SANGER: Thank you. Great to be with you.

KEILAR: Back here in Washington on Capitol Hill, Pete Hegseth is meeting with Republican senators who will decide whether he will become the nation's next defense secretary as he's facing some serious new allegations that could - that will complicate his confirmation process.

SANCHEZ: The New Yorker is reporting that the former Fox News host was forced out of two previous leadership roles with veterans organizations for allegedly being drunk on the job multiple times.

[15:10:07]

That's among other allegations, according to a whistleblower report and other documents obtained by the magazine. Let's take you to Capitol Hill now with CNN's Lauren Fox as these key meetings get underway.

Lauren, are you hearing any indication from lawmakers about Hegseth's chances of confirmation?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, I would put Republican lawmakers really in two different categories, Boris. There are those who want to rubber stamp Donald Trump's selections for his cabinet, who believe that Donald Trump should get whoever he wants to serve in his administration. And then there are the members who really do take this advice and consent declaration and the rules of the Senate really seriously and have serious questions about Hegseth's nomination.

Now, today on Capitol Hill, Hegseth came back and is meeting with a series of members who are serving on the Senate Armed Service Committee. We expect that those meetings are going to continue to take place into the afternoon and perhaps even early evening today. But this comes after he did meet with a number of members yesterday who said that they didn't even push him on some of these allegations that The New Yorker and you guys just referenced.

And so I think that that is really something to keep an eye on in the weeks and days ahead. It's important to keep in mind that it only takes just a handful of Republicans to derail his nomination. And I think that in the reporting that I have been doing over the course of the last several weeks, there have been questions about Hegseth and his involvement in these veterans groups, as well as questions about some of just past comments he's made about women serving in combat. I mean, those are issues that have come up repeatedly in conversations that he's been having with members.

One other thing to keep in mind is that this is going to be a long and arduous road. Obviously, we are still weeks away from any potential confirmation hearing that would happen in public. And you're starting to hear from some Republicans that they want those FBI background checks for some of these nominees, because that is going to be a really important part of just making sure that these individuals are vetted. I heard that yesterday from Sen. Susan Collins in conversations I was having with her about what she thought of these nominees.

SANCHEZ: Lauren Fox, thank you so much for the update.

Let's dig deeper now with Democratic Congressman Pat Ryan of New York. He's a member of the Armed Services Committee and he served two combat tours in Iraq.

Congressman, thank you so much for being with us today. I want to ask you about Pete Hegseth. But first, there's some 29,000 U.S. service members stationed in South Korea, not to mention contract workers and their family members. What's your reaction first to this declaration of martial law, the National Assembly's response, and now the president of South Korea saying that he would lift this order?

REP. PAT RYAN (D-NY): Thanks for having me. A lot to process here, obviously, in a short amount of time. One of the first things I learned as an Army intelligence officer is the first report isn't always necessarily full or accurate, excuse me, so I think important to take a breath here.

I'm very encouraged by what appears to be the backing down of the president, but we're watching this incredibly carefully. I'm proud to serve on the Armed Services Committee. We're centering and thinking about those almost 30,000 brave American men and women under important - for the American people to know under the able leadership of Gen. LaCamera, who's the commander there, who we've been, you know, briefed by multiple times. And I think I'm optimistic we'll make it through what appears to be a turbulent time there.

SANCHEZ: Given that it is a turbulent time, and that North Korea and China appear to be getting closer to Russia, and it's a delicate time in that region, I'm curious what you think the approach from the incoming Trump administration should be, given his previous comments about charging billions of dollars from South Korea to maintain a U.S. troop presence there.

RYAN: Well, it's so important to center our men and women in uniform, especially in a situation like this. Volatility now in the Asia Pacific, in Ukraine and Europe, in the Middle East, including, you know, just in the last few days in Syria. We need leaders, cabinet secretaries, that are serious, qualified, nonpartisan. I mean, just the coverage of Mr. Hegseth, it's incredibly concerning. And I think this should not be seen through the partisan lens. Unqualified, unexperienced, unserious and now a mountain - a growing mountain, I should say, of evidence to be concerned about.

Will a few Republican senators not behave as partisans, but actually act as patriots here and think about our troops? I hope they will.

SANCHEZ: It would only take roughly four of them to go against his nomination, to essentially upend it. I do want to ask you about a comment from Wyoming senator, Cynthia Lummis.

[15:15:00]

She told reporters, quote, "At a time when Americans are losing confidence in their own military and our ability to project strength around the world, that Pete Hegseth is the answer to that concern."

Now, polls do show that confidence in the military has hit its lowest point in two decades. I wonder why you think that is and why there's a belief among some that someone like Hegseth could buck that trend and turn it around.

RYAN: Look, I was part of serving in our two longest wars in our country's history. I served in Iraq, and I think there's an important distinction between respect and appreciation for our troops and those in harm's way who are following the orders that they're given versus some of the senior leadership, whether appointed or senior military officers. There's good reason to have healthy skepticism about our failures and shortcomings in those two wars.

But it's been so infuriating to me, frankly, to see the politicization of our military, especially by President Trump and by folks like Pete Hegseth, who I think whatever their intent is there, what it's done is put our service members who take an oath to follow the orders they're given as long as they're lawful, it puts them right in the crosshairs of a political battle when that's so counter to our whole founding principles and our constitution of an apolitical military with civilian oversight, and now we're seeing that trust erode. We have to build that trust back up, and Hegseth would unequivocally do the opposite for a whole bunch of reasons.

SANCHEZ: What about the argument that a president should have in his or her cabinet whoever he would like? I think that goes counter to just the history and the founding principles of our country, the checks and balances captured so importantly and powerfully in the constitution, the Senate now has to really have full investigations, and if the transition team doesn't do it, they should demand full impartial investigations.

And this is, again, go back to our troops, this is what we owe them, especially the Secretary of Defense, such a serious position, it holds the lives of our - of precious lives, our young men and women in uniform, in their hands. This has to be a serious apolitical process. SANCHEZ: To your point about investigations and background checks, there are some senators that have expressed an openness to forego what's become a standard part of the process, these FBI background checks. Should that prevent any nominee not having an FBI background check from being confirmed?

RYAN: I don't know that it has to be by the FBI, but it should be seen as an independent, objective, nonpartisan, apolitical background check. I mean, I went through this for my top-secret security clearance, everybody that has been through that process understands the sort of sacred nature of the trust that comes with a security clearance or such a senior position as secretary of defense, and we have to maintain that trust with, especially those that raise their right hand and take this oath, that's what we owe them.

SANCHEZ: Finally, Congressman, I want to get your reaction to some of the criticism that we've been hearing from fellow Democrats about President Biden pardoning his son, Hunter Biden. Do you believe, as some Democrats have expressed, that he put personal considerations over his repeated vows to uphold the rule of law?

RYAN: Yes, I think it was a major mistake, a disappointing mistake, one that erodes that same trust that's so foundational to our democracy. I have two kids, I get it on a personal level, but we have to hold our elected officials, both President Biden and President- elect Trump, to that higher standard, whether it's about pardons, whether it's about appointments or any policy or political decision that they make. And that's, again, there's such distrust right now, especially in a district like mine, a very purple district. That's what I hear over and over from people is that distrust, and it's our job as elected officials to rebuild that trust.

SANCHEZ: Congressman Pat Ryan, we appreciate your service. We appreciate you being here to answer our questions. Thanks so much for joining us.

RYAN: Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: Appreciate it.

Still ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, the race for tech dominance, China banning the sale of materials crucial for the production of semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries to the United States. Hear what prompted this move and the potential consequences for the economy of the future.

Plus, the LAPD is saying they have new video that shows missing woman, Hannah Kobayashi voluntarily walking across the border into Mexico unharmed. That and much more coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:24:06]

KEILAR: It's a fight over who controls the future between China and the U.S. At stake are the building blocks of modern industry, the raw materials for batteries and the computer chips that power artificial intelligence. Today, China banned the sale of those materials to the U.S. after accusing the U.S. of abusing the system and using bullying tactics. We have CNN's Sean Lyngaas following this tit-for-tat going on.

Tell us what's happening here, Sean.

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Well, Brianna, this is really an escalation in the trade war between China and the U.S. And it comes, obviously, as President Trump is poised to take power. And he's promising steep increases in tariffs. So this is kind of further seeding that ground. And what we saw today from China was an announcement that they are going to block some shipments to the U.S. of critical minerals that are used, like you said, in just about every walk of life.

We're talking about electric vehicles.

[15:25:00]

We're talking about weapons systems. And that's a direct response to what the Commerce Department on Monday here in the U.S. announced against China, that export controls to China in some of those same areas were being restricted, so it's very much an escalation, a tit- for-tat. And it all comes as U.S. officials are increasingly concerned that China could invade Taiwan in the next several years.

So that is where it really matters in terms of how this technology is being used. It's the two biggest economies in the world fighting over scarce resources. And their fight has potential to send shockwaves through the global economy, Brianna.

KEILAR: And what's really at stake here? What does this come down to as they're battling it out?

LYNGAAS: Right. It comes down to how these computing chips are used. You know, you're talking about advanced weapons systems that can be used to target people in the Pacific and elsewhere where China and the U.S. could have a potential conflict. And you're talking about breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, where we've all seen some of the rudimentary AI that's being used now in five years that's going to make that look like child's play. So China and the U.S. want to have a leg up on each other on that, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. Sean Lyngaas, thank you for the reporting. We appreciate it. Boris?

SANCHEZ: In Russia's war on Ukraine, a CNN team was on the front line with Ukrainian soldiers fighting inside Russia's Kursk region, an area that's been taken by Ukraine. There, Ukrainian soldiers told us they faced a, quote, unlimited supply of Russian fighters.

One unit commander saying this, quote, "They send groups, and almost no one remains alive. And the next day, the groups go again. The next Russians, it seems, do not know what happened to the previous Russians. They go there into the unknown. No one tells them anything about it, and no one comes back."

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has much more from Kursk. And a warning before we run this piece, this report contains some disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They have a three-second window, rushing out with the U.S.-supplied Stinger and an aging anti-aircraft gun to shoot down Russian attack drones in the fleeting moment they fly overhead in range.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Foreign language).

WALSH (off camera): Three kilometers from them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH (voice over): They could hit that and prepare to, but the radar is wrong and they pause to hear it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Foreign language). Turn there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH (voice over): So reposition the entire truck, but suddenly the drone has vanished. It sounded like a decoy but that usually means others are coming and the sky is filling up with drones in the next region.

A month ago, the targets here seemed endless.

November was a record month for drones across Ukraine that usually crash into towns, not this empty field. Their sound slices through the dark.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH (off camera): It was pretty low and close, and while they think this is Ukrainian drones headed for Russia, the Russians also used this moment to take the same routes to try and sneak their drones in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH (voice over): Right now, a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia is underway. So they've been forbidden, even if they could, to fire. Each night they watch Russian drones weave their complex way out of their tiny range.

When the defenses fail, the icy silence breaks. Moscow pummeling the border town Sumy here with a cluster munition missile that killed 12 at an apartment block because Ukraine is still inside Russia, holding positions in Kursk.

This thermal drone image shows just hours earlier, the dawn's fight in Kursk for Oleksandr.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLEKSANDR, COMPANY COMMANDER, 225TH ASSAULT BATTALION: (Foreign language) The assault teams came in the dawn grey. There was almost no contact. We worked with birds (drones). Then the infantry simply swept them up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH (voice over): In the positions they've hit, no sign of the North Korean troops meant to be in Kursk. Instead Chechens, even African mercenaries. But above all, endless waves of Russians

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLEKSANDR: (Foreign language) I have the impression they have unlimited people. It's like the next Russians don't know what happened to the previous Russians. So they go there, into the unknown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH (voice over): His Humvee is a mess. He hasn't slept for three days and shelling has damaged his hearing. But he knows what he'd say to President-elect Donald Trump.

"When Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in the '90s, we were promised protection."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLEKSANDR: (Foreign language) You took away our nuclear weapons? You promised us protection? Yes, in simple terms, so keep your word.

We're being slaughtered, and you're still trying to play games, to defend your interests. You have to give everything you could to end this war in two days.

[15:30:01]

Who will believe the words of the U.S. or England, who are pissing themselves in front of Russia? Pardon my English.