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U.N.: Serious Human Rights Violations Committed In China; IAEA Team To Visit Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Thursday; Donald Trump Team Doubles Down On Demand For Special Master; Gazprom Shuts Down Nord Stream 1 Until Saturday; Monsoon Rains Trigger Deadly Flooding in Pakistan; U.S. and South Korea Stage Largest Military Drills in Years. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired September 01, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

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[00:00:55]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.

Coming up this hour, the U.N. says it has credible evidence that China has committed serious human rights violations, including torture of Uyghur Muslims, which could amount to crimes against humanity.

Mission unprecedented, international inspectors heading to the frontlines of the war in Ukraine to assess safety levels at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

And in their latest legal arguments, Team Trump continues to insist highly classified documents found in his Mar-a-Lago Country Club belong to the former president. They do not.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: A damning U.N. report outlining evidence of human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity committed by Beijing against ethnic Muslim Uyghurs has finally been published, just 11 minutes before the Human Rights Commissioner ended her four-year long term and stepped down.

China received an advanced copy of the report, has already dismissed the findings, saying they're based on disinformation and lies.

The overall assessment by the U.N. High Commissioner of serious human rights violations in China's Xinjiang province is based on extensive interviews with just 40 people of Uyghur, Kazakh and Kyrgyz (PH) ethnicities.

The report says "Allegations of patterns of torture or ill treatment, including force medical treatment and adverse conditions of detention are credible as are allegations of individual incidents of sexual and gender based violence."

Standing by live this hour CNN's Beijing Bureau Chief Steven Jiang but first, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout live in Hong Kong. Key takeaways from this report, Kristie?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): John, this report is 45 pages long, it was released just minutes before the end of the tenure of the outgoing U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet. And this is a damning document. It says serious human rights violations have been committed in Xinjiang, it adds like crimes against humanity may have been committed in Xinjiang, and it methodically lays out and goes through all the allegations that have been leveled against Beijing over its treatment of Uyghurs as well as other Muslim ethnic groups in the region, including sexual violence and rape, torture and forced medical treatment.

And critically, this report says those allegations are credible.

Inside the report, there are accounts from individuals who had firsthand knowledge and direct experience of what it was like inside these camps. They quote about 26 individuals who either worked or were detained inside these facilities in Xinjiang, and the accounts are truly chilling.

They regularly said that they were administered drugs, forced medication pills, injections. I want to bring up one statement for you, a testimonial from this report, in which the person said this "We received one tablet a day, it looked like aspirin, we were lined up and someone with gloves systematically checked our mouths to make sure we swallowed it."

While others spoke of various forms of sexual violence, including rape, including sexual humiliation, and even forced exams.

In fact, one woman who is quoted in this report describes such an exam taking place in a public setting and said "It made old women ashamed and young girls cry." These are deeply disturbing, damning, and gut wrenching accounts of China has blasted. The release of this report they say that it's full of disinformation and lies.

We had this statement for you which comes from China's Mission to the United Nations in Geneva. They said this "All ethnic groups including the Uyghur are equal members of the Chinese nation. Xinjiang has taken actions to fight terrorism and extremism in accordance with the law, effectively curbing the frequent occurrences of terrorist activities."

China has called the camps in Xinjiang vocational learning centers, training centers for years now. U.N. experts have said that they are extrajudicial detention facilities and among the many that are lined out in this report, the U.N. is also calling on Beijing to take prompt steps to release all those arbitrarily detained. Back to you, John.

[00:05:19]

VAUSE: Kristie, thank you. Let's go to Steven in Beijing.

And Steven, it's one thing when Amnesty International makes these sort of allegations. It's one thing when Human Rights Watch makes similar allegations. It's one thing when the U.S. State Department will make similar claims. It's one thing when the European Union will make these sort of claims.

This is the U.N., a year's long report. It carries weight. How does Beijing respond to all of this?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF (on camera): That's right, John. Not to mention, China has long described itself as a firm believer of the U.N. system in international governance.

But of course, so far, the response as you have heard from Kristie, not surprising, but the timing of this release, of course, is very interesting. It comes just some 40 days away from that very important Communist Party Congress, where Xi Jinping is almost certain to assume a precedent breaking third term as the country's Supreme Leader.

From the outside, this may seem to be embarrassing moment for him. But remember, this issue has been so heavily censored and indoctrinated in this country.

So, for a majority of Chinese citizens, they do seem to have bought into the government version, the party version of events. So, it's in a way this could work in favor of Xi, allowing him to whip further nationalism on this issue at a time when they were facing a growing number of domestic challenges, including the economy.

Remember, Xi Jinping, just very recently in July visited Xinjiang. And that was widely viewed as a victory tour, you know, because he has long said that his policy on Xinjiang is "absolutely correct".

So, even though this time he did not specifically mention any of those internment camps, which of course they call vocational training centers, his underlying message was clear. That is the success from his heartland policy was how they stabilize the region and allowing them now to refocus on economic growth.

That message according to many was not that they were pulling back from the harsh crackdowns in a region but rather, the massive infrastructure of surveillance and security they had to build in the region in the past few years, has now become part of the daily routine part of the social fabric there in Xinjiang, which in a way is even scarier.

And the other thing worth noting, John, of course, is the release of this report. Now, just some 12 days before the last session of the U.N. Human Rights Council this year makes it somewhat difficult for some countries to go through the details and make up their mind.

So, that could also work to China's advantage and China of course already holds very considerable sway within the U.N. system.

Remember, at the Human Rights Council, the Beijing aligned bloc has consistently in the past voted down any resolutions condemning Beijing's human rights record including Xinjiang. So, it's very likely their carrots and sticks approach as well as their attempt to redefine human rights, the U.N. Human Rights Council may continue to work despite this report, John. VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) is to die double down and then try and turn to some kind of domestic political advantage, which is what they've done with many of these reports over the years.

Kristie Lu Stout out there in Hong Kong, thank you. Steven Jiang in Beijing, thanks to you as well.

A team with the U.N. nuclear watchdog expected to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the coming hours, as constant shelling around the facility sparks fears of a nuclear meltdown.

14 experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency will inspect the plant, including the agency's Director General, who says they'd like to establish a permanent presence at the site.

For now, the visit expected to last just a few days. Ukraine's Energy Minister says he hopes the IAEA will also examine security threats at the plant now occupied by Russian forces.

Here's how the head of the agency describes this mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: My mission is a technical mission. It's a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident and to preserve this important, the largest, the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe in the whole of Europe, not only in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The Zaporizhzhia facility isn't the only nuclear power plant in Ukraine under threat.

CNN's Sam Kiley has the details.

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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ukraine's second largest nuclear power station is under Russian missile threat, even as warnings of a nuclear disaster of causing international horror at its largest plant.

There's just been a dramatic air raid siren. Do you know what the threat was then?

IHOR POLOVYCH, DIRECTOR GENERAL, SOUTH UKRAINE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT (through translator): Yes, we received information from the military is that the air raid alert was for the danger of flying or launching missiles by aircraft.

KILEY: Can we carry on or do we have to go down again?

[00:10:05]

POLOVYCH: There are planes over Crimea was guided missiles on board. Nobody knows where they will fly. Let's go. KILEY: Down again? So, the directors just said that they've got information that aircraft have been seen in Crimea. They're in this Oblast, this province, or heading in this direction so they pose an immediate threat. This is something that happens several times a day very often they say the sirens are almost back to back.

The director is told that the Russian aircraft crossing the Dnieper (PH) have fired missiles. Ukraine's military are tracking them, trying to figure out if his nuclear power station is the target.

POLOVYCH: Welcome.

KILEY: Impressive.

This monitor shows that background radiation remains normal. Working in this bunker has become a new normal for the teams running the south Ukraine nuclear power plant. The maintenance of Ukraine's four power plants and 50 nuclear reactors is stressed.

POLOVYCH: Parts of the factories that produced spare parts were bombed by Russian Army. That is the moment there is no way to make some types of spare parts.

KILEY: And Russia has stored army trucks in Zaporizhzhia's turbine hall. It's identical to South Ukraine's turbine. Both use highly explosive nitrogen as a coolant. Fire here could be disastrous, and Russia is accused of shelling the plant which it denies.

This man worked at Zaporizhzhia under Russian occupation but fled in June.

OLEKSANDR, FORMER ZAPORIZHZHIA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT WORKER (through translator): The Russians shoot at the territory of the plant, where there's a storage facility for solid weight is, where there's a dry storage facility for nuclear fuel is.

KILEY: At least three Russian missiles have been recorded flying over the South Ukraine plant. Back above ground, the director is amazed by Russia's threats to Ukraine's nuclear industry.

POLOVYCH: They are so smart, they shelled the nuclear power plant. Either the military was not aware of the danger or that it was on purpose.

KILEY: But as this plant generates 10 percent of Ukraine's electricity, in Zaporizhzhia up to 20 percent, there's no wonder that both are such tempting targets.

Sam Kiley, CNN in South Ukraine nuclear power plant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Matthew Kroenig has held a number of senior positions at the Pentagon and within the U.S. intelligence community in the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations. He's also a professor of government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Welcome to the program. MATTHEW KROENIG, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT AND FOREIGN SERVICE, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: It's great to be here.

VAUSE: So, this is an unprecedented undertaking by the IAEA inspecting a nuclear plant in the middle of a war zone. And they're hoping to assess physical damage to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant facilities, determine whether the main and backup safety and security systems are functional, evaluate the plants staff's working conditions, along with performing urgent safeguard activities.

How will they actually be effective given the fact that the Russians control the plant? And they need to talk freely to Ukrainian technicians, for example. How much freedom will they be given here?

KROENIG: Well, it's an important mission indeed, the worst case scenario here could be a meltdown, like we saw at the Fukushima reactors in Japan 10 years ago.

And so, the International Atomic Energy Agency has been wanting to get access to this plant since March. Finally, they have access. There are a lot of concerns about the safety of the plant. And so, that'll be the main part of the mission to make sure that we're not in danger of a meltdown, that everything is working effectively.

But as you point out, the Russians are occupying the plant, they have an incentive to have the IAEA say everything is working fine. The IAEA hopes to talk to the Ukrainian technicians there, but they've been held captive by the Russians since March.

And so, unclear whether they are really going to be able to speak freely with the IAEA. So, an important mission, but a lot of questions hanging over it.

VAUSE: Yes, here's a little more from the director of the IAEA on the authority, which they have to carry out this inspection. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GROSSI: Well, as you know, this is part of Ukraine, currently occupied by Russian forces, but it is clear for us that this is a Ukrainian facility. And if we are here, our authority, legal competence to be here is clearly established by the safeguards agreement that we have with the Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, the invitation by the Ukrainian government gives the IAEA every legal right to have access to the site, to inspect the facility. But that's just like Ukraine in every legal right not to be invaded by Russia in the first place. It kind of ignores the elephant in the room the reality on the ground.

[00:15:02]

KROENIG: Yes, that's right. It's Ukrainian sovereign territory. So, the IAEA can only be invited in by the Ukrainians, but practically the plant has been occupied by the Russians since March.

So, practically, to access the facility, of course requires Russian acquiescence and so, the Ukrainians have been supportive of a visit for some time.

Finally, the Russians have come around and that's why they'll be able to visit it later today.

VAUSE: Why were the Russians, at least initially has sort of the key to have the IAEA access to plant via -- you know, Russian held territory via Crimea? What was the point of that?

KROENIG: Well, I think the both sides are playing politics with this a little bit. But I think the Russians were trying to make it look like this is part of a greater Russia, that coming in through Crimea, which Russia claims is Russian territory, that essentially that this visit could, in a way, establish Russian claims over the territory and around Zaporizhzhia.

VAUSE: As for expectations of what they can actually achieve. Here's Ukraine's energy minister, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN HALUSHCHENKO, UKRAINIAN ENERGY MINISTER: We need to check the real situation on the (INAUDIBLE) because we have now the photos there, we have the heavy records (PH) there. So, we need to check what is really from the point of view of nuclear site within security, that's the first of all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So at a minimum, even given all the, you know, the question marks and all the contingencies and everything else, all the constraints here over this inspection, what can these IAEA inspectors actually achieve sort of at a very baseline here?

KROENIG: Well, it really is a technical visit. And so, they want to check the safety of the reactor, they want to make sure that it's operating appropriately. But it's not a risk of melting down, like we saw with Fukushima, 10 years ago in Japan.

And then, just last week, there was a scare because the power source to the plant was cut off. And if the power is cut off to the plant, the cooling systems could fail. And if the cooling systems could fail, that's one of the things that could lead to a meltdown.

So, the primary purpose of the visit is just to make sure that the plant is operating safely, and that we're not at risk of a major nuclear meltdown and broader ecological disaster.

VAUSE: And are they likely to get to that to achieve that?

KROENIG: I think so. I think if the Russians give them access, if the Russians allow them to talk to the inspectors to use their monitoring equipment, I think they will be able to tell whether the cooling systems are operating effectively, whether everything is operating normally.

So, there are a few ifs there, if the Russians give them access, if they're able to talk to the technicians.

But if they are able to do that, I think they could come out and say, yes, everything seems to be fine, or no, we have some real real concerns.

VAUSE: Matthew, thank you for being with us. Matthew Kroenig there, appreciate your time. Thank you, sir.

KROENIG: My pleasure. Thank you.

VAUSE: The E.U. has agreed to make it harder and more costly for Russian tourists to travel to Europe. The move Moscow describes as the European Union shooting itself in the foot.

More details down from CNN's Fred Pleitgen reporting in from Moscow.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, this decision by the E.U. foreign ministers will still have to be ratified by a formal European Union summit. And it's definitely not the full on visa ban that many Eastern European and North Eastern European countries would have wanted. It is more of a compromise.

And essentially, what it does is it makes it more difficult for Russians to obtain visas to come to the European Union, the process gets more difficult, the process gets more complicated, the process takes longer, and the process also becomes more expensive.

And there are certainly E.U. officials who believe that fewer Russians will be able to come to the European Union.

Now, this does not preclude some European countries from taking even tougher measures. And there are some who have called the decision that was made a first step and have said that they might put in place even tougher measures unilaterally or perhaps in conjunction with some other European Union member states.

The Russians for their part have already angrily reacted to all of this. In fact, Russia's deputy foreign minister has said that there will be a staunch reaction coming from the Russian Federation and that reaction could be symmetrical or asymmetric.

Not exactly clear what the Russians mean by that, but certainly the Russians do say they are going to take a very tough line.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: When we come back, what's the big deal? Donald Trump's legal team continues to wrongly insist classified material seized at Mar-a- Lago belong to the former president. It doesn't. Also ahead, what's at stake as Russia's Gazprom shuts down a major gas pipeline for the second time in just a few weeks? We'll find out in a moment.

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[00:22:15]

VAUSE: Donald Trump's legal team is now arguing it should be not a surprise that FBI agents found classified material at his Mar-a-Lago resort, should not be a cause for alarm.

The former president's legal team is doubling down on its demand for a special master to review everything which the FBI seized during that search, but its court filing does not mention declassified documents. It does say the Justice Department cannot be trusted.

Hearing is scheduled for the day ahead and CNN Sara Murray looks at the Justice Department's latest revelations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Justice Department accusing Team Trump of trying to obstruct an investigation to recover government documents from Mar-a-Lago and releasing the first images of documents marked highly classified seized from the former president's office.

PHILIP MUDD, FORMER CIA COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL: The documents are clearly identified. They're sensitive and the release of them would compromise national security.

MURRAY: In a bombshell filing, DOJ also saying government records were likely concealed and removed from a Mar-a-Lago storage room and efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation. Laying out a narrative that undercuts claims like these from Trump lawyers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was cooperating the entire time.

MURRAY: But DOJ says Trump's team only provided a single accordion style envelope of documents in June after subpoenaing them in May for any documents with classification markings.

At that June 3rd meeting at Mar-a-Lago, DOJ says a Trump attorney explicitly prohibited government personnel from opening or looking inside any of the boxes that remained in the storage room, giving no opportunity for the government to confirm that no documents with classification markings remained.

And a representative for Trump, who CNN has confirmed was Trump attorney Christina Bobb, signing a letter claiming a diligent search was conducted and all the documents were returned.

But the Justice Department says it obtained evidence of classified documents still remained at the Florida Resort, including evidence indicating that boxes formerly in the storage room had been moved, sparking the August search at Mar-a-Lago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were looking for a classified documents evidence of a crime.

MURRAY: But investigators walked away with a trove of documents. Writing in the filing that the FBI in a matter of hours recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the "diligent search" that the former president's counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3rd certification and cast doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter.

SHAN WU, FORMER U.S. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: What they're showing so far is very strong evidence that there was a cover up.

MURRAY: Investigators found over 100 unique documents with classification markings and seized them not only from the storage room, but also Trump's office, including three documents located in the desks in the 45 office.

ELIE HONIG, FORMER U.S. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Three documents were found not in the storage room that DOJ said hey, keep everything here. But in a desk in Donald Trump's office, I think that's really telling.

[00:25:05]

MURRAY: Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: More maintenance for the Nord Stream pipeline by Russian energy supply Gazprom. On Wednesday, Gazprom shut down the pipeline in Germany, claiming the three day pause was needed to upgrade and maintain the pipeline.

It was shut down for 10 days in late July for apparently the same reason. This latest shutdown was met with skepticism by regulators in Germany.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KLAUS MUELLER, PRESIDENT, BUNDESNETZAGENTUR (through translator): We don't really understand the technical need for this renewed maintenance from Russia. But in the meantime, Germany is now better prepared, we have filled the storage facilities better. We are getting gas from Norway, Holland, Belgium soon France. We are saving gas. And in this respect, I assume that we will be able to cope with this for the time being.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Natural gas has been flowing through the pipeline to Germany at 20 percent capacity lately. Gazprom says it will also cut off gas to France effective Thursday, allegedly for nonpayment. The E.U. Commission is set to discuss this in the coming hours.

Energy industry analyst Alex Munton is Director of Global Gas Service at Rapidan Energy Group. He joins us from Houston, Texas.

Thanks for being with us. Thanks for taking the time.

ALEX MUNTON, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL GAS SERVICE, RAPIDAN ENERGY GROUP: Good evening. Good to be with you.

VAUSE: OK, well, ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, and with those punitive economic sanctions, it seems the maintenance needs of the Nord Stream pipeline, well, it's absurd. All this is just pure coincidence, no doubt.

For now though, Germany seems it can accommodate at least this pipeline shut down for the time being, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUELLER: We still have very, very warm temperatures. We are still in summer. So, there is no cause for alarm at moment. It depends very much on whether we are talking about three days or whether Russia will somehow make a different decision afterwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: OK, so if Russia decides not to turn the gas back on, what will be the real world impact on overall gas flows to Europe? And what's the shortfall here between what they have and what they need?

MUNTON: Well, this is really the question. I mean, the Nord Stream pipeline is, you know, one of the major pipelines that connects Russia directly with Germany.

And, you know, for several months up until June post the invasion of Ukraine, it was running at capacity, and then very quickly, it started to drop and it dropped extensively for reasons of maintenance that couldn't be done due to sanctions.

And there's been this whole process of wrangling between Russia and Germany on the equipment that Russia says it needs. Russia says its hands are tied, it can't bring in the equipment because of the sanctions. Germany says there's really nothing preventing the equipment to be delivered to Germany.

And so, you know, the parties are stuck in this disagreement with really no solution. So, from that standpoint, it does seem inevitable that the pipeline at some point will be -- will be fully cut.

But all of this sort of wrangling of the turbines, that's really just the surface level issue, the sort of proximate reasoning, really the core reason and the sort of fundamental issue is that Russia and Europe are in an energy war.

And to the extent that Russia can curtail gas supply to Europe, which it can, it can use that almost as a weapon in this war, it can really do damage to European energy security. And that's what we've seen.

VAUSE: Yes, and one of the big factors here between Europe is inflation numbers, energy costs are up driving inflation up. And as CNN reported, inflation in the Eurozone increased to 9.1 percent in August, highest level since the formation of the euro. Energy prices have increased 38 percent over the last 12 months.

So, if Nord Stream is actually taken out of the mix altogether, that will no doubt drive up energy costs, how much that increase is in response to an actual shortage? And how much of that increase is just perception, the fear factor?

MUNTON: Yes, I mean, there's, there's elements of both John and, you know, really, with the expectation that Nord Stream will sort of go down or you know, fully be -- fully cut, probably sooner rather than later, maybe as, as soon as October, we think.

The question is, what does Europe do? Can it get through winter without rushing gas, without running short of gas? And the answer to that is really, that it depends. It depends on what alternative supply is available. And it depends on what demand side levers can be pulled to lower gas demand.

And in both of those areas, Europe really faces some quite significant challenges and just in respect of supply, we heard on your clip there with the interview in Germany that storage levels have been building quite strongly. And that's really been a very positive story over recent months. Europe is well on track to reach its storage targets. They're now at about 80 percent full.

[00:30:18]

But the gas in storage won't be enough to get Europe through the winter. In fact, all of the gas in storage would only represent about 25 or 30 percent of the amount of gas that Europe typically consumes during the winter.

So alternative supplies are going to be needed, and the biggest source of that is going to be the global LNG market. And that's really what Europe's been doing all through this year: importing very large volumes of LNG.

It's done it well. It's had to pay a very high price. But things are going to get much harder going into the winter, because competition for LNG increases.

And I'll just give you an example from where I am in Houston, very close to the U.S. Gulf Coast facilities. There's a lot of Asian buyers of U.S. LNG. And throughout much of this year, they've actually decided to ship their U.S. LNG into Europe, taking advantage of high European gas prices.

Well, as we start moving into the winter months, and Asian demand really starts to grow, that LNG won't be available to Europe. That will be shipped to the home markets in Northeast Asia.

VAUSE: That is the price of competition. But we also have a situation where they're firing up coal-fired power plants, as well, which has its own implications. But Alex, we'll leave it there. It's a good point to finish on, about,

you know, the months ahead and the high prices which are coming. Something to keep a very close eye on.

Alex, thanks for being with us.

MUNTON: Thank you very much.

VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, problems are getting worse in Pakistan. While still dealing with high floodwaters, a growing shortage of food, and clean drinking water is leading to sickness. We'll have the very latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, Pakistan's flood crisis has left some cities destroyed. About a third of the country is under rising waters. Entire fields of crops washed away, food prices soaring.

And CNN spoke with flood victims who say, despite emergency aid, many are still without shelter, food, clean water to drink. They're resorting to drinking dirty flood water. That's causing illness and sickness.

Director-general of the World Health Organization warns flooded areas have become breeding grounds for disease.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Pakistan was already facing health threats, including COVID-19, cholera, typhoid, measles, leishmaniasis, HIV, and polio. Now, the flooding has led to new outbreaks of diarrheal diseases, skin infections, respiratory tract infections, malaria, dengue, and more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:35:25]

VAUSE: CNN meteorologist Derek van Dam has more on what this region is now facing. And this is what happens when a crisis goes to a catastrophe.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. A culmination of impacts, right, John? In fact, the United Nations secretary general actually calling this a monsoon on steroids.

And we see imagery just like this behind me. You know that he means business.

We still have one month to go in terms of the monsoon season, which typically ends in the month -- at the end of September for Pakistan. And we have exceeded any previous full season on record. Just incredible to see that. We're at 183 percent of normal rainfall for the monsoon season to

date. That's up to August 30. And of course, the potential for more rain still exists going forward through the rest of the next four weeks, the remaining parts of the monsoon season.

So get a load of this. We did some digging. Padidan, in the Southern portions of Pakistan, received 100 -- 1,000, excuse me, 228 millimeters of rain. I had to say that specifically, because that's just an incredible amount of rain, in the month of August. That is 25 times their normal average.

And just in one day time, 355 millimeters of rain. That shattered an all-time country record, 24-hour rainfall record.

And this amount of rain has caused Indus River to overflow its banks. We know that's the major cause of this flooding.

But it's so prominent that it's actually visible from space. Look at these before and after images. This is a satellite taken a year ago. And this is a satellite imagery taken about four days ago. You can see how the water has inundated many portions of Southern Pakistan.

Fortunately, no heavy rain in this forecast going forward. The rainfall really located across the mountainous regions near Nepal and northern India, as well.

Let me take you to the Western Pacific, because I want to give you an update, the latest update from Super Typhoon Hinnamnor. This has just been re-upgraded to super typhoon status: 260 kilometer-per-hour winds with this system.

Incredibly powerful storm that rapidly intensified. It is the strongest storm on the planet so far in 2022. It is expected to make an about-face turn and move more of a Northerly direction, side- swiping Taiwan; potentially impacting South Korea by the end of the weekend -- John.

VAUSE: Derek, thank you. Meteorologist Derek van Dam, with the forecast and the latest. Thank you.

We'll take a short break. When we get back, the U.S. and South Korea, staging their largest combined military drills in years. Up close look, that's next. And how will Pyongyang react? Three guesses, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:40:05]

VAUSE: The funeral for the late Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, will be held on Saturday. Russian state media reporting he'll be honored with a farewell ceremony prior to the funeral, and then will be buried next to his wife.

The last leader of the Soviet Union died on Tuesday after a long illness. He was 91. The U.S. and South Korea holding their biggest combined military

exercises in years. North Korea says the drills are invasion rehearsals, despite claims by both the U.S. and the South Koreans that they are defensive in nature.

CNN's Paula Hancocks live us -- live for us this hour in Seoul -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, it was only about four or five years ago that we were invited quite frequently to these military drills. A show of force by the U.S. and South Korean military, showing how they worked together and also could be seen by potential enemies as a deterrence.

But we really haven't seen this very much over recent years. It hasn't happened over recent years.

But we did get invited on Thursday -- sorry, on Wednesday -- to a joint combined drill with one unit that is completely combined, the first of its kind. And this was the first time in about seven years that they had managed to do this live fire drill.

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HANCOCKS (voice-over): The scenario: a joint U.S.-South Korean counter attack to an invasion by an unnamed enemy. Around 30 kilometers, 18 miles South of the Demilitarized Zone and North Korea, it's not hard to imagine who that enemy might be.

COL. BRANDON ANDERSON, DEPUTY COMMANDER, U.S. ARMY 2ND INFANTRY DIVISION: The greater the threat, the greater the alliance, and the greater the training, and the purpose of training, the focus of training. And I think that threat is -- we're all here for a reason.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All clear and ready to conduct counterattack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The shell goes in, goes up, and this is the safety handle.

HANCOCKS: Now, both militaries are at pains to point out that these are defensive in nature. But it's simply not the way that North Korea sees them.

They believe that these are a dress rehearsal for an invasion. We've had Kim Yo-Jong, Kim Jong-un's sister, calling them anti-North war exercises.

Now, we haven't seen this for some time, partly because of COVID-19. There were many simulated exercises during that time, but not these large live-fire drills.

And also back in 2018, then-U.S. President Donald Trump put these kind of drills on hold, saying that he wanted to give diplomacy a chance, calling them war games, saying that they simply didn't have a place while he was talking to then- -- to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong- un. HANCOCKS (voice-over): With new leadership in both the U.S. and South

Korea came a decision to expand these exercises, in the face of missile launches and a feared seventh nuclear test from North Korea.

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HANCOCKS (on camera): Now, there have been a record 18 missile launches so far this year by North Korea. There is the expectation that a seventh nuclear test may be on the way. Both the U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials saying that everything is ready, physically, and planned in North Korea. It's just the political will of Kim Jong-un they believe, at this point, as to whether and when that is going to happen.

But we have seen, year after year, that these kinds of drills irritate Pyongyang intensely. They do not appreciate when they see the drills. And certainly over recent years, they have gotten used to the fact that they have largely been postponed -- John.

VAUSE: Yes. We'll see what happens. Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks, live for us in Seoul. Thank you.

I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first, WORLD SPORT with Coy Wire starts after a very short break. See you soon.

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