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CNN International: Russian President Making Landmark Visit To North Korea; U.S., Others Accuse North Korea Of Supplying Moscow With Weapons For War In Ukraine; Both Countries Deny It; Biden To Give Legal Protections To Undocumented Spouses. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired June 18, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Lynda Kinkade in Atlanta.
Ahead on CNN Newsroom, Russian President Vladimir Putin making his way to North Korea for a much anticipated meeting with Kim Jong Un. We'll look at what the two leaders are hoping to get out of this visit. Plus, action on immigration, U.S. President Joe Biden set to unveil a new executive order. What that will mean for the hundreds of thousands living in the United States illegally? And we'll have the latest on Popstar Justin Timberlake's arrest in New York.
Well, for North Korea, it's an opportunity to deepen relations with one of its only allies, and for Russia, it's a search for more weapons in its war against Ukraine. But, for the Western allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to Pyongyang is raising international concern. Here is what it looks like in the North Korean capital, posters and Russian flags up in place to welcome Mr. Putin. The Russian leader was in North Korea more than 20 years ago. North Korean President Kim Jong Un visited Russia's Far East in September. In this latest gathering, the Kremlin said both leaders plan to sign a new strategic partnership.
Well, CNN has this story covered from all angles. In London, we have our Clare Sebastian, and in Seoul, Mike Valerio. Good to have you both with us. I'll start with you first, Mike. Military cooperation, of course, is key here. The latest there, they're also going to discuss education and tourism. Take us through the point of this trip and how they aim to strengthen this partnership.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, I think that's the biggest question mark, right, and we'll know the answer to that question tomorrow evening when this song and dance is all said and done. How are they going to enhance their quote unquote "strategic partnership" that was agreed when the two leaders visited each other in eastern Russia in September of last year? So, they could either go small ball with, as you were saying, tourism, economic measures, or they could go hard ball from the American, Western and certainly South Korean point of view, deciding to enhance their military ties, perhaps engaging in military drills in some areas that North Korea contests or at least close to some of these areas, outlying islands, where North Korea contests close to the border between North Korea and South Korea.
So, we're going to be waiting to see. But, each country certainly wants a whole laundry list of items from the other country, as we look at this video from Pyongyang of how people there are cleaning up the city and getting ready for the show tomorrow. So, what North Korea wants? It wants help with missiles, its satellite program, food assistance, energy assistance, certainly the quote unquote "prestige of Kim Jong Un" standing on the stage on Kim Il Sung Square with Vladimir Putin. And what Russia wants, they need more ammo to prosecute their war against Ukraine.
But, on that note, Lynda, Vladimir Putin very publicly, very interestingly said last week that he is grateful to South Korea for not, I repeat, not sending lethal weapons to Ukraine. Now, because South Korea has refrained from sending lethal weapons to Ukraine, there is a thinking that perhaps Vladimir Putin may not go all the way with a new military alliance with North Korea because he doesn't want to rock the boat too much, according to that train of thought. He doesn't want to upset the South Koreans who, again, are not sending lethal weapons to Ukraine. Listen to some points on that front.
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PETER WARD, RESEARCH FELLOW, SEJONG INSTITUTE: Korea remains committed to not providing lethal aid to Ukraine, and this is very much -- the Kremlin has made this -- made it clear that this is a red line for them. But, by the same token, if the Kremlin were to upset or annoy or anger Seoul too much, then the threat is, of course, that Seoul may start to provide lethal aid to the Kyiv.
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VALERIO: OK. So, the atmosphere that we are dealing with, as this visit is set to begin before 9 a.m. local time, between 9 -- or I should say 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., there were 20 to 30 North Korean troops, Lynda, who strayed from their portion of the DMZ and actually entered South Korean territory.
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There are video images and still shots of North Korean construction along the DMZ that most likely is just strengthening the border, making it harder for people to defect from North Korea to South Korea. So, South Korea this morning, sending a few warning shots, telling the North Koreans, hey, get back to your side of the DMZ. This is the second time it has happened in two weeks. China, for its part, meeting today with their South Korean security counterparts, trying to agree on a framework to keep the status quo here. China does not want this boat to be rocked, for its part. It certainly has a very tight leash on what Russia does because of its economic ties.
So, again, we are waiting to see. The main question here, what is the deliverable, small ball in terms of economic measures and tourism, or do they go for more concrete military measures that could change the security dynamic here on the peninsula?
KINKADE: Yeah. Certainly a lot to watch there, Mike. Thanks to you, in Seoul, Mike Valerio.
And I want to bring in Clare on this story, who joins us from London. Clare, both countries, of course, are under international sanctions. Putin says they're going to beat them together. Talk to us about this relationship, especially because obviously Putin needs, desperately needs military help right now in Ukraine.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I think that's clear. Then there is certainly comments that we've had for -- from Putin and the facts on the ground in Ukraine speak to the fact that Russia is very much bent on this strategy of attrition of trying to exhaust Ukraine, to destroy as much of it as possible, essentially in order to get Ukraine to agree to the terms that Putin laid out for peace on Friday, which is -- involves Ukraine withdrawing from some of its own territory that Russia doesn't even occupy yet. So, that is one thing. They would need more weapons and ammunition to continue to prosecute the war under those terms, if they do agree to some kind of military partnership to beefing up any kind of trade between the two countries. That has already started.
It is not necessarily likely we'll hear about that publicly, because that would be an open violation of UN sanctions on North Korea, which prevent both import and export of arms. And of course, both countries so far have denied that this is happening. But, I think the optics of this trip really matter. And if we really look closely at this article that Putin wrote in North Korean state media, sort of an open letter to the North Korean people, much of it really focused on the whole idea of countering the West of shoring up this coalition, essentially of autocracies against what Russia sees as U.S. and Western dominance in the world.
And I think on the one hand, you could look at courting North Korea as an act of desperation, right? It wasn't that long ago that Russia was backing UN sanctions against North Korea. But, on the other hand, this is a powerful way to send a message to the West that courting this country with its growing nuclear arsenal, with its complete lack of scruples when it comes to threatening the West shows just how much of a global spoiler Putin could be, and perhaps they want to send a message to the West that Russia is not to be trifled with in their dealings with Ukraine, Lynda.
KINKADE: All right. Clare Sebastian for us in London. Thanks also to Mike Valerio in Seoul. Good to have you both with us.
Well, for more on this story, I want to welcome Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA North Korean Analyst, and Senior Fellow for Korean Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Good to see you and good to have you with us.
SUE MI TERRY, FORMER CIA NORTH KOREA ANALYST, & FMR. DIR. FOR KOREA, JAPAN AFFAIRS AT U.S. NATL. SECURITY COUNCIL: Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: So, it's interesting seeing these images coming out of North Korea, showing the banners, the flags and blazoned with Vladimir Putin's face. This, of course, is Putin's first trip to the country in almost 25 years. Why now? And talk to us about his desperation for more military help in his war in Ukraine.
TERRY: Well, as we've heard, I mean, North Korea has been supplying Russia with artillery shells, the munitions, the ballistic missiles, all of this Putin needs for his war effort in Ukraine. And Russia is now a pariah country. It does not have a lot of allies. And how pathetic is it that Putin is now leaning on North Korea, 198th ranked economy in the world, to help Russia out in in his war effort. So, it is clear why Putin is going to North Korea to have this summit with Kim Jong Un, and it's also clear why Kim Jong Un is also seeking to have a closer relationship with Russia because North Korea needs, not only food and fuel and economic assistance, but North Korea needs Russia's help in terms of sensitive technology to aid its WMD program, weapons of mass destruction and missile program.
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KINKADE: And last week, Sue, we heard from G7 leaders who condemned this arms cooperation between Russia and North Korea, especially the reported use of ballistic missiles sent to Russia to use against Ukraine, which, of course, would violate sanctions already in place. What else can be done to gather evidence about that for any sort of further repercussions when it comes to skirting those sanctions?
TERRY: So, I mean, it's -- both countries are heavily sanctioned, right, North Korea is sanctioned, although Russia and China are helping evade sanctions, and Russia is also heavily sanctioned. But, this is a problem because North Korea is not only sending missiles and munitions and artillery shells, what's happening is North Korea is also getting to test these weapons in a battlefield. North Korea didn't get to even test them like these most ballistic missiles and so on. So, it also not only helps Russia's war effort, but it aids North Korea's own WMD program because North Korea gets to test these weapons in Ukraine.
KINKADE: South Korea, ahead of this trip, warned Russia not to cross certain lines. It's quite a vague warning. We've already seen images of South Korean forces firing warning shots at North Koreans who tried to cross the DMZ. Just explain what those lines could be that South Korea is warning of.
TERRY: Evidence that Russia is providing sensitive military technology to North Korea would be one of them. But, in reality, this is a lot of rhetoric. What can South Korea really do to stop Putin from providing military-sensitive technology to North Korea? What can the United States really do? We are already sanctioning Russia. Russia is already isolated. So, in terms of leverage, it's hard to see what kind of leverage really South Korea or the United States really have in stopping Putin if Putin decides to provide sensitive military technology to North Korea.
KINKADE: And talk to us in terms of trade. What sort of agreements do you think we could see come out of this two-day summit with Vladimir Putin in North Korea? TERRY: Well, North Korea wants to reduce its reliance on China. 90 percent of North Korea's trade is with China. North Korea gets its consumer goods and everything else from China. So, it wants to reduce its dependence on China. So, either turning to Russia. So, it could be -- its food. Its fuel. Its various different goods, consumer goods. It just needs another country other than China to provide North Korea with things, right? Its economic situation is pretty dire. And we know that even though former Soviet Union and North Korea had a relationship since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the relationship, there was not really much going on in terms of North Korea-Russia relationship, trade or economic exchanges and so on.
So, at this point, anything will be helping North Korea, because again, China, it was the only patron, ally and really a trading partner for North Korea.
KINKADE: All right. Sue Mi Terry, former CIA North Korean Analyst, we appreciate your time, as always. Thanks so much.
TERRY: Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: And we are awaiting those pictures of Vladimir Putin in North Korea. We will bring you them when they happen.
Well, today, U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to take executive action to shield some immigrants from deportation. The new policy will give legal status and protections to undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens. But, the administration says this applies to people who've already been living in the country for 10 years. The move could protect around half a million immigrants from deportation. And the timing of this policy comes as Biden is aiming to appeal to key Latinos constituencies in battleground states ahead of the November election.
Well, joining us now from Washington with more on all of this is Arlette Saenz. Good to see you, Arlette. So, take us through this proposal and how it compares to the current system in place.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Lynda. This is really a sweeping relief plan for some undocumented immigrants at a time when President Biden is trying to show he is trying to address an issue that's of chief concern for many voters, which is border security and immigration. Now, this plan, which happened to an existing authority known as parole in place, this is actually something that's already used for military families in this country. And what it would do is it would allow undocumented spouses married to U.S. citizens and their children to remain in the country as they apply for permanent residents.
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The current system requires that they leave the country, keeping them away from their families for extended periods of time and also worrying some about if whether they could be apprehended if they were to return to the U.S. That is where this policy will change, is that they can now stay in the U.S. as they go through this application process. This would allow them to work in the country legally. And as you noted, this would apply to undocumented immigrants who have been living in the U.S. for 10 years and married to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, which was yesterday. It's expected that this could apply to 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and then about 50,000 of their children.
The Biden campaign is trying to use this as a way to draw a contrast with Trump when it comes to immigration issues, saying that Biden's policy is about keeping families together, and really honing in on that family separation policy that Trump had put into place when he was in office. But, this move does come just a few weeks after Biden had announced a major crackdown at the U.S. southern border, essentially shutting off the ability of migrants crossing illegally to seek asylum in the U.S. when a certain limit was met. That was a move that really angered immigration advocates and progressives.
And so, part of what Biden is trying to do here is ease the concerns of those key parts of his base, as well as trying to appeal to Latino voters in states like Arizona, Nevada, and in Georgia, all battleground states. That will be critical for Biden as he trying to rebuild his path to victory as he did in 2020.
KINKADE: And Arlette, you pretty much outlined how different this policy is to Donald Trump's previous separation policy. Talk to us about the response from Republicans, the criticism.
SAENZ: Well, perhaps unexpectedly, former President Trump has blasted this as an amnesty program, and you have Republicans accusing President Biden of simply playing election year politics, not just with this announcement that was announced today, but also his effort from a few weeks ago to shut down the U.S. southern border to those crossing illegally and trying to seek asylum here. But, it does come as the administration is very quick to point out that Biden is taking action after Republicans had tanked those bipartisan border talks up on Capitol Hill, something that Republicans opposed at the urging of Donald Trump. So, the White House and the Biden campaign very quickly will try to note that Biden is trying to take action on each of these issues at a time when Republicans have really stood in the way up on Capitol Hill.
KINKADE: All right. Arlette Saenz at the White House, good to have you there for us. Thanks so much.
We are standing by for a joint news conference with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. What they have to say after some high-stakes meetings in Washington? Plus, survivors say their homes were bombed as they slept. We'll have the details in two deadly strikes on a refugee camp in Gaza.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. At any moment now, we're expecting a joint news conference with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Washington. This, of course, comes at a critical time for NATO with the war in Ukraine intensifying, raising the threats of the conflict expanding in Europe. There are also concerns by some European countries about the possible reelection of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been critical of that alliance in the past.
Well, CNN's Chief National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt joins us now from Washington. Good to see you, Alex. So, it's interesting having Jens Stoltenberg in D.C. right now ahead, of course, of the summit that's going to happen next month in D.C. Take us through what's on the agenda today. What are we expected to hear, especially the good news that more nations are now contributing that two percent of their GDP to this alliance?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. This is part of a series of preparatory meetings, if you will. We just had a NATO ministerial with all the foreign ministers of NATO take place in Prague. Now, we have the Secretary General here in Washington ahead of that NATO summit that is in three weeks' time. They've got a lot of pressing issues to talk about, obviously, foremost among them is Ukraine. We saw Stoltenberg give a speech yesterday and sit down with President Biden, which he told the President and announced really to the world that some 23 of the 32 NATO countries are now spending two percent of their GDP on their defense budget. That is a non-binding requirement for NATO members.
But, it is significant Stoltenberg highlighting the fact that just four years ago, it was -- this is -- this number of 23 is twice the number that it was four years ago. So, you can expect him to trump at that in this press conference that he is going to give with Blinken. But then, of course, they want -- they're going to be talking about Ukraine and making sure that Ukraine is getting the support that it needs from NATO allies, making sure that that pipeline for weapons is in place for Ukraine. There has been some slight criticism from Stoltenberg in the past few weeks directed, not directly at the U.S., but you could tell that it was in reference to the U.S. and others who don't want to let their weapons to be allowed to be used inside Russia. I know that that has been controversial. I can also see these two men have just come out on if we want to listen in.
KINKADE: OK. We can hear now the Secretary of State speaking. Let's listen in.
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: -- 75 years of strength, of unity, of growth, of innovation our Alliance, but also critically looking forward to make sure that NATO is fit for purpose for the challenges of today and the challenges tomorrow, making sure that this Alliance continues to do what it's done so effectively for the last 75 years, and that's protect our people.
And I think it's an opportunity as well to remind all of our citizens about the power of collective defense. The power of collective defense is the best way to prevent conflict, to deter aggression, to avoid war, because at the heart of NATO is a commitment from each ally to come to the defense of any other ally, that may be the victim of aggression. And that means that it would be aggressor. Considering taking action knows that if they pick a fight with one, they pick a fight with all, and that is the most effective, powerful way to do what we all want to do, which is to prevent war from occurring in the first place. So, these investments that we're making in our defensive alliances are the best possible investments we can make in preventing conflict, avoiding conflict, deterring aggression.
Secretary General and I worked together in Prague with all of our allies just a couple of weeks ago, working through the key decisions ahead of the July summit. And of course, critically, Secretary General was here with President Biden yesterday, working to help finalize these details and very important ones. We continue that conversation today. We have very ambitious commitments that we're making as an alliance going forward. We're demonstrating our enduring support for Ukraine and providing a strong bridge to Ukraine's membership and the Alliance. We're establishing a NATO command in Wiesbaden, coordinating training, security assistance equipment, its transfer, its repair, its maintenance.
We're strengthening our collective deterrence and defense. We're implementing the robust plans that allies agree to, the most robust plans for defense and deterrence since the end of the Cold War, meeting the long-term challenge that Russia poses to the Transatlantic Alliance and to security. We're growing our defense industrial bases to make sure that all of our countries can effectively produce what's needed for our defense.
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And critically, and you heard President Biden and Secretary General address this yesterday, we are boosting our burden sharing, making sure that every ally is standing up and carrying the weight of our collective defense. As the Secretary General announced yesterday, 23 allies, 23 allies out of the 32 now meet the two percent target, the target of spending two percent of GDP on defense, a target established in 2014 at the Wales Summit. When President Biden took office in 2021, nine allies were meeting that mark. Now, it is 23. And we've also seen, as the Secretary General said yesterday, an 18 percent increase in defense spending across the Alliance. That's the largest in a decade. And it is necessary to meet the challenges of this time.
We're also making sure that our alliance is strengthening partnerships with other countries, including countries out of the transatlantic area, particularly deepening coordination, deepening cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific, who were present at the summit, as well as within the transatlantic community with the European Union, a critical partner for all of us. The Alliance recognizes that security challenges in one part of the world impact another and vice versa. So, what's happening in the transatlantic space has real consequences and implications for the Indo-Pacific and other areas, just as what's happening in the Indo-Pacific space has real implications for own alliances, and there is a recognition of that, and that recognition is turning into concrete and strong partnerships. Prime Minister Kishida may have said this best in the context of
Ukraine, when he said, what's happening in Ukraine today may well be happening in East Asia tomorrow. We're also adapting and building resilience to emerging threats, and this is also something that you'll see underscored at the summit. Cyber, hybrid attacks and threats, as well as other challenges to security that we've seen manifest themselves in different ways in recent years, including things like pandemics. NATO has to be fit for purpose to deal with all of these.
Two other points I want to make quickly before turning it over to the Secretary General. I mentioned already that the summit will focus on bolstering Ukraine's long-term success. From day one, as the battlefield has evolved, so too is our support for Ukraine. The partners, the Alliance, the United States, have all adapted and help Ukraine deal with what it had to deal with in terms of warding off this Russian aggression. Now, thanks to the supplemental, which passed Congress after many months, but it did pass and it passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. We've now been working these recent weeks to speed all of that assistance to the frontlines to make sure that Ukrainians have what they needed in hand to deal with the ongoing Russian aggression.
And we've seen, I think, that be very effective in terms of stabilizing the frontlines and making sure that the Russians could be stopped in their offensive. It's making a big difference. Of course, as we said all along, what makes the biggest difference is the extraordinary courage and resilience of Ukrainians themselves, both in dealing with the challenges in Kharkiv and in the east, but also taking the fight as necessary to Russia and Crimea, as well as in the Black Sea.
The bilateral assistance agreement that the United States signed just a few days ago, President Biden and President Zelenskyy, that marks now the, I think, 17th bilateral security agreement that's been signed since President Biden announced this initiative on the margins of the G7 a year ago. And by the time of the summit, we expect that -- the NATO summit, we expect that some 20 countries and maybe more will have concluded their bilateral security agreements with Ukraine. This is proof, clear proof that all of our countries are with Ukraine for the long haul. And that if Mr. Putin is counting on outlasting Ukraine or outlasting any of us, he is misguided. He is wrong. And again, I think you'll see at the summit further emphasis on that.
We're also, as necessary, imposing new sanctions on Russia to keep the pressure off so that the aggression ultimately ends. And among other things, we're looking at countries that are supporting Russia's defense industrial base, which is allowing Russia to continue the war, including China's.
As President Biden has made it clear, we have a real concern, not with weapons being supplied by China to Russia, that's not what they're doing, but they are doing, as you've heard me discuss many times, is providing critical support to Russia's defense industrial base. Some 70 percent of the machine tools that Russia is importing are coming from China. 90 percent of the microelectronics coming from China, and that has enabled Russia to keep that defense industrial base going, to keep the war machine going, to keep the war going. So, that has to stop.
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We, as well, are doing everything we can to provide the necessary support to Ukraine beyond the supplemental. You saw partners come together across the G7 and beyond to be able to use effectively some of the Russian sovereign assets that are primarily in Europe and that are now being leveraged.to provide some $50 billion to Ukraine in additional assistance and we will continue to look at that. We had a very effective recovery conference just a few days ago as well, looking at other forms of enduring support for Ukraine, including in the energy sector.
The bottom line is this. The Ukraine strategy that we've had and that we've been acting on individually and collectively now for nearly two and half years is showing effective results, effective results in making sure that Ukraine can ward off Russian aggression and it has done that remarkably. Keep in mind, Putin's objective from day one was to erase Ukraine from the map, to end its existence as an independent country, to subsume it into Russia. That has failed. But, going forward, we want to make sure that Ukraine is a success that it stands strongly on its own fleet militarily, economically, democratically, and that's exactly what we re enabling Ukraine to do. And that is the mark of success going forward. Again, decisions that will be made at the summit will further that effort and more to be said in the few weeks' time.
Finally, heading into the 75th summit, we have an alliance that is stronger, that is bigger, that is more fit for purpose than at any time in recent years. That's thanks to the effort that every ally has made, the commitments that every ally has made, but it's also fundamentally thanks to the leadership of one individual, and that is the person standing beside me, the Secretary General of NATO for this past decade, Jens Stoltenberg. Jens, you have led the alliance at a time of historic change, historic challenge, and the results are there for everyone to see. This would not have happened without your leadership, and it's truly been extraordinary.
Now, some of you know that Secretary General is particularly fond of numbers wise to recite them. I understand that you even told one interviewer that if you could bring just one book to a desert island, it would be a book on statistics. I have things I could say about that, that I won't. But let's just remind a few numbers of usage statistics because they do show what's happened over this remarkable decade with the Secretary General's leadership. Four new allies in our lives, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Finland, Sweden. Multinational battle groups in eight countries, enhancing NATO's for defense posture. 75 percent of the citizens in allied nations say that NATO is important to their security. These numbers speak powerfully for themselves.
At every step, Secretary General has set the tone. He has built consensus among the 32 countries. His vision, his achievements, will pay dividends for this Alliance far into the future. So, Jens' contributions ultimately can't be fully quantified, but neither can the gratitude of the United States and all of our allies. To you, Mr. Secretary General. Thank you.
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Secretary Blinken, Dear Tony, thank you for your kind words and thank you for your support throughout these years in different ways. Thank you also for your very strong commitment to NATO and to our transatlantic Alliance. And also thank you for your tireless efforts to end the suffering in the Middle East.
NATO was founded in Washington 75 years ago. Since then, the Alliance has been the ultimate security guarantee for all our members. Standing together, we prevent war and preserve peace. In NATO, the U.S. has 31 friends and allies. Together, allies represent half of the world's economic and half of the world's military might. Advancing U.S. interests and multiplying America's power, NATO makes America stronger.
Yesterday, as you mentioned Secretary Blinken, with President Biden, I announced that NATO allies are making major increases in defense spending. This year, defense spending across Europe and Canada is up 18 percent, the biggest increase in decades.
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23 allies will meet the target of spending at least two percent of GDP on defense. This is more than twice as many as just four years ago. Since 2014, Europe and Canada have added over $640 billion extra in defense spending. This demonstrates a historic improvement in burden sharing within NATO. It shows that the United States does not need to shoulder the burden alone, and that the U.S. has a strong alliance in which allies are stepping up year after year. And much of this increased defense spending is spent right here in the United States. Over the past two years, European allies have signed contracts with American companies worth $140 billion.
Since 2014, NATO has undergone the most significant transformation in our collective defense in a generation. We have put in place the most comprehensive defense plans since the Cold War. We have 500,000 troops at high readiness, and we have doubled the number of battle groups in the eastern part of the Alliance. And with Sweden and Finland as members, we are stronger than ever.
Russia's war on Ukraine is a brutal assault on a peaceful democratic nation. This war is propped up by China, North Korea and Iran. They want to see the United States fail. They want to see NATO fail. If they succeed in Ukraine, it will make us more vulnerable and the world more dangerous. So, our support for Ukraine is not charity, own security interest. We all want this war to end. But, the Russian occupation of Ukraine offers no peace, and capitulation to Putin offers no security. The stronger our support, the sooner the war will end. Which is why I welcome the 10-year bilateral security agreement between the United States and Ukraine.
Europe is also doing its part, matching U.S. efforts in Ukraine. And at the NATO Summit this July, here in Washington, I expect European allies and Canada to come forward with more financial and military support. And that leaders will agree that NATO takes the lead in coordinating the security assistance and training for Ukraine. All of this will reduce the burden on the United States.
Secretary Blinken, I thank you and the U.S. for hosting the summit, which we all are looking forward to attend. At the summit, we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the most successful Alliance --
KINKADE: You've just been listening to the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaking there about the NATO alliance now 75 years since it began. This is, of course, ahead of the summit that they will hold in July. Both the Secretary General and the U.S. Secretary of State there spoke about the commitment and the burden sharing now that there are more than 23 nations within the NATO alliance now meeting their commitment of two percent spending of GDP on defense within that alliance. They spoke about the bailout agreements that are happening with most of those countries now with Ukraine to support Ukraine in its war with Russia.
I want to bring in CNN Military Analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton, along with CNN National Security Analyst Steve Hall for more on this. But, just before I go to them, I just want to hear from some of the questions they're getting right now. Let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you made any progress since last week? Are you more or less optimistic today about the prospects of a deal? Let me turn to both of you. Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to North Korea, a first in 24 years, and the partnership of Russia, China and North Korea seems to be solidifying and emerging as a front against West rules-based order. How concerned are you about this partnership? Mr. Secretary General, particularly for you, do you see a collective NATO role to contain this emerging front? And back to both of you again, what specifics do you have on how much North Korea is contributing to Russia's war machine?
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And what is your understanding that what Moscow is giving Pyongyang in return? Thank you.
BLINKEN: Thanks, Mara (ph). So, on the questions regarding Israel and Gaza first, it's very important to remember that our security relationship with Israel goes well beyond Gaza. Israel is facing a multiplicity of threats and challenges, including in the north from Hezbollah, from Iran, from the Houthis in the Red Sea, from various groups that are aligned against Israel, and in many cases beholden to Iran.
So, the President has been very clear from day one that he will do everything he can to make sure that Israel has what it needs to effectively defend itself against these threats. And a big part of that as well is making sure that in providing that assistance to Israel, it has a strong deterrent, which is the best way to avoid more conflict, to avoid more war, to avoid what we're already seeing in Gaza spreading to other areas, to other fronts. That's been one of our objectives from day one.
So, we're committed to that. We, as you know, are continuing to review one shipment that President Biden has talked about with regard to 2,000-pound bombs because of our concerns about their use in a densely populated area like Rafah. That remains under review. But, everything else is moving, as it normally would move, and again, with the perspective of making sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against this multiplicity of challenges.
With regard to the ceasefire negotiations, and you heard me talk about this at length during our trip, I'll just remind everyone once again that the entire world came together behind the proposal that President Biden laid out a few weeks ago, the entire world with one exception, and that was Hamas. Hamas came back with -- after everyone else had said, yes, including Israel, reconfirmed to me by Prime Minister Netanyahu when I was in Israel, Hamas came back with new conditions, new demands, including demands and conditions that actually went beyond what it had already previously accepted.
So, we're working to see if we can bridge the gaps that Hamas has now created by not saying yes to the proposal that everyone else had agreed to, that was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, countries around the world. And we have the negotiators, the mediators, Egypt, Qatar, and particularly working on this to see if we can bridge the gap. As I've said before, and I'll repeat again, based on what we've seen in recent days, I believe that the gaps are bridgeable, but that doesn't mean they will be bridged, because ultimately Hamas has to decide, and it could decide again to continue to move the goalposts, to move the lineout. If it continues to do that, the net result will be that people will continue to suffer horrifically every single day.
And you have to question whether one individual living, we believe, hundreds of feet underground, relatively safe, is putting his own interests and his own views ahead of the interests, the needs of the people that he purports to represent. There could be a ceasefire right now if they had said yes a week ago. So, we'll continue to work this with urgency, with determination to see if we can bridge the gap. But, I can't tell you with conviction that we will because again, you have Hamas that continues to move the line.
With regard to Mr. Putin and his travel to North Korea, look, we've seen, as you've said, Russia try in desperation to develop and to strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue the war of aggression that it started against Ukraine. And you heard the Secretary General just referenced this. North Korea is providing significant munitions to Russia and other weapons for use in Ukraine. Iran has been providing weaponry, including drones that have been used against civilians and civilian infrastructure.
And as I've mentioned a moment ago, the deep concerns we have about China, not in terms of providing weapons, but in providing what Russia needs to keep its defense industrial base going and to produce itself more tanks, more munitions, more missiles, yes, these are the countries of concern. And with regard to China, in particular, as I said before, it can't on the one hand say that it wants better relations with countries in Europe, while at the same time fueling the biggest security threat to Europe as a whole since the end of the Cold War. And President heard that himself. President Biden heard that himself from our European partners who were part of the G7 just last week.
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So we are very much concerned about this because this is what's keeping the war going. And the fastest way to end the war is for Putin to be disabused of the notion that he can outlast Ukraine and outlast all of Ukraine supporters, but also if he knows that the fuel he needs for his war machine won't be there anymore. So, if China, in particular, which professes to have a strong interest in ending the war, if it really means it, it will stop fueling the war machine. And we'll continue to do everything we can to cut off the support that countries like Iran and North Korea are providing.
STOLTENBERG: I very much agree with what Secretary Blinken just stated. Putin's visits to North Korea demonstrates and confirms the very close alignment between Russia and authoritarian states like North Korea, but also China and Iran. And this also demonstrates that our security is not regional, it's global. What happens in Europe matters for Asia and what happens in Asia matters for us, and this is clearly demonstrated in Ukraine, where Iran, North Korea, China, are propping up, fuelling Russia's war aggression against Ukraine. So, this idea that we can divide security into regional theatres doesn't work anymore. Everything is intertwined and therefore we need to address these challenges together.
We are, of course, also concerned about the potential support that Russia provides to North Korea when it comes to supporting their missile and nuclear programs. We see how much military support Russia gets from North Korea but also from Iran, and how China is propping up their war economy. And this is also one of the reasons why, at NATO and at the NATO summit here in Washington next month, we will further strengthen our partnership with our partners in Asia-Pacific region, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan, also to address the fact that the challenges they see, we see, in Asia and Asia-Pacific are directly linked to the challenges we face in Europe.
And let me also say that I also fully agree that China cannot have it both ways. They cannot continue to have normal trade relationships with countries in Europe and at the same time fuel the biggest war we have seen since the Second World War. So, at some stage, this has to have consequences for China.
UNIDENITIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. My question also goes to both of you. Norway today still has a continued fishing cooperation with Russia. I am wondering how we should approach this moving forward and if there are -- or if you are concerned or we should be concerned about them taking advantage of this cooperation in light of Russian intelligence?
STOLTENBERG: So -- which country?
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: Norway, fishing cooperation.
STOLTENBERG: Yeah. Yeah. I know Norway. No. So, first of all -- yeah, yeah. I'm not speaking on behalf of Norway. But, what I can say is I expect all our allies to fully implement the sanctions we have agreed within the EU framework and also individual allies have imposed. Then, beyond that, I leave it to Norway to comment on how they implement the sanctions.
BLINKEN: Yeah. And I agree with the Secretary General. Thank you.
UNIDENITIFIED MALE: Tom (inaudible) with BBC.
UNIDENITIFIED MALE: Thank you very much to both of you. I'll start with the Secretary General. We heard the Secretary of State about hybrid attacks against NATO frontline countries an issue he has talked about before particularly in Prague and a view that NATO would respond collectively, as is appropriate. What does that response look like? Perhaps you can elaborate on whether there is a response already or is this something that you think should take place in the future? Do you retaliate or try and create deterrence? So, I'm just interested in how that happens. And is there evidence that such action can create deterrence?
And Mr. Secretary of State, Amos Hochstein has been in the region over the last few days in the Middle East. Can you report any progress on de-escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah?
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And on Gaza, an investigation by the Associated Press this week identified 60 Palestinian families in which at least 25 members have been killed, some of them involving four generations in the same family, many with more than 50 family members killed, and in one, 173 family members were killed. And I am interested to understand that for Palestinians who hear what you say about a continuing conflicting for just cause, but to them, this feels like a war that seeks to destroy Palestinian society, what do you say those people? How do you reconcile those views and those positions? Thank you.
STOLTENBERG: On the Russian hybrid actions against NATO allies in Europe, let me say that what we have seen over the last weeks or months is a surge in hostile actions by Russia against NATO allies, and that includes sabotage, arson attempts, cyber-attacks, and also trying to use migration as a tool to coerce NATO allies. And we need to react to this in a calm and measured way, but at the same time to take it very seriously. And that's also why NATO allies have agreed response options that the allies can take both individually and collectively.
On the NATO level, this is about increasing awareness, sharing intelligence, making allies aware that this is not individual, not linked the incidents, but there is actually a pattern or Russian behavior over some time. And I welcome also the U.S. sharing a lot of intelligence on these actions with other NATO allies. Then it is about protecting our critical infrastructure, including undersea and cyber infrastructure. I've taken several steps to increase the protection of critical infrastructure. And then, of course, many of these actions are met by individual actions in the individual member states.
So, there have been several arrests across the Alliance in the United Kingdom, in Poland, in Germany, in the Baltic countries. We have seen those behind this sabotage actions being arrested and there are legal processes going on. So, there is a mix of collective action by NATO and individual allies taking the necessary legal steps to protect us against this Russian behavior. On Lebanon --
KINKADE: You've just been listening to the NATO Secretary General and the U.S. Secretary of State speaking about the strength of the NATO alliance 75 years since it began. They say it's stronger than ever. And in the past decade, while they're spending more money, each nation that is part of that alliance is now contributing more than they have in a decade.
For more, I want to welcome in CNN Military Analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton, along with CNN National Security Analyst Steve Hall, who is also a former CIA Chief of Russian Operations. Good to have you both with us.
I want to start first on that defense spending with you, Colonel Leighton. We heard that now more than double the number of nations compared to four years ago are contributing that two percent of their GDP to the Alliance to help Ukraine battle Russian aggression. How crucial is that at this point in time?
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST, & U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Oh, it's exceptionally crucial, Lynda. And one of the things that I think is really important to note, some of the major economies in Europe, Germany, and France are included in this two percent totals now, and they had to overcome significant domestic political hurdles in order to get to that point. This is actually a remarkable achievement for all of those countries. Of course, when you look at the percentages, Poland is number one with over four percent that they've committed to defense spending. But, of course, they are a frontline state with a large border with Belarus, and of course, a border with Ukraine, and that is, I think, what is the driving force. This is significant, and it shows NATO's resolve.
KINKADE: And Steve, to you, we heard both those leaders calling out countries that are helping Russia, naming North Korea, China and Iran. The Secretary General said to China, you can't have it both ways. You can't essentially have relations with the West and help Russia's war. How is China aiding Russia?
STEVE HALL, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, as we heard some of the comments made from the speakers recently is that they're not overtly necessarily sending weaponry and ammunition to Russia. But, what they are doing is they're supporting them economically, which is critical for Russia right now because of the sanctions that the rest of the world or at least the Western democracies have imposed upon Russia.
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So, that's what they're doing. I think what's going on here at a geopolitical level is that Russia is trying once again to re-establish as a former superpower. It's appealing to what's currently a real superpower, which is China, to sort of get the old band back together. Let's get all those autocracies together. Let's get Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Cuba recently back on board, so that we can sort of get going again in the good old Cold War days, where you had Western democracies against autocracy. So, on a broader level, I think that's what Putin hopes his legacy is going to be, is re-establishing an anti-Western order, and that's part of what he is doing right now in North Korea.
KINKADE: And of course, that NATO Alliance summit will happen about three weeks from now where the leaders of those NATO countries will come together. Good to have you both with us. Colonel Cedric Leighton, Steve Hall, thanks so much for your time. Much appreciated.
LEIGHTON: You bet.
HALL: Sure.
KINKADE: I'm Lynda Kinkade live in Atlanta. Stay with CNN. "One World" is up next.
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