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Iran-Israel Tit-for-Tat Not Yet Over; Iran Not Backing Down; Four U.S. States Votes for Primaries; Philippines Hit by 7.8 Earthquake; Israel, Iran Trade Missile Attacks As Hostilities Escalate; China's Xi Jinping Makes Rare Trip To North Korea; Knicks Game 3 Watch Party Canceled Due To Trump Security. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 08, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNKNOWN (voice over): This is CNN Breaking News.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and around the world. I'm Becky Anderson live from our Middle East programming headquarters in Abu Dhabi where the time is 10 Monday morning 9:30 a.m. in Tehran and 9 a.m. in Jerusalem. And we are monitoring a new escalation in the Middle East as Israel and Iran trade missile attacks.

Sirens sounded in Israel earlier as the military there said it identified a new wave of missiles launched from Iran towards Israel. This follows Israeli strikes overnight on Iran, with Iranian media quoting an official saying a petrochemical plant was hit. This latest escalation began on Sunday after Israel intercepted missiles launched by Iran For the first time since early April, Iran claims it struck an air base in northern Israel and has threatened further attacks if Israel continues its offensive in neighboring Lebanon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EBRAHIM ZOLFAGHARI, SPOKESPERSON, IRGC KHATAM AL-ANBIYA CENTRAL HEADQUARTERS: The Zionist army must stop its attacks on southern Lebanon in the suburbs. And if it expands its attacks on that region or responds to Iran's actions, it will face more crushing and regrettable blows and destructive attacks will begin against the regime and its supporters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, meantime, the U.S. official says the president, Donald Trump has warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a call on Sunday to hold off launching retaliatory attacks on Iran.

CNN's Oren Liebermann following developments for us from Jerusalem. Well, given what I've just reported, that conversation between the U.S. president and the Israeli Prime Minister, how do you assess what we have witnessed over the past hours? OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it'll be key to get a better

sense of how that conversation went between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump. Trump spoke with a number of reporters in the middle of a key escalation here, a critical moment that endangers not only the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, but also the Israel- Lebanon ceasefire that the U.S. brokered just days ago, the latest version of that ceasefire.

Trump told a number of reporters that he calls the shots, that it was up to him what happens here and that Netanyahu has no choice but to accept a deal indicating quite clearly that he doesn't want to see an escalation and yet that's what we're watching play out in real time. One of the fundamental questions here is what did Trump tell Netanyahu and what did he allow Israel to carry out in terms of strikes on Iran and will he at some point put his foot down and say enough is enough.

So far, we have seen a couple of waves of Israeli strikes in Iran. The first one, according to Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, targeted surface-to-surface missiles and what he described in a social media post as non-energy infrastructure. But then, just about an hour ago, we got a statement from the Israeli military that they had carried out a strike on a petrochemical facility in the town of, and I apologize for my pronunciation, Bandar- e Mahshahr in Western Iran.

That, in and of itself, is an escalation, and it's worth going back to early April right before the latest ceasefire there, where Israel carried out a strike in a petrochemical facility in Shiraz. The U.S. distanced itself from that strike and effectively barred Israel from striking energy infrastructure from that point forward because of Iran's response striking Gulf energy infrastructure.

So, it'll be key to watch in which direction this goes. Does the U.S. put its foot down again or are we clearly on the path to escalation? Now it's not just Israel and Iran trading blows here. Several hours ago, Israel warned of an incoming missile from Yemen. The Houthis getting involved here. That missile actually set off alerts here in Jerusalem. Israel's Magen David Adom emergency response services says, there were no injuries as a result of that, but Iran had threatened just days ago that if there was an escalation on the part of Israel, they might close the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which would be the Houthis closing another one of the region and the world's most critical waterways.

[02:05:01]

So that's another element of this to watch. The key question here, Becky, what is Trump looking for? Does he insist on de-escalation or, and how much ability does he have to rein in Netanyahu? His ability to rein in Iran doesn't seem to be all that much of that as he keeps claiming that a deal for bigger ceasefire is just days away here.

ANDERSON: What do you understand to be the perspective from Benjamin Netanyahu at this point and his cabinet?

LIEBERMANN: Netanyahu has long been skeptical of the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, believing Iran was never negotiating in good faith and was just buying itself time to rebuild and essentially to rearm in the event of another escalation. Netanyahu, I think, has made quite clear that he wants to continue the strikes on Iran. He wants to continue the war here and try to destabilize the regime, despite the fact that that didn't really work in the first two months of the war, and we now have a more hardline Iranian regime.

Where does this go from here? Well, I think from Netanyahu's perspective, and there is domestic and political pressure pushing him in this direction, Netanyahu would like to see this continue at least for several days, perhaps until there is some sort of accomplishment here, although it's unclear what that would be. Right now, it's just Israel attacking Iran. I think Netanyahu would like to see it get to a point where Trump makes the decision to get the U.S. involved. That would give him much more leeway and much more powerful strikes as well.

But can he convince Trump to do that? That's a critical question. Trump has made very clear he doesn't want to see an escalation and it might in fact be Trump and the U.S. limiting Netanyahu's hand in terms of how far this can go at least in the early hours here.

ANDERSON: Good have you, Oren. Thank you very much indeed. Oren is in Jerusalem.

Let's get you more now from Tehran, where CNN's Fred Pleitgen is standing by. And a reminder, CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government, but does maintain full editorial control of our reporting. Fred there with his team.

What further detail then, Fred, do you have on the targets and the impact of the Israeli strikes there overnight?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is very little information, Becky, that we're getting from the Iranians as far as the targets of those Israeli strikes are concerned. One of the things that Oren did mention is that the Israelis are saying that they hit a petrochemical plant, and the Iranians also seem to be acknowledging as well that that did happen in the city of Bandar-e Mahshahr, which is actually in the south of Iran. It's actually close to the Iraqi border, near the southern Iraqi town of Basrah, which of course is a very oil-rich region and certainly also a region that does have a lot of petrochemical facilities as well, also fairly close to the Persian Gulf and the Shatt al-Arab area.

So, it seems to me that is where that happened. The authorities there are saying that there don't appear to be any casualties from those strikes. They did order the plant to be evacuated of workers as that strike obviously took place.

One of the other things that Oren was also talking about, which the Iranians now also seem to be confirming as well, is that there was indeed another wave of Iranian missile attacks on targets in Israel. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps coming out a couple of minutes ago with a statement saying that these strikes targeted two Israeli military facilities and specifically radar facilities affiliated with those military bases. Three radar facilities apparently were targeted. That again is according to a statement coming from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

And I want to read you part of that statement because I think it kind of reflects on where the Iranians are at this point in time. This says, and I'm quoting right now, "all combat and operational units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are in a state of complete readiness to carry out extensive and instructive operations across all fronts. Operational plans have also been designed and prepared in accordance with potential enemy scenarios."

So clearly, the Iranians are saying, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which of course is the elite wing of the Iranian military, are saying that they are ready for any sort of further strikes and to hit back hard. That of course is something they have been saying since their overnight attacks against Israeli targets last night when they said that that was a warning to the Israelis as they put it not to strike back. Becky?

ANDERSON: Question at this point is, is this the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning as it were? Donald Trump says he is close to a deal with Iran, very specifically, and he said this yesterday to reporters and correspondents on TV shows and to other media. He says that he is in the final stages of what he describes as a good deal. What are you hearing from Iran on that?

[02:10:05]

PLEITGEN: Well, the Iranians certainly also say that there are still messages that are being exchanged and that certainly a lot of progress had been made over the past couple of weeks towards not a full peace agreement between the United States and Iran, but a memorandum of understanding that would end the hostilities between the United States and Iran and would pave the way for further peace talks.

Nevertheless, the Iranians are saying that those talks certainly are difficult going. Some officials even saying that they are currently at a standstill. Yesterday I was able to speak to the spokesman of Iran's foreign ministry. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ESMAIL BAGHAEI, SPOKESPERSON, IRANIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: I can tell you there are quite a number of sticky points. But the main issue is that the Americans must understand that they have to recognize Iran's rights. We don't want any concession, by the way. What we want is our rights on their NPT as far as nuclear issue is concerned. And at the same time, when they're talking about our blocked assets, they're not going to give us any concession. They simply must stop their sanctions, they have to learn not to talk to Iranians like the way they have been used to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: That was Esmail Baghaei speaking to me yesterday and of course one of the things that the Iranians have said also in interviews with us but also elsewhere as well is that for them the unfreezing of Iranian assets is certainly key to get any sort of memorandum of understanding over the finish line to then possibly move on to further talks to try and reach a broader peace agreement that then could also of course encompass Iran's nuclear program and then broader sanctions relief by the United States as well, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. Fred is on the ground in Tehran.

Danny Citrinowicz is a senior fellow with the Institute for National Security Studies. He is also the former head of the Iran branch for Israel's Military Intelligence Research and Analysis Division. Joining me today from Tel Aviv.

Danny, good to have you. You posted the events of the past 24 hours, once again demonstrated that Iran's current leadership increasingly believes that whatever cannot be achieved through diplomacy can ultimately be achieved through the use of force.

Given what we've seen over the last 24 hours, given what we've heard from President Trump during that same time period, just explain where you are at with that thinking and where this goes next.

DANNY CITRINOWICZ, SENIOR FELLOW, FMR. HEAD OF IRAN BRANCH, IRAN DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE: Thank you, Becky, for having me.

I think that what we have right now is escalation that drive from the Iranian willingness to create some sort of a new equation when Israel cannot act against the axis itself, not only against Iran, but also, for example, attacking the Dahiyeh in Beirut. And I think that for Iran that is crucial to defend also its partners in the region. And I think that in that regard what they did in their mind is actually protecting those who helped Iran in the war itself and of course because of the importance, the high importance of Hezbollah, the Lebanese, the terror organization.

Now, I have to say one thing about what where we're standing right now. I think the main question right now is what President Trump will say to Prime Minister Netanyahu when he will come. I think this is what will set the tone for the future hours and days. Without pressuring Prime Minister Netanyahu to stop the attacks against Iran, the Iranians will continue to retaliate to everything that Israel will attack them.

So, the problem is that we can't find ourselves in a real escalation, uncontrolled escalation, if Trump will give the green light to Prime Minister Netanyahu to continue the attacks, because as I see now the Iranian leadership and how it behaves, they're not going to stop retaliating against everything that Israel will do against them.

ANDERSON: Do you believe that what Donald Trump says he says to the Israeli Prime Minister is different from that which he actually says? Are we hearing two different stories here or are they the same?

CITRINOWICZ: Well, it seems that they are not aligned because of the fact that President Trump said that he's going to tell Netanyahu not to retaliate to the Iranian attack after Israel attacked in the Dahiyeh in Beirut. And still Israel attacked in Iran, and not only attacked in Iran, but also attacked some sort of energy facility, the petrochemical plant.

[02:14:57]

So, I think in that regard there probably there's more than meet the eye. I will be surprised that Israel attacked in Iran without coordination of the U.S. I think what happened is Trump and Netanyahu agreed to some sort of attack that will allow Israel to rebuild some sort of deterrence against Iran while not pushing the area to escalation.

But we all know that two things happened after that. First, Iran retaliated, but even more importantly, the Houthis retaliate against Israel, and now they're blocking Bab-el-Mandeb again to Israeli ships. So, what we have right now, it's not only Israel and Iran confrontation, but some sort of a regional confrontation. And in order to prevent that from escalating, if we turn back to President Trump, if we push Netanyahu to stop, then we will stop, because we cannot do something against Trump wishes. But if not, then escalation can be quickly escalated into something more broader than we have seen in the last hours.

ANDERSON: Danny, I do just want to bring up the Asian markets and the oil price as we continue this conversation. We are some hours away from the opening of the U.S. markets. We know how important these stock markets are for Donald Trump.

The Asian markets at present significantly lower with the Seoul market off more than 8 percent. Let's bring up the oil price, both of which both the global benchmark and the U.S. benchmark have been trading as much as four and a half percent higher, pushing these markets in Asia, of course, lower.

The futures market in the U.S., which is a good indication generally of where these stock markets will open, are lower, but not significantly so. Let's keep an eye on those. But as we consider that this is now 10:15 Gulf time or Abu Dhabi time quarter past nine, Israeli time where you are quarter to 10 Tehran time and the middle of the night in the U.S. How do you read what happens next? And what are the prospects for a U.S.-Iran agreement at this point this week?

CITRINOWICZ: I think that President Trump still have an interest to reach an agreement with the Iranians. I think that they are close. It's all, I think, depending on the economical ease that the Iranians demand from President Trump. And President Trump is in a strategic junction that he has to decide what to do. He can choose an agreement, but then he has to force Israel to stop retaliating and stop attacking in the Dahiyeh in Beirut. Or he can think that maybe escalation serves his interest, and then he can support what Israel is doing and even joining them.

The thing is that we know that economically, if things will escalate, then it's spiral in terms of oil prices, in terms of everything that we are seeing now. So, if the basic interest of President Trump is to reach an agreement, then it will have to force Israel to hand. Otherwise, if we continue as it is, obviously all prices will increase. And even more than that, I think we'll see more and more retaliation coming from the Iranians, but also from the Houthis and maybe the Shia militias in Iraq. So, I think that we are in a crucial moment. Escalation can still be prevented as we turn back to the decision being taken in the White House.

ANDERSON: And of course, the Gulf will be on tender hooks, reports both from Israel and Iran that a petrochemical site has been struck by Israel in Iran will be worrying here in the region where I am, which has of course taken the brunt of the assault from Iran. Iran says in retaliation for attacks on its energy infrastructure and more. So, all eyes on what happens next from this region.

Danny, always good to have you. Thank you for joining us this morning from Tel Aviv.

And I'll be back with more from the Middle East a little later. My colleague though, Rosemary Church, up next with more news from around the world, including the latest on a deadly earthquake in the Philippines. Important stuff and we will have video of the damage there.

[02:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church.

We will of course return to the Middle East later this hour, but time to check some other stories we're following. At least eight people are reported dead after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the southern part of the Philippines just a few hours ago. Experts there report the quake hit off the coast of General Santos City on the island of Mindanao. Local video shows damaged roads and crumbling buildings.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has deployed government agencies to act immediately to help evacuate residents and begin rescue work.

Back in the United States, this Tuesday is primary election time. Once again, voters in four states will choose the candidates to face off in November's midterms. Here's a live look at Capitol Hill ahead of the primaries. Tuesday's elections feature one of the most closely watched Senate races this cycle.

As Maine's incumbent Republican, Senator Susan Collins seeks another term in office. Another key state receiving attention is Nevada. Democrats hope they pick up a seat that's been held for decades by a Republican. They also hope to flip the state's governor's post back to blue.

With much of the nation's focus on Maine's Senate primary, embattled Democratic Party candidate Graham Platner received an enthusiastic welcome at a public meeting he hosted on Sunday. If Platner wins the Democratic primary, he will face Republican incumbent Susan Collins. The event was meant to give him a chance to address allegations against him in a recent New York Times article. It described allegations against Platner's treatment of women which he has denied.

[02:25:00]

The primary race is seen as Platner's to win, despite his baggage as a candidate. Platner had this to say about his candidacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM PLATNER (D-ME), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I am very much just some random guy from Sullivan, Maine. In a moment like this in history, if we can show that a regular person from the regular world who simply comes out with a message saying that we all have to work together to push back against all of the structures of power that have been exploiting and oppressing us for generations, if we show that that works, we get to show this country the way forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meanwhile in Los Angeles, the latest update in the vote for mayor shows City Council member Nithya Raman pulling slightly ahead of former reality TV star Spencer Pratt for the second spot in that race. With 83 percent of the vote counted, Rahman is now about 3,000 votes ahead of Pratt. One of them will ultimately face the incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the election in November.

With Iran and Israel launching their first direct strikes on one another in weeks, Lebanon has emerged as a key flashpoint in these latest tensions. We will have much more on our breaking news from the region after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching our breaking news here on CNN. A fresh round of attacks between Israel and Iran. The first such missile strikes since the ceasefire between the two began in April, very specifically April the 8th.

[02:30:01]

Here you see the Israel Defense Forces overseeing reported strikes on military targets in Western and Central Iran.

That just hours after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to have struck an air base in northern Israel. Tehran said that attack was in retaliation for Sunday's strikes by Israel against Iran's proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Regime supporting crowds took to the streets in the Iranian capital of Tehran to celebrate the barrage fired at Israel. Iran has threatened to launch further attacks if Israel continues its offensive in Beirut.

For more, I want to bring in Nabih Bulos, the Middle East bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times.

Nabih, good to have you. What do you make of what we have seen over these past, what, 36 hours, I want to say now?

NABIH BULOS, MIDDLE EAST BUREAU CHIEF, LOS ANGELES TIMES: I mean, the fact of the matter is we are seeing a situation where this war is yet again snowballing into a larger, larger conflict. In fact, just now we've heard that the Houthis in Yemen have also joined it, something they haven't done before. So this is at this point just growing, unfortunately.

ANDERSON: Lebanon, key as far as Tehran is concerned. Let's explain why.

BULOS: So right now, it appears we have two competing ceasefire proposals or ceasefire equations, if you will. The situation now is the Lebanon's government wants to actually be able to negotiate its own ceasefire with the Israelis and the Americans. And the idea here is that this would be a way of solidifying its legitimacy.

Oh sorry, can you hear me? Is there a problem with the line? Sorry, I'll continue.

And the other issue is that Tehran also wants to be able to help its ally, Hezbollah. Now, the fact of the matter is the government now wants to be able to actually impose its own will on the ceasefire and wants to have its track be the dominant one. And that is now the problem now is, of course, is that we're seeing a change in the equation once more, where now Iran is saying that if Beirut is struck, then it will hit northern Israel.

And so, the fact of the matter is the Lebanon's government is unable to provide the same kind of defensive capabilities that Iran is doing, and that, of course, is not good for its own legitimacy. So as we're seeing, we're seeing these two competing tracks right now, and it's unclear who will actually be able to walk up on top.

ANDERSON: My colleague Christiane Amanpour spoke to the Lebanese president just late last week. It was a wide-ranging discussion. I just want our viewers to hear just part of that. Stand by.

OK, I'm told that we haven't got that as of yet.

I guess the question at this point is, Donald Trump says that he is close to a good deal. He says he's in the final stages of that deal with Iran, a deal to close out the conflict, the US, Israeli conflict with Iran. As you rightly point out, the U.S. has a twin track on the Lebanese-Israel deal as well. At this point this week, given what we've seen over the last 36 hours, what do you assess will happen next?

BULOS: Well, it's worth noting that Donald Trump has been saying the same thing about how close they are to a deal for the last few weeks now. And the fact is that there are important essential issues that have yet to be determined and negotiated on. The fact is there seems to be a preference in this administration for these long, drawn-out, phased negotiations as opposed to the quick deals we were supposed to expect. And the fact is that this ambiguity has, well, it keeps the war brewing. I mean, it keeps the war sort of at this small sort of backburner situation.

But the fact is that we are still in an active hostility situation now. And again, that's because there is no discussion over the real intrinsic issues that have to be solved. And also it should be said that in the case of Lebanon as well, it would be impossible to have any kind of real ceasefire without Hezbollah itself being involved. And right now that's just not happening.

So, I mean, the fact is that, yes, we've heard this time and again, but just as we've often heard about how angry Trump is Netanyahu or how much anger there is between American Israeli leaders, it really all comes out to (INAUDIBLE), finally, one has to say.

ANDERSON: I promised our viewers some of the sound that we got from President Aoun of Lebanon late last week. He was in conversation with my colleague Christiane Amanpour. Just have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH AUON, LEBANESE PRESIDENT: Our people being killed, our people being -- our houses being destroyed.

[02:35:00]

They are using Lebanon as a chip, bargaining chip, in their negotiation with the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: He was speaking there about Tehran. He also had a clear message for Israel, stay out of the country. What can the Lebanese president, the Lebanese prime minister, the government of Lebanon do at this point to secure its own sovereignty, to move on from where it is now? It has armed forces that are massively under-funded, that have been asked to disarm Hezbollah, but as far as I understand it simply don't have the capacity to do that.

What does he do next?

BULOS: Well, as you said, the key point is that the Lebanese army is unable to actually have any kind of real confrontation with Hezbollah. I should add that if it does, that would actually risk a civil war in the country, right? I mean, the Lebanese army is supposed to be a representative institution in this nation. If you have a situation where it is targeting a certain sect or certain component of the country, that would cause a lot of issues and would cause a civil war.

Additionally, the fact is the people in the south of Lebanon will now tell you that if the army can't protect them, then Hezbollah will have to do so. And the fact is that the army has yet to be able to give a convincing case for residents in the south that it is able to actually control and secure territory and is able to also stop any kind of Israeli aggression.

Now, I should also add that Hezbollah in the previous ceasefire, which lasted about 15 months, Hezbollah didn't fire a shot even as Israeli freedom of action continued in the country. And what that means in practice is that you saw near daily strikes and attacks. And you saw also the continuation of systematic demolitions of southern Lebanese villages.

Now, you know, if we're talking about another unilateral ceasefire or a ceasefire where we have just one side ceasing and the other one still firing, you know, I think that is an untenable situation. And that'll be the case for any government.

ANDERSON: Can I just ask you a final question? It will sound as if we're getting into the weeds a bit, but we're not. I promise.

Donald Trump has suggested to Lebanon that if it can't sort the Hezbollah file out that Syria will sort it out. What do you make of that?

BULOS: Well, quite frankly, I think it is of a peace with different pronouncements by the president that really are just not workable. I mean, the fact of the matter is, if you consider what happened here in the past, in the '80s, right, when Syria came in as well, Israel came in as well, you know, this is a recipe for a really devastating civil war. I should also add that the Syrian army, I mean, right now, is just simply incapable of these sort of, I think, large-scale territorial control that we will expect it in this situation.

I mean, just looking at the geography, we're talking about the Syrian army having to go in through Lebanon's eastern border, which is quite mountainous, and that is quite hard to be able to defend and protect. And after that, that again, this is not an army at this point that has any real arsenal. It's worth remembering that Israel destroyed most of the Syrian army's arsenal in the first days after Assad fell.

So, I mean, for many reasons, this is just not practicable. Also, I should add that Syrians are not exactly eager to go for another war and to have another conflict. It's worth also noting that in the last few days or last few weeks, we have seen articles where Syria is considered to be a relatively spot and therefore is expected to reap economic benefits for that.

I mean, I'd be hard-pressed to imagine that Syria is going to go in again now and try to get into another war after having just finished its last one so soon.

ANDERSON: Nabih, it's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. I know it's late stroke early where you are. So thank you very much. Appreciate your time this morning and indeed your analysis.

And I will be back at the top of the hour. Still to come this hour, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is in North Korea for what are important talks with Kim Jong-un. We'll go live to Beijing for the latest on what is a rare summit. More on that is after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:42:36]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone.

China's leader Xi Jinping is making a rare trip to Pyongyang for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He's expected to spend a couple of days in North Korea on his first trip there since 2019. It's also Mr. Xi's first trip abroad this year.

CNN Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang joins us now live.

Good to see you, Steven.

So what more are you learning about the purpose of this rare trip to North Korea for China's President Xi and what's expected to come out of this summit?

STEVE JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah, Rosemarie, we have just seen new footage from state television here that Kim and his wife personally going to the airport, welcoming Xi and his wife on the airport tarmac in Pyongyang, rolling out the red carpet and throwing all the pomp and pageantry you can imagine.

As you mentioned, this trip carries a lot of significance, both symbolically but also geopolitically. It's not lost on people that this is taking place just a few weeks after she received both President Trump and President Putin of Russia in Beijing. Now, after Trump's visit, the White House put out a fact sheet claiming that Xi and Trump confirmed their shared goal of denuclearizing North Korea. So there has been some chatter about Xi pressing Kim on this issue during this trip.

But a lot of analysts say that is unlikely to happen given China is seen increasingly recognizing North Korea as a de facto nuclear power, and it's been non-supportive, even imposing UN sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons program.

The other aspect, of course, given North Korea's growing ties with Russia, there has been this narrative of this comes at the expense of its ties with China. But again, despite some frosty periods in bilateral ties, things have been stabilizing and even improving with bilateral trade being restored to pre-pandemic levels, many on most issues these two communist allies very much see things eye to eye. They're aligned both geopolitically but also ideologically.

So I think the message here is also North Korea's newfound love with Russia doesn't come at the expense of its special bond with China. And from Beijing's perspective, Rosemary, all of this, this trip is also very much reinforcing the image of Xi playing an increasingly leading role on the world stage at a time when the U.S. global influence is viewed to be in decline. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Steven Jiang joining us live from Beijing.

[02:45:00]

Many thanks for that report. Appreciate it.

Well, let's discuss this more now with Christopher Hill, a five-time U.S. ambassador, including assignments to South Korea and Iran. Many thanks for that report. Appreciate it. Well, let's discuss this more now with Christopher Hill, a five-time U.S. ambassador, including assignments to South Korea and Iraq, and former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Thank you, sir, for joining us.

AMB. CHRISTOPHER HILL, FIVE-TIME U.S. AMBASSDOR & FORMER ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE: It's a pleasure. Thank you.

CHURCH: So what do you make of the timing of President Xi's trip to North Korea, and what do you expect to come out of this rare summit between the two leaders?

HILL: Well, first of all, I think they'll probably have some economic agreements. I think it reflects China's concern, of course, about the growing relationship between North Korea and Russia, the fact that North Korea seems to be kind of increasingly tying itself to Russia. For China and Russia, it's always been a bit of a balancing game.

But I think what is very clear is denuclearization is no longer in this pride of place. I think it's more the question of how they deal with this relationship with North Korea. And of course, the absence here is, what is the U.S. doing on North Korea? We seem to fall into very old talking points about denuclearization, but we seem to have no strategy and no approach to North Korea.

So there's a lot to be concerned about because North Korea is a far greater strategic threat to the United States than Iran is. And it's very clear we just don't have a strategy for dealing with it.

CHURCH: So, what do China and North Korea stand to gain from President Xi's rare summit with Kim Jong-un? And what does it signal to you that Xi is planning to stay in Pyongyang for two to three days?

HILL: Well, first of all, I think the Chinese know how to do summits. They don't just go in and out and in 12 minutes the way many American summits are. So they know how to treat their hosts with respect.

I think really the Chinese are looking to balance things with Russia. I think it gives them great concern that North Korea has actually sent troops and is actually providing a lot of weapons and munitions now to Russia. So I think China wants to avoid a situation where North Korea becomes ensconced as some kind of Russian ally.

And I think the way that China can do this is to expand its economic ties. Of course, in all of this, there doesn't seem to be any cogent approach to the threat of North Korea's nuclear arsenal. And one gets the impression that, with respect to President Trump's visit, it was almost an afterthought to deal with this nuclear issue.

I think the U.S. really needs to do some serious thinking about how we're going to manage North Korea and to manage North Korea in the context of a breakdown of great powers. That is, our relations with China are barely civil and our relations with Russia are, because of Ukraine, hardly even there. So I think the U.S. needs to be able to show that it can handle more

than one or two issues at a time, and so far that Trump foreign policy doesn't seem to be able to do that.

CHURCH: And Ambassador, how significant is it that President Xi's first engagement abroad this year ends up being a trip to Pyongyang, his first visit to North Korea in nearly seven years, and at a time when Pyongyang is in a much stronger position than it was back in 2019?

HILL: You put your finger on it and I think the problem is in the past, the U.S. and China really had some patterns of cooperation. We could talk to them at great length great specificity about the ills -- the dangers of a North Korean nuclear arsenal. That seems to be gone we don't seem to have that ability to talk to the Chinese on a serious basis and I think our goals have kind of fallen.

And I think in the United States, there's an understanding, at least in the academic community, that just repeating this mantra of denuclearization is not going to get us there. We need to have a broader policy, one that develops a policy with North Korea without necessarily accepting it as a nuclear power, but at least discussing other issues.

And I think it's been very important to the U.S. to try to keep that South Korean-Japanese relationship going so that if deterrence fails and if North Korea does launch a missile at someone, we have the capacity to deal with that and ultimately deal with North Korea.

So it's an example of the fact that this issue in Iran, while central to the world economy and in many ways central to U.S. interests, is a distraction away from some of these other issues.

[02:50:01]

You know, we used to talk about the Korean wars, the forgotten war with the Korean nuclear crisis seems to be the forgotten crisis and I think we need to kind of step it up and see what we can do because otherwise, we're going to see a North Korea happily ensconced playing China off against Russia.

CHURCH: Christopher Hill, many thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

HILL: Thank you.

CHURCH: And we'll be right back.

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ANDERSON: Welcome back, everyone.

With New York about to host its first NBA Finals game since 1999, it's also preparing for an historic moment, the first sitting U.S. president to attend a Finals game.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's going to look very different outside Madison Square Garden on Monday night. And that's because this area is going to be closed off to traffic and to pedestrians. So we're not going to see the usual scenes of celebration and fans gathering at the game that we have been seeing in the last few games. And that's because the watch party has officially been canceled.

The reason for that is the presidential visit. Trump is expected to attend Monday night's game.

[02:55:01]

And that means there's going to be intensive security protocols going into the event. For anyone who is attending this game, they're being asked to arrive at least two hours early. They will have to go through double layers of security, essentially airport style security. So arrive early, arrive prepared and just know that this area is going to be very hard to access unless you have tickets to attend the game.

The fact that the watch party is cancelled, surely a disappointment for a lot of fans for a lot of Knicks fans who have been relying on the watch party to watch the games and attend the celebrations.

Take a listen.

LANCE THOMPSON, NEW YORK KNICKS FAN: Personally, I think it's kind of a shame. I really would like it, you know, because we've been waiting for this for like how long and you know a lot of people can't afford to get into the game on one of those people. So I was actually looking forward to going to one of these watch parties.

MALLY WIGGERTON, NEW YORK KNICKS FAN: This is a monumental day in New York City and you're going to cancel it. It's all right. We're going to find a way, OK? If you guys know real New Yorkers, we're going to find a way.

ROSS MEYERSON, NEW YORK KNICKS FAN: And you know, like he could say he's a native New Yorker, but he doesn't live here and he's kind of pooped on us for a while. And you know, so like, I think this is our time and he's distracting from our time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't need that negativity. We need nothing but positive vibes.

PAZMINO: Now this massive law enforcement presence that we expect to see tomorrow, we're seeing it today. Barricades have already been put in place. All of this is going into effect just a few days of another major security event happening in the area. And that is, of course, the start of the World Cup happening in New Jersey, in the Tri-state area and other host cities around the country, law enforcement officials working on the security plans for over a year. They've been preparing for what is expected to be an unprecedented moment in terms of the challenges and the demands for public safety. Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Thanks for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. Our coverage continues after a short break. Stay with us.

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