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Quest Means Business
History On The Korean Peninsula, Angela Merkel Is In Washington In The Coming Days After Emmanuel Macron's State Visit, Global Issues Weighed On The World's Biggest Economies And The Companies In The First Quarter; Trump: U.S. Won't Be Played By Kim Jong-un; U.S. Secretary of State Says the White House is Likely to Ditch the Iran Nuclear Deal; Investigators Cite 2016 Chapecoense Crash was Caused By Lack of Fuel; New Royal Baby Named Louis Arthur Charles; Ex-Australian Prime Minister Says He's Skeptical on Korea Prospects. Aired: 4-5p ET
Aired April 27, 2018 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: But we will keep going as the Friday night and the volume is low.
I will explain all as we progress though the course of this program. Oh, dear. Five, six, seven, eight. I have absolutely no idea why he did
eight, other than it must be something to do with the world council in China and eight is a lucky number. It doesn't matter. Trading is over.
It's Friday. It's the 27th of April.
Tonight, history on the Korean peninsula. Now, the US President says he can finish the job and bring the lasting peace.
US growth is solid. The UK, not so. The British government is blaming the snow.
And tonight --
(START VIDEO CLIP)
ABBA, AMERICAN BAND: Mama Mia, here I go again, my, my, how can I resist you? Mama Mia --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Cancel your plans. Drop everything. Abba are back. Yes, I am Richard Quest from the world's financial capital, New York City where of
course, I mean, business.
Good evening. The serious stuff comes later. First though, tonight, 65 years of unresolved conflict may soon be over after a momentous day on the
Korean peninsula.
Scenes like these were just unthinkable a few months ago. The leaders from North and South standing side by side, holding hands in a moment of
friendship and comity and promising an official end to the Korean War and to pursue a future free from nuclear arms.
And that pledge joined praise from Donald Trump. The US President now seems to believe Kim Jong-un's peace offer is genuine. Korean War to end,
he says.
All in all, whichever way you look at it, history made the day. Some of them were moments were highly scripted, some not so.
There you are, having stepped into South Korea for the first time, Kim returned the gesture and invited President Moon to cross into the north,
which he did. It was unscripted. It was unplanned, and it was successful.
Tonight, the historic day wrapped up with a toast to peace. Kim Jong-un declared it was that start of a new chapter.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
KIM JONG-UN, PRESIDENT OF NORTH KOREA: (Foreign language).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: There was no western TV correspondent that knows more about North Korea that has visited it as often and has such an understandings as our
own Will Ripley. One of the few, not have been once, but more than a dozen times.
Tonight, he is in the south. Will, what did you make of it? You've been to North Korea many times. Did you think you'd see this?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was an extraordinary scene that no, I didn't think I would see when I was in Pyongyang many times last year
speaking with you, Richard, after missile launches or nuclear tests to see Kim Jong-un, not only a step across the Demarcation Line into the South.
The first time a North Korean leader has done so.
But to stand in front of the international press and give a press conference, a joint statement with South Korea's President, Moon Jae-in.
It was emotional day for many people here in the Korean peninsula. People were watching. Many people with tears in their eyes, with hope that this
time might be different from the previous failed summits.
But history shows us that it is going to be a very complicated discussion about denuclearization, and one thing that we didn't learn today is what it
denuclearization means to the North Koreans and the South Koreas and whether that will square with President Trump's definition.
QUEST: Well, hang on a second. Denuclearization in any common sense, what it means getting rid of nukes.
RIPLEY: But the North Koreans might see it as a 10 or 20-year process or they might -- they are hoping for perhaps an arms control agreement where
they agree not to proliferate, that they keep some of their stockpile and keep some of the leverage that has arguably gotten this them to this point.
QUEST: Do you believe Kim is genuine in all of this? In a sense, not that he's being dishonest, but if you take for example President Trump is
getting a lot of credit for what's happened. Do you believe Kim is responding to the very hard way in which Trump reacted?
RIPLEY: I feel that this is in some way the execution of a long term plan on the part of Kim Jong-un. Yes, the South Koreans and the United States
do believe that the sanctions, the maximum pressure played a role.
But the North Koreans have been telling me for many years, they never intended to use --
[16:05:16]
RIPLEY: -- the nuclear weapons but they wanted to come to the negotiating table with the United States from a position of strength, and
that's exactly frankly, what they are doing. Kim Jong-un, his profile has risen dramatically on global a stage in large part because President Trump
agreed to meet with him.
Now, whether this works out in his favor in the end or whether it all goes horribly wrong, that's really the open question.
QUEST: And happens next? How does it South and North take it further?
RIPLEY: So, South Korea President, Moon Jae-in is now back here in Seoul. He arrived just within the last few hours, we believe. Kim Jong-un is back
in Pyongyang. We know that there will be a phone call with President Trump where President Moon will brief him about the conversations that happened.
The conversations that we didn't see on camera.
I know, we saw a lot of the photo ops the carefully choreographed moments, but we don't exactly know what they were talking about in the Peace House,
and then President Moon will be flying to Washington and he'll be meeting with President Trump face-to-face because what the South Koreans want more
than anything, Richard is for this to work out. They want discussions between North Korea and the US and they want to see a formal end of Korean
War.
They want to see a peace treaty and they want progress towards denuclearization, and by the way, I could ask President Moon when he's
flying to the US to bring you some insam tea from Hyesan, North Korea because I hear it's very good for sore throats.
QUEST: Yes, well, either that or the allergies that seem to be hitting us in this part of the world at the moment. Thank you. Good to see you.
RIPLEY: Well, it cures everything they say.
QUEST: I've drunk a thing of one or two things. Look, extraordinary pictures that we've been seeing that tell us we have been here before.
North and South met in 2000. The South Korean President even won the Nobel Peace Prize for that occasion, then it transpired, Seoul had paid $200
million to Pyongyang before the summit and that triggered a scandal.
A peace agreement was signed at the second summit in 2007, only for South Korea to elect a new President and weeks later, undoing most of the
progress.
This time, Donald Trump says he does not believe Kim Jong-un is playing. However, the President does say that the United States will not be played
like a fiddle.
CNN's diplomatic analyst John Kirby is the former US State Department spokesman. Apologies for the throat. You poise, it's the pollen and the
allergies. Well, you know, when you get old, they get worse.
JOHN KIRBY, CNN DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: Absolutely.
QUEST: Isn't it, John? What do you make of it? I mean is -- President Trump says he -- the US will not be played. But at the same time, I find
it hard to believe that Kim suddenly had a road to Damascus moment because the President calls him "Little rocket man."
KIRBY: Oh no, absolutely, right, Richard. I do think that this administration is going into this negotiation clear eyed and pragmatic.
You can hear that in the way Mike Pompeo talks about it as well, and just today, Jim Mattis, the Secretary of Defense also sort of presented a very
practical view of this in terms of the diplomacy and the chances for success.
So, I think they are looking at this in the right way, but I also agree that we need to be a little bit skeptical. I don't mean to be pessimistic
or anything, but skeptical because as you rightly pointed out, we've been here before and in fact, some of the language in the Joint Declaration,
Richard that was signed, too, yesterday, some of that is almost exactly the same language that the North has used in the past.
So, I think we need to move cautiously and carefully and keep our expectations rather limited.
QUEST: Are we right to give President Trump the credit in the sense that the South Koreans are certainly saying that if it wasn't for President
Trump, we wouldn't be at this stage? Surely, his entitled to say now, at least to give the benefit of the doubt, I told you so.
KIRBY: I think President Trump does deserve some credit. No question about it. And you could put the bellicosity of his rhetoric aside, I am
not really sure that that moved Kim one way or the other, but certainly, the pressure campaign diplomatically and economically that the Trump
administration has been pursuing and working closely with China, I do think that that has played a part. The sanctions are starting to bite.
But, Richard, it's not just Trump. President Moon deserves some credit here. I mean, he was elected to sort of pursue an engagement strategy.
He's done that and he actually took the Trump administration a little bit by surprise when he invited the North to participate in the Olympics.
They were sort of caught on their back foot like that, so he's been leading some of this as well, and frankly, you have to give some credit to Kim
Jong-un. He knows that he's got an interesting opportunity ahead of him.
He's got a Blue House in Seoul that wants to engage. He's got pressure that he's facing economically. He'd be stupid not to try to take advantage
of this.
So, it's not just Trump. There's a lot of credit to go around here.
QUEST: Is it going to be impossible to square this cycle in the final analysis? And that of courses is denuclearization. Now, Donald Trump has
made it clear, he will not accept a nuclear North Korea. But as Will Ripley was just telling us, denuclearization can mean status quo. Status
quo ante, it could mean, we're around for the whatever that ever might be.
[16:10:16]
QUEST: That is where -- you are well familiar with this from a lifetime of diplomacy in the military. The devil is always in the detail.
KIRBY: Exactly. And so, the big two details we need to work out here is what does denuclearization mean and a definition that both sides agree to.
Is it civilian nuclear power or is it all nuclear weapons or is it some? We have to get to that.
And the second thing and Will alluded to this, and I am really glad he brought it up, is time. Over what period of time? Yes, we all want to see
a denuclearized peninsula, even a reunified peninsula, but over how many years?
As you well know, Richard, the real work of the diplomacy is not in days and weeks, it's in months and years and maybe even a generation before we
get there. We have to be patient.
QUEST: Is there not a refreshing openness and honesty to the way the President says for instance, "Yes, I'll meet him. And if it goes well,
that's good. And if it doesn't, that' fine, too." When he says, "We won't be played like a fiddle." This is not grandstanding. This is just being
honest. This is just saying, "Yes, if it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't."
But it's exactly what other leaders are reluctant to ever say.
KIRBY: Yes, he's certainly undiplomatic in his tone, but I agree. I think it is refreshing and I have to give him credit for being so candid about
where he has been on this. Now, I have disagreed with the President on the fire and fury and the lock and loaded language. I didn't think that was
helpful.
But I do think, listening to him today, he's approaching this very pragmatically, very clear-eyed, and that's the right approach.
It also sends a strong message to Kim that, look, I am willing to go into this. I am willing to sit down with you. I am going to give you the big
gift you want, which is a little bit of an international recognition meeting with the US President, but don't think that I am not coming to do
business.
So, yes, I think it's all candid and I think it's refreshing.
QUEST: Good to see you, sir. Thank you very much.
KIRBY: You too, Richard.
QUEST: Donald Trump says his upcoming meeting should be quite something. At the same time, Europe is closer, Angela Merkel is in Washington in the
coming days after Emmanuel Macron's state visit.
Mrs. Merkel was all business on her working visit to the White House. Iran nuclear deal hangs by a thread. The US tariffs that are due to hit Europe
in just four days. But the main topic they spoke of is North Korea, but then, it was quite clear.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think I have a responsibility. I think other Presidents should have done it. I think the
responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of the President of the United States. And I think we have -- I think I have a responsibility to see if I
can do it, and if I can't do it, it will be a very tough time for a lot of countries and a lot of people.
It's certainly something that I hope I can do for the world. This is beyond the United States. This is a world problem, and it's something that
I hope I am able to do for the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Jeremy, there is only one way to describe the President today, statesman-like. At least when he was talking there. It slightly got a bit
different later in the press conference, but at the moment, talking about North Korea, he was very statesman-like.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, he was and it's clear that he is taking this issue seriously and as John Kirby said, that he is clear-
eyed about the situation. You know, we have seen a lot of the President sometimes get wrapped up in the moment and be overly optimistic about
certain things.
But here, it seems like while he was striking an optimistic tone about the latest developments on the Korean peninsula, that he was also very clear-
eyed about the fact that, listen, it's possible that this meeting doesn't happen. It's possible that it happens and that it is not as fruitful as we
do hope.
And that's probably important given that Kim Jong-un is probably hoping at this point that he has enchanted the US President, that he has enchanted
the world with this display of historic diplomacy with the South Korean President.
So, it is clear that the President is moving into this with kind of a clear sense of the stakes and also of the tricks that the North Koreans have
pulled in the past.
You know, you have to remember that just last week, he met with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was there to remind him of some of
those past techniques that the North Koreans have tried to do, some of the deception that they have engaged in, in the past.
QUEST: All right, and there was an interesting moment when they were asked about why Germans don't like Donald Trump. Take a listen.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You know, when I look at the numbers in Germany, and some other countries, they may not like Donald Trump, but you have to understand, that
means, I am doing a good job because I am representing the United States.
Angela is representing Germany. She is doing a fantastic job. My predecessors did not do a ery good job. But we will try and catch you,
okay. We will try.
We are going to have a reciprocal relationship and it's going to be something that benefits all of us, okay?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: This is fascinating to watch. I mean, there is an honesty and I will ask you the same question I asked John Kirby. When he says, "Look,
we'll have a meeting, and if it goes well, so be it. And if it doesn't, that's fine, too." When he says --
[16:15:16]
QUEST: -- we've been played like a fiddle before, that's not going to happen again. That is an honesty that people find refreshing.
DIAMOND: I think it's true that he's being very upfront with the situation and in this case, in relation to the relationship with Germany, but what
struck me more was really the contrast with the French President's visit just days ago.
You know, that was chemistry on full display between those two men. How real it is, it's hard to tell, but today, when we saw perhaps the opposite
of chemistry between these two leaders, they clearly do not get along on a kind of personal level and so, you know, even though the French President
has differences with Donald Trump as well, he has kind of taken a different tact to approaching the US President.
And so now, we're seeing Angela Merkel with kind of the bad cop to Macron's good cop.
QUEST: And finally, just as a White House correspondent who have seen many of these events, is it weird watching a foreign leader squirming as the
President goes on one of his rants. Today it was about Ronny Jackson and the unfairness and it went on and on and on.
Meanwhile, Angela Merkel -- and about the Washington and the swamp, meanwhile Angela Merkel is standing there sort of almost thinking, "I was
anywhere else, but here."
DIAMOND: It is interesting to see how the different leaders play it because Angela Merkel is certainly not the first one to have to deal with
those kinds of awkward situations and they do deal with it in different ways.
I will say most of them, it seems kind of just stay quiet and let the moment pass and hope that it does and that it doesn't kind of drag them
into it.
QUEST: Look, good to see you. Have a good weekend, sir.
DIAMONDS: Thanks, you too.
QUEST: Global issues weighed on the world's biggest economies and the companies in the first quarter. A picture of the results coming out. We
will show you who did what and when.
Now both these two economies with massive questions to answer on the question of trade. The economic fortunes of the US and the UK have
diverged in Q1.
In the United States, the economy was stronger than predicted at a 2.3 annualized growth rate. The US does it on an annualized basis. It's a
different story for the UK, which only expanded one-tenth of a percent over the last quarter. It does it Q on Q, but not on an annualized basis.
The government in UK blames the cold weather. Statistics agencies says, that's not the case.
When you look at the UK, it's looking for a free trade agreement with the US in its post-Brexit world, Shanker Singham says, the US needs that
agreement as well.
He's the Director of International Trade at the IEA, the International Institute for Economic Affairs.
And why the US? Why does the US need a trade -- free trade agreement or a good trade agreement with the UK?
SHANKER SINGHAM, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS: Well, you know, I think one of the things that is
happening here is the US needs to have a positive trade policy going forward. It can't --
[16:20:16]
SINGHAM: It can't all be about withdrawing from trade agreements and being all limited and slapping tariffs on various products. Now, the UK is a
country that bilaterally, could do a deal with the US. We are roughly equivalent economic power in terms of economic growth and so forth.
There won't be a race to the bottom. There won't be an export of US jobs, and therefore, it's one of the few countries that bilaterally, we don't
have a deficit with the US. It's one of the few countries that the Trump administration can actually say, "Yes, we want to do a trade deal with the
UK," and if that trade deal could actually lead to positive liberalizing initiatives that benefit third countries as well, then that is a very good
thing for all parties.
QUEST: The government has -- the UK government has ruled out customs union. If they rule out customs union, how do you get a preferential trade
deal with the EU that allows for other access? Say, for example of the US?
SINGHAM: Well, that is obviously is the key point that we need to solve here. The UK has to be out of customs union and out of the single market
because it needs to have control over its tariff schedules and needs to have regulatory autonomy.
If it doesn't have those things, then it can't do a trade deal with anybody. So that's the sort of the prerequisite of doing a deal with US or
indeed doing any trade deals with any other country.
Now, at the same time, we want to do a trade deal with the European Union, so from March of 2019 when we come out of the EU and we enter into this
implementation period, we will be negotiating with the EU and what we want to do in the UK, I think is to have a maximum neutral recognition with the
EU that enables us to have a deal with other countries which is the normal trading system standard is to have recognition, ultimate regulatory
objectives to be the same, but that should not (inaudible) --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: That will not work for one simple reason, Northern Ireland. The ability to keep that border open, frictionless. You can't -- I mean, I
know you know all of these and the only reason I am throwing it at you is because everybody is trying to square a circle that will not square.
SINGHAM: Yes, so the issue with the Irish border and that is being used by the EU frankly to sort of drive a wedge here so that the UK cannot have the
requisite tariff schedule controlled in regulatory autonomy can actually be solved.
First of all, you need to understand that the level of trade across the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is very much
high frequency and volume trade, so you have the Republican of Ireland's major trade as with mainland GB. Northern Ireland's trade is with mainland
GB and there is high frequency low volume trade between the two.
There is of course, a border between the two -- between Northern Ireland and the Republic now, there is a border for tax. There's a border for VAT.
There's a border for lots of things. Our task here is to ensure there isn't hardening of the border. That there is an open border that is
maintained.
QUEST: Okay, but --
SINGHAM: And you can do that in a number of different ways.
QUEST: No, hang on. Hang on. I am reminded of the words of John Major who said -- when he was Prime Minister. He was asked a really naughty
problem about Northern Ireland. He said, "If there were any easy answers, don't you think we'd have found them by now." And that's to say with
Northern Ireland, the customs union, the single market, and Brexit.
SINGHAM: Yes, there are no easy answers. There's also no silver bullet, but there are a lot of things that you can do. For example, you can move
technical checks away from the border. You can have the common -- we will only have a common travel area. We have a single exit into the market.
You have a common area for meat trade.
The only reason that border inspection post on the border is the sanitary and -- for the sanitary health measures. You can have a common area for
that.
And you can do, you can treat the small micro enterprises differently and allow that trade to go forward and you can have a trusted trader program
for a limited number of traders who are large traders. There was only for example, 53 non-SME companies that trade from Northern Ireland into the
Republic of Ireland.
So you can do a very tailor-made trusted trader program for them, so you can do all of these things, but it's incumbent on us, I think to suggest
these things to the European Union and so, well, if you truly want to have a creative solution to the border problem, which you said that you did want
to do, then you tell us why you need to put infrastructure on the border.
The head of HMRC --
QUEST: Sir, we will have to leave it there. Thank you very much, indeed. Thank you.
It is the end of a blockbuster week of earnings. The patterns emerging on the share case as we move towards the end of the week. Remember, this is
showing the way in which share prices have moved in the 24 hours after results.
We saw some really bad things from banks, from companies for specific reasons like Caterpillar, AT&T. You had --
[16:25:16]
QUEST: -- PNC which had of course, issues. Alphabet, our own Time Warner. Now, let's not compose with the ones that we've got. For today, Chevron.
Chevron was up 2% as it capitalized on its shale boom and benefited from current higher oil prices. So, Chevron can go just over there.
Meanwhile, Exxon which missed out on the shale boom saw a production full in Q1 and the shares were down 4%.
It's fascinating because what you're seeing is a market that is priced to perfection down 4% over here.
As for Amazon -- Amazon briefly hit its all-time high in the market when it opened. And that's at the back of last night's excellent results, and
Amazon is also of course raising the price of prime in the United States. The share price closed up 4% in the market.
Paul La Monica is with me. Let's talk about Amazon and the way in which it is now raising the price of Prime. Obviously to reduce its own losses on
delivering, but it's gotten quite a lot from 99 to 119.
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You could say that's quite a lot, but it's $20.00 annually, so you average that out over 12 months and we're
talking about what? An extra $1.67 or so per month, which --
QUEST: That's one way to look at it.
LA MONICA: I don't think that's the wrong way to look at it. If you are an Amazon customer who is getting used to having all of these services
delivered to your home, the products and then you throw on Prime instant video as well, I don't know if that's the wrong way to look at it. People
--
QUEST: Twenty percent increase.
LA MONICA: It is a 20% increase, but a 20% increase, that's only $1.67 a month. No one, I don't think, says, "Uh-oh, can I afford 20% more a
month?" When they look at the bill and they do the math, they say, "Yes, it's 20% a month." It's 20% a year, over the year, but it's less than
$2.00 a month, and I still need and want all of these services. It's the same thing that happened to Netflix, Richard.
Netflix recently raised their prices and people didn't believe it. They have 125 million subscribers globally now. If the content is good, if the
product is good, people will pay it and I think that's what we're seeing with Netflix and Amazon.
QUEST: We're coming to the end of the share case, and we do see an extremely interesting trend. And if you look, more shares were down than
were up at the end of all of these by some considerable numbers. Six percent for Caterpillar; A&T, 4%, 3%. There were some good days. What do
you take away from the share case in this quarter?
LA MONICA: I think when you look at that share case, what you are getting is that companies even though they are beating, a lot of them are warning
that maybe this is the best that we are going to get for a while.
QUEST: That's a pretty conservative --
(CROSSTALK)
LA MONICA: You know, Caterpillar said it pretty directly. There are caveats with some of these earnings, that the earnings were good, but you
have tax reform obviously helping as well. So, I think investors to their credit are growing a little bit more discerning, these valuations are so
high right now and you can't just push this market to more records after another if the quality of the earnings growth is not going to be as good.
QUEST: Good to see you, sir.
LA MONICA: Thank you.
QUEST: Have a lovely weekend.
LA MONICA: Have a good weekend. Same to you.
QUEST: When we continue tonight, a sensational day for reunions. All right, puns galore, Abba is taking a chance on rekindling the old magic.
Mama Mia, it's been 35 years that they've been out of the limelight, after the break.
[16:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest, there's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. Well, Nigeria's president will be the next world leader to visit
the White House and his information minister will be live with me in the C- Suite.
And then other "Avengers" assemble, very happy Friday, but fans of superheroes in Swedish pop as we continue tonight. This is Cnn and on this
network, the facts always come first.
President Trump is hailing the historic inter-Korea summit as a positive thing, and says it will be create for the world if the tensions on the
peninsula can be eased. And while he says he's looking forward to talks with the North Korean leader, he's warning that the U.S. will be played
like a fiddle.
U.S. Secretary of State -- the new U.S. Secretary of State says the White House is likely to ditch Iran nuclear deal in May. Mike Pompeo spoke at
NATO headquarters on his first trip in his new role. Pompeo says without a substantial fix, U.S. president believes the deal is flawed.
The plane crash involving the Brazilian football team Chapecoense in May 2016 was caused by a lack of fuel according to Colombian investigators.
Seventy one people were killed when the plane crashed into a mountain near Medellin, report found the operators of the plane decided not to land and
refuel before it reached its destination.
The new royal baby has a name, it is Louis Arthur Charles. While title of Louis maybe more associated with French kings, it is also the name of the
Duke of Edinburgh's uncle, the Earl Mountbatten. The young girl Louis is now fifth in line to the British throne.
Now to our top story, President is hailing the breakthrough on the Korean Peninsula while a former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he's
skeptical about hopes of denuclearization despite extraordinary scenes at Friday's summit.
He told Maggie Lake of "QUEST EXPRESS", things may not turn out as expected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN RUDD, FORMER AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think the right response is for us all to take this at face value, and see if it actually
produces a real outcome on the core objective here, which is denuclearization.
None of us who are human beings who have watched this relationship between North and South over the last several decades could be unaffected by the
share power of the imagery of these two leaders meeting in the way in which they have.
But also a sense of history comes to bear for us to realize this is the third inter-Korean summit. There was one back in 2000, another one in
2007, go back to the inter-Korean declaration of 1992 on nuclear questions. And so that's where the skepticism comes in as to whether this will be
materially different.
But let's give the president a chance to work, either more, some of us who have been around for a while remain skeptical.
MAGGIE LAKE, CNN NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's interesting, we just heard President Trump talking and really indicating that this time is
different. Saying the U.S. has been played, we've been played like a fiddle before, but that it's not going to happen this time around.
And that he doesn't think he's playing, I'm assuming that's a reference to Kim Jong-un. Is that -- certainly, it's raising expectations. Is that
unrealistic or is it the kind of optimism you want to hear if we're going to see a breakthrough?
[16:35:00] RUDD: Well, the bottom line is, what materially now changes for number one is there both any doubt up until yesterday that there would be a
summit between President Trump and the North Korean leader Jim Kong-un, that doubt has been removed, it's going to happen.
The atmosphere has now been radically changed by the inter-Korean summit. Number two, I think from a North Korean perspective, the bottom line is
they having perfected so much of their nuclear capabilities, and now into phase two of what I describe of their diplomacy.
Where their objective is, I think to start a new negotiating process which spins into the future, gets us passed the American mid-terms elections and
perhaps even pass the next presidential elections.
And from South Korea's perspective, I think President Moon and his colleagues have been spooked by the idea that the U.S. administration may
have been serious about the idea of a bloody nose strike against the North.
So from their perspectives, this isn't a bad outcome. But I keep going back to the core denuclearization agenda, will this material be changed?
Notwithstanding the rhetoric and not understanding the kumbaya moment we've just had with Kim Jong-un.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Stephanie Sy is with me, the kumbaya moment looks good in political terms. In economic terms though, we got the North Korean president pretty
much admitting that the infrastructure of his country is not that good.
And saying he's embarrassed by it. So I assume there's an economic component here.
STEPHANIE SY, CNN: I mean, it's an interesting moment that we're hearing reported about where the president of South Korea says I'd like to visit
your country, and Kim Jong-un says, you'll be embarrassed by the roads.
A remarkable moment for a leader of North Korea who lives and dies by his mythical status as a flawless leader to admit that infrastructure. So I
think digging a little deeper into other comments that Kim Jong-un has made in recent months --
QUEST: Please --
SY: In his new year speech for 2018, he actually talks about living conditions caused by quote, "life-threatening sanctions and containment."
And last Saturday, during a party meeting -- for the workers party, he said he was changing his policy --
QUEST: Yes --
SY: Of this parallel track pursuing nuclear goals while pursuing economic goals, and that the new strategic line is to grow the North Korean economy.
So with all of the skepticism accepted. And I was there in 2008 in North Korea when they blew up a part of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor and things
went back to square one and now they have a nuclear bomb.
I understand the skepticism --
QUEST: Look --
SY: At the same time he's made a clear demarcation line that he wants to grow the economy. So there might be signs of optimism, right --
QUEST: OK, but I also find it difficult to believe that certainly, the rhetoric from Donald Trump made the big difference. But were the sanctions
that much greater?
SY: So I also dug into that a little bit, and there has been reporting in recent months including from the "Wall Street Journal" that went to the
border area between China and North Korea. And they do report that factories have closed down, that trade has stopped in that key border area.
As you know, China accounts for 90 percent of North Korea's --
QUEST: I was just about to say, China surely then gets much of the --
SY: But the U.S. put pressure on China, and the U.S. got -- Nikki Haley, and when he got Secretary of State Rex Tillerson got China to sign on to
multilateral sanctions and somehow also got China to enforce sanctions in a way that they never have before.
Which is why President Trump tweeted out and mentioned during his Merkel press conference, "thanks to President Xi".
QUEST: Is it your feeling as somebody who's been there and studied this, that this is a watershed moment. Bearing in mind, President Trump said we
will not be played like a fiddle.
SY: It is hard for me to believe -- I think symbolically, it's a watershed moment --
QUEST: Right --
SY: But if you -- the idea that Kim Jong-un would give up his nuclear deterrent even to grow his economy is hard for me to believe, given that
what --
QUEST: Right --
SY: We know about this leader is that he is paranoid, that he watched Gaddafi fall after Gaddafi gave up his nuclear weapons, that he saw Saddam
fall -- of course, his father was the head of government at the time when he gave up his nuclear weapons. Everything --
QUEST: Sure --
SY: We've understood about North Korea, it will be unbelievable if he gave up his nuclear deterrent --
QUEST: Completely different subject --
SY: Yes --
QUEST: For later in the program.
SY: OK.
QUEST: What's your favorite ABBA song?
SY: So the first one that comes to mind is "Mamma Mia", but my favorite is actually "Dancing Queen".
QUEST: I know --
SY: I mean who couldn't love it.
QUEST: "Dancing Queen". We shall indeed ask our quest at some point I assume the Nigerian information minister is familiar with ABBA --
LAI MOHAMMED, INFORMATION MINISTER, NIGERIA: Hi, good evening.
QUEST: Good to see you.
MOHAMMED: Richard Quest, how are you?
QUEST: Come in and join me in the C-Suite --
MOHAMMED: Thank you very much --
[16:40:00] QUEST: And talk battles of Nigeria and then your favorite ABBA song.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: First, it was Emmanuel Macron, now it's Angela Merkel booked towards next week, the foreign leader to sign the White House visit is what
could be Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari, President Buhari.
Here in the C-Suite is Lia Mohammed; Nigeria's Information Minister, always good to see you, sir.
MOHAMMED: Thank you Mr. Quest, always a pleasure.
QUEST: Oh, now, let's talk about what -- why and what you expect your president to be talking about. There's a big agenda, Nigeria is now the
largest economy in Africa, and what does he want to hear and from the U.S. president?
MOHAMMED: Well, I think the economy and the security will be major issues that the two presidents will discuss. If the statement coming from Nigeria
is anything to go by, I think the economy and security.
And I think it's -- the meeting on Monday actually is a big signal that the first African head of state out of the Sahara to receive in the Oval house
is the Nigerian president.
QUEST: The worry is that the reforms in Nigeria are stalled either through criticism or through political opposition or indeed just doing -- the
changes that are necessary in the economy on taking place.
MOHAMMED: On the contrary, Mr. Quest, the changes, I will, we've made giant strides. For instance, we cut up recession within two contexts, the
growth has been fragile, but has been steady.
We doubled the federal reserve from 23 billion to 47 billion --
QUEST: That's not difficult when the oil price goes back up again or nearly doubled --
MOHAMMED: But --
QUEST: To 47 --
MOHAMMED: But incidentally, this increase is not a result of the increase in price oil, no, rather, it's because we're able to recover -- that's why
the economy largely is agriculture, mining. And I think also the initiative of the Central Bank to introduce the investment and trade(ph)
you know, window, has encouraged, you know, foreign investment.
QUEST: The public perception of Nigeria -- obviously, your job to try and to shift that in some way, and I'm wondering how successful you are being
in doing that.
MOHAMMED: Well, I think it's not for me to say how successful I am, but I will continue to remain focus and to let the world know that this
government has made giant strides, never in the history of this country have we had the kind of focus we had on social investment.
We've employed 200,000 unemployed graduates, we feed 7.5 million people every day, we created jobs across the chain.
[16:45:00] So our -- the kind of strides we've made in the economy is real, and we will not be distracted by criticism, we'll remain focused.
QUEST: Perfect, good to see you, thank you very much indeed.
MOHAMMED: Thank you very much.
QUEST: Now, as we continue tonight, I've been promising you, after the break, time to pull on the flags.
(MUSIC)
QUEST: ABBA Dabba doo, more money is headed ABBA's way, fans are looking forward to two brand new songs after the break.
(MUSIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Pop culture overload on this Friday, not one, but two legendary groups making history. Let's start with the new "Avengers" film. The new
film came out overnight, it's just one of the biggest preview openings of all time.
Some might say name a more iconic group than the "Avengers", how about Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha and Anni-Frid, that's the other story we're following
tonight. ABBA are back with new material -- adamant, still might be to your heart.
They are one of the most popular groups of all times, and they've chose to call it, their first new song in the best part of four decades. So are you
team ABBA or team "Avengers" in all of this?
We'll start with the comic book super heroes -- Frank Pallotta --
FRANK PALLOTTA, MEDIA REPORTER, CNNMONEY: Yes --
QUEST: Is with us, good to see you, sir.
PALLOTTA: I feel like this is the pinnacle of my journalistic career. We're talking about "The Avengers" and ABBA at the same time. I don't know
how I can get more peak frank than we are right now.
QUEST: We've got to start with "The Avengers", bring me the bell back before you get over the top.
PALLOTTA: Yes.
QUEST: And all right, like so "The Avengers", this movie, is it good?
PALLOTTA: It is! It's a bit long, it's 2 hours and 40 --
QUEST: Hundred and fifty six minutes.
PALLOTTA: Very long, but it's incredibly good, and the thing is -- about the length of it is fully offset by just how massive of a movie it is. I
mean, "Disney" just came out with some new projections for the weekend.
They are projecting that this movie can make close to $225 million just domestically. To give you an idea of what that's like, that will be the
second biggest of all time, and it would be not that far behind from "Force Awakens" which three years ago if you remember, was this huge phenomenal
event.
QUEST: So if we look at the "Disney" --
PALLOTTA: Yes --
QUEST: And the movie from "Black Panther" through to this, through to "Star Wars" --
PALLOTTA: Yes --
QUEST: I mean, and yet, look at the shared price -- come back, look at the shared price and you'll see the share price barely punches.
PALLOTTA: Right, it's because "Disney" is not just a studio, "Disney" is also "Espn". And there are things about the company that get outweighed
and offset.
[16:50:00] So you're looking at this year -- forget about the year-end movies, let's just talk about the summer.
They're going to have "Avengers: Infinity War", they're going to have "Star Wars", they're going to have "Solo: A Star Wars Story", incredible few
weeks as it depicts our movie, and "The Wax" which is another "Marvel" movie.
You're talking about potentially $41 billion films in one Summer, and then end of year with "Mary Poppins" returns, which I know you love "Mary
Poppins".
QUEST: Yes, I still -- I may not forgive them for remaking it against then Julia Andrews.
PALLOTTA: I mean, "Disney" at the end of this week and is going to likely have nine of the top 10 biggest openings of all time --
QUEST: And if you look at the various places that they've all -- picks on "Marvel", "Lucas", they were all criticized at the time --
PALLOTTA: Right --
QUEST: Because they were paying a premium --
PALLOTTA: Right --
QUEST: But actually, as with all things, you try buying a house where you pay a premium, five years later, no one forgets -- no remembers what you
pay by just looking at the revenues.
PALLOTTA: Well, you've got to look at this way, "Marvel" has changed in a matter of history in a big way. When they bought this company, they --
"Marvel" was --
QUEST: Right --
PALLOTTA: Kind of this different studio. Since 2008, over a decade, he's had 18 number one openings and nearly $15 billion --
QUEST: Calm yourself --
PALLOTTA: I'm sorry?
QUEST: Calm yourself --
PALLOTTA: I'm very sorry, you're talking ABBA, you're talking "Avengers" - -
QUEST: It's done, well, let's talk ABBA because --
PALLOTTA: It's Friday --
QUEST: Because never mind "Disney" and "Marvel", ABBA are getting back together for two new songs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
QUEST (voice-over): ABBA, one of the biggest pop acts in history whose songs still blur out at wedding parties and karaoke get-together, and whose
music has spunned a musical and a movie.
Now the group is back together more than three decades after calling it quits.
BJORN ULVAEUS, VOCALS, ABBA: It's just the moments and we were kind of looking at each other because -- and then straight back like no time had
passed at all. It was amazing.
QUEST: The question is why now? Their Instagram page revealed that after "Avatars" were made of the group for TV, they wanted to sing again,
recording two new songs, one is called "I Still Have Faith In You".
I had faith in them in 1974 when they won the Eurovision Song contest, and these two married couples hit the big time. A music factory churning out
questionable (INAUDIBLE) and the string of hits from "Voulez-Vous" to "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" and of course approve Rickey for us -- "Money,
Money, Money".
Some people don't know when to say no, you can even sing and dance like them at the ABBA Museum in Stockholm. The museum says ABBA sold 375
million albums and ABBA was once rumored to be Sweden's second biggest export after Volvo.
But talk of a comeback was crashed only a few short years ago.
ULVAEUS: We want people to see us as we were during the '70s, that young and ambitious energetic group.
QUEST: Now, thanks to modern technology, recreating their energetic selves ABBA is back and so is "Mamma Mia", the movie, a sequel due this Summer
with new songs, a new movie and "Avatars".
(MUSIC)
Old fans like me will love it up, new fans will be found and ABBA will live on for the next generation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Frank, does it get any better?
PALLOTTA: No, it doesn't. It's ABBA, I mean, I love ABBA -- I mean, I'm 30 years old, I love ABBA, I'm here for it. You don't even want to see
what happens when they play "Dancing Queen" --
QUEST: You?
PALLOTTA: In a bar, oh, you don't want to see that. Somebody is going to get hurt.
QUEST: And Lindsey(ph), do we have "Dancing Queen" and we go, I can tell you you can't afford --
PALLOTTA: I can't hear it, I can hear it in my heart.
QUEST: Right, and look, the reality is this is a massive money-making operation for them but it's going to be welcomed overall.
PALOTTA: I think so, I think what ABBA has been really good at is we're kind of in a middle of a nostalgic kick, you're going to have parents
taking their kids to go see ABBA and they're both doing like -- ABBA is -- goes over a decade.
I mean, you have everything, you have so many great songs, "The Winner Takes All", you said, you singing "Money, Money, Money" which I am happy I
couldn't hear inside of the studio --
QUEST: "Money, Money, Money" --
PALLOTTA: OK, that's -- thank you, hit the bell, no, we're good, no, sit there. And plus, the best song ever right there, my favorite "Waterloo",
guys, "Waterloo" --
QUEST: Listen, I actually --
PALLOTTA: Are we going to fight about "Waterloo" --
QUEST: No, I actually watched them win the Eurovision song contest on television in 1974.
[16:55:00] PALLOTTA: Oh, wow, I read about it in like the old scripts that they had that had, that had dust -- where I had to blow the dust off the
scripts in 19 --
QUEST: You weren't even alive.
PALLOTTA: Oh, I was a good decade --
QUEST: When they broke up.
PALLOTTA: I was a good decade out. But like I said, you can't just go wrong. And plus, like you said, "Mamma Mia", here we go again, universal,
it's the sequel too, it's ABBA sequel, I can't wait to see that.
It starring Cher, Meryl Streep, Louis James, get out here. Cher and ABBA, they're going to have to give me oxygen in that theater.
QUEST: "Dancing Queen", let's have a bit of it -- thank you very much, and profitable moment after the break.
PALLOTTA: Yes --
QUEST: Come on, dance.
(MUSIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
QUEST: So ABBA has written some new songs, tonight's profitable moment. Well, as one of my colleagues in the studio says there's the Beatles and
the Rolling Stones and everybody else is done there.
But of course he's just a Philistine who doesn't really understand these matters because the truth is you could also put ABBA up there as well. I
do hope when these two songs are released, they add some pathetic light version of the greatness that we saw.
So often when groups do come back together again, it's just a pale limitation and you wonder why they did it, except for the money. However,
there are occasions where you can't say that it has been worthwhile, and I hope this is one of them.
And think about it, the Rolling Stone never broke up, the Beatles never got back together again, it could just be the group from Sweden that actually
proves a point that you can get back together, make a bit of extra music, make a lot of money and make old bogies like me pretty happy.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight, I am Richard Quest, dance with me, what better way to leave you on a Friday night. Whatever you're up to
in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable.
(MUSIC)
END
