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CNN 10

North Korea Threatens to Call Off A Historic Summit with America; A Volcanic Eruption Expands in Hawaii; A Simple Word Divides Listeners Across the Internet

Aired May 17, 2018 - 04:00   ET

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

CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Will the historic summit between North Korean and American leaders be stopped before it begins? That`s the first subject

we`re exploring today on CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz. We`re glad you`re watching.

Here`s what`s going on: Earlier this week, North Korea said it was suspending its planned high level talks with South Korea. Those have been

scheduled for Wednesday, but the North was angry about something that`s happening right now between South Korea and the United States who are close

allies.

They`re holding their annual air force drills. They have been doing military drills together for years. They say they`re defensive purposes,

but the exercises have always angered North Korea who sees them as threats or preparations for an invasion.

Back in March, when North Korea`s leader invited America`s president to meet, the White House was told that dictator Kim Jong-un understands that

the military exercises between South Korea and the U.S. would go on. But this week, North Korea said the exercises violated an agreement between the

two Koreas, that they would stop all hostile acts against each other. So, North Korea called off its talks with the South. And then it went a step

further, saying, quote, if the United States is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear abandonment, we will no longer be

interested in such dialogue.

Getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons is the main demand of the U.S. So, what happens now?

Analysts say it`s not likely that North Korea will cancel talks with the U.S. And the Trump administration says North Korea`s threats were an

expected bump in the road in dealing with an unpredictable North Korean leader. In fact, just months ago, many analysts wouldn`t have predicted

the two nations would even be planning talks with one another.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Talk about a U- turn, in just a few short months, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has gone from launching intercontinental ballistic missiles, to meeting with world

leaders. How did that happen?

It all comes down to one word, denuclearization.

Basically, much of the world wants Kim to give up his nuclear arsenal, an arsenal he`s been building for most of his six years in power, would he

actually do that?

ALISON EVANS, IHS MARKIT (through telephone): I think the recent comments mostly coming from South Korea about North Korea`s willingness to discuss

denuclearization actually missed the point.

RIPLEY: That`s Alison Evans. She analyzes Asia Pacific security risks.

EVANS: North Korea has said it`s going to discuss denuclearization when security on the peninsula is guaranteed and I think that`s what we need to

focus on, on how the definition of denuclearization differs between North Korea and the other parties.

RIPLEY: Evan says Kim has one goal, to stay in power. He sees the American nuclear umbrella as a real threat. Nuclear weapons are like an

insurance policy, giving North Korea leverage over more powerful enemies like the U.S.

So, what would it take for denuclearization to go from just talk to reality?

EVANS: There are probably small scale things that North Korea might request behind closed door, but ultimately, North Korea would be speaking

things like a peace treaty with the United States and South Korea.

RIPLEY: Kim announced he`s stopping nuclear tests and scaling back his missile program. But to go further, analysts say he`ll expect big

concessions from President Trump. What could those be?

Guaranties he`ll stay in power for one. Also, relief from sanctions, and even normalize relations with the U.S. if Kim agrees to take verifiable

steps towards denuclearization.

EVANS: Best of all, I don`t think that North Korea is anywhere near giving us its nuclear weapons. At this stage, I think there will be sort of first

steps towards denuclearization that might happen first. First and foremost, it would be stopping operations at their like water reactor in

North Korea. Another example would be allowing IAEA inspectors in to look at North Korea`s nuclear facilities. Those kinds of things are likely to

happen first along the way.

I`ve been to Pyongyang many times, all over the city, there`s propaganda, celebrating North Korea as a nuclear power. They even had it written into

their constitution. Denuclearization would mean a huge cultural shift.

And even if North Korea does agree to be denuclearized, there`s just so much we don`t know about their arsenal, how many nuclear weapons and how

many locations, and how many more nukes could North Korea make if a deal with the U.S. falls apart?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Next today, Hawaii`s big island is under a red alert. The warning issued by the U.S. Geological Survey means a major eruption could happen at

any moment and that ash clouds boiling up from the Kilauea volcano could affect planes. The ash has gotten more intense this week and geologists

aren`t sure exactly why. But even some cruise ships are avoiding the big island, where the volcano is.

Kilauea`s latest eruption has affected neighborhoods miles away from its crater. Thirty-seven buildings, including dozens of houses have been

destroyed by lava. Most of volcano`s national park has been closed for the last week and residents are being told to keep their distance from Kilauea.

The lava lake and the volcano`s crater has been dropping for weeks now and officials are concerned that that could lead to a phreatic eruption, when

steam from ground water builds up and causes an explosion. They say that like so many effects of Kilauea`s latest eruption is very hard to forecast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kilauea continues to keep people on their toes, even after almost two weeks, there are now more than 20 fissures,

massive cracks in the earth that have opened up, let me show you the one that we`ve been watching now, for the past three nights. Geologists say

that it is actually dying down, though you certainly cannot tell from this vantage point. It continues to spew lava high into the air.

Now, these fissures, they`re also releasing sulfur dioxide, it is a toxic gas that officials say is creating immediate health risks in some areas.

The other concern here is the main crater of Kilauea, at the summit. Yesterday, it sent a massive ash plume, more than a mile into the sky

blanketing the area downwind. Officials are asking people in that area to stay indoors or at the very least wear a mask if they`re going outside.

Now, this is not the big explosion though that people are worried about. Geologists say that one could still come and if it does, it could send

boulders the size of cars flying some half a mile, smaller rocks much further than that.

All of that said, with all of this danger, a lot of people in this area, even where we are, a little more than a mile from this active fissure,

they`re not leaving. But they are packed and ready to go if things get worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

The malleus, incus and tympanum are all parts of what?

An orchestra, a speaker, the ear, or the foot?

They sound like they`ve been in an orchestra, but these are all parts of the ear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: And they all come into play in today`s "10 Out of 10" segment.

You might remember an Internet debate from a few years back involving the dress. This dress. Some people saw it as blue and black. Some saw it as

white and gold.

A similar idea comes in here but involves the ear. Have a listen and see if you hear the word "Yanny" or "Laurel".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says laurel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It literally says -- just play it. Play it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on, OK.

SUBTITLE: Two random words, "Yanny" and "Laurel", are tearing the Internet apart.

AUDIOTAPE: Laurel. Laurel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yanny.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

SUBTITLE: Cloe Feldman, a social media influencer, posted this question on her Instagram story and Twitter.

The post was paired with a recording of a computerized voice saying.

COMPUTERIZED VOICE: Laurel, laurel, laurel, laurel.

SUBTITLE: For the record, Feldman says she hears "Yanny", but there`s no middle ground.

COMPUTERIZED VOICE: Yanny.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

COMPUTERIZED VOICE: Yanny. Yanny.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I hear is yanny now.

SUBTITLE: Dr. Brad Story, a University of Arizona acoustics expert, says the quality of the recording could be to blame.

DR. BRAD STORY, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA: It`s most likely the original recording was laurel. The interesting thing about the word yanny

is that this second frequency that our vocal track produces in yanny follows almost the same path in terms of what it looks like

spectrographically as laurel. And so, if you have a low quality of recording, it`s not surprising that some people would hear yanny instead of

laurel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Now, I`m hardly an oracle here, but all I ear is laurel. When I first lent an ear though, I heard yanny. So, no matter what you`ve heard,

what turns out to be music to your ears basically drums down to what sounds good.

I`m Carl Azuz, and hear this, CNN 10 sounds off again tomorrow.

END