Return to Transcripts main page
CNN 10
Finland Builds Underground City; BTS Set to Serve in South Korea`s Military. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired October 19, 2022 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Wonderful Wednesday to you. I`m Coy. This is CNN 10 and we got a rendezvous with the news.
But before we do, I have to ask, raise your hand if you have a Halloween custom picked out yet. I do. Any guesses? No, it`s not Mr. Clean, Agent 47
or handsome Squidward, though, I would rock those with pride. Hit me up on TikTok and Insta @CoyWire with your best guesses or even some suggestions.
All right. Let`s get this show started.
Finland, a country in northern Europe that shares an 800-mile border with Russia is taking steps to join NATO. This after decades of the nation
maintaining independence. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance between 30 countries and members agree to help one
another if they ever come under attack. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Finland decided to join. There`s history here, too, as Finland was invaded
by the Soviet Union in 1939 in what was named the winter war, which happened at the beginning of World War II. During the conflict, Finland
faced massive artillery bombardments from the Soviets.
We`re going to travel now to the Finnish capital of Helsinki, where CNN correspondent Nic Robertson takes us on an underground tour a city that has
more than 5,000 bunkers design to protect its citizens from attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Question is, when is a parking garage not a parking garage?
ROBERTSON: And the answer is, when it`s part of a tunnel and bunker network to be used in case of war. And there is one country threatening that war,
potentially, the big threat, Russia.
(voice-over): Tomi Rask, Helsinki city rescue department, is going to show us around.
TOMI RASK, HELSINKI CITY RESCUE DEPARTMENT: We`re going to see and see that main entrance --
ROBERTSON: Twenty meters, 60 feet below ground, cut into Helsinki`s bedrock.
ROBERTSON: How quickly can you put this together, in case of war?
RASK: In 72 hours.
ROBERTSON: And 6,000 people in here.
How many people can you fit in shelters in the whole of Helsinki?
RASK: Over 900,000.
ROBERTSON: So that`s enough for the population plus visitors?
RASK: Yes, yes, it is.
ROBERTSON: The government has been building bunkers here since the 1960s, 5,500 in Helsinki, more than 50,000 across the country, enough for 80
percent of the country`s 5.5 million population.
ROBERTSON: Deeper and deeper.
RASK. Yes.
ROBERTSON: But the scale of it, not the only surprise; some of it is open to the public.
ROBERTSON: What`s this?
RASK: For a ball game.
ROBERTSON: This is a bunker with a sports hall?
Oh, my goodness.
ROBERTSON: Much of it dual use to offset the costs.
RASK: So this is one example of our dual purpose use of the shelter.
ROBERTSON: Dual purpose, yeah. So sports, every day of the week, time of crisis, what happens here?
RASK: All the sporting goods are stacked away. All these halls, these sheltering halls are divided by smaller sheltering rooms.
ROBERTSON: And not just sports halls, children`s play areas, possibly the safest in the world; cafes, even a swimming pool.
ROBERTSON: Just a sheltering hall but with a pool?
RASK: Yes, with an Olympic-sized pool.
ROBERTSON: Olympic-sized?
OK, wow. Wow.
But everything here with one purpose in mind: glass doors, gas barriers, decontamination areas.
And now, it`s a car park.
RASK: It`s a car park.
ROBERTSON: Again.
RASK: Again.
ROBERTSON: That`s a quite bizarre feeling.
RASK: Yes.
ROBERTSON: One minute you`re preparing for a wall, the next minute you`re playing hockey and now it`s a car park.
RASK: Yes.
Here, you can see the different layers.
ROBERTSON: And before we leave, Rask shows us another shelter just begun.
There is a hole in it, put explosives in, blow it and move forward?
RASK: Yes.
ROBERTSON: Thank you.
RASK: Bye.
ROBERTSON: Cheers, bye.
Here come the traffic. This is what was like on the way out. Absolutely fascinating, intriguing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Next up, we`re heading to the Asian continent where the South Korean boy band BTS is in the news this week, but not because the popular band has
a new song out. It`s because the band and all its members are stopping to join the South Korean army. The nation requires all able bodied men to
serve at least 18 months in the armed forces by age 28, due to ongoing threats from North Korea.
Fans are upset and I mean, they are hot. No new tours or music for BTS for several years. The plan is for the ban to get together again around 2025,
after all seven members complete their service.
The decision could also come with an economic cost. Analysts project that between 2014 and 2023, the group would have contributed $29.4 billion to
the South Korean economy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This announcement today has ended months of speculation. Will they? Won`t they? We now know that BTS will be
going into their mandatory military service. We heard from the label Big Hit Music saying, quote, they respect the needs of the country.
Now, this has been under speculation as I say, for months. This has been debated within the South Korean parliament itself, as to whether or not BTS
should be exempted or whether they should be carrying out their mandatory service. It is a conscription that all able bodied men between the ages of
18 and 28 do need to go and serve in the military.
Now, it`s increased by two years, just a couple of years ago, for the age of 30, just for those who excel in popular culture and art. So, it did
defer somewhat the decision for BTS and gave them some breathing space.
But the argument for the exemption is that there are some sportsmen who have won Olympics medals, Asian Games medals, who have been exempted from
military service. There`s also some classical musician, so award winning global musicians and singers that have been exempted as well.
But it was decided and it was debated at length that BTS should go ahead. Big Hit Music saying, quote, both the company and the members of BTS are
looking forward to reconvening as the group around 2025.
So, certainly, the BTS Army as their passionate fans are known will be looking forward to that date.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Ten-second trivia:
Which of these animals is nicknamed the canary of the sea?
Beluga whales, dolphins, stingrays or penguins?
Beluga it is. Their rounded forehead, it`s flexible and capable of changing shape, allowing them to make noises such as a series of chirps, clicks and
whistles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: No, my butthead could not do that.
For today`s "10 out of 10", we`ve got a story that will blow you away. Long distance travel for large cargo can be overwhelming, but not with Airbus
Beluga cargo jet. The Airbus which gets its name from its resemblance to a Beluga whale made a rare appearance on U.S. soil over the weekend. It
landed at the Kennedy Space Center.
CNN`s space and defense correspondent Kristin Fisher has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Behold the Airbus Beluga, making a rare appearance over American soil this weekend
with the special delivery to the Kennedy Space Center. The EuroStar Neo telecommunications satellite safely arrived in Florida, in a cargo bay in
this whale of a plane. The giant transporter is named for its resemblance, the Beluga whale. First rolled out in the `90s, the Beluga ST, was designed
to move oversized cargo across the globe, for military hardware to aircraft parts for its own fleets.
With a payload length of 39 meters, about 128 feet, it`s one of the only planes that could transport space equipment, and spotting the Beluga is a
treat for airplane enthusiasts. Aviation lovers in the U.S. got a look at this giant over the weekend for the first time since 2009, when it
delivered Europe`s tranquility module for the international space station.
And if you think this model is impressive, take a look at the Beluga XL. It has 30 percent more transport capacity than its little brother. But it only
flies the European skies for now.
Kristin Fisher, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Whale. That`s all the time I have time for, for now. Had a killer (ph) time with you all.
But before I go, our favorite part of the day, a special shout-out to Frelinghuysen Middle School in Morristown, New Jersey.
I hope you and everyone watching around the world have a wonderful one. I`m Coy. This is CNN and I`ll see you tomorrow.
END
