bush on north korea. his remarks are followed by a on theiscussion foreign-policy priorities of the trump administration in the 115th congress. this is just over an hour. >> good morning. i am the director of global initiatives here at the bush institute. thank you for taking time to join us for this forum on freedom in north korea, and welcome to the bush institute, where we focus on developing leaders, advancing policy, and taking action to solve today's most pressing challenges. behind me as a satellite image of the korean peninsula. it shows a startling contrast between north and south. while south korea is alive with light, north korea is shrouded in darkness. more than 24 million people live under the tyranny of communism in the cam regime. in recent years, free societies have focused attention on the plight of korean people, but more must be done. since 2014, the bush institute has held consensusbuilding meetings, commissioning additional research and understanding one of the worst human tragedies

you still have family in north korea. will you ever see them again, will you ever talk to them again? you have any indication about how they feel? so far now iambic target of the organisation by the north korean regime. —— now i am the target. i am sure that my relatives, my brother at and sisters, family, by now are all sent to either removed, closed areas 01’ all sent to either removed, closed areas or prison camps. so that really breaks my heart. if you could imagine your rather shouting at you, why did you do this to me? —— brother. why did you put me in this place? what would you say? that is really, you know, a question which i do not like to even think about. yes. but that's why i am very much 110w yes. but that's why i am very much now determined to do everything possible to pull down the north korean regime, in order to save not only my family members but the whole north korean people from slavery. the think you will ever see your brother again? i am absolutely sure and this is my dream, to walk back to

north korea called him "human scum", and that's because he was so central to north korea's diplomatic effort. i'll be talking to him in a moment. he lived in london with his family and the families of two other north korean diplomats in the embassy. 0utwardly a bourgeois suburban house. thae yong—ho escorted kim jong—un's brother to a rock concert in the royal albert hall. he was the voice of north korea to british left—wing groups, singing the praises of socialism. hello. and now, in south korea, where i met him. he won't say how he got here, if the secret services of the united states or britain, or south korea, helped. so how are you getting on in seoul? are you enjoying it? but he did talk about how his family turned him against the regime in pyongyang. me and my family, and my sons and my wife, did not come to that kind of conclusion just on one day. at the first stage, there is a kind of ideological debate inside the family, especially between me and my sons, when my sons entered uk university, the education they received was quite different to what they got in north korea

guest: in the first instance, the north korea nuclear program, was the north korea action to a bodef developments that ill for north korea. ago,ch as 25 or 30 years the collapse of the soviet union, the recognition of the south koreans, the republic of korea by china. beingly of south korea the sole remaining superpower, the u.s. the security threat in the u.s., they have pointed out to us to what we did in libya, they said they do not wish to see that. i would recommend starting by trying to see things through their eyes. they have no real friends, they are isolated, they are a client state of china, china has only one -- warm feelings towards the north korean government. they are isolated is the first point. from our respective, this is a threat notwithstanding, whether it is north koreans see themselves as threatened, we see the threat. we see the possibility of some north korea adventure, and they do provocations at sea, they do shelledthe dmz, they an island. one of those incidents could escalate, and now we are talking about north korea with nuclear weapons and building an arse

story of the building in north korea. i did not know who they were so i asked the colonel who was showing us, who was that? he said they were most likely students who must be fairly well-situated in the area to be there. i could not help but wonder, do those students looking over at us with hate in their hearts? i wonder if we can change that? can they look over to south "wow, maybeink, someday we will be able to thrive as they have been able to thrive." and then the question of what happens here at home if that happens? will the people here understand what happened in the 1950's? will that you understand our commitment to the people? our commitment to the people from so long ago? we noticed in syria that there are different shades of red lines. i think that is a big concern to leaders in south korea, around the world, and certainly to congress. we have to do a better job in congress in sharing with people, the american people, what it means. what is happening in north korea , and to give them the reasoning and resolved t

they had a lot of tests and failures, north korea has. and they do rattle the saber a lot to try to get deals on food. >> the key question, i guess strategically and militarily, is whether they can load a working nuclear device onto the icbm. that's the threshold they haven't gotten past yet. we have time in that sense but the question is, can we find out that they have that capability before they actually test it and before it's actually kind of out there and ready to go? >> bret: the intel out of north korea is bad. >> very tough. i couldn't really improve on the summary laura gave you of exactly how difficult this choice is going to be. it's worth remembering that at the very beginning of bill clinton's administration, they came about that close, the clinton administration, to getting into a preemptive war with north korea based on what they perceived the progress to have been at that time, which led to the 20 haven't plus years of failed negotiations we've had since. and if it did come to a conflict with north korea over this, you cou

to intelligence reports and north korea watchers. what we do know, rose mary is back in february 2016 north korea launched a satellite which a lot of experts said could be a guise for launching a long-range missile. the technology is similar. and in april 2016 kim jong un presided over, according to state media, the testing of a new engine for an intercontinental ballistic missile. and at the time, he said this will now help north korea target its enemies, including the u.s. mainland. and so all of these stages allude to the fact that he is on the path to getting an intercontinental ballistic missile. we just don't know how close he is to that, rosemary. >> what are we to make of mr. trump chiding china for not helping when it comes to north korea. how much control does china really have over north korea and its leader kim jong un? >> reporter: yeah. according to president-elect trump, he seem ts to see this i very black and white terms, that china is an ally of north korea and therefore it wields a lot of influence and should be abl

affairs told me america can't stop north korea. we will match american nuclear weapons, he says, with our own. north korea, he warned, is ready to test launch its first long-range missile. is the launch imminent? it'll be carried out at any time, he says. before taking office, president trump tweeted, it won't happen. if it does, it would be another step towards north korea's goal of building a nuclear weapon able to hit the u.es a former north korean diplomat who defected to the south says kim jong-un must go and the u.s. shouldn't make any missile deal or cancel exercises. >> that is really a trap, you know, which kim jong-un, you know, wants. >> reporter: north korea carried out two dozen missile tests and two nuclear tests last year. there is no sign that that intensity of testing will end this year. and that is a test for president trump. north korea has challenged a new president before test firing a missile soon after president obama took office. here in north korea, the regime says it will judge president trump by what he d

what is north korea really capable of? is this what they are capable of a nuclear strike on a city like seattle? >> they have three launches that can hit lower 48 states. they are not reliable and not accurate and don't have heat shielding. within three years i think maybe four they will be able to do that. the only question is whether we can stop it with our interceptors which are pretty elementary. >> and not been tested. >> not in a real life situation. ones that are not real ones. >> trump came out when you mentioned china. china has been taking out massive amounts of money and wealth from the u.s. but won't help with north korea trying to pressure china. does this work? >> it only works if they think trump is serious. the only way trump can stop that test of intercontinental ballistic missile is if he imposes sanctions on north korea but more important on china and on chinese financial institutions that have been handling cash for north korea's weapons programs. >>> next mariah carey's rocky new year's eve. the finger

but won't help with north korea. nice. our pentagon correspondent barbara starr has been looking into the latest north korea threat. >> tonight these threats are raising question of whether donald trump will be the president that has to take out north korea's nuclear program possibly with military action. that scenario poses staggering implications. north korea leader kim jong-un's new year's day message, he is almost ready to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile that someday could hit the u.s. >> translator: research and development of cutting edge arms equipment is actively progressing and intercontinental ballistic missile test launch preparation is in the last stage. >> reporter: a security challenge donald trump could face very early on. trump has made clear on the campaign trail he wants china to deal with kim. >> we have to be very vigilant on north korea. china should handle that problem. >> reporter: and offering his own blunt assessment of the north korean leader. >> you have the guy in north korea and is

china should go into north korea. china is totally powerful as it relates to north korea. china has total control, believe me. they shay they don't. they have total control over north korea. and china should solve that problem. china has control, absolute control of north korea. they don't say it, but they do. i would make it disappear. >> how? >> heard worse things, frankly. >> what do you say there? is the obama administration partly to blame for not getting china to act? >> china has been acting and china has been supporting sanctions regime particularly this last one that had been in place. they voted for it. they said publicly that they would implement that. it is true, erin, that in the past there has not been uniform enforcement of sanctions going forward. and some of that has fallen on to china. we know that. we have said they will implement it, they will enforce that, and they have incredible influence in pyongyang, more than probably any other country. i think to say they can control pyongyang is not supported by the facts. the fact is that china itself has been

but won't help with north korea. nice. this as new video obtained by cnn shows trump from his new year's eve party at mar-a-lago speaking to the crowd of 800 wealthy revelers. >> the ones that i really care about the member, i don't give a [ bleep ] out there -- >> reporter: trump lavishing praise with his dubai business partner. >> hussein and whole family from the most beautiful people, from dubai, are here tonight. >> reporter: despite pledging to step away from his business and address glaring conflicts of interest, a top adviser spring to trump's defense. >> this man is allowed to have a new year's eve celebration with his friends and his business partners. the idea that he's giving a speech recognizing a friend and his beautiful wife and people are just going to twist that around to somehow it's a business favor, i mean, we've got to get ahold of ourselves here. >> reporter: all the while trump continuing to cast doubt on the u.s. intelligence community's conclusions on russian hacking. the president-elect crypticall

north korea close to test an icbm. the trick is miniaturizing a nuclear war head that would hit atop of it. if they do, they are a clear threat to the united states, are they not? >> i don't believe it's because kim jong-un says it. but i do believe it because of what the commander of korea has been saying. that the north core rans are close to being able to miniaturize a nuclear device and they expect shortly, maybe early 2018, that that package would be able to hit targets on the west coast of the united states. once you can put. >> ballistic missile into earth orbit, you can put it pretty much anywhere if you have the quiedans to do it. it's note simply a threat to the united states from north korea. northt korea will sell anything to anybody for hard currency. that means iran quite likely cooperating on the nuclear side may be a lot closer to a nuclear capability not to mention knot iter rogue state with loose change. gregg require's a dire scenario you are laying out. imposed sanctions never worked. they never det

north korea, this is from the president—elect, north korea to stated it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the us. it won't happen. those three words. mr trump could mean he doesn't think the technological progress will be made. he could be indicating he thinks the regime will collapse. before the election. he indicated he might sit down with kim jong—un over a burger and the two could agree for kim jong—un to give a burger and the two could agree for kimjong—un to give up on nuclear ambitions. we simply don't know which of those it is. or, in might think this is a pretty clear message, it won't happen because we are going to stop it happening. in which case, that prompts the question, how might you do that? could it be through military means? if you don't talk to experts on these beings, us experts, they say military options are pretty limited. bunker buster bombs or special forces operations could not be guaranteed to do the job. so it is policy—making by tweet, raising a lot of questions, but very, very blind. it won't happen! pretty

charlie: let me go to north korea. some kind of relationship but -- with china is good and necessary to deal with north korea. >> it fortunately has not borne the fruit that we all expected. it is very much in their interest. this is a little bit like the russian behavior. they have not -- the chinese behaved in regard to chinese interest, which is having a war or nuclear weapons on the immediate border. all north korean children are taught that we are the enemy. our ability to influence north korean thinking except through deterrence is not great. therefore, when it came to the diplomatic approach, the theory behind the so-called six party talks, they could use the historical and ideological history that they have with north korea uniquely to try to reach the north korean leadership. that has not borne fruit. charlie: everywhere i talked to people, they remind me of how they have elevated the threat of north korea. sec. carter: let me put it this way. north korea has always been -- and i have been doing this for a lon

we are not seeing donald trump himself being mentioned, though, by north korea. there's no combative language when it comes to the president-elect, but they saying once again that they blame the united states for the fact that they feel the need to have this icbm program, george. >> so paula, the increased rhetoric we're seeing, the claim has been made, it's causing a great deefl concern, but there have always been doubts about the north's capabilities. is there any reason to believe now that they are truly able to carry it out? >> reporter: well, obviously, the one person who knows the answer to that is kim jong un himself. those outside of north korea, the intelligence community, the governments, the officials, the experts. they can just effectively guess. they can see what north korea has been saying. they can look at satellite images. they can see what's happened for example with the satellite launch that north korea carried out just over a year ago. they say it was peaceful, they launched a satellite into space. but experts say that's the same technology as

enemy in the news, donald trump weighing in on north korea. our panel weighs in on that when we come back. image matters. i want some gray...but not too much. only touch of gray uses oxygen to gently blend away some gray, but not all for that perfect salt and pepper look. satisfaction guaranteed. just you and the look you want. just for men touch of gray the full value of your totaled new car. the guy says, "you picked the wrong insurance plan." no, i picked the wrong insurance company. with new car replacement™, we'll replace the full value of your car plus depreciation. liberty mutual insurance. >>> the last thing before we go tonight, new tweet this evening from president-elect trump on north korea. "north korea just stated that it is in its final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the u.s. it won't happen." we're back with our panel. robert, ali, eugene. robert costa, no sign that candidate trump is morphing into president trump any time soon, huh? >> nicolle, throughout my time reporting on the 2016 race,

a madman with a tweet like this. >> north korea. >> north korea performed fourth nuclear test they are getting better. >> christopher hill former ambassador, also with us barbara demic la times she author of nothing to envy. how alarm should we be that they are going to test an icbm? >> they are testing program continued preach unapated. it's going on for years. they are testing our politician as they are testing military equipment. so when kim jong-un i think we should take it seriously. when president-elect trump tweets that it won't happen. he better be prepared to back up that statement. >> barbara you have been to north korea a number of times, do you think that the kim jong-un and leadership that they have any sort of sense of donald trump or what they expect when he become president? >> i think like the rest of us, there are confused. they're used to predictable american policy towards north korea and donald trump comes off as crazy. i don't mean disrespect to the president. that maybe a good thing in this respect, the crazy once have to be saying who are we deal with. in a way

and to some extent we have not done that with north korea. with china with respect to north korea. we worried about their trade surpluses, are we worried about the south china seas, tibet, what are we worried about with china? i think we have so set priorities with them and then try to do a deep dive. the situation is pretty tough. a lot of nationalism in china. the chinese government is not handling things well internally. they also have been pretty belligerent on the south china sea. so we have some issues. then i think trying to put the one-china policy back on the table, i don't think that's a dog that's going to hunt. >> let me go back, though, to north korea and ask you this sort of fundamental question. when we took out the iraqis when they tried to start a nuke -- we knew they were going to try to start a nuclear weapons program. got to it early. how did -- how did this get this far with north korea? >> well, it's been going on for a long time. it didn't just start when george w. bush called them a member of the axis of evil and somehow hurt their feelings. they've been wor

>> a north korea that is not too far down the path from getting an icbm. sharyl: c.i.a. director john brennan agrees trump's greatest direct challenge is posed by north korea's ruler, kim jong-un. john brennan: the record that he and north korea has, and has this type of capability, i think it presents a direct threat to the united states national security. sharyl: what could a cyber threat lead to? david shedd: it would have a fundamental life-changing impact on our, on our country. lisa fletcher: coal has fueled the economy of southwestern pennsylvania for more than a century. >> for generations, our families have been provided for. lisa: coal country is now trump country. donald trump: we're going to put miners back to work. lisa: do you worry about how are hanging their future on his words though? >> the economy doesn't support what's being said. they're in for just another hit. darrell issa: president obama is not going softly into the night. sharyl: like the post-election retaliation against russia, the obama administration is also holding open the gates of gitmo ,

and north korea is being more aggressive. there were 20 ballistic missile tests by north korea in 2016. the sanctions aren't working. this all comes back to china. can we work with china to contain north korea? lighthizer, the new trade representative is a china trade hawk. what's our message to china? is it we'll have a trade war with you? we'll confront you via twitter or try to work with you on north korea? the chinese are very aggressive. they are on the rise and want to push us back. >> the other factor to consider is if north korea has nothing else to lose and you choke off everything, then why wouldn't kim jong-un, because a lot of people feel he's unbalanced, just blast off his nukes? >> it could be nukes. could be just conventional weapons. he could kill tens of thousands of koreans in the seoul area and the northern suburbs. so, yes, we can topple that regime. we can wipe them out militarily, but it would be a huge cost. so we'll see. again, to be fair to trump, maybe this toughness -- >> americans say it won't be f

he could also take anti-north korea regime information operations, telling the north korea people the way things really are in ways that our government has not been prepared to do in the past. >> is it also possible that the u.s., or donald trump, could order a military strike on north korean nuclear facilities? >> interestingly, in 2006 we had an op-ed from former secretary of defense william perry and the current secretary of defense ash carter saying that we should do exactly that if we saw an icbm on a launch pad. so it is conceivable. but the problem is, if we were to do that, north korea would likely open up artillery fire on seoul or some such threat. >> right. and seoul with millions of residents and tens of thousands of u.s. forces there. donald trump on the campaign trail, at least, suggested the idea of giving nuclear arms to u.s. allies in the region, south korea and japan. how would that change the dynamic? >> i don't think we want to do that. i don't think that's in u.s. interest. in fact, i seem to see him backing away from that statement. the problem is, if for them to

tobe this is a good way pursue my goal is a dentist and once north korea and south korea get united or the north korean regime falls, maybe there's a andce to go to north korea help a lot of elders and children to avoid all of that pain. that is my current goal. [applause] >> thank you for your service. really want to thank joseph and grace for your grace, for your example and courage and pursuit of freedom. it is really inspiring. thank you so much. [applause] >> some of the lowest paid workers in 19 states get a pay raise starting today. arizona plus minimum wage goes up by nearly two dollars. the minimum wages in colorado in maine grow by smaller margins but wind up at $12 an hour by 2020. washington state voters passed an initiative to raise the minimum wage 1350 an hour. other states like alaska, missouri, ohio, montana, south dakota and new jersey are raising minimum wages by $.10 hour or less. president obama and the first family are wrapping up their final christmas vacation in hawaii. this vacation has been like previous ones -- lots of golf, family outings and dinner with fri

>> well, the thing that we know is that north korea -- north korea has chemical and biological weapons and short and long range missiles, they can take out any city they want. when people start talking about the casualties from the war they're talk hundreds of thousands and that's why war is the last option. the one policy we haven't pursued is imposing costs on china. we know chinese have been selling hexafluoride to them and we stand back and don't do anything about it. this has to change and it will. the end of the obama administration we started to see the first sanctions on china. i'm sure trump will continue on that path. >> thanks very much. appreciate your expertise. coming up next, the republicans of the house nearly gutted the watchdogs keeping them and the democrats honest and where house speaker ryan stood on the move and from admitted influence peddler jack abramof joins us ahead. with the xfinity tv app, anything with a screen is a tv. stream 130 live channels. plus 40,000 on demand tv shows and movies, all on the go. you can even download from your x1 dvr and watch it of

and if it did come to a conflict with north korea over this, you couldn't say that the united states hasn't given diplomacy a chance. it's been tried and hasn't worked for over 20 years. >> bret: both parties administrations running the white house. if you look around the world, syria, or iran, what's happening all over the middle east, do you see north korea as the biggest threat x neck >> it's a threat to the actual existence of san francisco. syria is an issue but it's not a threat to the lives of a million americans. this regime is completely unpredictable. our inability to predict nuclear stuff is terrible. we did not predict the russians

right now late today, donald trump tweeted a warning to north korea. there you're talking real lunacy over there. "north korea just stated it is is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the u.s. it won happen. okay. well, this is a question i've been thinking about as, away for two weeks, one question scarier going on than anything else right now, kim jong-un. a weird haircut. he's surrounded by sycophants, building a nuclear weapon, a missile capable of reaching seattle. what's to stop that little finger from pushing the button? >> of course, one concern some policymakers have, he's able to be provoked -- >> which guy? the guy in pyongyang or guy in new york? >> speaking of the north korean leader. he has a history of being provoked, doing provocative things and pressing the envelope at key moments, for example, the inauguration of a new president. >> you're talking about the kim jong-un might try something. >> might try something. it would be in his pattern of behavior to try something -- >> okay -- >> when h

north korean leader who sees a tweet from donald trump that says "north korea just stated it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the u.s., it won't happen." that is what he said. he went on to say "china has been taking out mass amounts of money and wealth from the u.s. in a totally one-sided trade but want help with north korea, nice." when you hear that, what you think north korea is hearing and what do you hear in general? >> north korea is hearing it because what they say, donald trump says it is not going to happen. he is not saying they cannot do it, the north koreans are saying, the united states is going to do something actively to prevent us from watching them. >> jenna: is that a good thing? >> in a sense if we back it up with action, yes, it is because is it an act of will to show not only the north koreans but the chinese and russians behind them that we are willing to defend ourselves. china when it sees these tweets from donald trump thinks there is going to be in a response, they are going to try to challenge him as well bec

north korea can reach china now with nukes. we've got to pressure china to pressure north korea to get to a better place. i think that's the only path forward i can think of. >> mark. >> you can try more sanctions, try to negotiate with them. >> doesn't work. >> military first strike, there are no good options. what's clear is all the north korean regime has left is development of ballistic missiles. it becomes harder and harder. china, doesn't want the refugee problem but also still do too much to prop it up. >> well, you're right. the thing is we have no option. we're going to have to figure how to disarm them. we've been trying since 1994. bill clinton sent jimmy carter over. that was supposed to be a grand deal. it ended up being a deal that allowed them to develop nuclear weapons. so this is one. >> you talk about sanctions. millions of people starve to death in north korea and they didn't blink an eye. >> a coup. >> i think -- >> what would you do? >> actually we're going to have to talk to china, and we're going to have

north korea -- south korea and japan likely are already under a nuclear threat and north korea continues to develop capabilities against the continental u.s. >> how close are they to having that ability? various predictions that they may be -- may have it now. they may not have it for many, many years. >> it's very hard to determine exactly where north korea is on the path. we know what path they're on. four u.s. four-star generals said they think north korea either already has the acapability to target the u.s. with a nuclear warhead or we must assume they do. other experts will say it may still be a few years away but certainly within mr. trump's first term. >> you're aware of mr. trump's tweets with respect to north korea. what do you think of them? is he right or partly right in the idea that china -- in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the u.s., it won't happen? it would sound as though you disagree with that. china has been taking out massive amounts of money and wealth from the u.s. in totally one-sided trade but won't help with north ko

in a one-sided trade that want help with north korea. a state-run chinese newspaper says trump is pandering to your responsible attitudes. nicole: juliana signed sitting down for an interview in london with fox news sham hannity and that will air tonight. sean asked about the source of pack e-mails. >> can you say to the american people unequivocally that he did not get this information about the das the, john podesta's e-mails, can you tell the american people an thousand% you did not get it from russia or anybody associated with russia? the mac we have said repeatedly over the last two months but it's not the russian government and its nonstate party. >> julian assange's comments come days after the above administration took a series of steps for interfering in the u.s. presidential electn. donald trump has disputed russia was behind the hacking of democratic e-mails. the interview with julian assange airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern time with additional segments airing on hannity throughout this week. don't miss it. congress returns

north korea has five tests. if they can put a nuclear tip on those missiles, they can deter us from taking military action against them. what they're trying to do is hit the continental united states, much tougher, much more difficult. we believe he's going to test something that's called a kno8, a missile we have seen in parades but not yet tested. will it work the first time? probably not but if you keep working at it, it's likely they'll have the capability to hit los angeles, san francisco or new york. >> how should one take these threats? how serious are they? this guy at one level seems crazy. at another level seems crazy enough to do something like this. >> i think we have to take him very seriously. i know there is a tendency to ridicule the north korean leadership and to look at what they say and just think of them as meaningless boasts, but as joe said, the level of testing we have seen over the last eight years have been incredible. they have done 65 missile and nuclear tests over the last eight years

sima joins us from north korea with more. what would this indicate if north korea takes this next steph in testep in testing? >> reporter: it would be a huge concern, natalie, because until now they've been successfully testing short range and mid-range missiles. i can tell you spirits believe the majority of their long-range missile tests have been failures. but if they do, indeed, have even an intercontinental ballistic missile and then manage to successfully test fire it, it would be a huge concern, of course. it is, of course, another question whether they intend to use it in any kind of aggressive way against another state or country, but the fact that they have it would be of huge concern. north korea the first and only country in the 21st century to test-fire a new clear missile. what we do know, natalie, is that they have nuclear weapons. we've seen the fifth and largest nuclear test conducted as recently as september 2016, which resulted, of course, in more sanctions. and crucially another piece in the jigsaw puzzle

and there was concern about the capacity north korea had. and, of course, conducting its fifth and largest nuclear test on september 9th, 2016, which resulted in yet more sanctions. a few days ago, the highest level diplomatic defector from north to south korea told south korean media as long as kim jong-un is still in power, he will continue with his nuclear ambitions. he is determined to complete his nuclear weapons program by the end of 2017, no matter how much money he is offered. so, this would seemingly weave into this announcement that kim jong-un has made and also said in this 30-minute speech that his country had soared as a nuclear and military power in the east. and no formidable enemy dare encroach upon them. simon lawson, cnn, seoul, south korea. >> we'll discuss his defiant tone and aggressive nuclear ambition straight ahead. >>> plus, the pope goes o offscript during his message to fight the plague of terror. >>> then, singer mariah carey with some rather off-key kind of moments during her new year's eve performance. how an au

when north korea says we are about to, usually u.s. officials laugh it off and says let's see your next test that goes plop in the water. and in the end, he says it won't happen which suggests something we don't know. >> as a journalist, maybe we're hearing through this tweet some of what he's getting in his classified security briefings. when he says it won't happen, maybe that's what he was told by the national security operation, the apparatus has said to him look they are nowhere near. the next missile is going to fall in the ocean like all the other ones. they don't have the technology or capability of doing this, don't worry about it and he converted it somehow into a tweet. some of what he's doing, if you take the belijerance of the tweet at face value, i'm going to say what i want, keep people guessing. our adversaries might have to think i might be crazy and in the case, you are dealing in this case with the hermit king who actually might be crazy. the problem with trying to out man man a man man. >> as you know, donald trump

and we can't let up on north korea. what we are seeing right now is production of nuclear weapons and he does not care. he is going to continue to do it. and we have to continue to make sure that we are making our voices loud. that we are talking about north korea, and that we continue to put the pressure on china and other countries to make sure that north korea does start to slow down. >> and what should we do with china in order to get them more active and enforcing the sanctions against north korea and their ability to help denuclearize the korean peninsula? >> i think that north korea is starting to do that themselves because china is now nervous. and china has already started to pull back economically. and china has the greatest threat to north korea, and they know that. so what we have to do is let china know this affects china. this affects their region of the world. this affects us. not talk about it with in our -- from our results and what it will do to the united states. talk about it in terms of china. and r

enemy in the news, donald trump weighing in on north korea. our panel weighs in on that when we come back. ake on a new job, or fill a big order or expand your office and take on whatever comes next. find out how american express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open.com. find out how american it's about moving forwards not back. it's looking up not down. it's feeling up thinking up living up. it's being in motion... in body in spirit in the now. boost. it's not just nutrition. it's intelligent nutrition. with 26 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein. all in 3 delicious flavors. it's choosing to go in one direction... up. boost. be up for it. but my back pain was making it hard to sleep and open up on time. then i found aleve pm. the only one to combine a sleep aid plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. now i'm back. aleve pm for a better am. when i was too busy with the kids to get a repair estimate. i just snapped a photo and got an estimate in 24 hours. my insurance company definitely doesn't have th

he sent a sharp message to north korea. barbara starr has details on that. >> reporter: nobody knows if kim jong un has seen donald trump's latest tweet. north korea says it is in the final stages of completing a nuclear weapon, capable of reaching parts of the u.s. it won't happen. and nobody knows how north korea's erratic leader will now react. >> their particular tweet is telling the north koreans, putting them on notice, that they are going to be watched very carefully by the incoming administration and that they don't have carte blanche. >> cutting edge arms equipment is actively progressing. an intercontinental test launch preparation is in its last stage. >> reporter: it's not clear how soon kim can be ready to launch a missile that could reach the u.s., but the prospect raises alarm. if a missile exploded over los angeles or san francisco, tens of thousands could be killed. even a non-nuclear attack into south korea could also kill tens of thousands, including 30,000 u.s. troops based there. trump, on the campaign

and foreign countries for conquering the asia-pacific through south korea. >> sreenivasan: north korea has never successfully tested such a long-range missile, but it conducted two nuclear weapons tests last year. its fourth and fifth in the past decade. due to the repressive communist regime in north korea, thousands of north koreans risk their lives every year trying to defect. increasingly, as we reported in december, this happens with encouragement from media secretly smuggled into the country, including western tv and movies and other videos depicting a better life elsewhere. many north korean defectors now live in democratic south korea, which has a free market economy, and where some defectors support themselves with a niche business that's gained traction in the u.s. and around the world: food trucks. "newshour weekend" special correspondent karla murthy has the story, from seoul. >> reporter: 26-year-old park young ho runs this food truck at a horse racetrack just outside seoul, the capital of south korea. with race fans streaming in all day, he's well positioned to sell his s

let me go to north korea. a relationship with china is good, is necessary to deal with north korea, most people say. >> st-- unfortunately t is not borne the fruit that we all hoped they haven't done-- . >> rose: even though it is in their interest. >> it is very much in their interest. this is is a little bit like some of the russian behavior. you can say what is in somebody else's interest. and i actually believe that. but they have not, that is the chinese, behaved in what i regard as chinese interests which is not having a-- a war or nuclear weapons on their immediate border. and they, you no he, the north koreans to us, all north korean children are taught that we're the enemy, the devil. so our ability to influence north korean thinking except through deterance is not great. therefore when it came to the diplomatic approach, the theory behind the so called six party talks in which china was a part is that they could use the historical and idea logical history that they have with northed korea, uniquely t

and rare access to north korea. the country is ready to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile. those stories and more coming up next. not back. it's looking up not down. it's feeling up thinking up living up. it's being in motion... in body in spirit in the now. boost. it's not just nutrition. it's intelligent nutrition. with 26 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein. all in 3 delicious flavors. it's choosing to go in one direction... up. boost. be up for it. start your party prep with venus embrac...touch of aloe a... because the best bit of the party is the pre-party party and venus snap for those last minute invites the perfect party prep >>> welcome back, everyone. i'm alex witt. it's the bottom of the hour. we're starting off this morning's top stories. breaking news. two mississippi sheriff's deputies are in the hospital after a shoot-out with a robbery suspect in the city of south haven last night. neither deputy have been identified. the suspect officials suspect -- of three robberies in the

from north korea. nobody knows if north korea's kim jong-un has seen donald trump's latest tweet. north korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the u.s. it won't happen." and nobody knows how north korea's erratic leader will now react. >> this particular tweet is in essence telling the north koreans, putting them on notice that they are going to be watched very carefully by the incoming administration and that they don't have cart blanche. >> reporter: this after kim said -- >> translator: cutting-edge arms equipment is actively progressing and intercontinental ballistic missile test launch preparation is in its last stage. >> reporter: it's not clear how soon kim can be ready to launch a missile that could reach the u.s. but the prospect raises alarm. if a nuclear weapon exploded over a west coast population center like los angeles or san francisco, tens of thousands could be killed. even a non-nuclear north korean attack into south korea could also kill tens of thousands including 30,000 u.s. troops based ther

in one-sided trade but won't help with north korea. nice. i think it highlights how asia will be a big priority for the president-elect when he comes in on january 20th to the white house. it will be interesting to see how he handles relations with north korea. he lulz he always had an aggressive stance. if they retaliate, we'll be closely watching. >>> another trump transition news, a couple nominations this week will be key to the business community. trump is expected to select lawyer robert lighthizer as trade representative. he served under president ronald reagan. former georgia governor sonny purdue is the leading candidate for secretary of agriculture. p >>> in other politic news, the obama administration is finalizing a study that could lead to restrictions on chinese investments in the u.s. semiconductor sector. the "wall street journal" said obama's chief science adviser is preparing a report that will be published before the president leaves office this month. it will offer guidance to the committee of foreign investment in the u.

mark: eight closer look at north korea. what makes this dis-tatar ship -- dictatorship different from any other? vonnie: the final jobs report of the obama administration. employers added 156,000 jobs in december. the jobless rate came in at 4.7%. wages were up 2.9% from a year ago. here is mohamed el-erian on what it means for the federal reserve. mohamed: this is unemployment that will encourage the fed to hike three times next year. the fed is going to move beyond being short-term data dependent. it will move to becoming more strategic. mark: british consumers will ease back on spending this year. up becauses speeding of the drop in the pound. that will put a drop on consumer spending power. a department store chain reporting a week holiday season. jcpenney says same-store sales fell 0.8%. weakness in women's clothing was a big factor. shares fell on the news. the stock rose 25%, beating many of its peers. world's largest smartphone maker samsung unexpectedly posted its biggest profit in three years. rising memory chip p

david: there is no way north korea could survive a prolonged conflict with south korea and north korea and others involved. the blaze of glory for 24 hours would have extraordinarily high fatalities. ofrlie: what are the natures our defenses. wheneverdent told me they make an attempt and fail they learn something. but he said don't forget that we also have nuclear shield. david: we have short range missile defenses, including one we're trying to put in south korea. but it is not there yet. it was approved by president park who is undergoing on impeachment. her successor, if she does not survive that impeachment, is not as likely to be as friendly as having that missile there. we have pretty good systems that run off of the coast of south korea but that would not help you much against an icbm if that came along. it is pretty effective against short range missiles. then we have a missile defense system that is in alaska and california. we have three dozen or more missiles whose reliability are not that great. i do not think anybody wants to be fully dependent on that. charlie: it's unlik

and nuclear north korea. leader kim jong un says his country is close to testing an intercontinental ballistic missile. the technology could deliver a nuclear weapon and that would be a dangerous escalation by north korea. we begin with the trump transition right now. new claims about cyber meddling during the 2016 presidential electi election. >> the white house presses secretary sean spicer said on cnn's new day. >> it's not a question of necessarily revealing. remember, the president-elect is privy to a lot of classified information, intelligence reports. gets briefed by his national security team on a daily basis. as president-elect, he is privy to information that most people aren't, and he is able to understand what the intelligence is and draw conclusion from that. he is going to talk about his conclusions and where he thinks things stand. he is not going to reveal anything that was privileged or share with him that's classified. >> our krbt jessica schneider is outside trump tower in new york city for