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CNN NEWSROOM

North Korea Claims First Successful H-Bomb; Trump: Cruz's Birthplace Could Be "Big Problem". Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired January 6, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[09:00:09] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, North Korea calls it their H-bomb of justice. Did Kim Jong-Un actually pull off the nuclear test?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should take their threats seriously.

COSTELLO: Why this could be a game changer as America and Japan call for an emergency United Nations meeting.

Plus, where were they?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's 18 minutes of time we're missing.

COSTELLO: Why every second counts as the FBI tries to fill in the blanks of the San Bernardino massacre.

Also, birther Trump strikes again. Not against Obama but against Ted Cruz.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People are worried that if he weren't born in this country, which he wasn't, he was born in Canada.

COSTELLO: But Cruz fights back with the Fonz. Has Trump jumped the shark?

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Americans waking up to a nuclear world that may seem a little smaller and much more menacing. In a shocking announcement North Korea says it has successfully detonated its first hydrogen bomb. The claim is drawing condemnations from worried nations around the world and especially in the region. But in the so-called hermit nation the news on state-run television on cause to celebrate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): First H-bomb experience success. It really excites me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): I'm so happy when I heard the news coming out of that notice board. The whole workplace is firing up and the streets are flooring with the news of the new power. It's so satisfying and makes my heart happy. Makes me want to dance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Seoul, South Korea, where the government calls the test a grave threat. Senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is in Hong Kong this morning.

Well, I want to start off with you, Paula. Hello.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol. Well, certainly the South Korean president says it is a clear provocation what has happened on Wednesday. They say that there needs to be a concerted effort from around the world to make North Korea pay a price saying that the U.S. and the South Koreans and all their allies have to get together and make sure that they do suffer, whether it's with sanctions, which it has to be said have not prevented this nuclear test from going ahead.

We know that from around the region there has been condemnation. But also here in South Korea there is questions as to whether or not this was a hydrogen bomb. Now North Korea made an announcement saying it was a success, that it is an H-bomb, and that the reason they had to go and hadn't do this was the United States. They say it is a self defense mechanism. And if the United States respect their sovereignty they will feel the need to use nuclear weapons.

Now they blamed the United States for their nuclear tests and their missile tests in the past. I don't think this will be the last time we hear that kind of justification from Pyongyang. They also released a photo showing the young leader Kim Jong-Un signing the order paper for the nuclear test. But officials from the Defense Ministry and also from inside intelligence services here in North Korea -- in South Korea, sorry, say that they don't think it is a hydrogen bomb simply for the fact that the force may not be strong enough.

They're not definitively saying this. They are alluding to that at this point but it could be a couple of days before we know for sure -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Paul Hancocks, reporting live from Seoul.

Now let's head to Ivan Watson, he's in Hong Kong with international reaction. Hi, Ivan.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Carol. That's right. This nuclear test has triggered alarms all across Asia, where you have allies of the U.S. uniformly condemning the nuclear test. And even rivals in the region with previously good ties with North Korea. For example, the Russian government has vigorously condemned this. So has the government of China.

In the case of those countries that have been close with the U.S. traditionally, Japan, for example, saying that this is a big, big threat to stability in the region and also announcing -- its military announcing that it's put up two planes to fly over the area to try to test some of the particles that are in the air to see whether in fact this could have been a hydrogen bomb, which would have be a major leap in technology, in weapons technology for North Korea if this is in fact true.

The warning now coming from China saying that it did not get any advanced warning from the North Koreans before this nuclear test took place. The fact that China has then taken another step saying that it is condemning this action and calling for a denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, that gives you a sense of the difficult relations right now between Beijing and Pyongyang, who do enjoy good economic ties.

[09:05:05] We started getting a sense of the fraying ties between these two neighbors last month, believe it or not, around the visit of a North Korean girl band to Beijing. They were supposed to be performing at the behest of Kim Jong-Un for an audience of the Communist Party which rules China, and then suddenly that visit was cut short, canceled before the performance could take place.

And shortly after Kim Jong-Un himself announced that North Korea had developed an H-bomb. Now everybody is going to be waiting to find out whether or not those claims of whether an H-bomb and a hydrogen bomb did go off whether that is in fact true -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Paula Hancocks, Ivan Watson, thanks to both of you.

While the White House has seemingly blunted Iran's nuclear pursuit, it faces only defines from North Korea. Pyongyang not only names the U.S. as a reason for its weapons program but has now conducted three of its four nuclear tests while President Obama has been in office.

So let's get more from the White House, form White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski.

Good morning.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Yes. U.S. officials are echoing the condemnation expressed by other nations and entities around the world. But officials are also saying there is still some checking to do. Some verification over what exactly kind of test this was, and that could take days. But the White House had released a very carefully worded statement through the president's national security team.

And this is the same statement that's being used by the State Department, saying, "We are monitoring and continuing to assess the situation in close coordination with our regional partners. While we cannot confirm these claims at this time we condemn any violation of UNSC resolutions and again call on North Korea to abide by its international obligations and commitments. We will not accept it as a nuclear state. We'll continue to protect and defend our allies in the region including the Republic of Korea and we will respond appropriately to any and all North Korean provocations."

And you might remember, Carol, back in September when North Korea restarted its plutonium reactor, that garnered much the same response from countries around the world, including the U.S. And verbally at least these strong condemnations. Secretary of State John Kerry is saying that there would be severe consequences if North Korea kept going with such provocations. Clearly now it has.

But at the time, Kerry was asked, well, what are those severe consequences? What could the U.S. possibly do? And he acknowledged it's tough. I mean, more sanctions. It takes more than that since North Korea doesn't really have much of a legitimate economy. But the U.S. continues to work with other countries in the region and, you know, try to urge them to put more pressure on North Korea as this continues to evolve -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Michelle Kosinski reporting live from the White House.

So how concerned should we be as the nation? With me now, CNN military analyst Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

Welcome, General.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning. So there are reports that American sniffer planes are in the area trying to determine if this is real or not. Can you explain that? Can you explain that for us?

HERTLING: Yes, sniffer plane is what the Air Force called a WC-135 Constant Phoenix. It's an aircraft, pretty older plane about the crew of about 30 that collects particles from the air. It has an outside box that literally collects and filters them and then inside the plane they analyze to see what kind of particles are out there. They can fly over an area and determine what kind of elements are generated from a blast of an atomic weapon.

So they can see whether or not -- if they can collect the particles, whether or not this is a high explosive uranium, a neptunium, or a hydrogen bomb that was exploded based on the particle they collect. Those are three different types of nuclear weapons.

COSTELLO: OK. So this test, this -- it triggered this seismic event. Like it triggered a 5.1 magnitude tremor. What does that tell you if anything about how powerful this test was?

HERTLING: Well, usually if you are talking about a hydrogen bomb they are usually a higher yield weapon. In other words, it's an extremely large explosion. They are efficient and effective in generating not only a large explosion. But what it's called a thermo nuclear bomb because not only is it a nuclear weapon but it produces a great deal of heat. Because the seismic event was only about 5.1 on the Richter scale,

early indicators was -- no, excuse me, early indicators are that it probably was not a hydrogen bomb. It was probably uranium or plutonium weapon, but you can't be sure of that until you collect the particles because they could actually -- the Koreans could actually be miniaturizing. And that's the much more dangerous situation if they have been able to miniaturize a hydrogen bomb because then they can put it on the missile.

[09:10:01] COSTELLO: OK. So we all know that North Korea has this long history of making nuclear threats against the United States. It routinely releases propaganda video like this one from 2013. And if we can put that up on the screen you'll see the White House and the capital building in the crosshairs and then exploding. So you can see North Korea likes to brag about its nuclear power and how it can attack the United States at will.

So again, General, how concerned should we be?

HERTLING: Well, we should be concerned because another nation is attempting to flaunt nuclear regulations. The reason that sniffer plane is based out of Padina Japan is to ensure that these kind of events don't happen. The main mission of that plane is to ensure that non-nuclear proliferation treaty is abided by, by signatory nations.

You have a nation in North Korea that is not abiding by the rules. They have continued to flaunt the rules and they have continued to make waves in this regard. No now dangerous is this? Well, first of all the danger is they have a nuclear weapon. Are they able to launch it? Potentially.

What you need to watch next, Carol, is not only is there a test of a weapon but in every other event in the past where they've tested a nuclear weapons they followed it very closely by the test of a ballistic missile of some type. Usually launched over Japan into the sea. So if they launch a missile soon, within the next couple of months, they are trying to pair a nuclear weapon with a missile, then you've got increased dangers.

But is this a threat to the United States? No, it's not. Is it a threat to our allies or perhaps some of our military bases in Guam or Japan? Yes, it is. The missile defense shield of the United States is relatively strong. There is not going to be a lone missile coming in from Korea. But that doesn't mean that North Korea can't threaten other regions in the region and that's the real danger.

COSTELLO: All right. Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, thanks for your insight.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM -- you're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Trump raises questions about Cruz's Canadian roots, wondering if he can legally even run for president. But Cruz plays it cool, you know, just like the Fonz.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [09:15:32] COSTELLO: At the top of the hour, House Republicans will hold their first weekly press conference of the New Year. Speaker Paul Ryan is expected to react to North Korea's test of supposedly what was a hydrogen bomb. He's also expected to condemn the president's new gun control plan. He's scheduled to speak at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, which is about 45 minutes from now. Of course, we'll bring you his comments live.

Now, the Iowa caucuses now less than a month away. And as voting day draws near, Donald Trump appearing to launch a new birther attack, this time at rival Ted Cruz, telling "The Washington Post" that Ted Cruz's Canadian birth -- he was born in Canada -- well, it could put the GOP in a very precarious position and get stuck in the courts.

But Ted Cruz hit back with a dig of his own, comparing Donald Trump to an infamous episode of "Happy Days" to make his point. See there jumping the shark and all that kind of stuff.

Athena Jones is following all of this from Washington. She joins us live.

Good morning.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

This birther thing really seems to be one of Trump's favorite lines of attack. And this certainly suggests that he sees as Cruz as more and more of a threat these days, with Cruz leading in polls in Iowa, Trump is doing everything he can to raise doubts about him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know what it all means. I know that other people are talking about it.

JONES (voice-over): Donald Trump deflecting last night in New Hampshire. The frontrunner saying Republican rival Ted Cruz's natural born citizenship is a question that only other people are asking.

TRUMP: People are worried that if he weren't born in this country, which he wasn't, he was born in Canada, and he actually had a Canadian passport, along with a U.S. passport.

JONES: Trump said in an earlier interview with "The Washington Post" that Cruz being born in Canada could be "very precarious" for the GOP. Asking Republican voters to think twice, saying, "Do we want a candidate who could be tied up in court for two years? That would be a big problem."

Trump hinting Democrats could take Cruz to court because the Constitution requires the president to be a natural born citizen. The junior senator was granted citizenship by birth since his mother was an American citizen. But what constitutes natural born for a president has never been tested in court.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think I'm going let my response stick with that tweet.

JONES: Cruz responded with this metaphorical tweet, linking to Fonzie from "Happy Days" jumping a shark.

CRUZ: The best way to respond to this kind of attack is to laugh it on and to move onto the issues that matter.

JONES: Meanwhile, Trump's campaign rallies continued to be packed with controversy.

A supporter shouting "President Obama is a Muslim" last night.

TRUMP: What did you say I didn't hear it?

TRUMP SUPPORTER: A Muslim?

TRUMP: OK, I didn't say it.

JONES: The billionaire pretending to be outraged.

TRUMP: Oh, I'm supposed to reprimand the man. Who is the man that said that? I have to reprimand. How dare you. OK, I reprimanded him. OK.

I'm admonishing you for the press.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: So, a bit of sarcasm there from Trump in response to that voter.

Now, that reference from Cruz to the Fonzie jumping the shark is, of course, Cruz's way of suggesting that perhaps an increasingly desperate Trump is resorting to gimmicks to get attention like "Happy Days" did in its waning years.

And, one more thing, Carol, this Cruz citizenship question. Trump addressed back in September. He said it shouldn't be an issue. Now he's saying a very different tune -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Athena Jones, reporting live from Washington, thank you.

By the way, Donald Trump will be on "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer tonight 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

OK. So, will Senator Ted Cruz take a hit in the polls now that questions about his birthplace are back on the table?

Let's ask CNN political commentator and political anchor for New York 1, Errol Louis. I'm also joined by staff writer for "The Weekly Standard", Michael Warren.

Thanks to you both for being here.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning. COSTELLO: Good morning.

So, Errol, I'll start with you. This birther thing, at least as it applies to President Obama from Donald Trump, appeals to his followers. So, could the Ted Cruz thing have the same effect?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, although Ted Cruz is suggesting that maybe Donald Trump has lost some of his birther cred and sort of jumping the shark, this is old stuff that's being replayed, the reality is, it does tend to stick with people. You look at some of the opinion polls, because they will still throw in the question about was the president born in the United States and so forth, and a surprisingly and dismaying large percentage of the public still though at least tell a pollster, "yes, I kind of have some doubts about that."

[09:20:02] So, I see this as Trump throwing some fairy dust, it's a bit of a distraction. I don't think it hurts Cruz much. What it does do, though, is buy Trump some time, because there are a lot of questions and claims. There is this new ad that he's put out there. He's going to cut the head off of ISIS. He's going to shut down Muslim immigration and so forth.

And the question he doesn't want anybody talking about is the three- word question, how? How are you supposed to do any of these things?

And so, as we're talking about the birtherism and the question legally is completely settled. There is no question that Ted Cruz can run and can serve as president.

COSTELLO: So, is the real reason that Donald Trump bringing this up, Michael, is because he's scared of Ted Cruz?

MICHAEL WARREN, STAFF WRITER, THE WEEKLY STANDARD: Yes, he's scared and he's desperate. I mean, Ted Cruz is pretty much considered the leading candidate in Iowa at this point. I have a pretty good feeling that he's going to win that state and Trump is getting scared. He's got this whole sort of idea that he's a winner and if he loses in Iowa, I think that really hurts him.

I also think this is kind of a misstep too, because while he does need to win Iowa, Trump does, to sort of keep the facade up, he really ought to be focusing on New Hampshire, where he is leading in the polls there. But there is a fight for second place. And if Trump does lose Iowa, which I think he will, that could hurt him the next ten days in New Hampshire.

So, focusing on Ted Cruz when Ted Cruz is I think dominating in Iowa, this shows desperation from Donald Trump.

COSTELLO: Interesting. So, Ted Cruz is concentrating on New Hampshire. In fact, he released his own ad on immigration and the fears about immigration. So, let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CRUZ: But I can tell you it is a very personal economic issue. And I will say the politics of it would be very, very different if a bunch of lawyers or bankers were crossing the Rio Grande, or if a bunch of people with journalism degrees were coming over and driving down the wages in the press, then we would see stories about the economic calamity that is befalling our nation.

If I'm elected president, we will triple the border patrol. We will build a wall that works. We will secure the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So, Errol, I was watching your face as you watched that ad. First, you were puzzled and then you started to kind of chuckle. What should we take away from that?

LOUIS: Well, I mean, look, the way this issue is talked about frankly in Washington in New York is different from how it plays in a border state like Texas. I don't want to downplay the seriousness of this.

There are a lot of people who are crossing the border illegally. You know, it takes a different forum in other places with mostly visa overstays. People come on a travel visa, they never leave. You know, that's very different.

I think his point, though, is well-taken. There is a narrative out there that have some credibility behind it that says that the elites, we in the media, some of the other elites, all we want our cheap laborers. We want people to be nannies and gardeners and so forth. It's kind of, you know, we're, you know, underpaid software employees.

And we will just have them all come in and who really suffers from that? Well, it's the working class. That is what Ted Cruz is saying.

It's a message that a lot of us might miss and that's kind of why he did, I think in that humorous way. But it's a very real issue for a lot of people.

COSTELLO: So, Michael, is Ted Cruz essentially saying the same kind of things as Donald Trump but in a much smarter way?

WARREN: Well, I think first of all the idea that journalists wages could be driven down even further is kind of laughable to me as a journalist. But, look, I think there is a difference in what Ted Cruz is arguing.

Trump is talking about culture. He's talking about, you know, sort of losing our country. I think Ted Cruz has a much more potent argument here on immigration, which is about economics. This is problematic I think for Cruz, because, of course, until very recently he was supporting what was essentially more immigrant, legal immigrants for work visas to come into the country.

So, it is a bit of a turn from his past position on immigration. But politically, I think it's actually a great ad and should do him wonders I think in New Hampshire, which is a state -- not a border state, with Mexico. But it is something where immigration is playing a big part because of all of the manufacturing jobs that have left that state.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Michael Warren, Errol Louis, thanks to both of you. I appreciate it.

Any woman hoping to join the Special Forces will have to wait. The Pentagon says there is a temporary delay on the move because it will take more time to figure out exactly how to integrate everyone's roles. That delay comes as some in the Marine Corps have argued that some combat roles should remain staffed only by men.

For Republican front runner Donald Trump, the issue seems far from settled, testing the waters last night at a rally in New Hampshire with this question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: How many people in here like seeing women in the military, in infantry fighting?

[09:25:03] Just raise your hand. I'd be curious. Because, you know, believe it or not, that question is asked by a man who's a very serious man --

(INAUDIBLE)

TRUMP: I know. We're talking about the standards. How many people think that women should not be in the military in an infantry position?

All right. So, it's a little bit of a mix and a lot of people are undecided.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Trump went on to say that the debate will continue. But that he would make the right decision.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM: North Korea brags it set off a hydrogen bomb. Now, world markets are feeling the fallout. Standing by for the opening bell, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

World capitals across the globe are reverberating with strong words, condemning North Korea's claims that it successfully detonated its first hydrogen bomb. In a rare show of solidarity, nations are voicing grave concerns. And I'm talking about China, Russia, the United States, Japan, South Korea.

CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour joins us now from London with more on that. Good morning.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

And, of course, some quarters, the United States, et cetera, have greeted this claim with some skepticism. We don't exactly know whether it was a hydrogen bomb detonated. But we will be talking -- I'll be interviewing the leader of the U.N.'s atomic agency, the IAEA in a few hours.