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North Korean Missile Launch; Obama Heads to Germany; Change In tactics for Trump? Paris Climate Agreement. Aired 12-12:30a

Aired April 24, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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


[00:00:00]

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN HOST: North Korea flexes its muscles once again. This time with a submarine missile launch. We'll tell you how the international community is reacting. Barack Obama discusses Britain's future in the European Union as he leaves the UK for trade talks with Germany, the bloc's largest economy.

And the process of the coming presidential. How Donald Trump's camp hopes to transform the Republican front-runner's reputation. Good luck with that one, we'll see. This is CNN Newsroom, we're live in Atlanta. Thanks for joining us, I'm Natalie Allen.

North Korea's latest weapons test is drawing international backlash once again. They fired a ballistic missile from a submarine off the East coast of the Korean peninsula, Saturday. Pyongyang claims that Kim Jong-un, himself, was there to oversee the operation personally. North Korea has been testing the patience of the US, and South Korea for months now. Our Paula Hancocks has the details on the latest launch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is something we know that North Korea has been working on for a long time. South Korea's joint chiefs of staff saying that Pyongyang has fired, what it believes to be, a ballistic missile from a submarine.

Now they say that it flew for about 30 kilometers, or just under 20 miles. And in order for this type of launch from a submarine to be considered a success, it needs to fly for around 300 kilometers, or just over 180 miles. Now clearly it fell far short of that, but South Korean officials are not directly calling this a failure, and with good reason.

Every test that North Korea does takes it one step closer to its goal. It always learns something no matter what the outcome. And of course, if in fact North Korea did manage to fire a ballistic missile from a submarine, no matter how far it went, that would be significant. One US official telling us just how worrying this development is for Washington. Saying, "North Korea's sub-launch capability has gone from a joke to something very serious. The US is watching this very closely."

Now of course, the timing is very interesting, as it always is with North Korea. 2016 has been very busy, it's been very tense, there's been that report of an H-bomb test in January, a satellite launch, a claim of miniaturizing a nuclear warhead.

And of course, it just comes ahead of a very rare congress; a worker's party congress, in early May. Which hasn't been held since 1980, and will likely be used by leader, Kim Jong-un, to strengthen his power and his grip on power. And of course, South Korean officials believe that there could even be a fifth nuclear test ahead of that meeting. Paula Hancocks, CNN Seoul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Will man he see (ph) these tests as a major escalation of the country's military might? A former US Ambassador to South Korea weighed in on Pyongyang's latest efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER HILL, FORMER US AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH KOREA: It's very hard to track submarines. So we spend a lot of effort trying to do just that. But it's very difficult to track them. And so from North Korea's perspective, it adds another note of invulnerability to their, to their arsenal.

Every country that has gone nuclear has looked into how to have nuclear weapons fired off from platforms that you can't see, and can't target. So that's clearly what North Korea's up to. And the pace of their, of their military experiments these days is quite extraordinary. During my time, both as ambassador in South Korea, and later as the negotiator with the North Koreans, I never saw this kind of pace before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: The South Korean military was on high alert following the test.

Japan's first stealth aircraft has passed its first test flight. The X2 plane's fuselage and wings are designed to evade radar detection. Its designers say they also have implemented new technology to improve its maneuverability. Work on the aircraft began in 2009, and has cost about $360 million. The US already has stealth fighters, and China, and Russia are also developing the technology.

We turn now to Syria, where fresh regime bombardments threaten an eight-week old ceasefire. Several sources there say at least 27 civilians were killed in strikes on rebel-held areas. This footage purports to show one of those attacks in the city of Filmot (ph) in Syria. CNN cannot independently verify the video.

UN-backed peace talks are set to continue until Wednesday. Syria's main opposition group withdrew earlier this week. German Chancellor, Angela Merkel and EU leaders got a first-hand look at a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border. The visit to the sprawling camp near Gaziantep comes just one month after officials finalized a controversial EU plan to cope with the growing migrant crisis. And it's drawing sharp criticism from human rights activists. Our

Nick Paton Walsh is in Turkey with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A lot of this is about symbolism for German Chancellor Merkel, wanting to be seen. To be seen to be concerned about the human rights and living conditions of Syrian refugees, here on the Syrian-Turkish border area. Because of course, she is the key broker of a deal between the European Union and Turkey, that will see thousands, many more, refugees sent back from across the European Union here, to Turkey. In exchange for 6 billion euros of aid and assistance to Turkey, in dealing with their broad, and enduring refugee crisis here.

Now she saw as part of her tour here, a place called the Nizip temporary shelter. That is, frankly, one of the better shelters provided for Syrian refugees here. And a snapshot of how long-term the problem's been here. Nearly 500 people living in that one shelter, were in fact, born there. So that's one in ten of its inhabitants have never seen life outside of a refugee camp like that.

But it -- the real concern is for the many others, the 2.7 million Syrian refugees here, in Turkey, who don't have living conditions like that. Turkey's faced a problem way in excess of the near million or so Syrian refugees the European Union has had to deal with since the summer. But Angela Merkel here, with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey, to show their sense of cooperation. To perhaps in some way endorse the kind of conditions that Turkey can provide here.

And also, remind yourself as well, too, that the European Union has, as part of this deal, agreed to accept nearly about 70,000, potentially, too, Syrian refugees for resettlement across the European Union, as well.

But a lot of this about symbolism, about Angela Merkel, who's faced deep criticism at home for perhaps pushing human rights, in terms of freedom of speech here, in Turkey, to one side to foster good relations with the administration, the President Erdo?an, being sure to be seen here to be concerned about those Syrian refugees who'll be sent back here as part of the deal that she was the key broker on.

But still the problem here enduring the bonds (ph) across the border, terrifying, and the potential threat of future refugees in the months down the line. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Gaziantep.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: In the coming hours, US President, Barack Obama heads to Germany to meet with Miss Merkel. During his UK visit, he and Prime Minister David Cameron, held a news conference where Mister Obama talked about the Brexit. In June, Britain will vote on whether to leave the EU. In an interview with the BBC, Mister Obama mentioned what doing so could mean for trade with the US.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The UK would not be able to negotiate something with the United States faster than the EU. We wouldn't abandon our efforts to negotiate a trade deal with our largest trading partner, the European Market. But rather, it could be five years from now, ten years from now, before we were able to actually get something done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Mister Obama spent some of Saturday taking questions from people in London, to connect with everyday Brits. Athena Jones has more on that, from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. President Obama likes to do these town hall events. He does them frequently on international trips. And says the youth that he sees and talks with in these audiences inspire him. These events also give him a chance to talk about issues that he might not cover in a formal press conference, like the one he held yesterday after his meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron.

One of the most interesting parts of today's event was when he was asked about his legacy. Take a listen to some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: After eight years, what would you say you want your legacy to be?

OBAMA: It's interesting. When you're in the job, you're not thinking on a day-to-day basis about your legacy. You're thinking about, "how do I get done what I'm trying to get done right now?" And I don't think that I'll have a good sense of my legacy until ten years from now. Saving a world economy from a great depression, that was pretty good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: He also talked about the response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa, calling it, "perhaps one of the best public health responses in the history of the world." And he talked about the nuclear deal reached with Iran, and the other P5+1 countries, saying that, that takes away the danger of Iran developing a nuclear weapon.

And the President also touched on the fact that he's the first black President, of course a big part of his legacy. And said that even though he is the first black President, that doesn't mean that the fight for racial equality, and for things like criminal justice reform, is over. After an afternoon spent out on the links with Prime Minister Cameron, the President is having dinner tonight with the Prime Minister, and the US Ambassador, before heading to Germany, his last stop in this farewell tour, of sorts.

Athena Jones, CNN, traveling with the President in London. (END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Ahead here, friends and family of Prince hold a memorial near his home. And some fans receive a special gift from those in attendance. That is next.

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ALLEN: The remains of music legend, Prince, have been cremated. On Saturday, family friends and band members held a private memorial service. His publicist says his final resting place will not be revealed. The cause of his death remains unknown. Police say there were no obvious signs of body trauma when they investigated.

Since Prince died on Thursday, at his Minnesota home, fans have been gathering outside the Paisley Park compound. Earlier, our Ryan Young talked with some of the admirers who received a special gift from Prince's family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just in the last 30 minutes, or so, some friends and family members of Prince have come out, and they actually started delivering these purple boxes out to people, who have come from all over. And inside the box -- if you don't mind opening it up, if you show it to us -- this is what they've been giving fans who've been standing outside.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: They're different.

YOUNG: What was in your box?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: So I had just -- it looks like it came from his home. I'm just going to keep to that, but, it's just a booklet. And then, for some reason, to me, this fits my personality so well ...

YOUNG: It's beautiful as well (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yes, it is.

YOUNG: Open that for us, so we can see it. There we go. And what did you get in your box?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It's just amazing because you can tell that I am a tank top man. I pursue bodybuilding, and I pursue weight-lifting, and it's like a personal gift, it seems like ...

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: ... and for him to give me a tank top, it's amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: On your birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: On my birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Well --

YOUNG: Right, you guys traveled here from Milwaukee to be here. Why so important for you guys to travel all the way here from --

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Oh, it's the significance, the inspiration that Prince has given us over the years.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Since we've been, seven, eight years-old, it's just unbelievable. He's motivated us to pursue our dreams, you know? I'm from Milwaukee, Wisconsin but I just moved from Phoenix to pursue dreams. And you know, listening to Prince, he encourages you to do that.

YOUNG: Just musically, I know people have been sitting out here playing music. Can you talk about being in the crowd? Because everybody is obviously sharing the love about Prince.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yes, it's just beautiful to be in a crowd, to be, you know ...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It's a blessing.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: ... among just everybody who is experiencing the same -- the consciousness of Prince, it just seems like he is just living and breathing ...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Because he is all around us, you know, this is --

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: ... and he -- one of the things that I wrote was, from one of his songs -- all the flowers that you planted, mama, in the back yard, all continued to live when you went away. They didn't die, because they're continuing to live. And this is just beautiful, it's just life.

YOUNG: Were you shocked when a family member walks outside during a time like this and starts handing out boxes?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It's actually (ph), it's --

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I mean, yes, it could be handed in your hand. It was like, really? ...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Yes, it just, it's personal ...

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Thank you. --

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: ... you know, it's personal.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: ... So, it's just, it seems like something Prince would do ...

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: m-HM. Oh, God, yes. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: ... Seems like Prince would give, give back ...

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: He wanted to --

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: ... you know, to us. He would want us to have these type of gifts coming from his home.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: ... You know, it's just, it's just a blessing to be here. And to be able to be around others that feel the same way that ...

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yep.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: ... you know, we feel ...

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yep.

YOUNG: Thank you, guys. I appreciate you so much for sharing that box with us. So I would say more than a dozen of those boxes were handed out to the crowd. And they went pretty quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: That's -- what an amazing gesture from Prince's family, in this time of such grief. And that was Ryan Young there, for us, talking with fans outside of Paisley Park.

We turn to the US Presidential race. Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are campaigning hard this weekend in the Northeastern US. If Trump wants to keep the momentum from his victory in New York -- a huge victory there -- it's crucial that he win big this coming Tuesday, when there are electoral contests in five states. Trump faces criticism after a top advisor was caught on tape, saying Trump's private persona is different from the part he plays publicly. He used the word, "part."

Rival Ted Cruz is seething on that, saying the man who's dubbed him "Lyin' Ted," is a phony, who's pretending to be something he's not. Cruz is also coming off a big Saturday, picking up 19 of 20 delegates up for grabs in Maine. While Trump has pledged to tone down the rhetoric he's used his entire campaign, the Republican frontrunner isn't doing so just yet. Here's Sunlen Serfaty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's such a crooked system.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Donald Trump publicly rails against the Republican nominating system --

TRUMP: They take 'em out to dinner, they send them to hotels. It's such a crooked system. It's disgusting.

SERFATY (voice-over): Privately, a secret recording reveals, his campaign is putting on a full-court press. Attempting to smooth over relations with GOP Party insiders. In the recording obtained by CNN, Trump's newly minted convention manager, Paul Manafort, is heard behind closed doors, telling RNC officials that the GOP frontrunner can and will change.

PAUL MANAFORT, TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I mean, if you don't know him but, when he's sitting in a room, and he's talking business, and he's talking politics in a private room, it's a different persona.

SERFATY: Manafort is heard suggesting that Trump is playing a part for the primary campaign, but he will change as the campaign moves forward.

MANAFORT: That's what's important from our standpoint. For you to understand that he gets it. And that the part he's been playing is evolving into the part that now you've been expecting. But he wasn't ready for it, because he had to complete the first stage. Negatives will come down, his image is going to change, but Clinton is still going to be "Crooked Hillary."

SERFATY: Manafort also making the case that in a general election, Trump's vulnerabilities will be easier to address, than Clinton's.

MANAFORT: As a campaign manager, as a campaign consultant, fixing personality negatives is a lot easier than fixing character negatives. You can't change someone's character. But you can change the way a person presents themself.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How many of you all here are tired of politicians lying to us?

SERFATY: Ted Cruz is seizing on the comments, saying they prove that Trump can't be trusted.

CRUZ: I will say to the millions of Americans who are frustrated with politicians who are lying to them, Donald is telling us, he's lying to us.

SERFATY: As Cruz launches his attacks, Trump is ratcheting up his calls for Cruz and John Kasich to get out of the race. Saying they don't have a chance of catching him in the delegate count.

TRUMP: They should both get out.

SERFATY: And pledging that he will tone things down, eventually.

TRUMP: I don't want to be too presidential yet. If I was totally presidential -- we have 10,000 people here or something -- I'd have about 300, and you'd be falling asleep after 20 minutes, OK?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Well might be three (ph) I don't know. Sunlen Serfaty reporting there, on the campaign trail with Donald Trump. As for the Democrats, Hillary is looking to solidify her lead over Bernie Sanders. She is ahead by hundreds of delegates overall, and riding the high of a strong win in New York. Her campaign seems to have softened its approach to Sanders. The former Secretary of State hasn't been attacking him as strongly this week. Sanders has been appealing to voters in the US Northeast. He's in dire need of a major victory Tuesday.

A new twist to the London marathon. A British astronaut will join the course from space. How? Well you know we'll tell you, next.

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ALLEN: Welcome back. An alert police officer saved these drivers from what could have been catastrophe. He noticed a crack in the roadway and blocked it just moments before ...

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Wow.

ALLEN: ... this happened. How about that? The road collapsed, and left this massive sinkhole. This is in China, in the Eastern Province, about two hours outside of Shanghai. Fortunately, no one was hurt. And hopefully he got some kind of a --

VAN DAM: This is astounding video, that man is a hero.

ALLEN: Yeah. Yeah, because look --

VAN DAM: He really is. He saved lives. It's unbelievable.

ALLEN: Well, Friday's adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement tackles climate change and rising temperatures. But new studies, Derek's here to tell us, reveal how urgent the matter really is.

VAN DAM: You see, the Paris agreement, signed yesterday around Earth Day, which is being Friday, was to hold the increase to our global average temperatures below two degrees. But they're going to pursue that one-and-a-half degree mark that we're edging closer, and closer to. But that difference of half a degree celsius is crucial. And some of this new information coming out is quite extreme.

So listen up if you are tuning in from West Africa, perhaps Southeast Asia, or the Northern half of Central America or South America. This impacts you. This half of degree difference, the difference between a one-and-a-half degree warming world, and a two degree warming world, which we are striving to stay below, means we have the potential for longer, and more frequent heat-related extremes -- heat waves.

That is a significant issue across the world. And it's only getting worse. Dry spells increase as well, with that half a degree warming difference. And this is going to have major impacts on crops; rice, wheat, corn, major staple diets for South America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia, as well.

You can see that we have already had extreme droughts in many parts of the world, including India. This is a picture coming out of Eastern Central India, where temperatures are ten degrees celsius above where they should be this time of year. The India Meteorological Department has heatwave warnings for several areas across Eastern India, and the heat looks to continue.

Now it's not only this part of the subcontinent, but as we head a little further to the South and East, the Philippines is getting struck by extreme heat, and also drought conditions. Just highlighting the urgency of adopting the Paris agreement as quickly as possible. You can see the dry conditions from Davao, northward into Luzon. We have extreme drought conditions settling in with way below average, way below normal rainfall from March, right through the first and second half of April -- or first and the central parts of April, the middle parts of April.

Here's a look at the latest satellite loop. You can see no rain anywhere from Manila, southward. And temperatures, while you factor in the humidity, it feels like it's 41 degrees today in Manila. So we will have very hot weather continue as we go forward. So it just really, again, highlights the urgency of how quickly we need to act on climate change and global warming. It's good to see that they put ink to paper for this Paris agreement.

ALLEN: Yeah, and now they just have to implement it.

VAN DAM: That's the hard part, isn't it?

ALLEN: Yeah, we'll see.

VAN DAM: It's, it takes all of us.

ALLEN: It does.

VAN DAM: Collectively.

ALLEN: Thank you, Derek.

VAN DAM: All right, Natalie.

ALLEN: Well Saturday marks the 400th anniversary of the death of who -- can you guess? -- William Shakespeare, he got it. US President, Barack Obama paid homage to the British playwright during his UK trip, with a visit to the globe theater in London. After a short tour, he was treated to excerpts from Hamlet. The Globe theater is a replica of the venue where many of Shakespeare's plays were performed.

And in Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford upon Avon, thousands of fans marked the anniversary with trying to look like Shakespeare. They wore masks, they dressed up in costumes from some of the bard's (ph) most famous plays. A New Orleans jazz band even played Happy Birthday. Go New Orleans. William Shakespeare was born April 23, 1564, and died April 23, 52 years later.

Well the excitement is also building in the UK capital, with the start of the 2016 London Marathon just hours away. Among this year's participants is a special runner, who's lacing up his shoes in space. British astronaut Tim Peake will join the race on Sunday from the International Space Station. CNN's Jonathan Mann tells us how.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Even before he was an astronaut, Tim Peake was a runner. Competing in cross-country as a teenager, and running the London Marathon in 1999. On Sunday, the British astronaut will do it again, only this time from onboard the International Space Station.

TIM PEAKE, BRITISH ASTRONAUT: So this is what keeps me strapped to the treadmill when I run.

MANN (voice-over): Peake will wear a special harness, keeping him tethered to the treadmill while he runs the full 26.2 miles in zero gravity.

PEAKE: I'm comfortable that I can get on and run the marathon on Sunday. But I'm sure there'll be a few points where I'll be wishing I did a bit more training.

MANN (voice-over): Peake will start the race at the same time Sunday morning, as more than 30,000 runners in London. And while he'll be orbiting some 250 miles above the Earth, Peake will run the marathon virtually, from space, using an app that allows him to see the actual course, and interact with other runners.

PEAKE: So I'll actually be looking at the route that I'm running. And I'll be running alongside everybody else who's running the digital version of the London Marathon. I'll be able to actually see what's going on with the real race, down in London. Which will be a huge boost to me, to be able to know that I'm running alongside everyone down there.

MANN (voice-over): Back in 1999, Peake ran the London Marathon in just under 3 hours, 19 minutes. He says he won't be that fast on Sunday. His goal is to finish in three-and-a-half to four hours. But that's still pretty fast for a race in space.

PEAKE: Good luck to everybody.

MANN (voice-over): Jonathan Mann, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: And what if he wins? I don't know. Thanks for watching, I'm Natalie Allen. Our top stories are right after this.

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