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Ukraine Fires Longer-Range Missiles Into Russia; Trump Joins Musk To Watch Latest SpaceX Test Flight; Hong Kong Activist Jimmy Lai Takes Stand During National Security Trial; Gisele Pelicot Blasts 'Cowardice' Of Accused Abusers; 11,000 North Korea Troops In Russia's Kursk Region; U.S. West Coast Prepares For Impact Of 'Bomb Cyclone'. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired November 20, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:10]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade live in Atlanta.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, just days after signing off on longer range missiles for Ukraine, another policy shift for the Biden administration, approving the use of anti-personnel mines in the fight against Russia. Plus, Benjamin Netanyahu's latest plan to get hostages out of Gaza, offering a $5 million reward for every captive brought back alive.

And Elon Musk brings his new BFF to the latest SpaceX launch, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: We begin with a major escalation in the conflict in Ukraine, one which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calls a new phase of war by the West. Moscow says Ukraine has fired U.S. supplied longer range missiles into Russia just days after getting permission from the Biden administration. U.S. officials say Kyiv used the ATACMS to strike a weapons arsenal in the Bryansk region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would not confirm the attack but said now that his military has longer range capabilities, it will use them. In an apparent response, Vladimir Putin updated Russia's nuclear doctrine. The Kremlin says Russia now has the right to use nuclear weapons in response to conventional attacks.

More now from CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen in Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Ukraine not wasting any time, striking deep into Russian territory, using U.S. supplied ATACMS surface-to-surface missiles only days after getting the go ahead from the Biden administration, the U.S. confirms. Ukraine's president coy when asked about the strikes. We now have

ATACMS and we will use them, he said. Moscow up in arms, claiming Ukraine targeted military installations in southwestern Russia overnight. The foreign minister ripping into the Biden administration.

The fact that ATACMS were used repeatedly tonight in the Bryansk region is, of course, a signal that they want escalation and it's impossible to use these high tech missiles without the Americans.

And Putin has spoken about this many times, and now, Putin has reacted. Breaking news on Kremlin controlled TV after the Russian president signed an order changing the country's nuclear doctrine. The use of Western missiles for strikes into the strategic depths of Russia means direct involvement of NATO in the war, the host says, and now Moscow's hands are untied.

Among the changes, the Russians now consider attacks by non-nuclear nations like Ukraine with the help of nuclear nations like the U.S., worthy of a nuclear response, at least on paper.

The spokesman for the Kremlin says the reason why the Russians decided to update their nuclear doctrine is so potential adversaries of Russia know that retaliation will be inevitable if Russia is attacked.

(Through text translation): We're with the American channel CNN. Can we? Okay? This morning, your president Vladimir Putin signed an update to Russia's nuclear doctrine. What do you think about it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through text translation): What is there to think about? What kind of response can there be? Only this kind.

PLEITGEN (through text translation): He has greatly expanded the possibility of using nuclear weapons. Do you think this is a good idea?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through text translation): What should our president do? He has to think of something. We need to scare someone.

PLEITGEN: Do you think that the threat of the use of nuclear weapons has increased now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think they will do it. It sounds like mad people. No, they are mad people. They are very clever, not mad.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Russia's moved to change its nuclear posture comes exactly on the one-thousandth day of the war in Ukraine, as the U.S. is trying to help keep the badly outgunned Ukrainians in the fight, now allowing Kyiv (INAUDIBLE) some of the most powerful weapons they've been given.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, the Biden administration is making another major policy change on Ukraine. According to two officials, the U.S. will send anti-personnel mines to Ukraine for the first time. The U.S. intends for Kyiv to deploy them in the eastern part of the country where Russian troops have made slow but steady progress. The administration expects Ukraine to use the mines to bolster defensive lines, not in an offensive capacity.

I want to welcome Alexander Khara is the CEO of the Center for Defense Strategies and a former adviser to Ukraine's defense minister. He joins us now from Kyiv.

[00:05:06]

Thanks so much for your time.

ALEXANDER KHARA, CEO, CENTER FOR DEFENSE STRATEGIES: Thank you for having me.

KINKADE: So a thousand days of Russia's war in Ukraine and there is no sign of a peace deal as President Zelenskyy said Putin wants war. How would you describe this phase of the war?

KHARA: Well, just first of all, we are waiting for new administration to come, and we are not sure about the future policy with regard to Ukraine. Certainly, we have some fears that Mr. Trump would use this leverage that the United States has over Ukraine to enforce so-called peace on Ukraine. So we are worrying about it. At the same time, we lost too much time. And with this permission to hit Russian territory, Russian targets within Russian territory, we just the sign of relief in Kyiv and we are just wondering why it has not happened two years ago. And the situation could have been much better than now.

But anyway, Ukrainians are going to fight on because it's a genocidal war of Russia with the aim to eliminate Ukrainian statehood and Ukrainian nation. The Russians have been committing genocide around Kyiv, and they wiped out Mariupol in the far east of Ukraine. And they are just deporting Ukrainian children and trying to convert them into Russians. So we have no illusions that this war should be fought and Ukraine should win this war.

KINKADE: I want to ask you more about what this war could look like under a new president but first, I want to ask you about the change in policy from the Biden administration. In just the last few days we saw the Biden light for Ukraine to use U.S. supplied longer range weapons to fire into Russia. And they did just that. And we're just hearing now that the U.S. government has approved anti-personnel mines.

We know, of course Ukraine is already in the midst of a land mine crisis since Russia's invasion in 2022. What's your reaction to these new moves by the outgoing administration and what more could they offer?

KHARA: Well, they're just trying to catch up because now we've seen in 2022 when there was an ability to get Russians out of our territory, the Biden administration was hesitant. They were afraid of the possible nuclear escalation from the Russian side. Then in 2023, we didn't get all the components that would enable Ukraine to fight maneuverable warfare. First and foremost, the air component, air power.

Without air power, neither the United States nor their allies in NATO would fight the war and so we lost a lot of lives and a lot of infrastructure, a lot of time. And now the Biden administration is trying to fill the gap and help us to cope with the increasing pressure from Russia. The Russians are on the verge. They are trying to portray that they are winning. They are pushing people away from the wave on Ukraine.

They are losing up to 1600 people weekly but -- and they brought some Northern Koreans to the frontline. So we need something, we need technological advance over this mass of the Russians, and the Biden administration is trying to help us with that. But certainly it's not a part of the strategy. It's just like the willingness of Mr. Biden to help Ukraine to be in better position with possible new policies from Mr. Trump.

The Biden administration is trying to sort out things with almost $6 billion U.S. approved by the Congress and they are now in Russia to provide Ukraine with material and other assistance that we need to protect ourselves.

KINKADE: I just want to go back to this, the new administration under President Trump. We know that he's already criticized the substantial financial aid the U.S. has provided to Ukraine to bolster defenses. President Zelenskyy was asked about what a Trump administration could mean for Ukraine. I just want to play some sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if the U.S. government cuts military funding to Ukraine?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: If they will cut, we will, I think we will lose. Of course anyway, we will stay. We will fight. We have our production, but it's not enough to prevail. And I think it's not enough to survive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: President-elect Trump has said that he would end the war in a day. Do you think that's even possible? And if so, what could it mean for Ukraine?

KHARA: Well, certainly it's not possible because this war is not about the piece of Ukrainian territory on the east or Crimea. It's about the statehood of Ukraine. It's about new security architecture in Europe. You may recall the situation of 2021, when there was a first threat of the Russian full-fledged invasion of Ukraine. At that time, Mr. Putin blackmailed the United States and their NATO allies.

And he demanded the United States to pack their belongings and get out of the European continent and for NATO to expel the Central and Eastern European nations.

[00:10:07] So he wants to control Ukraine, but he wants to have an upper hand over Europe. It's something that Mr. Trump could not provide Putin with and we just had a track record of Mr. Trump. He didn't achieve any resolution with the Northern Korean nuclear program and in the Middle East. So this conflict between Russia and Ukraine, between Russia and the West overall is more complex than we've seen in the Middle East and in the far east.

So I don't think that it's possible to have just a lasting peace. It's possible to pressure over Ukraine that Ukraine give up on some territories, give up on some bits of our sovereignty. I mean, our willingness to be a member of NATO, which the only way how to protect Ukraine in the future. But it's not going to solve this problem. We will see nuclear proliferation because the rough states across the globe would see that you can commit genocide, attacking other country without any consequences because the West would be hesitant and would not help and would not stop such a genocide.

The other nations, the peaceful nations living in such neighborhood, would seek nuclear arms because they understand that even the goodwill of the American people and the policies they are not capable of protecting them, not to mention that the Europeans would be insecure and they would not be able to join the Americans in the Pacific, deterring China from taking over Taiwan because they would need to invest more and more in their security. So the prospects of pressuring Ukraine over this conflict, they are there just dire for Europe and the rest of the world.

KINKADE: Alexandra Khara, we appreciate your perspective. Thanks so much for joining us from Kyiv.

KHARA: Thank you for having me.

KINKADE: Israel's prime minister is making a lucrative offer to anyone in Gaza who is willing to return a hostage alive. During a visit to Central Gaza on Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu promised potential rescuers millions of dollars as well as safe passage out of the territory for that person and their family. He also issued this threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I want to say to those who are holding our hostages, whoever dares to harm our hostages, his blood is on his head. We will pursue you and we will get you.

I also say to those who want to get out of this maze, whoever brings us a hostage, we will find a safe way for them and their family to get out. We will also give a reward of $5 million for each hostage returned. You choose. The choice is yours. But the result will be the same. We will bring them all back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, about 100 hostages from the October 7th attacks remain in Gaza and it's believed dozens of them are dead. The mother of one hostage slammed the prime minister's payment plan, accusing him of offering money to Hamas. She also said bribes to the captors would put the hostages at further risk.

Well, here in the United States, a close relationship between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was once again on full display Tuesday, as the president-elect traveled to Texas for the latest test flight by SpaceX, which, of course, Musk owns.

This was the sixth test flight for the Starship spacecraft. The launch was a success, but the flight team had to call off its plan to replicate a precision landing for the craft's super heavy rocket booster, where it would have been caught by two large metal pincers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All three down to two into the water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow. And we have ship splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, the booster instead splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico while Starship came down in the Indian Ocean. The ship is seen as crucial to SpaceX's mission to one day carry humans to mars.

Well, meanwhile Donald Trump made several more announcements for his cabinet picks and other positions. He has chosen Dr. Mehmet Oz, a surgeon and TV personality, to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. Oz lost the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania in 2022.

Trump also named Linda McMahon to be the next secretary of education. She's been the co-chair of his transition team and formerly led the Small Business Administration in Trump's first term. McMahon also is a former TV personality from her time with World Wrestling Entertainment.

[00:15:08]

And Howard Lutnick is Trumps pick for secretary of Commerce. He is the other co-chair of Trump's transition team and is the CEO of the financial Cantor Fitzgerald. Trump is also set to announce his pick for Treasury secretary.

Kristen Holmes looks at who is in the running.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump's transition team could announce a nominee for Treasury secretary as early as Wednesday by two sources who say they are meeting tomorrow on Wednesday to discuss those slate of candidates. This had been held up. This is probably the biggest position that is left to announce. It's been held up because co-chair of the transition, Howard Lutnick, had essentially inserted himself into the race against hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, which really upended the entire thing.

Now on Tuesday, Howard Lutnick was named secretary of Commerce taking him effectively out of the running. However, there are still several candidates as Donald Trump had expanded the field in recent days, all of them have met with Donald Trump and the transition team. And I am told no decisions have been made. However, again, they are hoping to get this out as quickly as possible specifically given that so many of Donald Trump's policies on day one that he has said are related to the economy.

So we'll see if they're able to make that goal of Wednesday night. They are obviously trying to tick through a number of these cabinet positions as we inch through this transition process.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Joining us to discuss all of this is Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Law School and host of the "Passing Judgment" podcast.

Good to have you with us.

JESSICA LEVINSON, LAW PROFESSOR, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: Good to be here.

KINKADE: And so I want to start with the relationship between Trump and Musk. They are completely in each other's orbit right now. Trump even reportedly joking that he can't get Musk out of here after he spent days on end at Mar-a-Lago in the wake of the election.

Today it was Trump by Musk's side for that launch. Some are referring to Elon Musk as the first buddy. Others are calling him the unofficial co-president. What's your assessment of this relationship?

LEVINSON: Right now it looks to be a very influential one. I mean, actions and words speak very loudly and in both ways. President Trump has said that Elon Musk is by his side. And again, he is literally by his side and right now, what we're looking at are decisions regarding who is going to be in the next administration. But as you know, in a few months, we'll be talking about a whole host of other decisions that will be made.

And the question really is, will Elon Musk be hanging around the Oval Office as much as he's hanging around Mar-a-Lago. Elon Musk is of course not just a confidant of President Trump, but he's also somebody whose businesses are tied up with the U.S. government, who profits greatly from contracts with the U.S. government. And so it's just one of those potential conflicts of interest that I think we all need to keep our eyes on as well.

KINKADE: Yes, exactly. I mean, the SpaceX CEO does hope to eventually use the Starship rocket system to send humans and cargo to mars. How do you think Trump and Musk could redefine space policy, and what could that potentially mean for NASA?

LEVINSON: Well, I mean I think that is a great question. And I wish I could say here's exactly what I suspect will happen. But what we do know right now is that they're very close, that Elon Musk has the president's ear, that presidents have a lot of control, both in terms of the bully pulpit and in terms of signing the budget and budgetary issues when it comes to NASA and how we fund space exploration.

And, of course, we know that Elon Musk is somebody who has a company, as you said, who's looking to expand. And so this is certainly one of those areas where we could see Elon Musk's personal and professional worlds collide and increase as a result of his relationship with President Trump.

KINKADE: Of course President-elect Trump's most controversial pick for his cabinet is Matt Gaetz for attorney general who has been under investigation for sex trafficking and sex with a minor. Trump was asked about that today. I just want to play some sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, are you reconsidering the nomination of Matt Gaetz?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: I mean, short, sharp, direct answer. He's sticking by that choice and reportedly calling senators to get them on board. Do you see Gaetz getting confirmed?

LEVINSON: I don't know. I mean, the fact that we're talking about it this seriously indicates that there's at least a potential issue. The other thing that I think is worth mentioning is that the idea that we're talking about recess appointments so seriously indicates that there may be an issue getting him through the Senate.

[00:20:06]

As we know presidents have the recess appointment power. It's a power that's in the Constitution. It's been there since the late 1700s. It was there because Washington wasn't always in session. We had to travel by horses. It wasn't there so that presidents could nominate people who might not be able to get through the Senate and say let's call a recess and try and appoint them that way.

All of which is to say the seriousness of the conversation about recess appointments and there are some legal hurdles there. And the seriousness with which we're talking about the problems with this nomination and the fact that there does appear to be a leak of the House Ethics Commission investigation, or at least depositions that are part of that investigation indicates to me that there could be troubled waters ahead.

KINKADE: Yes, exactly. No doubt there will be further leaks. If not that, that report might come to light. I got to ask you, though, about the popular vote in the election. It's hard to believe two weeks after the election, votes are still being counted. And interestingly, Donald Trump's popular vote total has fallen below 50 percent. His margin over Kamala Harris has narrowed considerably, and his total is expected to tick downward as vote tallies are finalized in the heavily Democratic states on the West Coast.

Trump had said that America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate. Just how strong is his mandate?

LEVINSON: Well, I think the Republican Party clearly has a mandate in the sense that we have elected a Republican president. The Senate will be dominated by Republicans and the House will be dominated by Republicans. Having said that, saying there's an overwhelming mandate when the popular vote will be this close I think is not accurate.

I have to say that I'm not sure it matters in terms of governing style, whether or not President Trump overwhelmingly won the national popular vote, or if it ends up, and I don't think it will be, that he loses it to Kamala Harris. I think his governing style will be the same, which is he will say I have a mandate and it will be full steam ahead. And that's why one of the really interesting things to watch will be, even though Republicans achieved the trifecta, the House, the Senate and the Oval Office, President Trump might use executive orders because he prefers speed and executive orders allow you to move more quickly than legislation.

KINKADE: Jessica Levinson, always good to get your analysis. Thanks so much for joining us.

LEVINSON: Thank you.

KINKADE: Well, still to come, media tycoon Jimmy Lai has begun testifying at his own national security trial. We're going to go live to Hong Kong for the latest. And the victim of a shocking mass rape case in France is blasting her accused abusers. What she's saying about them next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:25:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I want to go to Hong Kong now where jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai has begun testifying at his own national security trial. It's a high stakes court battle that could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars. The pro- democracy activist was arrested nearly four years ago amid Beijing's deepening crackdown on dissent. Hong Kong officials argue that Lai's actions jeopardized China's national sovereignty and security.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is following the developments outside the courthouse in Hong Kong and joins us live.

Good to see you, Kristie. So this is a significant day in the national security trial of Jimmy Lai and a measure of just how much press freedom exists. Walk us through this first day of testimony. KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lynda, here in Hong Kong, I am

standing outside the court where the jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai is speaking for the first time in his national security trial. He has already pleaded not guilty to several charges of sedition, of colluding with foreign forces, serious charges that, if convicted, could send him to prison for life.

Now earlier today, we witnessed about 100 people show up outside to wait in line for the opportunity to get a seat to sit inside the courtroom. We also witnessed how security has been very tight here, with police selecting individuals who were standing in line to question them and to search them.

Inside the courtroom, we heard and we saw Jimmy Lai. He is now 77 years old. He appeared visibly thinner. He waved to his supporters and his loved ones who were inside the courtroom including his wife, including his daughter, including Cardinal Joseph Zen. He said that he always opposed violence. He said that any advocacy for independence in Hong Kong is, quote, "crazy" and he also talked about the reasons why he founded his media empire, saying that it's all about more information, providing more information. The more you're in the know and the more free you are.

This is a case being closely watched by people here in Hong Kong and around the world. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT (voice-over): As a father figure to Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, Jimmy Lai has been on a collision course with the Chinese authorities for years, but he never let that faze him.

JIMMY LAI, APPLE DAILY FOUNDER: I think it's a good idea anytime, any situation that you are in to fight for your freedom, because without freedom you have nothing left.

LU STOUT: Last year, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called him, quote, "one of the most notorious anti-China elements bent on destabilizing Hong Kong."

The former media mogul finally getting his day in court on Wednesday, taking the stand in this high-profile trial which began nearly a year ago. He faces a possible life sentence for multiple counts of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security along with a separate charge of sedition. And for 77-year-old Lai, life would most likely mean life. He has already been in custody for nearly four years.

His arrest after sweeping national security laws imposed by Beijing, which China said restored stability to Hong Kong after months of antigovernment protests in 2019. At that time, Lai had lobbied foreign governments to apply pressure on China. But his lawyers deny that happened after the new laws came into effect. In 2020, Lai was marched out of the offices of Apple Daily, the pro-democracy newspaper, which he founded. Today, most of Hong Kong's political opposition have either fled the

territory or are in prison like Lai who after a lifetime of speaking up for democratic freedoms may be getting his final chance to speak publicly before spending the rest of his days behind bars.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Questioning today in court also explored Jimmy Lai's relationship with American politicians, including members of the Trump administration. Jimmy Lai said that even though he did have contact with Trump aides, including then Vice President Mike Pence, he never had any direct contact with now President-elect Donald Trump.

Back to you.

KINKADE: All right. We will check with you again soon.

Kristie Lu Stout for us outside the courthouse in Hong Kong. Thank you.

Well, in the coming hours, closing arguments will begin in the trial of a French man accused of organizing the mass rapes of his drugged wife over the course of a decade. The victim spoke in court Tuesday condemning the, quote, "cowardice" of dozens of men on trial for raping her.

Our Melissa Bell has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Gisele Pelicot, the 71-year-old French woman who is believed to be the victim of dozens of rapes organized by her husband over the course of a decade using chemical sedation, has spoken for the third time to the court since her trial began. At a trial that could have happened behind closed doors, and that she instead decided to have play out publicly. For the third time she spoke, speaking of the cowardice of the men involved, many of them sitting in court before her.

[00:30:12]

Her husband, Dominique Pelicot, has recognized his guilt and his actions, but most of the 50 men also being judged in the case have denied any involvement in rape.

Gisele Pelicot spoke to them in court, saying that rape was rape, and at what point did anyone walk into a bedroom and find someone unconscious without then leaving and reporting it to the police?

Two of the couple's sons also spoke to the courts on Monday, urging the court to find a guilty verdict for Dominique Pelicot and to punish him severely, that verdict expected around the 20th of December.

BELL: Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KINKADE: Still to come, new reports of North Korean soldiers joining

Russia's war against Ukraine. And they're bringing new weapons to the table.

We'll have a live report from Seoul next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Ukraine's capital city marked 1,000 days of war on Tuesday. Kyiv's war museum held a candlelit vigil at the base of Ukraine's famous motherland statue to mourn the thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians who have lost their lives.

The U.N.'s human rights office says more than 12,000 civilians, including nearly 700 children, have been killed since Russia's invasion, which began in February 2022.

Well, South Korea's intelligence agency believes that around 11,000 North Korean troops are now in Kursk, Russia, and that some have already participated in battles against Ukrainian forces.

South Korea says that Pyongyang is supplying Russia with new, longer- range weapons.

Mike Valerio has more details from Seoul. Good to see you, Mike. So, what are you learning about what these troops are bringing to the front line?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, we know there are a couple of things. I would say two real buckets. The first thing we're learning is more about what these troops are actually doing and what they are bringing, the weapons that they're bringing to the table, as you mentioned before the commercial break.

But really, the "why we care" factor, Lynda, with so many other things going on in the world, is because it's still an open question as to whether or not these 11,000 or so troops can help perpetuate the war in Ukraine, make it harder to settle, and end this conflict. That is still an open question.

So, in terms of what they are bringing to the battlefield, courtesy of the intelligence service here in Seoul, we now know two things: 170 mm self-propelled guns and 240 mm multiple rocket launchers.

[00:35:03]

When you're thinking of what those weapons look like, imagine a military parade from propaganda, either in Pyongyang or from Moscow. These big pieces of artillery. Those are the items that North Korea is bringing to the table.

But also, very interestingly, Lynda, the spy agency here in Seoul gave us a window into what's going on with these troops. They said that they're engaging in two important areas of training.

First of all, tactical training. And second of all, drone response training.

And when we think about why those things are so important, you have a military force that's about, I would say, more than a million men strong.

But they've been locked in this hermit nation for decades now. So, you're going to need more training on how to deal with drones, on how to respond to modern warfare.

So, the intelligence that's coming out from here in South Korea this afternoon indicates that the Russian Marine Corps is giving North Korean troops training in that area.

One more thing to point out before we go. It was interesting to hear President Zelenskyy address the European Parliament in Brussels not so long ago, just over 24 hours ago, and say that he is prepared, and he wants to prepare the world for up to 100,000 North Korean troops to be summoned for this effort.

Again, the latest intel that we have right now is around 11,000 troops are taking part in this battle, but that would be about a 10th of North Korea's fighting force being readied to take part in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

So, what that means for the regime, the military being used to stabilize the regime in North Korea and keep it in power. It is fascinating, on that level, to think what that could portend. So, we're waiting to see, as always, more details.

And also, we're waiting for video of these troops in action on the battlefield. We do not have that yet, Lynda.

KINKADE: Hopefully, by next, hour you might have it for us. Mike Valerio in Seoul, appreciate you. Thanks so much.

Well, hurricane-force winds and a month's worth of rain. The U.S. West Coast braces for a once-in-a-decade storm. We're going to have much more next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Well, Joe Biden has wrapped up what is expected to be his final summit as U.S. president with remarks on climate change.

As the G-20 winded down in Rio de Janeiro, the U.S. announced a major $325 million investment in rural clean-energy projects. U.S. officials say that money will be safely deposited before Donald Trump takes office in January.

In his final speech to G-20 leaders, President Biden left them with this warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: History is watching us. History is watching. I urge us to keep faith and keep going. This is the single greatest existential threat to humanity, if we do

not deal with climate change. Our children, our great-grandchildren, our great-great-grandchildren, their future is going to be determined by what we do in the next 4 to 6 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:40:11]

KINKADE: Mr. Biden also told world leaders that they've made remarkable progress together on clean energy, but that there's still much more work to be done.

Well, the U.S. West Coast is preparing for a once-in-a-decade bomb cyclone. The extreme storm system is set to bring hurricane-force wind gusts, as well as a month's worth of rain and mountain snow.

CNN's Chad Myers has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, big weather maker for the West Coast of the U.S.: Northern California, Oregon, Washington, even a little bit up into British Columbia.

But this is an atmospheric river and a bomb cyclone all at the same time coming together.

Now, the warm bombogenesis has nothing to do with social media. This is not made up. We've been using the term in literature since 1980, and likely just in talk since World War Two.

It is a storm that rapidly intensifies. We talk about rapid intensification in hurricanes, as well. This is not a hurricane. It is equivalent to the pressure equivalent to a Category 3 major hurricane in the Atlantic.

But the good news is the low itself is not going to come onshore. What will come onshore is wind guests, probably around hurricane gusts. Other than that, an awful lot of rainfall. In fact, an atmospheric river event that's level four out of five. So, an awful lot of rain.

Some of the forecasters going for 10 to 15. I've even heard numbers up to 20 inches of rainfall, because this is a long-term event. It's still going to be raining tomorrow, and even some showers still on Friday.

So, yes, we are going to see significant numbers here when it comes to rainfall accumulations. But the good news is at least this part of Northern California has not been wet.

So, a lot of this can soak in. It may rain too hard for all that to happen everywhere, but there will be some soaking rainfall here coming in. And even with the high risk here of some flooding, that's a possibility for your Thursday from Eureka all the way down to Ukiah. That's the thought process where the floods are possibly going to be the worst.

There will be floods. How bad will they be? We don't know yet. The good news is, the land is not completely saturated. So right now just flood watches in effect.

Of course, we still have those snowstorm events here coming in, with blizzard warnings just to the East of Seattle in the higher elevations. But you get the idea.

In fact, some spots here with the wind could still pick up 60 inches of snow, and that snow getting blown around, especially on the top of those peaks.

I guess that's some good news for skiing. Skiers will take that. You just don't want to be on the mountain when that happens.

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KINKADE: You certainly don't. Our thanks to Chad Myers there. I'm Lynda Kincaid. I will be back at the top of the hour with much more CNN NEWSROOM.

But right now, WORLD SPORT starts in just a moment.

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