Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

South Korean Opposition Vows Impeachment Unless Yoon Resigns; Rebels Approach Key Syrian City of Hama; Israel Threatens Lebanon as Attacks Strain Truce; King Charles Hosts State Banquet in Honor of Qatari Emir; Paris Flight Stowaway to Return to U.S. Today. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired December 04, 2024 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. Here are some of the top stories we're following today.

South Korea's embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol is facing calls to resign and the threat of impeachment after attempting and failing to impose martial law. The main opposition party says it plans to file treason charges against Yoon as well as his defense and interior ministers.

The search for two Americans and a Canadian climber who went missing while trying to summit New Zealand's highest mountain has been postponed due to severe weather. The climbers were last seen on Saturday when they flew by helicopter to a camp on Mount Cook. Rescuers hope to resume the search on Thursday once conditions improve.

And a small asteroid lit up the sky in eastern Russia overnight producing a spectacular fireball. Astronomers with the European Space Agency spotted the space rocket about 12 hours before it hit Earth's atmosphere. They estimate it was a little over two feet wide.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: And more now on the impeachment efforts against South Korea's president. According to South Korean media, a vote on the impeachment bill expected to happen on Friday or Saturday. Under the constitution, impeachment must be approved by two-thirds of all lawmakers before going to the top courts.

And this just in from Yonhap, the news agency, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun has submitted his resignation to President Yoon. It's not clear if it's been accepted. The question now is will President Yoon fight to stay in power or give in to the widespread demands for his resignation?

More protests expected throughout the day, and President Yoon's decision to declare martial law caught so many in South Korea and around the world completely by surprise. CNN's Mike Valerio was there.

[04:35:02]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Soldiers clashing with citizens in a shocking scene outside of South Korea's parliament as crowds chant dismiss the martial law after the country's president declared nationwide military rule the first time since 1980 in an unusual late-night TV address.

YOON SUK YEOL, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I declare emergency martial law to defend the Republic of Korea from the danger of North Korean communist forces.

VALERIO (voice-over): All this in response to a number of actions by the opposition, including rejecting a budget bill and attempts to impeach officials from Yoon's administration. Yoon Suk Yeol said the moves were intended to, quote, incite rebellion and accused opposition lawmakers of trying to destabilize the country.

CHO KUK, FORMER JUSTICE MINISTER/"REBUILDING KOREA" PARTY LEADER (through translator): This decision is a crime. Is this someone who we will let run this country? No. Will we let this slide? No.

PARK GEON-WOO, SOUTH KOREAN CITIZEN (through translator): It doesn't make sense. As far as I know, this is the first martial law declared since the Gwangju Democratization Movement. It is really happening in the 21st century.

VALERIO (voice-over): Broken windows and rifle-wielding soldiers standing at the National Assembly building as tensions between the presidency and opposition lawmakers spills into mass protests.

VALERIO: We're here in the crowd and there are two military vehicles that are trying to get out of here. We're just a few blocks away from the National Assembly. There were some soldiers that were saying their military vehicles are trying to leave the area and get back to their base. Protesters, of course, voicing their huge outrage and dismay at this moment.

VALERIO (voice-over): The extraordinary measure the president insists was to do away with what he claims are groups sympathetic towards North Korea. Hours later, Yoon forced into reversing his decision after lawmakers voted to overturn his order, leaving a rattled South Korean public reeling from the political chaos.

VALERIO: The question now, what will be the presidents next move amid growing anger across South Korea?

Mike Valerio, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Opposition forces are still gaining ground in Syria. The rebels are reportedly at the gates of Hama in central Syria, the latest stop in their lightning offensive that began in the north last week.

FOSTER: The area in green under rebel control, and it includes much of Aleppo and Idlib provinces, and you can see Hama is just a bit further south there.

MACFARLANE: CNN's Ben Wedeman is following developments and joins us live now. Ben, as well as being one of Syria's largest cities, Hama is also strategically important. What does it signify that the rebels have advanced this far?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly what it means is that the Syrian army, which vowed to launch a counteroffensive a few days ago, clearly remains on the defensive, that they're really having a hard time holding ground as these rebel forces spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, are moving ever forward. They basically now control a large stretch of what's known as the M5 Highway, which is the major north- south highway linking Aleppo in the north to Damascus in the south. And now, of course, they seem to be at the gates, the northern gates of Hama itself.

Now, this is a city of one million people. There are basically four major cities on the M5, Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and Damascus. So they now are in control, or could be shortly in control, of two of the major four cities on that highway.

And also, symbolically, Hama is important because it was there in 2011 where there were massive anti-regime protests violently suppressed by the regime of Bashar al-Assad. And going back further, back to the beginning of 1982, there was an uprising in Hama, led by the Muslim Brotherhood at the time, which was waging an urban warfare against the regime of Hafez al-Assad, the father of Bashar. That siege of Hama left more than 10,000 people dead.

Nobody really knows the final death toll, but it really symbolizes one of the -- sort of the depth of opposition to the dynasty of the Assad family, and it remains a potent symbol of that opposition to this very day -- Christina.

[04:40:00]

FOSTER: You've seen the Assad regime under pressure before, of course, Ben. How does this compare to those other occasions? How would you describe it?

WEDEMAN: Well, certainly, they now, at this point, controlled the smallest amount of territory they've ever controlled, going back to 1971, when Hafez al-Assad took power in Syria. And unlike, for instance, 2015, when they were also very much on the defensive, that's when the Russians came to their defense.

Hezbollah was in Syria in large numbers helping the Bashar al-Assad regime. The Iranians were there. Now we know that Hezbollah has been gutted by the war with Israel. The Russians are distracted by the war in Ukraine. The Iranians have seen multiple senior leaders in Syria killed by the Israelis and also by the opposition as well.

So they find themselves really in a very precarious situation where they're losing ground, their army is riddled with corruption, morale is very low among the ordinary troops, and their serious traditional allies don't seem to be able to come to the defense of the regime as they did before. So they are in a very precarious position today -- Max.

FOSTER: That's interesting. Thank you, Ben, so much for that.

MACFARLANE: Now Israel is warning Lebanon of dire consequences if the ceasefire with Hezbollah falls apart. Israel's defense minister visited troops near the border on Tuesday, a day after Israel and Hezbollah both carried out attacks despite the ceasefire. Here's what he told them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISRAEL KATZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): If we go back to war, we will penetrate deeper. And the most important thing they should know is that there will be no immunity for the state of Lebanon. Until now, we made a distinction between Lebanon and Hezbollah. It will no longer be the case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Nada's here. Lots of people in Lebanon saying a bit rich when they feel that Israel very clearly are the ones that broke the ceasefire in the first place.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Since the day after the ceasefire was declared. Last week, we began to see Israeli forces shelling villages in the south. We have seen repeated airstrikes, of course, in parts of southern Lebanon as well.

And, of course, in response to that, we've seen Hezbollah now targeting Israeli-occupied territory as well, firing two projectiles and no injuries reported.

But this is raising concern over the fragility and, of course, the longevity of this truce agreement that has been established. And as you heard that warning from the Israeli defense minister, it's quite staggering, really.

The differentiation between Hezbollah and the Lebanese state, of course, has been crucial. Israel has repeatedly maintained that it is targeting Hezbollah targets within Lebanon, that it is focused on militants and their infrastructure across the country. But this has raised concern over the security and even territorial integrity of the Lebanese state.

We've previously heard, of course, over the course of these hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah from the Lebanese state, who have repeatedly said that they do not want to be dragged into an all- out war. We have seen Hezbollah's military capabilities significantly diminish. And what we've been hearing from the Israeli defense minister is that there will be no differentiation, essentially.

So, talking about Beirut in particular, while we had seen airstrikes, for example, focused more specifically on the southern suburbs of Beirut, particularly in the Dahiya area, which is considered a Hezbollah stronghold, this warning suggests that Israel may target any areas of Beirut. And we've previously heard such warnings from more far-right members of Prime Minister Netanyahu's cabinet who have said they can copy and paste what is happening in Gaza, in Lebanon. A staggering and troubling statement there.

But, of course, this comes with a huge amount of concern. We've seen at least, according to a U.N. peacekeeping source, 100 violations of the ceasefire by the Israeli authorities. We've heard from the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who told Israeli media that both the U.S. and France have expressed concern over Israel's potential violations.

But, again, questions as to whether this will lead to a complete collapse of the ceasefire remain. There's certainly that international pressure still. And, of course, important to underscore that we are still in that initial 60-day phase.

So it is very much a process. We are expecting to see Israeli forces gradually withdrawing. And, of course, the hope is that after this 60- day transitionary process, we will see a lasting ceasefire.

But at this stage, the repeated violations now on both sides are raising concerns that that may not be the case.

MACFARLANE: Yes, Nada, thank you.

FOSTER: Now, Catherine, Princess of Wales and her husband Prince William and King Charles welcome the Emir of Qatar on the first day of his state visit. The 42-year-old royal is slowly returning to her duties after receiving chemotherapy treatment. She was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.

MACFARLANE: This marks her biggest return to duties yet and is being seen by many as a significant marker of her strong recovery.

[04:45:00]

Later in the evening, King Charles and Prince William hosted a Qatari royals at a state banquet. During the traditional toast, the King thanked the Emir for his country's efforts to try and mediate a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: If I may, I would particularly like to express the United Kingdom's deepest gratitude for your tireless mediation efforts over the past year in pursuit of peace in the face of unbearable heartache and suffering. In these most desperate of circumstances, Qatar's continued toil, perseverance and diplomatic efforts are quite simply beyond compare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Briefly. Also, Camilla was a big talking point yesterday because she's got this ongoing chest infection. She went to the dinner, but there was lots of parts of the day that she had to miss. MACFARLANE: Well, great to see Catherine, you know, looking fit and well.

Now, we are learning more about a Russian woman and how she avoided security on a stowaway aboard a flight from New York to Paris in the loo. Details when we come back.

FOSTER: I mean, it's intriguing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: A Russian woman who stowed away on a flight from New York to Paris last week will be flown back to the U.S. today.

FOSTER: This is the most intriguing story. Now the U.S. Transportation Security Administration says she managed to sneak on board a Delta flight by going through a lane reserved for airline flight crews. CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.

MACFARLANE: Let's watch the piece.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another failed attempt in France as authorities again tried to send back a woman accused of stowing away on a flight from New York to Paris last week, evading multiple security checkpoints. A Paris airport official tells CNN she boarded a Delta flight at Charles De Gaulle Airport, but that the airline refused to fly her.

[04:50:03]

It was not the first attempt to return the 57-year-old Russian national and U.S. green card holder to the United States. A passenger's cell phone video captured the woman causing a disturbance before a flight took off from Paris on Saturday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to go to United States.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): She was also removed from that New York-bound flight, recalls Gary Treichler, who was sitting right across the aisle.

GARY TREICHLER, PASSENGER: What I saw was basically this lady that was progressively getting more and more irate and raising her voice louder and louder and was ultimately restrained with handcuffs and yellow twist ties and held down by three individuals.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Delta Airlines not commenting about its decision to kick her off today's flight or elaborating on the initial security breach.

In a previous statement, a spokesperson for the airline wrote in part: Delta's conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred. TSA says before stowing away on this flight last week, the woman

slipped past TSA officers at JFK checking boarding passes. They add she and her carry-on bags were screened, but that she somehow bypassed ID verification at the gate. A source familiar with the incident said she evaded detection in flight because the plane wasn't full, though passengers previously told CNN she hid by moving between lavatories.

SANDOVAL: Investigators have had a chance to actually review surveillance video from JFK from just a little over a week ago. They say they now have a better idea of what actually happened here. According to one law enforcement official who's briefed on this investigation, he says that authorities have been able to establish that this woman likely blended with two separate groups that were traveling at JFK the day that she stowed away on that flight, and they believe that one of the contributing factors were the massive crowds that were traveling just days before Thanksgiving.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: So big fail that she could get through without a boarding pass, but Polo's just explained something to me about how she survived from the fully booked flight, switching between the louvres.

MACFARLANE: That's astonishing, but also the fact that she just managed to ride the wave onto the plane, right? Because there were so many people during Christmas holidays trying to get on. I mean, that's worrying, concerning, and fascinating.

FOSTER: Yes, I mean, it's really worrying that someone could just walk onto a plane.

Just ahead, thieves pull off an unusual holiday heist. A renowned chef is on the case.

It's about pies. Give it away, really.

[04:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: We're just talking about our favorite pies because that's sort of what we do in the breaks.

MACFARLANE: It's the season, isn't it, as well?

FOSTER: I went chicken and leek and you went --

MACFARLANE: Pork pie.

FOSTER: Pork pie.

MACFARLANE: 100 percent.

FOSTER: We are talking about this because some Grinches stole a van carrying 2,500 pies in Northern England.

MACFARLANE: I know. Can you imagine? They weren't just any pies as well. They were worth more than $31,000 and they were baked by Michelin star chef Tommy Banks. Now, police apparently did eventually find the van with the pies inside but sadly all the pies had perished.

FOSTER: Yes, and this became a big story because between the pies going missing and being rediscovered, the chef had said, look, I don't care about the van. I would love people to donate the pies for people who can't afford to eat at the moment.

MACFARLANE: What a shame. Thanks for joining us here at CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Christina Macfarlane and he's Max Foster.

"THIS MORNING" CNN is up next.

[05:00:00]