Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

President Obama Calls For Actions On Gun Control; Lionel Messi Signs Extension With Barcelona; Seven Polio Vaccine Volunteers Shot Dead In Pakistan; South Korea Elects First Woman President

Aired December 19, 2012 - 16:00   ET

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

BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: And tonight on Connect the World, a call for concrete action...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is not some Washington commission, this is a team that has a very specific task, to pull together real reforms right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Barack Obama calls for real reforms on gun control in the wake of last Friday's shooting.

It's a fight that could just define Obama's presidency. This hour, one exclusive poll numbers released just moments ago show where public opinion lies.

Also tonight, a woman will lead South Korea. Task number one dealing with a long-time foe in the north. Is a feminine touch what's needed?

And gone in a flash, after a user backlash Instagram says it will not be selling your photos.

Well, it's too late to help the victims in Newtown, Connecticut, but Barack Obama says it's the obligation of every American to help prevent such tragedies in the future. Today, the U.S. president laid the groundwork for the plan to reduce gun violence. Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is standing by to help us analyze the politics of change, what it will actually mean and what will take place so far as tougher gun laws are concerned.

First, though, more funerals no family should ever have to face. These are pictures from Newtown, Connecticut where four more victims of the gun massacre at the elementary school are being laid to rest. One is a young teacher remembered as a hero for trying to shield her students from bullets. The others, three little kids who had their entire lives ahead of them.

Well, a massacre has triggered a fierce debate over gun control across the United States. And now Barack Obama is weighing in. Today he promised to unveil, quote, concrete proposals on reducing gun violence no later than January. He directed Vice President Joe Biden to head a task force that will come up with those proposals.

Mr. Obama acknowledged that gun control is a very contentious issue, but says there is no excuse and we've got to get things done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Over these past five days, a discussion has reemerged as to what we might do not only to deter mass shootings in the future, but to reduce the epidemic of gun violence that plagues this country every single day. And it's encouraging the people of all different backgrounds and beliefs and political persuasions have been willing to challenge some old assumptions and change long standing positions. That conversation has to continue, but this time the words need to lead to action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The words need to lead to action, President Obama says.

You can throw the weight of the White House behind gun control legislation, one assumes, but what power does he actually have to an act of change? Gun laws in the U.S. can be quite complex as we're learning, differing state by state, even community by community. So let's bring in our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin to help us sort all of this out.

Jeffrey, Obama reckons he'll have what he calls concrete action or at least proposals within a month. What should we expect from him?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he mentioned at least three ideas. One was banning assault weapons, the kinds of weapons -- the weapon that was used in Newtown, Connecticut. He mentioned also banning the kind of ammunition, the clips where you can fire many, many rounds without reloading. And he also mentioned limiting loopholes that allow people to buy guns without any sort of background checks. Those were the three ideas he mentioned, presumably there will be part of it and there will be more as well.

ANDERSON: All right. So he will need the support of the American public in this. And he will need the momentum, and let's remember it's the festive season, of course, at this point so let's hope he doesn't lose this momentum. I just want to bring you the latest poll that just came in minutes ago, Jeffrey, to us. At the start of the week a few days after the Connecticut school shooting, CNN asked respondents in the U.S. what sort of restrictions they want to see on guns. Now have a look at this, just over half says that they would favor either major restrictions or making all guns illegal. 46 percent, though, thought either option went too far.

If you break those numbers down, Jeff, you get a bit more of a nuanced picture. 13 percent, one three, said they want to see no restrictions, a third favored minor restrictions, slightly more than that major restrictions, 15 percent want to see all guns illegal.

We are running the gambit there. So what's realistic, do you think?

TOOBIN: To be honest, not much. The gun lobby, the gun manufacturers, the lobbying group the National Rifle Association are enormously powerful in the United States congress. They are powerful because many -- the Republican Party as a whole deeply believes that more guns will make us more safe, that is a -- really at this point a bedrock principle of the Republican Party. And even many Democrats, particularly from the south and the west parts of the country, are very skeptical of gun control.

You know, those ideas I mentioned earlier like banning assault weapons, those had actually been in effect during the Clinton administration. And as a result of those laws, Republicans made tremendous gains. The Democrats who voted for them suffered terribly at the polls.

So this is politically very perilous territory. Yes, there does appear to have been some change as a result of this terrible massacre, but it is also true that people's attention spans are short, the media's attention span is short, so I think people should not think that the country is just transformed what it was a week ago.

ANDERSON: You brought up the NRA, this incredibly powerful U.S. gun lobby who have been silent until about, well it was during this hour on this show last night when we actually had their first words on this.

The National Rifle Association breaking its silence yesterday saying it was, I quote, shot and a heartbroken, the group promised to offer, quote, "meaningful contributions to make sure this never happens again."

I want you to interrogate that for us. What does the NRA mean when they say that they want to offer meaningful contributions, because let's face it they are all important, they are a stakeholder here. We need them at the table.

TOOBIN: You know, I think in a way we sometimes overestimate the importance of the National Rifle Association and underestimate what members of Congress actually believe themselves. You know, the Republican House of Representatives doesn't need the National Rifle Association to tell them that they are opposed to restrictions on guns, they really are. I mean, this is a position that they believe in.

So it's not like they are -- they recognize that we really should have gun control, but the NRA just tells them what to do. No, that's not it at all. This is a principle on their part that yes they have been largely silent, these Republicans, but the idea that they are going to suddenly change and endorse the ideas that they have opposed vehemently for decades seems very unlikely to me.

ANDERSON: All right.

Listen, let me just bring up one more thing at this point, because as this crossed my wires today, you know, my heart sunk. The massacre in Newtown has schools, of course Jeffrey, all over the country on edge. Just this morning police in Scottsdale, Arizona sealed off a middle school and searched it room by room. I can say -- these are the details that we have -- a cafeteria worker reported seeing a man in a trench coat carry a weapon. The school hadn't opened yet, so students were directed to another facility. Police found no gunman, but said they acted out of an abundance of caution.

We only have to be reminded this Wednesday of the terror that visited Newtown, Connecticut on Friday. And let's not forget the other massacres that have happened just in 2012 in the U.S.

So I ask you tonight at this point before we let you go, what can we expect going forward, Jeffrey?

TOOBIN: I would expect not much, frankly. I think the president is committed here. But remember, you have major American politicians, the governor of Tennessee, the Governor of Virginia talking about their idea, their response to massacres of this kind is to consider the issue of maybe we should give teachers guns. So maybe we should have more armed guards in schools, more guns to protect people rather than eliminate guns.

I mean, this is how the debate works in the United States now. I imagine unrecognizable and bizarre outside the United States, but I think people need to understand that the attitude -- this is a country with almost 300 million people and almost 300 million guns. I mean, that is like no other country in the world. And that really reflects out political debate.

ANDERSON: Remarkable stuff. Always a pleasure to have you on this show. Jeffrey Toobin for you tonight.

Let's get you to Newtown, Connecticut where grieving families are burying four more victims of these school massacres. Deborah Feyerick joins us with an update on that and indeed the investigation -- Deborah.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, what we can tell you and are learning, my colleague Rita Cosby has confirmed that in fact the mother, Nancy Lanza, the mother who was murdered in her bed as she slept, shot four times in the head, that days before this happened, she had left town and returned to her home state of New Hampshire. And so it is unclear whether Adam Lanza was in the house alone, but she was not with him in the days leading up to this tragedy.

Now we can tell you that the major crime squad has been on scene all day. You may be able to see just over my shoulder there to the left, that is the mobile crime lab. And what they're doing there is they bring that in in order to do a preliminary processing of all evidence that they might find in the house.

So right now, for example, they're going through documents, they're going through photos, they're going through files, they're going through medicine cabinets. They're going through everything in the house that they can to try to gather any sort of evidence, any sort of information that can give them an indication as to what was going on and why Adam Lanza, the gunmen, had access to firearms which were apparently kept in a lock box in the basement, all of that right now under investigation as they search for a motive, as a reason for this tragic shooting.

And Becky, you know, I want to tell you, you drive to this home -- and we've been driving in this area a lot. And what is so incredible is that as we stand here and sort of reporting on the home, we see school buses with children, we see some of the families who lost children who died -- children who died. You know they live within a quarter of a kilometer from this home. So it is very small, this whole world that is Newtown, Connecticut.

The investigators that are here, you can see the crime tape just behind me. There are police cars all over the neighborhood at various homes that have been effected.

You know, as investigators try to determine what Nancy Lanza was doing out of town, they're also looking as to whether Adam Lanza was in the company of anybody, whether anybody was caring for him. And right now we can tell you that no one has yet claimed either body for burial -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Amazing.

Deborah, thank you for that. Deborah Feyerick for you out of Newtown, Connecticut this evening.

Later on CNN, Piers Morgan hosts a live town hall style debate on guns in the U.S. We're going to hear from voices on all sides of the issue, that's Piers Morgan tonight at 2:00 in the morning here in London right here on CNN.

You're watching Connect the World live from London. Our top story this evening, U.S. President Barack Obama calls for, and I quote, concrete proposals on Gun control by the end of January saying words need to lead to action. What he means by action will be clearer in the weeks ahead. Let's hope that the holiday season doesn't, well, break the momentum on this.

You're watching Connect the World live from London. Still to come, 14 minutes past 9:00, who keeps killing health workers fighting polio in Pakistan. CNN's Reza Sayah is tracking that story for you from Pakistan.

Then, getting to the bottom of the fatal attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, a sobering report points a finger at the U.S. State Department.

Also he was the right-hand man who became the main man, but will the Barcelona coach have to step down after a new health setback? That and much more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Right, you're back with CNN. This is Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. Welcome back.

Now gunmen have killed three more Pakistani health workers. They were part of an effort to vaccinate kids against polio, a program which the government has shot down. CNN's Reza Sayah is in Islamabad for you tonight with more.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, fighting polio is already an incredibly challenging dilemma here in Pakistan. Even so, these aid groups, including many courageous volunteers, continue to work. However, these killings are certainly going to be viewed as a setback.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAYAH: A two day killing spree in Pakistan targeting aid workers has forced the government and aid organizations to put a hold on Pakistan's already troubled polio vaccination campaign. The killing started on Tuesday. Gunmen shot to death five female aid workers within several hours. For in various neighborhoods in the southern port city of Karachi, the fifth, a 14 year old volunteer in the northwestern city of Peshawar. The mother of one of the victims inconsolable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't understand what to do. My mind isn't working.

SAYAH: On Wednesday, gunmen killed a sixth aid worker in Peshawar. A short time later a seventh worker and her driver were shot to death in a city just north of Peshawar.

All of the victims were going from house to house offering free vaccines as part of a campaign to protect hundreds of thousands of children from the crippling effects of polio. Pakistan is one of only three countries that has yet to eradicate polio.

No one has claimed responsibility for what appears to be a coordinated killing spree, but police suspect anti-western militant groups that have long called such vaccination campaigns foreign spy plots. Their suspicions growing after last year's raid on the bin Laden compound and reports that the CIA hired Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi to be part of a fake vaccination campaign to find bin Laden. The doctor went to jail.

Aid groups said his arrest and the headlines that followed hurt the polio eradication efforts. Many conservative Pakistanis already reluctant to let strangers in their homes are now afraid that aid workers could be foreign spies.

DR. JANBAZ AFRIDI, POLIO ERADICATION PROGRAM MANAGER: So that is one of the reasons we are having a large number of missed children. In spite of our repeated efforts we are still having missed children.

SAYAH: Despite those challenges, aid groups pressed ahead, vaccinating tens of thousands of children. Officials say they number of polio cases dropped to 56 this year compared to 173 during the same period last year. But this week's string of deadly attacks suddenly has the polio eradication campaign on hold and Pakistan's fight against the crippling disease in jeopardy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAYAH: Here's what adds to the frustration, by late Wednesday night local time Pakistani police had yet to make an arrest and unfortunately that's consistent with what we often see here in Pakistan, assassinations, attacks, followed by security apparatus that doesn't seem to be able to make enough big arrests and prosecutions to show the people. Here's who did it and here's what we're doing to stop them -- Becky.

ANDERSON: All right, Reza Sayah on that story for you.

A look at some of the other stories that are making news for you this hour. UBS says it will pay $1.5 billion in penalties to U.S., UK, and Swiss authorities after admitting its staff manipulated interest rates for several years.

Two former traders have being charged with conspiracy. The LIBOR rate as its known ultimately effects how much it costs to borrow money for mortgages and care finance. The bank, UBS, admits it tried to rig this rate for its own benefit. And the investigation into global rate rigging doesn't stop there. Other banks, including Citigroup and JP Morgan -- JP Morgan Chase as its known these days, are also under scrutiny.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RALPH SILVA, BANK ANALYST: I think this is the beginning. I think fines from now on for banks misbehaviors are going to be in the billions. And it's probably going to be a very big deterrent for them to do anything more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, South Korea has voted in its first female president Park Guen-hye won by a narrow margin in what some are calling one of the most divisive elections in years. Now Ms. Park is the daughter of the former president Park Chung-hee who is credited with industrializing the country, but also oppressing the opposition in the 1970s. We're going to do more on what this election outcome could mean for South Korea and indeed the region, and that includes North Korea and China later in the program.

Well, three U.S. State Department officials are calling it quits just hours after what is a blistering report about the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi in Libya. These pictures from inside the consulate just days after the attack show some extensive damage. The assault killed four Americans, including you'll remember, the U.S. ambassador.

The independent review outlines what it calls systemic failures and leadership deficiencies, but it's not accused any government employee of misconduct or negligence.

Our senior international correspondent Arwa Damon was inside the consulate days after the attack and she joins me now from CNN Beirut.

And give me your extensive experience on the ground in Libya. When you read the report, what were your thoughts?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, the report contained a significant amount of detail as to what exactly happened as the attack was taking place. And it most certainly was a very sobering to read through it having been inside the building just days after the compound itself was attacked. But in terms of painting a broad picture as to what took place, why it took place, and really validating the fact that there was not enough security at the site to prevent this kind of an attack from taking place, the report really did not hold anything that was new or entirely surprising.

When we arrived on site just three days after the attack took place, eyewitnesses, local guards were telling us that it was not a demonstration, that the attack was complex, it did come from multiple direction. Local Libyan commanders, members of the Libyan security forces were also telling us that in the days leading up to the attack they were warning the Americans about this growing threat that existed to them from extremist militants. Nothing specific relating to the September 11 date, but again general warnings that they were in jeopardy.

Add to all of that, of course, was also highlighted in the report and that is the series of attacks that took place, including one on the consulate leading up to September 11. And so what is now incredibly clear and highlighted in this report is that the U.S. grossly miscalculated the threat that existed against it in Benghazi and did not provide adequate security, adequate security personnel, which of course then had those devastating consequences, Becky.

ANDERSON: Arwa Damon on the story for you this evening. Arwa, thank you.

Well, the UN is launching a $1.5 billion aid effort for Syrian suffering inside and outside the war torn country. It says about one- quarter of Syria's population needs everything: food, shelter, clothing, and medicine. Syria's opposition says at least 113 people have been killed across the country today.

Well, the president of Iraq is expected to arrive shortly in Germany for medical treatment. Iraqi doctors say Jalal Talabani has hardening of the arteries, but is in a stable condition. He was admitted to an Iraqi hospital on Monday. And initial reports said he'd had a stroke. Talabani has been a critical voice in Iraq, mediating often contentious disputes between the various political and ethnic factions.

Those are some of the headlines for you this evening. More, of course, as you'd expect at the bottom of the hour. This is Connect the World live from London. I'm Becky Anderson.

Coming up, Barcelona had a great year on the field at least, but not so great news about their manager on Wednesday. Pedro Pinto explains what's got Barca's boss sidelined, that up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: A very warm welcome back. You are with Connect the World here from London. I'm Becky Anderson.

Now he's coaching one of the best football clubs in the world, but now he is having to step aside after another health scare -- not Pedro, of course. He's one of my colleagues. I'm talking the Barca coach here.

Tell me what's going on.

PEDRO PINTO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tito Villanova is facing some time on the sidelines right now. Last year he had a cancerous tumor removed from his salivary gland and he recovered well. Everything was thought to be in order, but he had some tests done recently. He got the results last night on Tuesday night. And he needs to be operated again, because he's had a relapse.

So he's going to undergo surgery on Thursday in Barcelona. He'll stay in Hospital three to four days and then has to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy for six weeks, an intensive and aggressive treatment as we know, as he tries to recover from the second bout of this cancerous tumor which was thought to have gone, but has returned.

ANDERSON: Well, if he's watching tonight, we all wish him the absolute best...

PINTO: Of course.

ANDERSON: In all of this. It's a big thing, of course, what he will have known before -- you know, he's (inaudible) is that one of not just his best players if not obviously his best player, but one of the best players in the world is resigned, of course, for Barcelona. So, you know, a difficult day for the team and as I say we wish the manager well, but the fact that Messi has signed up again for what six years is got to be good news in what is a particularly difficult period for them.

PINTO: Yeah, it's not all bad news from the Camp Nou today. What we got confirmation that Lionel Messi has agreed terms to a new contract which will see him stay in Barcelona until 2018. The new deal makes him the second best player in the world. He's going to make $21 million a season net.

The reason why he's not the top earning player in the world is because Samuel Et'o who is out in Russia right now -- in Russia they only pay 13 percent tax, so even though gross it's less money, net it's a lot more than Messi is making.

But 2018 and his release clause if there any clubs out there that want to buy him, $330 million, $250 million euros.

ANDERSON: I'm just wondering whether the -- whether CNN has got that sort of money, because I know you played for (inaudible) yeah, let me tell you, it's a great team. It ain't all that. But management tonight -- if you've got that sort of money, Pedro more than happy to take him on as...

PINTO: Yeah, I'll take the big bag of cash to Barcelona and bring Messi back.

ANDERSON: Probably substitute yourself, wouldn't you, for Messi?

PINTO: Yeah, I think so.

ANDERSON: All right. You know, that's -- two stories out of Barcelona tonight. And as we say, we wish him the best. Pedro, always a pleasure, thank you.

Pedro back, of course, with World Sport at the bottom of the next hour, in about an hours time.

Latest world news headlines are just ahead here on CNN. Plus, South Korea elects the country's first female president. We're going to take a look at what her election means for the future of that Asian powerhouse.

Also how Instagram is tweaking its image trying to counteract a photo rights backlash.

And what happens next, received shocked responses (inaudible). We'll show you the viral video that fooled thousands of people.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. Just after half past nine in London, this is CNN and these are your headlines.

US president Barack Obama has set up a task force on reducing gun violence. He says it will deliver concrete proposals no later than January. President Obama says America has an obligation to act after the Connecticut school massacre.

South Korea has elected its first president. Park Geun-hye narrowly beat her rival in what she called the "happiness campaign." Ms. Park has promised to distribute wealth more equally and also cites German chancellor Angela Merkel as one of her role models.

The United Nations is launching a $1.5 billion humanitarian aid effort to help Syrians in desperate need, especially those fleeing the civil war. The UN predicts the refugee crisis could balloon by one million people. It says millions of Syrians inside the country also need food, shelter, and medicine.

And Pakistan has suspended its polio vaccination program after the shooting deaths of more health care workers. Three workers were fatally shot in two cities as they tried to inoculate kids against the crippling disease. Five others were killed on Tuesday.

Well, in a first for one of the most male-dominated societies in the world, South Korea has elected a woman as president, 60-year-old Park Geun- hye beat her left-wing rival by a few percentage points.

Let's kick off this part of the show with Paula Hancocks, who is reporting for you from Seoul on what is a history-making victory.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CROWD CHEERS)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From President's daughter to president-elect, Park Geun-hye says this is a victory for the South Korean people.

PARK GEUN-HYE, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF SOUTH KOREA (through translator): During my campaign, I made three big promises: to be a president for the nation, a president who makes promises to the nation, a president who unites the nation. I must keep these promises.

(CROWD CHEERS)

HANCOCKS: The first female leader in a deeply patriarchal society, sparking hopes of a push towards gender equality. Park is now stranger to the Blue House, the presidential residence, first moving in when she was just a teenager, the daughter of a former dictator.

Park Chung-hee seized power in a military coup in 1961. He changed the constitution to cement power and crack down on dissent and opposition. He's accused of human rights abuses. But supporters point to his role in rebuilding the country from the ashes of the Korean War, transforming the economy and sparking growth.

Politics shaped Park, but it also destroyed her family. Her mother was assassinated in 1974, killed by a botched North Korean attempt to kill Park Chung-hee. Park then assumed the role of first lady until her father was assassinated by his security chief in 1979.

HANCOCKS (on camera): Park is insisting that her election marks a new era for South Korea, and although she won't be sworn in as president until February of next year, voters will certainly be hoping one of the first promises she keeps is to revive the economy.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: So, who is this woman who has made history in South Korea? Well, as you heard in Paula's report, her father was the dictator Park Chung-hee. He industrialized South Korea, but also terrorized political opponents.

Park became -- excuse me -- acting first lady at age 22 when her mother was killed. She's unmarried and has no kids, but says all of the people of South Korea are her family.

Well, joining me now to discuss the impact of her appointment and the impact on her country and on the region is Victor Cha. He's a senior advisor and Korean chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

There are some fascinating areas for interrogation tonight, not least the fact that this is the first female president of South Korea. But given that the Asian region has recruited -- or certainly voted for -- many female presidents in the past, is that what stands out for you this evening?

VICTOR CHA, SENIOR ADVISOR AND KOREAN CHAIR, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, it's certainly one of the things that stands out, Becky. Not only is she the first female president of South Korea, she is the first head of state in all of northeast Asia. So, that's a pretty big accomplishment.

In addition, from a Korean perspective, she's not only the first female president, she's the first president since democratization in 1987 to gain over 50 percent of the popular vote, which one could then see as a mandate for her to implement her policies.

ANDERSON: She made a number of promises in her election campaign for her citizens who, quite frankly, are looking -- or sort of staring down the barrel of quite a sort of dodgy economy at the moment. She promised major expansion of welfare spending, for example.

Will she go through with it? And how will the government pay for it if there are no tax increases, for example, planned? This is sort of economics 101 at this point, isn't it?

CHA: Well, I think that's right. This election was really all about trying to create a new vision for the Korean economy. Relatively speaking, compared to other economies, Korea's not doing that badly. It's used to 6 percent growth. It's now down to about 2.2 percent.

So she wants to raise growth. She wants to raise employment levels, particularly among educated Koreans, college-educated Koreans, who are either unemployed or under-employed. And she wants to give better opportunities for small and medium-sized companies. Korea has traditionally been dominated by the Chaebol, the big conglomerates.

So, some of these things she can do without having to actually go into -- into heavy debt in terms of a lot of additional fiscal spending. But a lot of it really is about the vision that she has for the country and whether people trusted her versus the --

ANDERSON: Sure.

CHA: -- liberal candidate, and they clearly trusted her.

ANDERSON: And that vision for the country, to a certain extent, hinges on where she sees her foreign policy, particularly with her neighbors. I'm fascinated to hear your thoughts on where she will pitch herself so far as North Korea and China are concerned.

So far as North Korea is concerned, she said that she'll restore some of the joint economic programs and humanitarian aid that Lee cut off. But she has pointed out, this hinges on Pyongyang playing ball. What's the relationship there and how might it change?

CHA: I think that's right. I think she has been pretty clear about her willingness to have an open door when it comes to North Korea, hoping to increase dialogue, something that was absent over the past five years.

But Becky, one of the things that's interesting about her is she's the first Korean president to take office who has already been to North Korea. The previous two presidents have never been to North Korea, and then this was a big attraction for them. So, she's done that, she's met the North Korean leaders before. It's not a big deal.

ANDERSON: Sure.

CHA: So, I think in that sense, she can talk credibly about a more open door policy to North Korea, but really condition it on real deliverables on the part of the North with regards to reducing their threat to South Korea and to the region with their ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

ANDERSON: Let me tell you, she will be -- extremely useful to those Western powers who have no open door policy with North Korea at the moment, so we'll watch that space. What do you see her strategy, her vision, her sense so far as China is concerned?

CHA: Well, I think on China, when the current president came into office, he sent Park Geun-hye as his special envoy to China, and I think Park Geun-hye is very practical about these sorts of things. She understands that South Korea's core relationship is the alliance with the United States, but at the same time, the geostrategic reality is that China is on their doorstep.

So, I think she wants to also seek to improve relations with China, something that has also deteriorated over the past five years. But at the same time, maintain balance and center this China outreach in the very strong relationship with the United States. So, for the perspective of people here in Washington, that's a very palatable strategy.

ANDERSON: Fascinating times. Thanks for joining us tonight. Victor Cha on what will be a really interesting region to watch going forward.

Live from London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up after the break, it may look like a giant version of building blocks, but at Jebel Ali, moving shipping containers is a lot more than child's play, as I found out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates is the largest port in the Middle East. It handles 80 percent of the UAE's international trade. It's also home to the world's largest cranes -- bear with me -- capable of lifting some 800 tons at a time. It's skilled work, as I found out when I tried my hand at stacking what are those rather oversized boxes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON (voice-over): The cranes of Jebel Ali. Working 24/7, these 2,000-ton pieces of machinery are the work horses of the port, propelled into motion as a container vessel awaits.

ASIF YUSUF, CRANE OPERATOR: OK. Loading containers going in a parabolic fashion to minimize swing.

ANDERSON: Sitting nearly 40 meters above the ground, Asif Yusuf operates one of the world's largest ship-to-shore cranes.

YUSUF: The thrill of the job. You have the sudden adrenaline rush when you know that everybody is waiting, counting on you to finish the vessel.

Each portion of the vessel does not take containers to only one country. It takes to many different ports, which is why they segregate the containers according to those ports. The water side could be for, say, Posan, and the key side would be for Singapore. So, if containers got mixed up and the extra handling charges to get them out at the port that they have to go to.

ANDERSON: Today, 90 percent of manufactured goods are transported in shipping containers. Asif is one of 700 operators that have been trained here at Jebel Ali to ensure that these boxes are handled speedily and safely. I discovered it's no easy task, as I tried my hand at the crane simulator.

ANDERSON (on camera): How important is speed and efficiency for a crane operator?

YUSUF: Some people would like to call them cash cows, actually, to the terminal. Because they are the core money generators compared to the other functions in the terminal. This is how important the ship-to-shore crane is.

ANDERSON: What would I tend to have in this container?

YUSUF: It could be easily your new ordered car.

ANDERSON: All right.

YUSUF: So -- and this is what we tell the operators. Imagine this is one of your precious items inside.

ANDERSON: Yes.

YUSUF: How would you have been handling it?

ANDERSON: Yes.

YUSUF: And we expect people to perform 30 to 35 moves per hour on that --

ANDERSON: 30 to 35 an hour?

(LAUGHTER)

ANDERSON: I haven't got my thing onto the TU yet, and we've been here for ten minutes. OK.

YUSUF: That's why we have a training center.

ANDERSON (voice-over): As the biggest port in the Middle East, Jebel Ali handles more than 80 percent of the UAE's international trade.

YUSUF: That's what I tell everyone else sitting there. Where do your things come from? Whatever we buy in the supermarkets, we'll offload it on the vessels here. So, yes, they give me that look.

ANDERSON: As one vessel departs, another arrives. The work of Jebel Ali's cranes continues.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. Now, Instagram is apologizing for what it calls a misunderstanding. The photo-sharing app is doing an about-face after an angry backlash over a rule change that would have allowed Instagram to sell users' photos to advertisers.

Bear with me on this. You recognize these terms of use or conditions that we all, of course, sign up to. The company insists it won't be selling users' pictures to anyone, and that will be evident when it issues its new terms and conditions, which are going to take effect next month.

A blog entry from today from co-founder Kevin Systrom. He's trying to add a rose-tinted filter to all of this. He insists this is all just a misunderstanding. And this is what caused the kerfuffle in the first place.

Basically, Instagram has said that it -- to help deliver paid or sponsored content, it may display or be paid to display your user name, likeness, or photos without -- without -- any compensation to you. I couldn't believe it when I saw this story.

CNN's Dan Simon is joining us now, live from San Francisco. Dan, I've been doing this job for -- what? -- 17, 18 years, and I did a lot of business news before CONNECT THE WORLD. I don't think I've ever seen a company in damage control more quickly than this, right?

DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, they could have asked both of us, and we would have told them this was a bad idea. We should tell -- we should say that, look, in the nick of time, Instagram has managed to make the list of creating one of the worst PR blunders of the year. This really didn't make any sense.

The backstory is, is this company's been in existence for a couple of years. Facebook, as we all know, paid a bunch of money for this company, $1 billion. They have not created a dime of revenue. So, they have to figure out how they can make some money. And we understand that, right? That these companies do need to generate some revenue.

Well, they went about in a really confusing way. I think any reasonable person would have interpreted the change of terms as saying that they could take your photos and then sell them. And then, obviously, they see this enormous backlash the next day, so they have to dial it back, Becky.

ANDERSON: Dan, stick with me. Shelly Palmer, author of "Digital Wisdom," some of you may or may not follow on Twitter and Facebook and by e-mail, earlier told my colleague Richard Quest that Instagram, well, as he put it, has money on its mind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHELLY PALMER, AUTHOR, "DIGITAL WISDOM": The practical problem is that what this really says to me is that these are companies that are really struggling to understand how they are ever going to make money. And I think that's important for investors, and it's important for all of us.

At the moment, Facebook is worth what you pay for it, and so is Instagram. They're trying to figure out what else they can do.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you believe that they weren't trying to create a photo stock -- because let's face it, there's enough of those in the world -- trying to use pictures to sell for people to use in magazines, or rather they were trying to work out something more sophisticated, how future online advertisers within Instagram might use the material?

PALMER: That's exactly right. If you think about what Mark Zuckerberg calls his social graph, if you think about this word-of-mouth advertising concept, this idea that you're more likely to trust your friends.

The idea that a business could invade your trust circle, could invade the place you keep your most sacred and trusted photos, the photos of you doing the things you love, you're passionate about, your friends, and somehow make a business out of that? That's really what they're thinking about. It's insidious and awful. Everybody got it.

The idea that it's going to be stock photos or they're going to sell the images, that's nothing --

QUEST: But hang on -- all right --

PALMER: -- this is really much worse.

QUEST: Oh, ah! That was my point!

PALMER: Much worse.

QUEST: That was my point.

PALMER: Yes.

QUEST: So, they are basically interpreting, we're back with the filter, they were going to sell, it's not true. What you're saying is what they want to do is far more mendacious and potentially damaging to our privacy. Look at that nod, look at that growl.

PALMER: I don't -- I don't know if its our privacy, to use a British version of the word "privacy," or if it's just that they are just trying anything they possibly can to make a little bit of money, and they want to cover themselves.

This particular little bit of terms of service just sounded like a compliance officer covering their butt, but what it really tells me is that they are struggling to figure out how to monetize Instagram.

They want to make sure that if they do something like have the flower arrangement that you've just made and taken a picture of now be sponsored by 1-800-Flowers or the piece of -- the wonderful food you've just made and you're showing your Cuisinart in the photo, if Cuisinart wants to sponsor that -- none of that's happened yet.

But the idea is that they would have the right to charge for this without paying for you, or as they lovingly put yesterday, without compensation to you. There's no way anyone was going to stand for that, Richard. Nobody under any circumstances is going to put up with that. You will -- you'll absolutely delete your account beforehand. They heard that loud and clear.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: And so they did. So, Dan, I guess the question this evening, Wednesday in London is, do we stay or do we go from Instagram?

SIMON: Well, first of all, I think that conversation was right on point. As far as are people going to stay on the platform? The bottom line is consumers have so many options now when it comes to taking pictures. When Instagram started, they basically invented the format where you take these nice pictures and you add these artistic filters.

Now, if you go into iTunes, you'll probably find a dozen or more of these kinds of apps. And what do you do? You take pictures, you make a filter, and then, what? You share it on Facebook or Twitter. Everybody is doing that. The question is, how do you make money doing that? And Instagram is trying to figure that out.

ANDERSON: Dan Simon, always a pleasure. I guess the story out of all of this is check those terms and conditions. Don't just tick them because you want to move on. Just make sure you check those terms and conditions and read them. Otherwise, you're going to be -- I don't know. We're going to find out that we are being sold all over the shop.

Dan, thank you for that. You're going to check the net to see how this story has resonated, hash tag #boycottinstagram has taken off on Twitter with many users pointing out that if you take the first letters of the worlds Facebook and Instagram, you get FBI.

And our top stories tonight, suggestions for the US president. Catherine says, "Gun control is the longer, more difficult solution. Securing schools with a police presence and impenetrable rooms would be immediate."

And Franklin Bautista suggests, "If you had more control on the bullets rather than the guns itself, it's a start." He asks, "Can someone use a gun with no bullets?"

What's your take? Both the team and I are @ConnectTheWorld. We want to hear from you. We're on Facebook at facebook.com/CNNconnect or you can have your say on anything at all. Tweet me @BeckyCNN, your thoughts please, @BeckyCNN.

Well, in tonight's Parting Shots just before we go, we're going to bring you a rather clever hoax. This video supposedly shot in a Montreal, Canada park shows an eagle-like bird swooping through the sky and then down to the ground where it picks up a toddler. Well, the bird doesn't hold on for very long and quickly drops its prey, much to the relief of the adult accompanying it.

Well, the film went viral within hours of it being posted online, but the debate over its validity has ended. A Canadian company says three students made the video and that the bird and the child were created in 3D animation.

Well, it had plenty of people, including me and Pedro, let me tell you, who couldn't believe it was a hoax, fooled. Very impressive, indeed.

I'm Becky Anderson, that was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching.

END