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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Signs Executive Orders Cracking Down On Cashless Bail, Flag Desecration; Soon: South Korean President Arrives At The White House; Gaza Health Officials: Twenty Killed In Israeli Attacks On Hospital; Trump Says He Wants To Send National Guard Troops To Chicago; South Korean President Meets With Trump At The White House; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired August 25, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:05:00]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You've been listening to a wide- ranging, as always, Q&A with the president there in the Oval Office as he was signing a slew of executive orders there, talking on everything from
domestic issues, like the armed national guard troops patrolling Washington, D.C., threatening that other cities could experience the same
as well.
He also touched on a number of international issues, the war in Gaza, the war in Ukraine, and his upcoming meeting with the president of South Korea,
which is set to happen this hour. South Korea's president is expected at the White House for his meeting with President Trump.
A few hours ago on Truth Social, however, President Trump seemed to question South Korea's stability, saying, quote, "What is going on in South
Korea? Seems like a purge or revolution. We can't have that and do business there."
We're covering the story from Seoul with Mike Valerio. But we begin with Alayna Treene live at the White House who was listening in to the president
and the Oval Office. Alayna, we only have a couple of minutes.
So, why don't you pick which issue stood out to you, whether it was the slew of executive orders that the president just signed, or whether it was
some of the more controversial comments he made about his critics, and this post on Truth Social right before this meeting with the president, the new
president of South Korea.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Bianna. He went through a number of topics. You could see there. To walk through some of the
executive orders, I actually do think they are significant. One was this idea of trying to pressure different states and cities that have cashless
bail systems, trying to pressure them to eliminate those system.
Of course comes as we're really seeing the Trump administration lean in heavily to this ramping up of trying to crack down on crime and -- and
hearing the president himself saying, you know, Chicago could be next, also saying other cities like Chicago -- excuse me, like New York and Los
Angeles that he is eyeing to have a similar type of surge of federal law enforcement officials just like we have seen here in D.C.
You could hear him even at the end. He started it, started off his remarks this way, ended his remarks this way, wanting to talk about crime.
And you could tell, he kept saying how proud he was of his team there. I mean, this is an issue that the president believes he is winning on. And
it's something we've seen now that he's really been pleased, I'm told, with my conversations with White House officials about, you know, the images of
National Guard troops, which I should note, they are now carrying weapons, a significant escalation of some of that policy when they were first
deployed, now carrying weapons in the city, loving to see those images.
A lot of the arrests that we have seen in Washington D.C. have been related to immigration. And really ramping up the rhetoric about wanting to take
what he's done here in Washington D.C. and use it as a model for other cities saying that Chicago is next. So that was a big part of this.
Another executive order he signed was about trying to punish those who burn the American flag. Something I should note is, of course, protected by the
First Amendment. We've seen the Supreme Court rule on that a few times now. But something the president said that if you burn the American flag, you'll
get a year in jail.
[12:10:03]
Of course, there are going to be a lot of, I think, you know, legal experts pushing back and weighing in on that. But something the president is
clearly trying to talk about in this broader message of crime.
But he also touched on a number of other subjects. Someone actually asked him about the Israeli bombing of a hospital in Gaza, which also left a
number of journalists, killed a number of journalists. He actually said he hadn't heard about it, which is surprising, of course.
I'm assuming he will be briefed on it at some point today, but said he, of course, doesn't like the killing. It comes as we've really seen a lot of
the attention of this White House move away from his attention on Gaza and -- and the war with Israel to more so trying to focus, of course, on what
is happening between Russia and Ukraine.
He still use very, I would argue, broad language, Bianna, when talking about, you know, his hopes for this meeting, potential meeting, I should
say, between Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, very much unclear if it's going to happen. We've now
heard the Kremlin repeatedly throw cold water on the idea. And the president kind of saying he's willing to give Vladimir Putin and Moscow
more time to see whether that actually comes together.
But I think turning today, of course, to what is about to take place here at the White House in this meeting, first meeting, I should note, between
U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee, this is going to be a big deal.
There's a lot at stake and a lot of tension that is happening right now between these two countries. One, of course, is the imposition of tariffs
on South Korean goods at 15 percent. We're also going to hear some investments and economic announcements, we're told, from South Korea for
investments in the United States.
But all of this comes as there's a lot of tension behind the scenes about defense spending, but also the amount and the role of U.S. troops on South
Korean soil that is expected to play a central role today.
And, of course, it comes as there's broader concerns. You mentioned then, Bianna, about -- about North Korea. We've seen both President Trump and
President Lee argue that they are open to working with North Korea.
And also this idea I was told by a White House economic official this morning, Kevin Hassett, that they expect there to be an announcement, a big
deal, he called it, on U.S. shipbuilding. I'll let Mike get into that more.
But a lot of different topics that they will be focusing on when we see the South Korean leader come to the White House any moment now.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And some potential tension given the president's post on Truth Social and some of the statements that he raised, even in that Q&A in
the Oval Office with reporters.
Alayna Treene, thank you so much.
And let's get more on that from Mike Valerio. Just wondering what the reaction was in Seoul to the president's unexpected post on Truth Social.
If we can put that back up and let our viewers see this coming just moments for the president's supposed to greet the new president of South Korea.
"What is going on in South Korea? Seems like a purge or revolution. We can't have that and do business there." As he says, "I'm seeing the new
president today at the White House."
Well, it wasn't a purge or a revolution. It was an impeachment following an illegal declaration of martial law. And that wasn't any time recent. This
was last year that this took place. A lot of instability, I guess politically, within the country as a whole, but obviously still upholding
its own constitution.
What more can you tell us about this post and what it says about potentially some tense relations between these two men who at least
ideologically on policy are much more divergent than where the President Trump was with the current President Lee's predecessor?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. So, you asked for the reaction, first and foremost, it's passed 1:18 or it's passed 1:13, excuse
me here in Seoul right now. The reaction is jaw dropped from Seoul's political class.
And to dissect the post on Truth, you're right, its roots go back to the martial law declaration in December of last year. So, one of our colleagues
in the Oval Office, if our viewers were listening for the past 15 minutes, they might have caught this exchange. The reporter asked essentially, so,
what was the deal with this Truth post? What were you talking about?
And he says, well, I heard that there were raids on churches over the last few days. And then he goes on to say, I don't know if it's true or not.
So, to be your eyes and ears here in Seoul, we can confirm to you that certainly there was a raid on a church in Seoul. Why it matters is because
the police here in South Korea are trying to see if this church in Seoul is connected to rioters who tried to lay siege to a court when the former
president, Yoon Suk Yeol, had an arrest warrant issued for him. That was after he declared martial law, which if you need a refresher on what
martial law is, it's when the military takes over law enforcement from the police. It's when democratic rights and privileges political activity is
suspended, not allowed nationwide.
[12:15:13]
So, a search on this church that the president of the United States is talking about that he heard, which begs the question of, who is talking to
the president of the United States? That was in connection to seeing whether or not these rioters who were trying to find the judge, who granted
this arrest warrant for this martial law president, was connected to this church.
So, it's part of a law enforcement investigation. I know it's complicated. And then the president goes on to say, I also heard that they even went
into a military base and got information.
Well, because this was a martial law declaration, Bianna, that there's an ongoing investigation into who in the military could have been part of
this? Who in the military or what information on military bases could bolster the case, bolster evidence in the ongoing legal saga about the
declaration of martial law? So, that is the very long version of decoding this Truth post.
But the too long didn't read version of this story is, why would the president of the United States, when he already has a trade deal done with
South Korea, when there are just a few policy differences to hash out that allies certainly can, post this to social media just about an hour before
he's about to meet with the president and now only minutes before this meeting is supposed to happen?
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Delving into rumors and conspiracy theories as opposed to really the substantive issues. And there are quite a lot between these two
as they're meeting for the first time at the White House.
Mike Valerio, thank you so much.
For more on the substantive issues, let's bring in Victor Cha. He has extensive knowledge of the dynamics between the Koreas and the West. He's
been a White House Asian affairs adviser and a negotiator with North Korea in 2006. He joins us from Washington, where he's a professor of Georgetown
University. Victor, it is good to see you.
You know that this alliance is over 70 years old, but you say it could undergo one of the most significant changes in its history. Talk about what
we know and what we can expect to see from this new president, President Lee, who's been in office for a little over just about two months now.
And the fact that he's coming to the White House with a deliverable, make American shipbuilding great again plan, a $150 billion plan to work
together in a joint shipbuilding project.
But that aside, there are fundamental differences between his policies and his predecessors, which as I noted were more aligned with President Trump's
administration.
VICTOR CHA, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ASIA AFFAIRS ADVISER: Yes, I think that's right. The way this could really change the alliance relationship is in two
respects. One has already been on trade through Trump's reciprocal tariffs and then the trade framework agreement that has been reached. It's really
sort of changed the terms of the trade relationship from what it was in the past.
In the past, it was about free trade agreements. Now it's not. It's about going from a 25 to 15 percent tariff for -- for Koreans.
And now also massive investments by South Korea in American industries, particularly shipbuilding, as you mentioned, potentially batteries,
purchases of energy.
So really, a -- a changed economic relationship. And then on the security side, I think if -- if Trump has its way, there's going to be a lot more
burden sharing in the alliance relationship where, one, the Korean side is paying more for the cost of defending the Korean Peninsula that has been
shared between the two sides.
Two, there could be changes in the level of U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula. Trump has been famous even before he became president about
talking about reducing the U.S. ground presence in places like Korea and Germany.
And, three, it can also change the way the Koreans look at potential contingencies in Asia broadly off the Korean Peninsula in places like
Taiwan, where the United States is pushing for Korea to have a much more explicit commitment to a -- a U.S. effort to defend Taiwan in case of a
Chinese attack. So these, if they come through, would be major changes in the alliance relationship.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Because we should note, there are roughly about 30,000, close to 30,000 U.S. troops that have been stationed in South
Korea. And this has been something a bit of a frustration point for President Trump going into his second term and what we heard from him to be
fair in his first term as well.
He's also demanding that South Korea, like other NATO allies, increase their share of defense spending as part of their GDP from, I think it's a
little over two percent now for South Korea to five percent. How realistic is that?
CHA: Well, five percent is a lot. Korea is up near three percent now of GDP and that's a -- that's quite a large number. But getting to five percent,
you know, they would need to be some creative accounting, maybe having to do with not just what's spent on South Korea's national defense, but the
U.S. and South Korea do a lot of exercising together. President Trump has been famous for saying he thinks exercising on the Korean Peninsula offends
his friend, Kim Jong Un, and also is very expensive. So, maybe some of the cost sharing could be South Korean subsidization of the U.S. role in
military exercises. There would have to be some creative accounting going on there.
[12:20:33]
On your pointing about President Trump and how he feels about the troops, 28,500 to 30,000 troops, we've kind of researched this and it actually goes
back to 1990 in a -- in a magazine interview when he was a businessman. He was complaining about why is the United States paying for all these troops
in Korea and in Germany, even though the host countries, whether it's Germany or Korea, have been paying, you know, a fair share of that. I mean,
Korea right now pays over $1 billion for the cost of maintaining these forces in Korea.
Trump just wants that number to be even higher. And that's why that this is -- this could potentially be a point of contention between the two sides.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. A troop deployment around the -- the world, as well as tariffs, have been two issues that -- that Trump has been consistent about
throughout his career, not only politically, but also throughout business going back decades as you note.
Victor Cha, thank you so much for joining the program. And do stay with us. We'll bring you President Lee's arrival as soon as that happens. We are
running a little behind there, but we'll bring that to you live.
In the meantime, we'll be right back with more news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Typhoon Kajiki unleashed destructive winds as it made landfall on Vietnam's northeast coast today, packing huge waves and heavy rains.
Officials closed airports and evacuated more than 40,000 people ahead of landfall, expecting a massive storm surge to follow.
Wow. On Sunday, Kajiki brushed China's southern coast with savage winds that as you see in this video, downed trees and forced officials to suspend
public transportation. Officials also shuttered resorts and businesses.
The U.N. is slamming a double Israeli attack on southern Gaza's largest hospital and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate is calling it a, quote,
heinous massacre.
[12:25:06]
Health officials say at least 20 people were killed, including five journalists in back-to-back strikes on a Nasser Medical Complex. The second
attack came right after rescue workers had rushed to the scene to help with casualties.
The head of the World Health Organization posted a scathing response saying that "While people in Gaza are being starved, their already limited access
to healthcare is being further crippled by repeated attacks."
Now, the IDF, meantime, confirmed that it carried out strikes in the area and says it doesn't target journalists as such. The president of the
Committee to Protect Journalists spoke to CNN earlier and says the evidence proves otherwise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JODIE GINSBERG, PRESIDENT, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS: Well, we're in this endless loop because Israel has not been account -- held accountable
for any of these killings. This is the deadliest conflict for journalists that CPJ has ever documented.
To date, 196 journalists, if we include today's killings have been killed, 189 of those are Palestinians killed by Israel.
And despite the fact that Israel keeps saying it doesn't deliberately target journalists, the evidence is very different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The killed journalists were all Palestinian. Israel has not allowed international media into Gaza to report independently since the
beginning of the war nearly two years ago.
CNN's Oren Liebermann joins me now live in Jerusalem.
So, Oren, what more is the Israeli government is the IDF saying aside from its statement, that it doesn't target or deliberately target journalists in
response to this attack today?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Bianna, the Israeli military chief of staff said he had instructed the military to open an initial
inquiry into what happened here. So, let's walk through this.
This is earlier this morning, Monday morning, when an Israeli strike targets Nasser Medical Complex, a major hospital in southern Gaza,
according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, it hits the fourth floor of the building.
As emergency crews, journalists and hospital workers are on their way to respond to this strike, a second attack hits the hospital. At least 20
Palestinians were killed, according to the hospital and the Ministry of Health. And that includes five journalists working for international
organizations.
Those journalists are Mohammad Salama, a cameraman for Al Jazeera, Hussam al-Masri, who had worked with Reuters, Mariam Abu Daqqa, whose CNN had
profiled and who has worked with the "Associated Press" and others. As well as freelance -- freelance journalist Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmed Abu Aziz.
There were other journalists injured. The Gaza Civil Defense, those are emergency responders. They say one of theirs was killed in the strike as
well.
Video from the scene shows doctors who were talking about the result of the first strike when the second one hits. It shows the chaos of the strike
itself. The first one, when that second one causes even more chaos and hits the journalist.
The emergency responders, the healthcare workers who had responded to the first attack. Video from the scene shows the chaos and the horror of these
two back-to-back strikes.
The Israel Defense Forces just released a statement a short time ago, an updated statement. They say earlier today, IDF troops carried out a strike
in the area of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Quote, "We are aware of reports that harm was caused to civilians, including journalists. I would
like to be clear from the start, the IDF does not intentionally target civilians."
What's worth noting here is the Israeli military has not acknowledged two strikes. They still say only one in their statements. And they don't
acknowledge that the strikes targeted the hospital itself.
An Israeli security official familiar with the details of the initial inquiry, say Israeli troops identified a camera on the hospital that they
believe was being used by Hamas to watch Israeli forces. They got authorization for a drone strike.
But in reasons that weren't explained in the information we were given, there were instead two tank shells that targeted the hospital. The first
targeted the camera itself. The second, minutes later, targeted first responders in what is a double tap attack as it's known on the emergencies
that respond to a first attack.
And that is at least part of the reason why you see the international outrage that we have seen pour in as a result of this strike.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, as you point out -- pointed out, called it a quote, heinous massacre perpetrated by the Israeli occupation
forces.
The Foreign Press Association in Israel and the Palestinian territories said it's among the deadliest Israeli attacks on journalists working for
international media since the Gaza war began.
The "Associated Press" said it was shocked and saddened. Al Jazeera, meanwhile, called it a horrific crime directly targeting -- directly
targeted and assassinated journalists.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, as you pointed out, said that before this, there were 192 journalists that Israel had killed since the start of
the war. That number rose significantly today, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Oren Liebermann, you'll be following this story for us. Thank you so much. I'll speak to you in the next hour.
Meantime, coming up for us. We could soon see National Guard troops on patrol in another U.S. city. What Chicago officials are saying about Donald
Trump's plans for their police?
Also ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:56]
GOLODRYGA: All right. We are taking to the White House right now where President Trump has gone outside there -- outside the White House to meet
President Lee of South Korea. His first meeting with President Trump since taking office in June of this year.
The two obviously have a lot of policy issues to be discussing as well as some of the controversial statements the president has made about the new
president on Truth Social and some of the questions he has about what is going on in -- in South Korea right now. None of it substantiated but some
of the accusations against the country and its new leadership.
We will hopefully be getting more time with the president in the Oval Office as we have traditionally seen during these types of visits. The
president opens it up to reporters and questions from reporters. So we'll bring that to you live when it begins.
But I do want to go to Margaret Talev. She is a senior contributor for "Axios" and the Director of the Institute for Democracy, Journalism and
Citizenship at Syracuse University. Margaret, good to see you.
So, there's a lot to talk about here. And let's start with the president's meeting now with President Lee of South Korea as we noted whether it's
trade, whether it's troop placement there in South Korea, whether it's relations with China, a lot to discuss, which raised a lot of eyebrows that
the president instead decided to take to Truth Social, if we can put that post back up, and attack this new administration in South Korea.
Unsubstantiated reports that -- that he'd heard about some raids on churches in the country, to him suggesting as he noted on Truth Social.
There you see it. There's a purge or revolution going on as we've noted.
There had been some political instability in the country over the last year where the president at the time was impeached after he had ordered an ill-
fated and illegal short-term martial law declaration. That was in December of last year. The president sort of appearing as he does from time to time
like a bystander, not a president of the United States.
[12:35:11]
When asked about this post in the Oval Office earlier as he was signing executive orders what did he mean by this, he said there have been some
raids on churches. I've heard some bad things.
And this isn't new to how the president responds to new presidents, new leaders, new administrations who take over from previous leaders that he
had a -- a better relationship with.
MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS: Well, Bianna, I think you have sort of nailed it there. And it -- and it does seem like an unorthodox way
to welcome another leader to the White House by laying the groundwork by sort of suggesting tumult and chaos back in their home country and sort of
a negative judgment on what's going on.
But -- but that's certainly what's happened. And some of this may be over President Trump's, you know, political alliances. And -- and some of it may
just have to do with trying to gain the upper hand in this meeting.
You know, in terms of his relations with other countries, tariffs have been the talk of the day. And while the U.S. and South Korea did largely work
out, I guess a tariff agreement, it's entirely possible that some conversations will return to the table during this visit.
And this all comes after President Trump has already been holding court for several hours at the White House in Washington with the reporters covering
his administration on domestic matters as well.
And I couldn't help but think of the early days of the COVID pandemic during the Trump 1.0 administration where there would be these like three-
hour news conferences, you may remember.
And -- and your head is just spinning trying to sort of crack up all of it so you throw the conversation or the sort of hints at a -- a tough
conversation with South Korea into the mix on top of a long laundry list.
Everything from, you know, whether a broadcast licenses for networks should be in trouble. And former, you know, Republican governors should now be
investigated to nationalizing or federalizing, you know, the National Guard and -- and trying to step in, in places where democratic controlled cities
have typically had control.
Like it has been hours of a wide-ranging conversation already today, so many headlines. And this is even really before this South Korea visit gets
underway.
GOLODRYGA: Right. And I'm glad you brought that up because I even asked our producer during the commercial break, are we even going -- are we going to
do this all over again now with reporters? Are they going to come back in for this press opportunity as we typically get with the meetings the
president has been having with heads of states in the Oval Office? So we'll see. And of course, if that does happen, we'll bring it to you live.
But in terms of what issues we heard about, this theme of the president really taking on who he views as potential democratic rivals, maybe not for
himself, but for his successor. And that is anybody that was thinking about running for the Democratic Party in 2028 on the democratic ticket. I'm
talking about Gavin Newsom. I'm talking about Governor Wes Moore now when the president is not only threatening to send more National Guard troops to
other cities like Chicago, but now even Baltimore.
What does the president think he is gaining out of going head-to-head or toe-to-toe with these democratic leaders?
TALEV: His messaging certainly indicates that he wants Americans to see that his sort of swift and unilateral and -- and pretty controversial
actions in D.C. and whatever may follow next is a sign of him just taking care of business and doing things that need to get done, right?
I mean, he had in this long ranging conversation this morning, this internal monologue about whether using that some Americans might actually
want a dictator and then saying, I don't want that. I -- I'm not a dictator. I just -- I'm just a guy with good common sense.
And it's actually quite bewildering to watch, you know, this monologue coming from -- from the White House. This is not on the campaign trail.
This is from the Oval Office.
And -- but what he seems to be telling all of these governors in -- in -- in democratic states, whether it's Gavin Newsom and Trump saying he's going
to sue California to try to block the redistricting plan that Newsom is asking voters for approval on in order to countercheck what's happening in
Texas, whether it's that, whether it's JB Pritzker in Illinois who is widely considered a potential candidate for president in 2028, whether it's
Governor Wes Moore in Maryland and the president's threats effectively to block the key bridge in -- in Baltimore from being repaired after that ship
accident.
[12:40:13]
What he's telling them is, as the executive, he believes that he has hugely more powers than they do as the executives of their state. And that he
believes that the Supreme Court will back him up, and that he believes that a lot of American voters will also back them up.
And he's doubling down on this bet. He's running the tables in multiple blue states at the same time. And he thinks that the courts, and possibly
the public, will -- will have his back.
GOLODRYGA: And it is notable, the tactics, that these two specific democratic governors Gavin Newsom and Wes Moore have taken parroting,
really the president's social media style and giving it right back to him.
Wes Moore on posting on X, calling President Trump, "President Bone Spurs who will do anything to get out of walking." And offered him a golf cart
this after Governor Moore invited the president to walk the streets of Baltimore with him.
Something else that we've seen the president, a pattern of attacking his critics, that includes Republicans as well, that includes those who've
worked in his own administration, John Bolton's home being raided after court issued warrant. So, that is something we obviously focused a lot on,
on Friday. And we need to wait for more details on that.
But it did raise the specter of retribution, perhaps from the president, given how publicly he's admonished and spoken out against John Bolton. And
now over the weekend, taking to Truth Social and attacking another former ally, Chris Christie, doubling down on that as well today when asked about
that.
And perhaps even dangling a -- a criminal investigation against him as well, and saying, I don't know, we may not have time. That's up to Pam
Bondi. But what -- what message does that send in and of itself?
TALEV: He is trying to message inside of his own party that well he's primary interest is in going after democratic opponents. He's not going to
tolerate any chafe from inside his party. And that he will seek to use government regulatory agencies or law enforcement agencies to pursue
investigations against -- against people who have been critics or opponents of his.
And I think in the case of -- of Christie, who's a frequent contributor on -- on ABC and on the "This Week" show, implicitly threatening the networks
as well, that if they put critics of President Trump on T.V. to say critical things about him on T.V., they could face the threat of their
broadcast licenses being impacted or what have you.
And again, it's a little bit gauzy, a little bit vague at this point, but it is meant to curtail dissent. He is whether -- whether he's messaging to
democratic officials or to Republican officials or formal officials.
What he's saying is, he will use the enormous executive powers of the presidency and the regulatory and law enforcement levers at his disposal to
the fullest means possible unless and until the Supreme Court tells him he can't.
GOLODRYGA: Margaret Talev will have to leave it there. Thank you so much. We covered a lot. Not all of it. We don't have enough time to get through
every single issue and executive order the president signed today, but I think we've got the crux of it all. Thank you so much.
Well, any moment now --
TALEV: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: -- as we've been reporting, the president will sit down with his South Korean counterpart in the Oval Office and we'll bring that to you
live when it happens. Stand by for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:40]
GOLODRYGA: All right. President Trump is meeting with South Korean President Lee at the White House right now. We are standing by to hear from
the two leaders.
One big item on their agenda is North Korea. The state media says Pyongyang test fired two new missiles over the weekend. And in addition, a new report
revealed a secret missile base that could pose a threat to the continental United States.
For his part, President Lee says his discussions on the North will -- with Trump will be in his words without limit.
So let's bring back our guest, Victor Cha. He's been a White House Asian Affairs adviser and a negotiator with North Korea in 2006. He joins us from
Washington, where he's a professor at Georgetown University.
So on this issue, you know, we talked earlier in the show about the difference in policy views from these two presidents and administrations.
But on the issue with meeting, even with adversaries, they're both in alignment and that both President Lee has been open to reengaging and
meeting with Kim Jong Un as obviously has President Trump, who's been open to the idea after his first, you know, highly publicized, but -- but failed
really meeting during his first term with the leader. Talk more about that.
CHA: Yes. That's -- that's -- that's -- that's exactly right. I mean, President Trump has made no secret of his desire to reengage with the North
Korean leader. He even said it this morning when he was signing that executive order.
And President Lee, who comes from the Progressive Party in South Korea, which has traditionally been in favor of engagement, inter-Korean economic
cooperation.
(CROSSTALK)
GOLODRYGA: Victor, if I could just interrupt quickly. We're -- we're going to the two leaders now meeting in the Oval Office. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE JAE MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I believe that making America great again is your goal, and I believe that that is what is
currently taking place in America. And I think the most symbolic thing of that is the Dow Jones index, which reached a record high recently, although
it went down a bit, but it reached a record high. And so I think that America is becoming great again.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): So I believe that there is a renaissance taking place, not only in the shipbuilding sector, but
also in the manufacturing industry. And I hope that Korea can be a part of that renaissance.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): And one thing that I would like -- that I wanted to say to you is that America's role not as a
keeper of peace, but a maker of peace is being more -- is -- is emerging more evidently.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
[12:50:07]
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Many wars in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, and in the Middle East are coming to peace because of the
role that you are playing.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): So among the many world leaders, I don't -- I believe that you are the only leader who has made
such accomplishments.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): And I would like to mention that there -- the only remaining divide the -- divide nation in the
world is the Korean Peninsula. And I would like to ask for your role in establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula.
So, I look forward to your meeting with Kim Jong -- Chairman Kim Jong Un and construction of a Trump Tower in North Korea and playing golf at his
place.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I believe he will be waiting for you.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Korea was able to attain economic growth and development through our ironclad alliance. And
going forward, I hope to develop our alliance into a future-oriented alliance that encompasses areas not only limits it to security, but also
the economy and science and technology.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The Korean people have great expectations for you, Mr. President. Thank you once again for your
time.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, thank you very much. It's an honor to be with you.
I will say that Kim Jong Un and I had a very good relationship as you remember and still do. And when I came in, I didn't know him. We had two
summits, but we became very friendly. Respect. It was a great respect. And it was not going to be that way ahead.
Hillary Clinton won the election, it would have been a disaster. But we think we can do something in that regard with respect to North and South
that I think you are much more prone to doing that than other leaders that I've been working with from South Korea.
And we'll work on that. I think it's very good to work on that. If you remember, you were doing the Olympics and there was a great time of
hostility with North Korea. And you weren't selling tickets because nobody wanted to be blown up in the stadium during the opening ceremonies, right?
And you were not selling tickets. And I was also with my formative stage with North Korea and Kim Jong Un. And we were a little bit going at it
about the rocket man, the little rocket man, every back and forth. And it was really nasty.
And then I got a call one day. And they wanted to get together. They wanted to talk. And we started talking. And then he said really brilliantly, he
said, you know, the Olympics is going to be opening very soon. And we'd like to be a part of it. They actually put teams in it. You got along
great.
And by the way, immediately upon that phone call, you started selling tickets and it turned out to be a tremendous success.
So, it went from being empty stadiums because people were afraid to go because it was a target potentially to a great success. And -- and I was
very proud of that. You had one of the most successful Olympics. And now we have the Olympics coming to the U.S. So, we're very happy about that. But
that was a great honor to get involved and make the Olympics so successful.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
[12:55:11]
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Mr. President, you mentioned about Chairman Kim, and thanks to your efforts when you were in
office during your first term, the situation on the Korean Peninsula was stable. But during the short -- the hiatus where you were out of office,
North Korea developed further its nuclear and missile capabilities, and that led to a deterioration on the situation of the Korean Peninsula.
TRUMP: And they wouldn't have done that. They would not have done that if our president -- that was not going to have.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I completely agree with you.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): So when Kim Yo Jong, -- the -- the deputy director of the Workers' Party of Korea, issued a
statement denouncing Korea -- South Korea, she mentioned about the good relation -- the not bad relationship between you and Chairman Kim Jong Un.
And I believe that this is a sign that North Korea is waiting.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): So, I hope that you will assure in a new era of peace on the Korean Peninsula.
TRUMP: I will do that and we'll have talks. He liked to meet with me. He didn't want to meet with Biden because he had no respect for Biden. But we
look forward to meeting with him and we'll make relations better.
You'll help that. You had a lot of leaders. I've gone through a lot of leaders in South Korea. You know, it's been quick. You'll be there for a
long time. But we -- and the various leaders that I've dealt with, they were not approaching it properly, in my opinion, having to do with North
Korea. But I think your -- your approach is a much better one.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): So, resolving this issue through my engagement is not an easy thing. And the only person that
can make progress on this issue is you, Mr. President.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): So, if you become the peacemaker that I will assist you by being a pacemaker.
TRUMP: That's good. We -- we can do -- we can do big progress, I think, with North Korea. Absolutely.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
TRUMP: OK. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Good job.
OK. Questions, please.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, when you met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, how soon did he say that he wanted to sit down with
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy?
Russia, as of now, says there's no meeting on the books and no agenda is set.
TRUMP: Well, that's going to be up to them. It takes two to tango. I always say it. And they should meet, I think, before I have a meeting and probably
close the deal.
But I think it's appropriate they meet. They do not exactly get along well, as you can understand. And I'm sure it's a meeting that perhaps he didn't
like. But he wasn't happy about coming to the United States either. That was a big concession. And I appreciate the fact that he did.
And I -- I've always had a very good relationship despite a fake Russia, Russia, Russia haunt that we had.
[13:00:00]
END
