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CNN 10
A 19-Year-Old Soldier Discusses Life in the Demilitarized Zone; U.S. Northeast Weathers Another Storm; A Hero of Tomorrow Works to Reduce Plastic Waste
Aired March 08, 2018 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Are North and South Korea heading toward a historic peace agreement, or is another trap being set by the communist
country? That`s what analysts around the world are trying to figure out and that`s what we`re explaining first today on CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz.
The two Asian countries have wrapped up historic talks this week in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. And South Korean officials who were
there say that the North plans to hold off on weapons test for the time being and that it wants to talk to the United States, a South Korean ally,
about normalizing relations and the issue of eliminating North Korea`s nuclear weapons. They`re considered illegal by the international
community, including the U.S.
American President Donald Trump says he believes and hopes the North is sincere in its moves toward peace with the South. He also says that the
new sanctions, the penalties put on North Korea by the U.S. helped pressure North Korea to change its tone. But America says its wants the North to
take concrete steps toward getting rid of its nuclear weapons before the U.S. gets involved in direct talks. And keep in mind that just months ago,
President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were openly threatening each other.
Some international analysts say they`re skeptical that the North really wants peace. North Korea has agreed to give up its nuclear program before
in 1994 and in 2005, and then it cheated on those agreements. Critics say the North is only trying to get relief from penalties without giving up its
weapons programs.
One thing everyone will be watching is the military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea that resume later this month. In the past, they
deeply angered North Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PFC. JOSHUA ROBERSON, STATIONED AT THE JSA: I visit North Korea almost every day, except for --
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Is that crazy?
ROBERSON: That`s a little crazy.
BALDWIN: Say that again, you visit North Korea --
ROBERSON: Almost every day.
BALDWIN: Almost every day.
ROBERSON: Yes, ma`am.
Do you guys hear me now?
So, right now, we`re heading over to checkpoint three, the same rules do apply, do not take any --
BALDWIN: How do you explain to Americans back in the states what you do day to day?
ROBERSON: I provide security for people that would like to come toward the DMZ.
All right. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Private First Class Roberson. I will be your security escort on your trip North today. Before we get
started, I`m going to ask you guys a couple questions. Is anybody currently under the influence of drugs or alcohol at this time? No?
And does anyone feel like defecting toward North Korea today? No? OK, cool.
BALDWIN: Where do you live? Where are we?
ROBERSON: The JSA`s on Joints Security Area. So right now, I`m only about two kilometers away from North Korea. I can hear propaganda music that
they play almost every night.
All right, can everyone hear me? All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to conference row. This is the official meeting place between North Korea
and South Korea or the UNC and the KPA. All the blue buildings you see belong to the United Nations Command or UNC. While the silver or gray
buildings belong to the KPA or North Korea.
All right, you guys to follow me, please.
BALDWIN: This is when you get to walk over the line into North Korea.
ROBERSON: Three microphones that you see on the table, they`re recorded and monitored 24 hours a day. And they serve as an official military
demarcation line inside of these building. So, those of you standing on my left are now standing in communist North Korea. While the rest of you on
my right are still relatively safe with me in the Republic of Korea.
BALDWIN: What does it feel to be standing in North Korea are you guys?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The same.
BALDWIN: Feels the same.
BALDWIN: Do you feel like the tensions have increased between the sides?
ROBERSON: We always maintain a readiness here. So, it doesn`t really feel any different when tensions do rise or when they fall. We`re always ready
in case something were to happen.
BALDWIN: What`s your message to Americans back home who are worried about Americans like you so close to North Korea?
ROBERSON: I would say to just pray for on us, really. Just pray for the best that no altercation will happen, and hopefully, that something good
will come out of this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: As produced this show last night, the second Nor`easter in less than a week was bearing down on the U.S. Northeast, and more than 100,000 still
had no electricity. They lost it when the other storm hit last weekend.
Intense snowfall was expected in New England. Meteorologists predicted coastal flooding across several states and there were winter storm warnings
and watches in effect for more than 50 million people from Maryland to Maine.
The wind gusts that nor`easters typically bring were forecast to be between 30 and 50 miles per hour. That`s not as powerful as the 90-mile-per-hour
gusts that hit last weekend. But any sort of high winds could make it harder for electrical crews to restore power.
Schools were closed in the region and thousands of flights were cancelled as the storm moved in and several places were under states of emergency,
meaning aide and rescue workers were standing by and to respond quickly where help is needed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
Bakelite, which was invented in 1907, is a type of what?
Oven, plastic, clay or bread?
Bakelite is an early form of plastic, a synthetic resin that was used to make everything from cabinets to telephones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Scientists estimate that almost every piece of plastic made since Bakelite in 1907 still exists in some form or other. They believe it takes
hundreds of years to break down in the environment. And from streets and landfills to storm drains, streams and then rivers, a great deal of plastic
finds its way into the ocean where it can float around indefinitely.
One of the people working on a solution is one of tomorrow`s heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIRANDA WANG, ENTREPRENEUR: Globally, only 8 percent of plastic packaging is being recycled. A majority of it is being land-filled and a lot of it
goes into the oceans.
Frankly, our world hasn`t been moving forward in innovating plastic recycling for the past decades.
My name is Miranda Wang. I`m 23 years old. I`m an entrepreneur and innovator and I`m the cofounder of Bio Selection.
I`ve been working on developing innovations to solve the plastic problem ever since I was 17 years old. My high school best friend and I took a
field trip to a waste transfer station in Vancouver, Canada, and we were just astounded by how much plastic packaging goes to landfill.
We actually don`t know how long it takes for plastics to break down. There are numbers around the world saying it takes longer than a thousand five
hundred years.
About half of the peninsula in the summer (INAUDIBLE), every day, 11 metric tons of this material is being recovered at a partner facility. That`s
about the same weight as the three to four commercial trucks. So, imagine how much film it takes to make up that weight considering each plastic bag
only weighs about three to five grams.
What we have developed is an innovative process and this process can be used at large scale, so process tons and tons of material around the world
every day. We`re using catalysts that can break down plastics by basically unlocking a mechanism that allows the plastic to have a chain reaction with
itself.
We are taking dirty plastics. Right now, we`re focusing on films that are not recyclable. We turn into chemicals that are essential precursors for
products such as nylon, nylon yarn, also nylon resin that can be used to make products in the automotive and apparel industries.
Right now, we`re able to achieve those 70 percent conversion from plastic waste material to these chemicals.
My dream is we will see that something that`s, you know, sad piece of plastic that right now would go into the oceans or landfill. It could be
used to make a brand new Patagonia jacket or a brand new pair of running shows.
When it comes to solving these massive world problems that we have, many of the answers are embedded in technology. There`s so much creativity out
there, so much knowledge in our world. I believe we were able to solve all of them if we try.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Almost 132 years after it was thrown into the sea, a message in the bottle was recently found in Western Australia. It came from a German ship
that was sailing from the U.K. to what`s now Indonesia, and it`s one of thousands of bottles thrown overboard in a German experiment to study
global ocean currents.
So while it`s not as desperate as an SOS or as romantic as the cry of lost love, it did set a record for oldest known message in a bottle.
So, that caps off another show. We`re glass you could join us. We love to keep you current on the ocean of world events and we hope you`ll sand for
us again tomorrow when we`ll bring you a tide of news stories and, of course, vintage puns because the last thing we want to do is keep those all
bottled up. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.
END
