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The Brief with Jim Sciutto

US Announces New Russia Sanctions; APEC 2025; Alleged Drug Trafficking. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired October 22, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:28]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. And you're watching "The Brief."

Just ahead this hour, Donald Trump scraps his plan to meet Vladimir Putin, but then slaps sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies. US Vice

President JD Vance meets in Jerusalem with Israeli hostages and family members. I speak with Ruby Chen, who's still waiting for his son Itay to be

returned. And CNN's Will Ripley sits down with South Korea's prime minister ahead of next week's APEC meeting.

We begin with a new wave of sanctions against Russia by the United States announced just a short time ago. These sanctions target the largest Russian

oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, while calling on Moscow to agree to an immediate cease fire with Ukraine.

The announcement coincided with the arrival in Washington of the NATO secretary general.

Mark Rutte's visit comes a day after the White House ruled out plans for an immediate summit between Presidents Trump and Putin, and Friday's

acrimonious meeting at the White House with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The US President spoke about these new sanctions just a short

time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT: Today is a very big day in terms of what we're doing. Look, these are tremendous sanctions. These are very big. Those are

against their two big oil companies. And we hope that they won't be on for long. We hope that the war will be settled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: President Trump also said which the Tomahawk missiles which he previously hinted at supplying to Ukraine would take too long for Ukrainian

troops to train on them. The NATO chief would not be drawn in on that particular question. He did thank the US for its ongoing support.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: I'm not going to comment on the Tomahawks, but when it comes to the US and all the support for Ukraine, it

is there and it is close to the President's heart and I know this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Matthew Chance joins me now from Moscow. And it's been interesting because in recent days, state media had been saying that it didn't appear

that President Trump was ready to impose new costs on Russia. And yet now we have these sanctions. What's been the reaction there?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, there's been no reaction as yet. I mean, I texted Dmitry Peskov, the

Kremlin spokesperson, to see whether he can respond at this late hour. Remember, it's like 1: in the morning here. But I mean, I expect there will

be a great deal of frustration expressed in the morning in the papers when we get up and have a look what the news organizations are saying here.

Because, yes, there was this expectation that President Trump, after he capitulated on the issue of Tomahawk missile, cruise missiles being

supplied to Ukraine, a sense that perhaps he wasn't prepared to use significant leverage on Russia, and to try and put pressure on the Kremlin

to bring them to the negotiating table. But, you know, with these economic sanctions on the two biggest Russian oil companies, well, that's the first

time that President Trump in this second presidential term has used a substantial leverage at the disposal of the United States to try at least

to put pressure on Russia.

Certainly it will have an impact. It will have an impact on the international markets, I expect, because Russia accounts for 6 percent of

the global oil production. So you sanction two of their biggest oil companies, it's inevitably going to have an impact.

Whether it will have an impact on the Kremlin, though, and their negotiating position is unclear. I mean, Putin has been reluctant or

refused even to compromise on any part of his maximalist demands to end the Ukraine war. Also, you have to remember that Russia is the most sanctioned

country in the world.

They've been experiencing various permutations of sanctions from the United States, from the European Union, from others as well. And they always seem

to find a way to get around it. And so it's very possible that these sanctions by the United States, although they may have an impact, may not

have the desired impact on the Kremlin.

[18:05:05]

SCIUTTO: Yes. You have all those ships that are out there still somehow trading Russian oil around those sanctions. Matthew Chance in Moscow,

thanks so much.

Well, joining me now is Republican Congressman French Hill. Congressman, thanks so much for taking the time.

You, of course, have been pushing for increased pressure on Russia for some time. Now we have these sanctions on the two major Russian oil suppliers,

Lukoil and Rosneft. What's your reaction?

REP. FRENCH HILL (R-AR): Well, I fully support the actions taken by the Treasury Department today. I think they were absolutely the right thing.

I've been calling for that to be done for two years. And we've had a lot of equivocation in Europe and in the US under the Biden administration, to

some degree under the Trump administration about the level of economic sanctions to utilize, and the amount of arms and what type of arms to share

with the Ukrainians.

It's long past time to have this kind of strong sanctions on the Russian banking and oil and gas industry.

SCIUTTO: I want to get to weapons in a moment, but there are other pieces of legislation at various stages in Congress. You've got Senate bills that

would designate Russia's state sponsor of terrorists, sanction China for aiding Moscow going after frozen Russian assets, which I know is a position

you support. Do you believe those other measures should be taken now and do you believe that the President Trump in this current mindset would support

such additional legislative action?

HILL: Well, look, my best advice to the President and to the leaders in Europe is let's stack up all the arrows in our quiver to give leadership in

Europe and the United States to put the maximum pressure on Czar Putin. So, for example, let's pass the Lindsey Graham bill and the Brian Fitzpatrick

bill in the House. It's an additional sanctions bill. It targets people who trade with Russia.

Let's pass the Peace act, which I marked up in my committee in late July, was passed 53 to 1 out of my committee led by Zach Nunn of Iowa, which

sanctions all the oil and gas companies, not just the two mentioned today, but also Gazprom. And it converts the repo assets, those seized Russian

assets that are frozen. It converts them to cash that can be used for both weapon purposes and economic support of the Ukrainians. I think all those

things are good.

And they give the President discretion. He can decide not to use them, but I'd like for Putin to see firsthand that are bipartisan, bicameral basis.

Congress wants Putin out of Ukraine and wants this war over.

SCIUTTO: Speaking of arrows in the quiver, as it were, another one much discussed and discussed by the President as well until last week, would be

supplying long range and highly capable Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. He has held off on that for now. Is that a mistake?

HILL: Well, I've also been supportive of the right weapons systems in the hands of the Ukrainians. They've just -- they've absolutely demonstrated

their masterful tactics of use of the weapons. They've used them strategically very effectively. We weren't going to give them longer range

or intermediate range missiles.

And the Ukrainians finally got some from us, from the Germans, from the French and they cleared the Black Sea of the Russian Navy. They have used

strategic weapons very effectively. It has not led to escalation other than for Putin's commitment to kill more children, bomb more hospitals, more

residential areas and launch Iranian made drones by the thousands every night. And so, it's hard to beat your enemy if you've got one hand tied

behind your back.

SCIUTTO: It sounds like you're saying you would like to see Tomahawks go to Ukraine.

HILL: I would be -- If the NATO forces and the countries supporting Ukraine in our Defense Committee would support the transfer of Tomahawk missiles to

those countries who in turn transfer them to the Ukrainians, I would be supportive of that. I think we need to let Putin know that his illegal

invasion cannot stand. And I think you do that through economic sanctions, which I really embrace again the decision by the President and the treasury

secretary today.

And I think you do that by letting him know we're going to continue to support Europe in their support of Ukraine. Otherwise you see more

provocations as you've seen with Russia flying drones and along the NATO border and interfering, threatening in that manner and continue to threaten

elections as they did in Moldova. Fortunately, they lost.

SCIUTTO: No question. I want to go to the shutdown now if I can.

[18:10:00]

And as you know, both parties are blaming each other for the shutdown. I wonder for your party, should Republicans make a deal that would extend

those expanded ACA or Obamacare subsidies? Would that be a price, a worthwhile price, in your view, to get the government open again?

HILL: Well, Jim, I don't think the government should be closed right now. We did what our Democratic colleagues supported, which was do a clean CR so

our appropriations process could continue. And it was continuing, making excellent progress on a bicameral and bipartisan basis. And this was just

abruptly stopped by a decision taken by Minority Leader Schumer in the Senate.

I think it was a mistake. I think the right decision is let's open the government, continue that appropriations process, and that will continue to

include health policy. And I really -- I think it's just purely a political play by the Democrats and their opposition to President Trump. And an

example of that was today when Katherine Clark, the conference leader, and the Democrats in the House, said that, of course, families will suffer from

the shutdown, but it's the only leverage we have.

I just think that's kind of cynical attitude. It doesn't help my military families here at Little Rock Air Force Base, my National Guardsmen who are

now on unemployment here in Little Rock. It's just not the right way to operate. Let's open the government and continue those spending negotiations

and complete FY26 spending.

SCIUTTO: Now, the way Democrats respond to that position is to say, why should we trust Republicans to give us that vote, to make a good faith

effort to have that debate and give a vote after opening the government? I mean, based on recent track record, could you understand their skepticism?

HILL: Well, I certainly understand their political position, of the fear they have from primary elections in their own electorate. I understand that

pressure. That's not unknown to Republicans, who face the same issues in past years. But I think Mike Johnson and John Thune are men of capable and

honor, and Susan Collins and Tom Cole know how to run an appropriations process. They're doing a fine bipartisan job at hearing the arguments,

taking the votes, looking at the amendments, and that process would continue.

So I really think Leader Schumer has made a terrible mistake here and inconvenienced millions of Americans. It's going to increase unemployment,

increase people having trouble getting the services they need from the federal government and the state government. It's a bad decision because

you don't get your way politically. I just would remind the minority leader, the Republicans have both houses of Congress.

He's voted for this exact bill before, just a few months ago, during the Biden administration, the Democrats, when they were in charge of Congress,

had 13 continuing resolutions. So this is just not unusual. I mean, that's business as usual to try to reach a deal. What's not business as usual is

shutting down the entire government. This is the longest shutdown in American history of the entire government.

SCIUTTO: It is. And there's a lot in this town from folks I talked to, there's not a lot of optimism right now. Congressman French Hill, always a

pleasure to have you on the show. Thanks so much for joining.

HILL: Jim, thank you. Appreciate you. Thank you so much.

SCIUTTO: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to Israel to advance the next phases of a peace plan between Israel and Hamas. He's Following

Vice President JD Vance, who met today with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Vance also spent time with former hostages, as well as the

families of those still waiting for the remains of their loved ones to come home.

Ruby Chen was there. He's the father of the Israeli American hostage Itay Chen. I asked him about his meeting with the vice president and his

continued fear for his son. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUBY CHEN, ITAY CHEN'S FATHER: When this all started two years ago, there were 255 hostages. And people around me said, you know, well, you guys are

US citizens. A week, you know, two weeks tops, your kid will come out. And lo and behold, it's been two years and there are still 13 hostages and two

of them are US citizens. And I was asking the vice president, like, how what are you guys going to do to get my kid out?

SCIUTTO: What's his answer?

CHEN: They are doing what they can. It's a response that I've been getting for a long time. I know this administration cares a lot about US citizens.

But, you know, when you see more and more hostages come out, and for some reason I feel sometimes penalized for being a US Citizen because, you know,

I don't understand why until now the two US citizens that are still in captivity haven't been able to come out.

[18:15:00]

At the beginning, there were 12 US citizens that were taken hostage, we're still down to two, even though Russia, EU, excuse me, the UK, France, and

others have gotten their hostages out.

SCIUTTO: Penalized by whom, would you say, and why?

CHEN: Well, it might be Hamas. They know that he's a US citizen. Maybe they're just keeping him. I don't know.

But what I do know is that Hamas knows where my son, Itay, is. And that was part of the agreement that was signed, 48 hostages that Hamas, in 72 hours,

needs to give all of them. And that didn't happen. And we have, until now, 35 hostages that have come out. And Hamas needs to do its part and get all

the others out.

And that's where the United States and all the others that signed on this agreement need to come in and make sure that first phase of the agreement

is executed. And I do hope that, you know, we've seen the President, the Vice President, Mr. Witkoff, Mr. Kushner, coming in here the last couple of

days.

Hopefully, that is a sign that indeed we could get this first phase done and then hopefully move on to the second phase that would also benefit the

people in Gaza.

SCIUTTO: Is it insufficient pressure on Hamas that you blame, or on the Israeli government as well?

CHEN: No. It's about my opinion, Jim. I look at the bottom line. Like, I just know at the end, you know, Hamas needs to execute that agreement. The

Israeli government needs to make sure that agreement is being executed with the backing of the United States, Egypt, Turkey, and others. And we're just

waiting for that to happen.

And, you know, so far, you know, Hamas said at the beginning they were only able to find 24 hostages. And ever since, each day we have one, two,

sometimes non-hostages come out, which just means that Hamas knows where they are, the decision that they're making, not to bring out all the

hostages that they know how to get to.

And, you know, they say that it's difficult and they need time, but I would challenge and say that the underlying assumption of that statement is that

they know where they are. So now, well, they're the one that took them, abducted and kidnapped them. So, of course they know where they are.

So now we just need to get to the second part of that part, and that is getting that international task force in with the equipment needed to find

those hostages that, at the moment, you know, Hamas say we have difficulties getting to them. That was the idea of that task force that was

put in place.

SCIUTTO: I spoke to Roger Carson yesterday, who I know you know well from his long work trying to get hostages released during the Biden

administration. And he said that he suspects that Hamas may deliberately hold on to some hostage remains because they see that as leverage. And I

wonder if you suspect the same thing, leverage for the long term.

CHEN: Well, you know, they had living hostages, so I would think that would make more sense to hold on to a living hostage. That it's much more

valuable than one that may have been killed. But, you know, when we try to use our logic on their logic, it doesn't always come together. I think, you

know, they are evil organization that has done atrocities on October 7th, and the international community should do much more to condemn them.

But at the moment, there is a deal, and that is a deal that Hamas, both Hamas, that is the international Hamas in Qatar as well as the ones in

Gaza, have agreed upon. And I think that is what needs to be executed. And if Hamas do indeed care for the people that are in Gaza that have been

suffering so much the last two years and to have a better future for them, I think what it's required for them to do is to live up to the agreement

that they signed and provide all the hostages that they still have, and then enable the international community to commence with the second phase,

which would benefit all the people that are in Gaza.

SCIUTTO: You often hear President Trump celebrating the ceasefire and the hostage deal, and certainly there's been a lot of progress made. But you

noted in the wake of those early comments that in your view, it was premature celebration. Explain how those words made you feel.

CHEN: Well, we met the President last week when he was visiting Israel, and I told him, you know, simply, we need to finish the job. And when he was

here, it was more of a celebration, which maybe was the correct thing for the first 48 hours when we got hostages coming out.

[18:20:04]

But the agreement that was signed, we know it talked about best effort. 48 hours when we got hostages coming out. But the agreement that was

signed, we know it talked about best effort. Best effort is a very ambiguous term where Hamas could claim that they are doing best effort. But

that doesn't meet the expectations that I think of the United States as well as the other parties that signed on that agreement.

And I think that is what happened when initially we had just 28 hostages coming out of the 48, which was not the expectation. And again, as stated,

you know, Hamas have been somehow been able to find one, two hostages each day, which I think is a testament to say they know where they are. It's

more of a decision that they need to make, that they understand that those hostages are more liability than an asset.

And I hope that they also feel the same about my son. That understanding that the United States will do whatever it can to get its citizens out, as

it has done in other places of conflict. And I hope that soon my family can be reunited with our son, live with those consequences, whatever might they

be. Hopefully we have a miracle waiting for us.

But if not, then that is the type of closure we need to enable us to stop being dead people walking, but actually be able to be in to begin a new

chapter of our lives.

SCIUTTO: Well, having spoken to you for, well, more than a year now, I understand beginning to understand just how that pain weighs on you. We do

hope that you and your family get relief. And thank you again for joining.

CHEN: Maybe Jim (inaudible), you just articulate the feeling when you are supposed to get a phone call in the middle of the night that you know that

is the worst phone call that you would get in your lifetime. And when you don't get that phone call, you feel disappointed, which has so much

emotions tied into that sentence. It's very difficult to explain to the people watching us, but I think it gives the viewers an understanding that

we've been doing this for two years.

I think we should be entitled to have our closure and have the international community led by the United States, and allow us to receive

the remaining of the hostages, and be able to have a new chapter not just for the people here in Israel, but also for the people in Gaza.

SCIUTTO: Yes, I hear you. I hear you, because even the idea closure comes with pain. Ruby Chen, thanks so much for joining.

CHEN: God bless.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Certainly our best to him and his family. Please do stay with us. We'll be right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:20]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. In today's Business Breakout, a down day on Wall Street. The Dow pulled back from record highs. Chip stocks were among the

biggest losers after weaker than expected earnings and guidance from Texas Instruments. Netflix shares fell 10 percent after its Q3 earnings miss.

Checking some of today's other business headlines.

Hilton is the latest multinational firm to warn that the US Government shutdown is hurting its business. The hotel giant says the shutdown is

impacting travel demand. It's now being forced to cut 2025 revenue targets as a result. United Airlines has also warned of the effects of the shutdown

on travel. The shutdown is now on its 22nd day.

Hundreds of public figures have signed a petition calling for a ban on the development of AI superintelligence until it's deemed safer.

Signers include figures such as Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, Virgin head Richard Branson, and two of the so-called godfathers of AI. They say

superintelligence raises the risk of human economic obsolescence, even the possibility of human extinction.

AI superintelligence refers to the development of AI systems that outperform humans on essentially all cognitive tasks. Wow.

SCIUTTO: New fallout from President Trump's move to charge $100,000 fees for H1B work visas. Walmart confirms to CNN it is pausing job offers to

overseas candidates who need those visas to work here in the US. The move from America's largest private employer shows just how major companies are

adjusting their hiring policies in response to Trump's broadening immigration crackdown.

Elon Musk's EV firm Tesla has just released its eagerly awaited Q3 results. And profits fell almost 30 percent from the same time last year.

That despite posting record sales for the quarter, Tesla benefited from people rushing to buy cars here in the US before the EV tax credits ran

out. However, it earned less money on cars because it cut prices.

It's also been spending heavily on its own AI and robotic units. This is the last Tesla earnings report before shareholders vote on a controversial

giant new pay package from Musk next month. He could earn some $1 trillion if the company hits its ambitious targets.

Paul La Monica joins me. He's a senior markets writer for Barron's magazine. All right.

So Tesla actually beat had the best performance of the year because people were buying so many cars before these tax credits ran out. I mean, does the

market see that as a short term bump in effect?

PAUL R. LA MONICA, SENIOR MARKETS ANALYSIS WRITER, BARRON'S: Yes. I mean, the stock is down after hours. I think clearly investors are more worried

and disappointed by the miss on earnings than the beat on sales. Because as you pointed out, Jim, a lot of people rushing to buy cars before those EV

tax credits expired. So now the question becomes, what is demand going to be like going forward? Will Tesla have to keep cutting prices?

Because the good news for consumers is prices are lower. The bad news for investors is so are profit margins and that's not something Wall Street

likes.

SCIUTTO: Yes. How about its sales in the rest of the world? Because, I mean, you look at Europe, for instance, it was impacted one by, it seems,

Musk's reputation there, but also, frankly, just more competition, right? Including from cheaper and quite good Chinese EV models.

LA MONICA: Yes. There is a lot of increased competition globally in the electric vehicle market. You mentioned some of the Chinese manufacturers.

There are some of the European and auto, and US auto companies also stepping up to produce more electric vehicles. So it's no longer the case

that Elon Musk and Tesla have the huge dominant market share. Even though they are a market leader, it's not the only EV game in town.

And I think for some consumers, that reputation that Elon Musk has does still matter. There might be a bit of a fallout from earlier this year, the

DOGE days, which were dark days for Tesla sales and stock.

SCIUTTO: So what exactly is the company offering of $1 trillion for? I mean, typically when your sales and revenue, and profit are decreasing, you

might expect the CEO to walk away with less money.

[18:30:00]

LA MONICA: That's a good point. I mean, obviously I think most investors would be incredibly nervous, to put it mildly, if Elon Musk were to walk

away and decide to focus his attentions entirely on other areas like Space X or Neuralink, or his many other businesses, obviously X as well.

So there is a certain amount of money that the board probably feels it must promised Musk as an incentive to keep him around. Just make no mistake,

even though Tesla is having these short term problems, Elon has to be credited for building this company into the EV juggernaut that it is. And

the hope now is that he's finding future growth with things like the robo taxis that are going to be launched out in several cities perhaps later

this year and into 2026.

Things like the Optimus robot, the autonomous robot, that you could revolutionize the workforce as well. So there are a lot of promising things

in Tesla's future despite some of these short term concerns.

SCIUTTO: Big bet. It's a big bet. Before we go, it looks --

LA MONICA: Big bet.

SCIUTTO: It's a big bet. It looks like Musk has another issue with the Trump administration regarding the SpaceX contract for the moon mission,

yet break out of the public with this kind of Twitter battle between him and the transportation secretary. I mean, are they in danger of losing some

of that government business?

LA MONICA: I'd be hard pressed to say what we can really handicap regarding anything with this administration and Elon Musk. I think to call both Musk

and certain people in the administration, including the President, to be mercurial is probably a vast understatement. So trying to handicap on any

given day what President Trump and Elon Musk are going to say in this public war of words that is, you know, calm down a little bit but, you

know, could pick up at any time. You know, good luck with that.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Unpredictable. Paul La Monica, Barron's, thanks so much for joining.

LA MONICA: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: The President of South Korea speaks to CNN ahead of a high stake meeting -- high stakes meeting of Asian leaders. He's preparing. How is he

preparing for President Trump's visit? That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:31]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciuto. And here are the international headlines we're watching today.

The United States has announced new sanctions against Russia as it calls for an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine once again. The sanctions target

two of Russia's biggest oil companies and their subsidiaries. They were revealed those sanctions during a visit to the White House by the NATO

Secretary General Mark Rutte.

US Vice President JD Vance met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Vance expressed optimism that the cease fire

between Hamas and Israel will hold despite recent deadly flare ups. It's just one of a number of visits from US officials to Israel this week.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet with Netanyahu on Friday

In Paris, the Louvre Museum reopened today after Sunday's just audacious jewelry theft. The head of the Louvre has offered a resignation. She says

she fully accepts there is weakness in the museum security. She also says her resignation was refused by the cultural minister. Prosecutors estimate

the stolen jewels are worth more than $100 million.

South Korea, of course, is hosting this year's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next week. APEC has 21 members, including the US and

China. Ahead of President Trump's visit, CNN's Will Ripley sat down with the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to discuss a number of issues,

including North Korea, trade and the relationship with the U.S. will joins us now from Seoul.

Will, what are his expectations for the APEC summit?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So President, he told us that he thinks the chances of an in person meeting here in South Korea

between President Trump and Kim Jong Un are pretty low. But he is hoping that it might happen because he has asked President Trump, as he first did

at the White House and also in our interview with us, to be a peacemaker, to play a role in dialing back the tensions here on the Korean Peninsula.

But undoubtedly the geopolitical stakes are incredibly high right now. You have the political literati from around the world descending on South Korea

in the coming days. Of course, President Trump, also Chinese President Xi Jinping, both of them expected to meet here. Lots of questions about

whether a trade deal between China and the US and also South Korea and the US could be announced here.

A lot happening for President Xi in the early months of his presidential term.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Just hours before our interview with South Korea's new president, Lee Jae Myung, North Korea flexed its military muscle with a show of force,

the first missile launch since he took office. But the biggest tests of his five month old presidency may come in the days ahead when South Korea

welcomes world leaders including China's Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump for a high stakes economic summit. APEC being held here for the first

time in 20 years, and just maybe a repeat of this, the surprise 2019 meeting at the DMZ with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Do you believe that a meeting will happen between President Trump and Kim Jong Un?

LEE JAE MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translation): If the two leaders of the US and North Korea could suddenly get together, then I

believe that is a good thing. And I also believe that President Trump wants to achieve world peace. That's why I have asked him to take on the role of

peacemaker.

RIPLEY: And he told Trump he'd be the pacemaker to keep diplomacy alive.

TRUMP: We'll have talks he liked to beat with me.

RIPLEY: Six years after talks with Kim fell apart with no deal.

If Marshal Kim is listening to this interview right now, what's your message to him?

LEE: I would like to say that meeting your counterpart and talking to him would be the first step in resolving many issues.

RIPLEY: Perhaps the most pressing issue for President Lee, complicated trade negotiations with the US.

Are you and President Trump going to be able to sign a trade deal while he's here in your country?

LEE: I believe that is taking some time, and I also believe in the rationality of the United States. And so, I believe that we will be able to

reach a rational agreement.

RIPLEY: One key sticking point, Trump's demand of $350 billion in upfront investment in exchange for lower import tariffs. President Lee said that

would effectively trigger a financial crisis.

[18:40:05]

President Trump has long said that US allies, including South Korea, have been ripping off the United States, and that's why it's now payday for the

US. But there are voices in the United States who say this is tantamount to a mafia shakedown, that it's extortion to be asking close allies to pay up

or else the tariffs are going to get jacked up through the roof. Where do you stand on that issue?

LEE: I believe that in the end, we will be able to reach a rational result that is acceptable because we are an alliance and we both have common sense

and rationality.

RIPLEY: But he knows what the rest of the world knows. With Donald Trump, anything is possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: You know, it's very interesting to watch him sort of tap dance around what people are certainly saying behind closed doors here in South

Korea, which is that this $350 billion, which would be a huge percentage of the national GDP to just hand over for an investment fund controlled by

President Trump. When they first got this proposal, a lot of people thought it was a joke or it was a spam mail, or some attempt to steal their

personal information.

They didn't think it was real, but it was. President Trump has repeatedly said he wants that cash up front. So they're trying behind closed doors to

negotiate that. But President Lee, as he did at the Oval Office, Jim, being very careful not to say anything that could offend President Trump,

knowing, as other world leaders have quickly figured out, that optics are everything, words are everything, and they need to find ways to flatter and

praise him, even when the demands at times can seem unreasonable.

SCIUTTO: And dollar figures seem to be everything as well. Will Ripley in Seoul, thanks so much.

Just ahead of CNN Exclusive, the US Is carrying out deadly strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs. Now, CNN speaks to the family of one of the

survivors of those strikes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: The White House is expanding what it calls its war on drugs. Washington says the US military struck another suspected drug vessel, this

time in the Eastern Pacific off the coast of South America, killing, in this case, two people on board. And there's the explosion.

Previous strikes took place on the eastern side in the Caribbean, ramping up tensions with Colombia and Venezuela. The strikes have left few

survivors, however, with the US repatriating them to their home countries. David Culver spoke to the family of one such survivor. He reports from

Samborondon at Ecuador.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In this small Ecuadorian coastal town, nearly everyone knows someone who's left for work and never

come back.

This is all her brother, Andre's clothes. The mattress where he slept up until nearly a year ago. She says he was desperate for work, that he was

concerned about providing for his six kids, and he said he needed to go to work. And like many in this small coastal town, he is a fisherman.

The thing is, and this is what she found odd, he left behind all of his fishing gear. She says he's a good person, and that was just trying to make

ends meet.

President Trump says your brother is a terrorist.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. (Foreign Language)

CULVER: Her brother, Andres Tufino Chila, isn't a stranger to US law enforcement. Court records show he was arrested, convicted, and jailed in

2020 for smuggling drugs off Mexico's coast before being deported. Now, after surviving the latest US strike on a suspected drug vessel in the

Caribbean, he's believed to be back in Ecuador and free.

Officials here say they have no evidence he broke local laws and released him. Yet his case has put a spotlight on a broader question, who and what

exactly are these US strikes trying to stop?

Since early September, the US has carried out at least seven strikes off Venezuela's coast. The Trump administration says they're about saving

American lives from drug overdoses. Yet most US overdose deaths aren't from cocaine, they're from fentanyl. Largely produced in Mexico and smuggled

over the border, often by US citizens.

It's not clear where exactly the US has been targeting suspected drug running boats, but our analysis of US military flight data shows dozens of

surveillance flights just north of Venezuela in the Caribbean, far from Ecuador's shores, where cocaine from Colombia in the north and Peru in the

south pours in before moving out to sea, using Ecuador essentially, as a transit hub to the Pacific.

This is how about 70 percent of the world's cocaine supply gets to the US and Europe, and beyond. And the drug runners, the ones risking it all at

sea, mostly are not cartel members. They're fishermen, often seen as expendable by the gangs that control them. Still, Ecuadorian officials say

they're also cracking down, even with limited resources.

We joined Ecuador's navy in March as they chased boats like these, loaded not with Cocaine, but fuel. Officials call them floating gas stations,

resupplying smugglers far out at sea. Last year, Ecuador seized more than 259 tons of cocaine, a 30 percent jump from the year before. This year,

they're on pace for another record.

Still, many here say the trade feels impossible to escape in a coastal village like this one, where most of the folks who live here work off the

water, they're fishermen. When you ask them about the amount of involvement in narco and drug trafficking, some are hesitant to disclose it. He says as

he looks at it, probably 25 to 30 percent are working in illicit drug trafficking activity.

Some say they have no choice. In 2020, three gangs ambushed a fishing village in the north, targeting those who refused to pay extortion.

Nine were killed, dozens wounded. Others say the money makes it worth the risk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We put a box in the hull of the boat to hide the drugs.

CULVER: They put a compartment right here. They put them all along the way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To avoid getting detected, everything is in black. The bags of drugs, what we wear, everything is dark so they can't see us. As a

fisherman, I could make $300 a month, but doing an illegal run up to just off the coast of Mexico, I can make $30,000 to $60,000 a month. It's good

money.

CULVER: If you survive the trip.

Since 2024, Solanda Bermeo's (ph) group has documented more than 2,800 Ecuadorian fishermen missing, dead, or detained abroad. These women, some

two dozen who wanted to share their stories with us, know their loved ones broke the law. But they also know why.

[18:50:06]

As the US strikes continue far from these shores, the ones caught in the crossfire are rarely cartel leaders, but the men who take the risk for

them.

(Foreign Language)

She says she really wants to talk to her brother Andres. She's grateful that at least he's alive, especially considering her other two brothers are

both in prison, one here in Ecuador, the other in the US. Both of them accused of being fishermen turned drug runners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Our thanks to David Culver for that story. Still ahead, President Trump says he has been transparent about his plans to tear down the entire

East Wing of the White House. You see it underway there. We're going to have the details and the facts next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: President Trump claims he's been transparent about his plans to demolish the entire East Wing of the White House. The price is already

changing. It's going to cost $300 million higher than the original $200 million price tag.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's about $300 million. It's set to do many things, including meetings of foreign leaders. It's being paid for 100 percent by me and some

friends of mine, donors to it. The government's paying absolutely nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Cruz, we're back at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue today. Well, tearing down the East Wing. The President is defying with that demo job. Pushback

from Democrats, historians, even some members of his own party, all this to build a new ballroom. This as the US Government shutdown continues with no

end in sight. Tom Foreman has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN WASHINGTON DC BUREAU: As the historic East Wing of the White House is ripped down, outrage is piling up, with preservationists

saying they are deeply concerned new construction will overwhelm the White House itself. And former first lady Hillary Clinton posting, it's not his

house, it's your house and he's destroying it.

SHAWN MCCREESH, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, NEW YORK TIMES: The reader response has been overwhelming. I mean, people are emailing me every five minutes.

There's something about these images that have really upset people.

FOREMAN: The White House communications director is dismissing the worries as pearl clutching by losers. And President Trump has not even blinked.

TRUMP: You probably hear the beautiful sound of construction to the back. You hear that sound? Oh, that's music to my ears. I love that sound. Other

people don't like it. I think when I hear that sound, it reminds me of money.

FOREMAN: After planting massive flag poles outside the White House, slathering the Oval Office in gold trim, and paving over the legendary Rose

Garden, Trump is relocating the Office of the First Lady and more, and demolishing the space to fulfill his longtime dream of installing a vast

ballroom bigger than a football field, able to hold about 1,000 people.

[18:55:10]

In an architectural rendering, the $200 million add on looks like something from the French palace of Versailles or, as many critics have noted, a

salute to Trump's Florida home, Mar-a-Lago. Trump's allies seem fine with that, and on Capitol Hill, they echo the President's claim that the cost

will be covered by private donors.

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): It's not even taxpayer money. It's going to be a permanent renovation that'll enhance the White House for all future

presidents.

FOREMAN: Parts of the White House have been extensively renovated before with the input of presidential families. But this time the apparent lack of

significant outside oversight, the shifting details, and Trump's open disdain for government itself is plaguing author Robert Arnold, who

captured the feelings of many on threads.

ROBERT ARNOLD, AUTHOR, "DEFIANCE TILL DEATH": It feels like the whole story of his goddamn term. Break it, sell it, lie about it, blame the press, move

on before the dust settles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Tom Foreman with the story there, people's house. Thanks so much for your company. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. You've been watching "The

Brief." Please do stay with CNN.

END