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Rex Tillerson Warns Everything On The Table To Stop North Korean Missile, Nuclear Programs; Rex Tillerson to Fly to Beijing; Food Shortages Cause Desperation in Venezuela; Up to 20 Million People At Risk of Starvation in Africa, Warns United Nations. 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired March 17, 2017 - 08:00:00   ET

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


[08:00:16] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and welcome to News Stream.

The U.S. secretary of state takes a hard line with North Korea saying Washington would

consider military action against Pyongyang if provoked.

The White House continues to support President Trump's claim that he was wire tapped by

Barack Obama, and now a British intelligence agency is also denying that it spied on Trump.

And desperation in Venezuela where the economic crisis has forced people to dig through garbage in search of food.

The top U.S. diplomat lands in South Korea with tough words for the north: Washington has run out of patience for Pyongyang. The U.S. secretary of

state's first trip to Asia follows a string of missile tests by North Korea.

The U.S. has begun placing an anti-missile system in South Korea, but with Seoul poised to elect a new president, there's growing uncertainty over how

things will play out. And now Rex Tillerson says the U.S. would consider military action against the north if it was provoked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REX TILLERSON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATES: All the options are on the table. Certainly we do not want to -- for things to get to a military conflict.

We're quite clear in that in our communications, but obviously if North Korea takes actions that threatens the South Korean forces or our own forces, then that will be met with an

appropriate response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now the U.S. has promised a tougher approach on North Korea, but as Alexandra Field reports, U.S. attempts to protect its Asian ally has

Seoul in a politically difficult situation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim Jong-un's nuclear ambitions are fueling fast and furious developments, putting South Korea under mounting

pressure.

The U.S. is racing to deploy THAAD, a missile defense system on South Korean soil insisting it's purely about protection from North Korea.

U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korea's acting president say it must be installed as quickly as possible. China demands they stop and Korea is

stuck in the middle.

BAEK GA-YOON, CENTER FOR PEACE AND DISARMAMENT: I think when people discuss about the THAAD deployment issue, people also worry about the

escalating tension in the Korean peninsula and also in Asia.

FIELD: South Korea is in the throes of a political crisis. Protesters demanded the impeachment disgraced conservative President Park Guen-hye.

Now, some want to push pause on THAAd. They want the next president to be elected May to have the final say.

SONG YOUNG-GIL, CAMPAIGN MANAGER, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MOON JIE-IN: I read Trump's autobiography, "The Art of the Deal."

FIELD: The Art of the Deal.

SONG: Art of deal. It's very impressive.

FIELD: But Song Young-gil, who represents a presidential front runner for the Democratic Party says...

SONG: We can't decide our destiny, our problem. The United States and the President Trump is should respect our democratic government, new

government.

FIELD: He says Seoul is too close to the North Korea, that THAAD can't protect it.

The system is designed to intercept short and medium-range missiles, but the reach of its radar raises concern for countries in the region. Russia

and China say the U.S. could use it to monitor their own missile launches.

Now China appears to be pushing back. China says they haven't taken any official action against Korea, but South Korea says there are signs of

retaliation for the installation that are hitting the country in the pocket, like cancellations of Chinese tours, leaving local businesses to

feel the effect.

The popular shops are a little emptier in this tourist neighborhood, she tells us. Shop owners are out in the streets trying to attract customers.

Older conservative party voters proud proponents of the U.S. alliance support THAAD, liberals pushing for more open dialogue with North Korea

fear it could keep everyone away from the negotiating table. Six-party talks, which involved Russia and China broke down in 2009.

BAEK: North Korea has developed their nuclear power during the period when six-party is not working properly. And we actually gave them an

opportunity while we're not actually talking to them, they used that moment to develop their nuclear weapons.

FIELD: Kim Jong-un is once again upping threats promising this year to test an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear

warhead to the U.S.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:05:04] LU STOUT: For more, Alexandra Field joins us now live from Seoul.

And Alex, today, Tillerson declared the U.S. policy of strategic patience is effectively over and military action would be considered. So is this

it? Is this America's new approach to North Korea?

FIELD: Well, look, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson came out to Asia saying he was going to be spending time with allies in the region to craft

a new approach to dealing with North Korea, which has ratcheted up and accelerated both its missile program and its nuclear ambitions. He had

made the announcement just a day ago in Tokyo that he was looking at a new approach and developing a new approach, but didn't lay out what the details

that have would be. So we had the opportunity to ask him is it really a new or different approach to North Korea that stopped short of some kind of

military option, and he said that, yes, a military option would be on the table if North Korea did something that threatened the U.S. or South

Korean forces right here on the peninsula or if they accelerated their weapons program to the extend that the U.S. felt that there was no other

option.

Look, people are always reluctant to talk about even the possibility of a military option when it comes to North Korea, Kristie, because, of course,

the fear goes like this: any kind of say preemptive strike on North Korea would almost certainly force retaliation, that is a

very clear and real threat to the people who live right here in South Korea's capital city of Seoul. There's a metro area here of 24 million

people and we know this city sits within rocket range, artillery range, of North Korea.

So, it's something no one wants to see. Secretary Tillerson was clear that there was no intention to create any kind of military conflict, that other

steps would be taken first. But, again, he did say quite clearly it's something that would stay on the table at this point.

LU STOUT: Yeah, very tough talk from Tillerson. Alexandra Field reporting live from Seoul. Thank you, Alex.

The U.S. Secretary of State next heads to China, the final and, yes, most challenging leg of his Asian tour. Now, Beijing's military buildup in the

South China Aea, that is on the agenda and so, of course, the issue of North Korea.

Matt Rivers has more from Beijing where he's had the rare chance to sit down with a senior official.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson lands on the ground here in Beijing on Saturday he'll be formally

presented with what the Chinese have called their suspension for suspension proposal. Under that plan, the Chinese are asking that the United States

and the South Koreans stop their joint military exercises and at the same time the North Koreans would then stop their ballistic missile tests.

This proposal is something they are really pushing hard. It was first put out there in public by Foreign Minister Wong Yi last week. And just

yesterday, CNN was given rare access to an actual Chinese policy-maker, a foreign interview. That hardly ever happens, but yesterday we sat down

with the director general of the Asian affairs department within the ministry of foreign affairs and we spoke about this proposal as well as

several other issues on the Korean peninsula.

XIAO QIAN, CHINESE MOPA DIR. GEN. DEPT. OF ASIAN AFFAIRS: DPRK would like to see Americans to move first, take some actions first, to show their

sincerity. And vice versa.

So, China's proposal is why not do this at the same time. No sequence, no first or second. There's a parallel. We do it at the same time.

RIVERS: There are lots of differing opinions on all the different sides. And this is a tense time

for everyone involved. So is this proposal realistic?

QIAN: The lack of trust makes people to hesitate who should move first. The DPRK is hesitant, the American are hesitant. So, the chicken/egg

problem is still there.

Our proposal is a good one. It's going to be a fair one. It's going to be a reasonable one. And I think if all parties have the sincerity to work

together, it's going to work.

RIVERS: We do know that China is by far North Korea's largest trading partner, its most influential ally so do you think China can be doing

more, and if so how?

QIAN: This is a rather complicated situation, you know. You cannot solve the problem in a

simple way. So we need to combine sanctions together with something else. And this something else is equally important which is restart of talks.

RIVERS: Do you understand the -- the Trump administration's argument there though? I mean, does it make sense to you on a logical standpoint to say

if China is the only major ally of North Korea and its only real economic partner then in turn China can do the most to stop the North Korean issue

and stop weapons development?

QIAN: You know, the DPRK has been emphasizing all the time, all along, they have been saying that it is the threat from the United States that

makes them to choose other options, including, you know, nuclearization of their military capabilities so it is to a large extent for the U.S. and the

DPRK to face to face sit down and talk and try to work out a way to solve the problem.

[08:10:03] RIVERS: Is there an acceptable outcome for China that includes North Korea retaining nuclear weapons?

QIAN: Well, we were, we are, and we will be strongly opposed to the nuclearlization on the Korean peninsula.

RIVERS: OK.

QIAN: 10 years, 20 years, 100 years, no.

RIVERS: No change.

QIAN: Yeah, that's pretty firm and steady.

RIVERS: But as for that Chinese suspension for suspension plan, both the North Koreans and the Americans have already said publicly that they are

not on board with it, so it's unclear how realistic that is at this point.

But as if North Korea isn't enough to talk about on its own, Kristie, the other reason the secretary of state here is to lay out the final details

for that tentatively agreed upon first meeting between President Trump and President Xi that is scheduled for next month in Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Matt Rivers there live in Beijing reporting earlier from Beijing. Thanks to Matt for that.

Now, as members of Trump's team work to strengthen relations abroad, in the U.S. the message

is still very much America first. Now, Donald Trump's first budget proposal is facing a fierce backlash, even from some members of his own

party.

The U.S. president has said that he wants to spend less money on people overseas and more on people back home. His plan would bring sharp cuts to

foreign aid and environmental programs and move billions into defense. The White House says the cuts are needed and are based on campaign promises.

Now, meanwhile, there's still more questions than answers about Donald Trump's claim that he was wire tapped during the election. Now, the

president' spokesman refuses to back down even though multiple officials say there is no proof.

And all this comes as the president faces more criticism over several initiatives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Hold on. Hold on. Let me -- I am trying to answer your question, Jonathan, if you can calm down.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): White House press secretary Sean Spicer defiant and combative.

SPICER: He stands by it, but again, you're mischaracterizing what happened today.

JOHNS: Angrily, defending the president's unsubstantiated claim that former President Obama wiretapped phones at Trump Tower, despite leaders from both

parties saying there is no proof.

RYAN: We cleared that up. We see no evidence of that.

JOHNS: Spicer continuing to cite media reports to try to justify the president's baseless accusation.

SPICER: There's widespread reporting that, throughout the 2016 election, there was surveillance that was done on a variety of people.

JOHNS: The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee rejecting Spicer's claim in their strongest statement yet, stating, "Based on the evidence

available to us, we see no indications that Trump Tower was the subject of surveillance." The Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee

firm in saying the president's wiretapping claim is wrong.

MANU RAJU, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you have any evidence to suggest that any collection may have picked up Trump's -- Donald Trump's

communications at all? Do you have any evidence to suggest?

REP. DEVIN NUNES (R-CA), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Other than General Flynn we don't.

JOHNS: The ranking Democrat on that committee tells CNN he expects FBI Director James Comey to debunk President Trump's accusation when he

testifies before Congress on Monday.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE RANKING MEMBER: There's no evidence of this at all.

JOHNS: This as the Trump administration confronts sharp criticism over the president's budget proposal.

MICK MULVANEY, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET DIRECTOR: We can't spend money on programs just because they sound good.

JOHNS: Congressman Harold Rogers deeming the budget "draconian, careless and counterproductive." Senator Marco Rubio says proposed cuts to the State

Department "undermine America's ability to keep our citizens safe." The budget aims to slash billions from government agencies to boost military

spending, hitting hard social services like afterschool programs for children and programs that feed the elderly.

MULVANEY: Meals on Wheels sounds great. Again, that's a state decision to fund that particular portion, to take the federal money and give it to the

states and say, "Look, we want to give you money for programs that don't work." I can't defend that anymore.

COLLINS: Meals on Wheels is a wonderful program. It is one I would never vote to cut even one dollar.

JOHNS: The White House also facing another sobering reality. The GOP's healthcare bill may fall short of the votes needed to pass in the House.

CNN's whip count now has 21 Republicans saying they will vote no or are leaning against it. House leadership can't afford to lose another vote.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Joe Johns reporting there.

Now, the UK intelligence agency has joined the list of those who dismiss Donald Trump's wiretapping claim and in very strong terms. And some news

on this just coming into us, well, let's go straight to CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson for the

details. He joins us from London.

Nic, you're going to tell us more about how British intelligence has responded, but also the British prime minister has weighed in as well.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is what's happened, Kristie. You know, what we've seen here in Britain is something that's

almost unprecedented, that GCHQ, the government's communications headquarters, if you will, the place that gathers intelligence

from around the world works in joint counterterrorism and intelligence cooperation with the United States, with Australia, with New Zealand, with

Canada and has been forced into a situation where it feels it's been forced to comment.

And the reason why here is because Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, read out an extract of what a commentator had said on Fox -- on

a Fox News interview and during that he had said that it was GCHQ that had helped do the wiretapping or was responsible for the wiretapping on

President-elect Trump.

So what we're hearing here, and this is I have to stress very unusual that GCHQ would comment at all, what they would say is that this is - these

claims are ridiculous and should be ignored. That's what they have said.

We've had a British MP from the third largest party here weigh in as well. He has said Trump is

compromising the vital UK-U.S. security relationship to try to cover his own embarrassment. This harms our and U.S. security and he goes on to say

it's shameful.

So the new information we're getting in now comes from the spokesman for Theresa May. She's just been given a speech in the last few minutes to

conservative party members in Wales. It's an important speech. She hasn't touched on this, but her spokesman has been very clear and unequivocal

about this. He has said that they have received British government, Theresa May's office, has received

assurances that the White House spokesman won't be repeating these comments.

And he said the Number 10 spokesman, Theresa May's spokesman, has said that this happened after the British ambassador to the United States and

Britain's National Security Adviser both contacted the White House and said can we assume that we're not going to hear a repeat of these allegations

from Sean Spicer. And the answer we're told was indeed.

So this is deeply embarrassing for Theresa May in particular. She was the first world leader to go to Washington and meet face to face with President

Trump. She talked about the special relationship Britain and the United States has, so this is very embarrassing at a troubling political time for

her back here in Britain as well, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, absolutely. Nic Robertson reporting live. Thank you, Nic.

And President Trump is hours away from hosting one of America's biggest allies, someone whose policies he called disastrous while on the campaign

trail. German Chanclelor Angela Merkel will sit down with Mr. Trump at the Oval Office. And their meeting originally set for Tuesday was postponed

due to a massive snow storm.

Atika Shubert digs into how important and potentially awkward that first meeting could be.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A massive blizzard may have thrown a wrench in their plans, causing some to view the storm's

delay as a bad omen for the hotly anticipated meeting of two of the world's most powerful leaders, U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor

Angela Merkel.

And who could blame them? With comments like this from then-candidate Trump after migrants were blamed for hundreds of sexual assaults in Cologne,

Germany on New Year's Eve last year.

TRUMP: The German people are going to riot, the German people are going to end up over throw this woman. I don't know what the hell she is thinking.

SHUBERT: It wasn't the first time Trump had publicly railed against Merkel. On the campaign trail in August 2016, he again assailed her decision to

take in a large number of refugees.

TRUMP: In short, Hillary Clinton wants to be America's Angela Merkel. True. You know what a disaster this massive immigration has been to Germany and

the people of Germany. Crime has risen to levels no one thought they would ever, ever see. It is a catastrophe.

SHUBERT: But just a year earlier, Trump sang Merkel's praises, telling Time magazine that she was probably the greatest leader in the world, adding,

"She is fantastic and highly respected."

That opinion seemed to turn however, and when time chose Merkel as its person of the year in 2015, Trump tweeted his displeasure. "I told you time

would never pick me, despite being the big favorite. Despite being the big favorite they picked the wrong person who is ruing Germany."

After his election Merkel was cordial, congratulating Trump on his victory but there was a thinly veiled message too.

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (trough translator): Germany and America are bound together by values, democracy, freedom, respect of law and

respect of people regardless of their origin, the color of their skin, their religion, gender, sexual orientation or their political believes.

SHUBERT: In response to Trump's continued criticism of her policy of taking in refugees, she said simply, "I think we Europeans have our fate in our

own hands." And when Trump declared the media the, quote, "enemy of the people, here is how she responded."

[08:20:19] MERKEL (through translator): I think a free and independent press is of the essence. I have great respect for journalists. We at least

here in Germany have always done best when we show respect for each other and when we show mutual respect.

SHUBERT: Merkel says Friday's meeting with Trump focus on talking together rather than talking about one another. A nod perhaps to the importance of

mutual respect between two of the most powerful people in the world.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: The United Nations is warning the world is facing the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. Now coming up we'll take a closer

look at the famine in Somalia and how proposed foreign aid cuts from the U.S. could make the situation even more dire.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you hive from Hong Kong. Welcome back. You're watching News Stream.

Now, humanitarian groups are sounding the alarm about budget cuts proposed by U.S. President

Donald Trump, an area high on the list: foreign aid. The Trump administration defends the cuts as spending less money on people overseas

and more on people at home.

Now, some of that foreign aid has gone to places like Somalia, a country the UN says is now on brink of a catastrophic famine.

More than half of the Somali population is in need of food assistance. As CNN's Farai Sevenzo is in neighboring Kenya. He joins us now live from

Nairobi.

And Farai, 20 million people are at risk of starvation across East Africa. If President Trump cuts foreign aid, how will that affect people in

affected areas, especially Somalia?

FARAI SEVENZO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, it's a really strong question for which we have not yet had the answer from the Trump administration. As

you say, Somalia is on the verge of a famine. It's only now that it has not yet been declared a famine, but the drought is very severe.

Here in neighboring Kenya, we're in the middle of a blistering hot day and that heat is right

across in Somalia where 1,630 kids have died from cholera and 1.3 million people are leaving their homes in South Somalia to try to look for food.

It's a very serious situation.

And now, you must remember, the United States administration on aid and development in Africa is absolutely crucial to saving people like these

people you're seeing now, because they give bags of grain and place them with the stars and stripes. But more than grain, they do other things.

They educate civic societies. They train people in electioneering and monitoring. They do free press programs in Liberia. It's a very crucial

part of Africa's development.

And without that money, we don't really don't know what's going to happen to these programs.

[08:25:15] LU STOUT: Yeah, to the people who have endured so much conflict over decades and now the threat of famine.

Farai Sevenzo reporting live for us from Nairobi. Thank you.

Now, residents in Venezuela, they are facing a growing food crisis of their own. Thanks to the

country's failing economy, people have not bee able to get basic necessities, like food or medicine for months. And now things are at a new

low. People are digging through trash for food.

Michael Holmes has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Adriana Sanchez is 19 years old. And she holds her 17-month-old daughter while she digs through the

garbage searching for food. She is looking for leftover bread or vegetables. Sanchez also has a 3-year-old son and works cleaning houses. A

single mother, she says her husband was murdered and this is the only way to feed herself and her children, even if it means getting sick.

ADRIANA SANCHEZ, VENEZUALAN RESIDENT (through translation): Once I ate rice with worms in it and I got a stomach sickness. I did not notice it. Now,

well, I'm going to check before I eat it.

HOLMES: This is everyday reality for the poorest in Venezuela. The country's economic crisis has turned into a humanitarian one, leaving

people more and more desperate.

Jose Gadoi (ph) is an unemployed construction worker. He says his hungry children cry to him asking for food and he has no choice but to hunt

through the trash with many others.

JOSE GADOI (ph), UNEMPLOYED CONTRUCTION WORKER (through translation): There are thousands of us looking through the trash to eat. Thousands of us, not

one or two or four, there are thousands who are on the streets looking for something to eat to survive. If they sell you something, it's two flour

breads or a bit of rice. Sometimes when you line up, there's nothing left. You have to go home without anything.

HOLMES: A Venezuelan living-condition survey found that nearly 82 percent of Venezuelan households were in poverty last year, compared to 73 percent

in 2015. According to the survey, three-fourths of those interviewed lost an average of nine kilos over the last year because of lack of food.

The Venezuelan government has refused aid from international organizations, including the U.N. That is hard to swallow for these people who have no

choice but to scavenge for food to survive.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU S TOUT: A heartbreaking reality for so many people, in Venezuela today.

You're watching News Stream. And coming up next, from poverty to nuclear proliferation, how to solve a problem like North Korea. The U.S. secretary

of state hopes to get some answers when he visits China, but Beijing has its own security concerns. We'll break that down next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:31] LU STOUT: Now, tough talk and rhetoric have headlined the U.S. secretary of

state's first trip to Asia. And now Rex Tillerson turns his attention to Beijing which has major concerns about a U.S.-made anti-missile system so

close to China.

It is meant to protect South Korea from any attacks by the north. Now, I spoke with Associate Professor Dong Wang from Peking University about this.

And I started by asking him about reports that Tillerson will threaten Chinese companies and banks with harsher sanctions if they keep doing

business with Pyongyang.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONG WANG, SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, PEKING UNIVERSITY: Well, is there has been some media reports regarding that, and I'm sure that the

Chinese government also, as it is currently doing right now, implementing the UN Security Council sanctions very strictly and, of course, China takes

those sanctions very seriously. So if there's evidence that can be, you know, presented to the Chinese government and certain actors play as

companies they did violate the rules of laws I think then, I think that is something that has to be worked out between the two governments. But I'm

sure that the Chinese government will take the sanction very seriously as it's currently doing now.

LU STOUT: Let's talk about THAAD and the deployment of the U.S. anti- missile defense system in South Korea. China sees it as a threat. Is it because of fears that it could be used to spy on China, or is it really

something else?

WANG: China's not opposed to the interceptor itself, but what China is concerned about is the

so-called DPY2 (ph) expanded radar, which potentially, if transformed into certain mode, so-called faux-based (ph) mode, it would have the capability

to really undermine China's nuclear -- strategic nuclear deterrence capability.

So, that is, I think, the debate at the core.

LU STOUT: So, you're saying with THAAD in the neighborhood, China is ramping up its deterrent, and nuclear deterrent capabilities. So are we

entering a new arms race in Asia?

WANG: Well, that's, you know, another question so many analysts and - and experts are actually quite concerned about the unfolding of the controversy

over THAAD's deployment, and precisely you're right. I think we are actually entering into a very unfortunate what we call a

security dilemma, which is - or each party thinks the action they take is only for the purpose of their

own defense or security, but which will be regarded by another party as offensive or aggressive.

I think we're now entering into that sort of increasing security dilemma, and largely also caused

by the decision to -- by United States and South Korea to deploy THAAD system.

So I think this is a very unfortunate situation, but we have to figure out a way to address that.

LU STOUT: So to avoid a new arms race in Asia and deter North Korea is there anything that can be said and done over the weekend with these

meetings between Rex Tillerson and his counterparts in Beijing?

WANG: It is very important for the United States also to understand that China is not taking, you know, as many western analysts actually suggest

that doing not enough to put pressure on DPRK and therefore let's try this THAAD system and as a way try to put pressure on China to do more.

That kind of logic, I've heard that actually many times before, but I would argue that that kind of logic actually will very likely to backfire because

-- because many here in China, as you probably know very well, actually regard the deployment of THAAD system as very aggressive, as potentially

aiming at encircling, if not containing China. So that kind of view actually gets a lot of support here in China. So I think -- and, of

course, Chinese leaders, they will -- China will be compelled to take actions, countermeasures including the re-calibration of its nuclear

posture in order to protect its strategic investments.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Professor Dong Wang of Peking University speaking to me earlier there.

Now, one of the world's just greatest natural wonders is dying. A new report in the journal Nature says at least 91 percent of the Great Barrier

Reef is now showing signs of bleaching. A heat wave last year triggered the worst coral bleaching event on record, a natural disaster linked

directly to global warming.

Now, bleaching happens when rising sea temperatures cause coral to expel algae, which then causes it to slowly die off. Now, the paper's co-author

Sean Connelly describes to CNN how dangerous this is for communities around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN CONNELLY, JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY: There are hundreds of millions of people around the world who live in the immediate vicinity of coral reefs

and most of those people are in developing countries, and many of them depend on the reef for their livelihoods, for the food they feed their

families and so forth. And reefs around the world are threatened by this phenomenon. I mean, 2016 was a global mass bleaching event. And again

this year we're seeing another mass bleaching event unfolding on the Great Barrier Reef.

So it's -- so it's quite terrifying actually, the magnitude and severity of the event and essentially what it tells us is that bleaching events happen

frequently then reefs won't have time to recover to the state they were in before the bleaching event, even fast growing coral types take 10 to 15

years to recover their pre-bleaching levels of abundance. And so if we have bleaching events happening every

few years, we're going to be essentially ratcheting down to very, very low levels of coral cover, a loss of the -- of the beautiful branching corals

that you see that so much fish and other coral reef organisms use for shelter and food and to hide from predators and those are the

susceptible coral types. So you're going to see not only a loss of coral abundance and biodiversity, but devastating effects on the rest of the

ecosystem as well.

(END VIDOE CLIP)

LU STOUT: The impact is enormous.

You're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, hear how a spiritual leader's empathy and life lessons helped inspire CNN's Robyn

Curnow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, heroes are people who can lead and who can inspire. And for Robyn Curnow, those qualities are clearly found in South African Archbishop

Desmond Tutu. And that's why she picked him in the latest addition of CNN's My Hero.

(BEGIN VIDOETAPE)

[08:40:03] ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When you do this job, not a lot surprises you. People's frailties and failures are often

very obvious. Desmond Tutu, on the other hand, has never failed to surprise me and to remind me that, yes, despite everything, you can remain

joyful, and you can remain incredibly true to yourself and your principles. And he has never ever disappointed me in that sense.

Walking in Desmond Tutu's shoes, do you feel like a great man. Do you feel like a...

DESMOND TUTU, ARCHBISHOP: What is that?

CURNOW: I don't know.

TUTU: I mean, what is a great man? No, I just know that I've had incredible, incredible, incredible opportunities. And I know, and that is

why I say I know I depend on others and have said when you stand out in a crowd it is always only because you are being carried on the shoulders of

others.

CURNOW: The essence of him is about humanity. And that's why I think he's connected around the world.

TUTU: 1994 when I was standing on the balcony of the City Hall overlooking the grand parade and introducing Nelson Mandela to the crowd, to South

Africa, to the world, I actually said to god, "god, I don't mind if I die now."

(LAUGHTER)

CURNOW: It's sometimes just so wonderful to be around somebody who wears their heart on their sleeve. I mean, this is a man who will cry with you.

He will laugh. He will giggle like a child, but at the same time he has a -- he has a positive energy that defies suffering, and he knows that he

comes from a place and that people come from a place where pain and suffering are probably more common but he chooses joy. And that is just

absolutely evident every time you meet him.

TUTU: They took me only because I have this large nose and I have this easy name Tutu.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: I love that man's laugh. And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. but don't

go anywhere, World Sport with Alex Thomas is next.

END