we're so glad to have you. what a great show, great thing we get to talk about today. there is still so much mystery around it. you're looking at the first pictures here of kenneth bay and matthew todd miller as they finally come home. stepping foot on u.s. soil with family there on the tarmac. they are greeted to hir arms and their hugs. and it's a really wonderful

thing to be able to wake up to. this is what was happening as you were sleeping. >> absolutely. put away the politics. now it's all about a family -- two families reuniting. a and what a thanksgiving they will face. >> we know that miller and bay are waking up as free men for first time in many months, seven months for miller and two years for kenneth bay. it was interesting to hear what bay said when he thanked not just the u.s. for getting him home and state department and the president specifically, but thanking north korea. >> that was a surprise. it sound as if they touchdown in washington state last night. let's listen to some of that. >> i just want to say thank you all for supporting me and standing by me in this time. and it's been just amazing

blessing to see so many people being involved getting me released the last two years. and not to mention -- not only mentioning for thousands of people who are praying for me as well. so i just want to say thank you all for supporting me, lifting me up and not forgetting me. at the same time, i also not forgetting the people of north korea. and thank you for supporting my family as well during this tremendously difficult time for my family. and there are so many people that have been supporting them to stand strong during this time. >> before reuniting with his family on the tarmac, you hear him there speaking publicly about those who worked tirelessly for his release and how grateful he is for that. >> that was interesting to hear his voice. 25-year-old miller who was accused of tearing up his visa, did he not make a public statement. both men were released after a

secret visit to north korea by james clapper. he delivered a letter to kim john ung that is support and to the point. >> happening a month after jeffrey foul was set free in an exclusive interview with our affiliate he is so relieved that both men were coming home and this is the advice he gave. >> keep your head up. keep the faith. stay positive. it will be good. >> it is short but also to the point. we're covering this story from all the angles like only cnn can with a team of experts from around the world. let's begin with cnn and will rippley who is in tokyo. we will, you were recently in north korea. you spoke to both men exclusively. what are your thoughts now hearing them speak back on u.s.

soil? >> certainly you see an example of kenneth bay and matthew miller's very different reactions to this whole ordeal in north core eechlt kenneth bay and his family have been out in front of the cameras, very vocal, social media, tradition alameda, any way his family can get the message out and kenneth bay not afraid to step in front of a large row of cameras and give some comments after he got off the plane. matthew miller, on the other hand, has been very private throughout this whole ordeal. even when i spoke with him in north korea a couple months ago, i asked him if he had a message for his family, he didn't want to talk about what he said to his family. even when i asked him about his motive for entering the country, he wouldn't discuss that either. you certainly see the contrast between the two americans. but now both are back home with their families. >> why do you think that we did not hear from matthew miller last evening as he was getting off plane? >> unlike kenneth bay who was a

missionary, matthew miller's alleged motive was different. he was accused of tearing up the tourist visa and seek ago sigh lum. north korea thought he had was trying to infiltrate that country and revealing that he's abusing thousands of prisoners in the political camps. perhaps the nature of the charges or just the fact that his family is also very private. they put a sign on the their door saying they didn't want to talk to the media. they were not interested in putting their story out there in fr front of the world. >> this is a relief that came to north korea. president obama made repeated requests and an earnest apology and assured a guarantee there would be no recurrence of similar ints dense. the two impresidented americans

were sincerely repentent of their crimes and behaving themselves while serving their terms. >> that was e-mailed to me several hours ago from a source i've been keeping in touch with since i left pyongyang. i can't stress enough that is pretty unprecedented that we now as a news organization are able to send an e-mail to someone inside north korea and receive a response that same day about a major news event. when i spoke to producer here who covered north korea for 20 years or more, that's never been possible until now. so it certainly goes to show that north korean government is trying to take a more protective approach in getting their story out there again in light of not only the controversy about their nuclear program but also this united nations report and the very real threat that a growing number of countries are calling for their leader to stand before an international court to go on trial for criminal charges and human rights abuses. >> very interesting. we look forward to a future e-mail coming from north korea.

thank you very much. >> now president obama, interestingly enough, with the timing here, is on his way to china for a week long asia trip. he did say earlier that the u.s. is so grateful both men have returned to the u.s. safely. praised the director of national intelligence as well for his role in bringing them home. listen to this. >> it's a wonderful day for friends and family. obviously they're hopeful for their safe return. they're doing a great job on what was obviously a challenging mission. >> officials say pyongyang's latest move will not change the u.s.'s position on the nuclear program. president obama is expected to discuss the issue during his visit to beijing. we're joined now by forbes.com columnist gordon chang. he is also the author of "nuclear showdown," north korea

takes on the world. he is joining us live from toronto. let's begin by taking a look and listen to new sound that has come from kenneth bay. >> i also want to thank president obama and all the people at the state department for working tirelessly hard to get me relaeased as well. i want to thank the north korean government that allowed me to come home and be united with our family and for our loved people. it's been amazing two years. i learned a lot. i grew a lot. i lost a lot of weight. in a good way. but i stood strong because of you. and thank you for being there in such a time as this. >> so gordon, obviously, it's so good to see a happy and healthy and even making a couple of jokes here and there. but i don't think it was missed

on anybody that he took the time to thank the united states and the north korean government as well after this ordeal. what do you make of that? >> i think that he wanted to do that because he really was happy that they let him go. and he realized that it was important in the long scheme of things to thank north korea. there might be other christian missionaries like him who will be detained. he wants to make it easier for them in the future. >> you know, i want to ask you, i still find it fascinating the involvement of james clapper, the u.s. director of national intelligence. and we were talking about the subject of why now? we did mention coming in that president is on his way to china. china, of course, is closely connected to north korea. do you think that any of that plays into the timing of this release? >> i don't think the chinese really have much influence in this because of the rupture in relations between beijing and pyongyang which is now more than

a year old. i'm sure the chinese tried to help but i don't think that they were actually instrumental in any way. because north koreans have demonized them for various reasons. so, therefore, they're just not going to be able to pull the levers of power that they once did. if anyone had any influence on this, it was the united states, perhaps south korea, and certainly the swedes. we talked to the north koreans at least formally through the swedish embassy in pyongyang. >> do you think that, real quickly, do you think that kim was still the sole string puller in this whole negotiation? >> no, i don't think so. i think that there has been shifting responsibilities in power. we've seen too many executions and unexplained deaths to think that he is consolidated his power. that's a real side of instability. >> all right. gordon chang, we appreciate your insight. thank you for being with us today. in other news, u.s. troops

in iraq trying to kill isis leaders, some of the top ones. we'll see if the mission was successful and we'll also talk to our military analyst about the strategy. and like it or not, the cold is coming, folks. look at some of these pictures. and you know cold brings it with ice and snow. jennifer grey is tracking the arctic blast that big chunk of the u.s. has a bulls eye on it for this one. [ narrator ] mama sherman and the legion of super fans. wow! [ narrator ] on a mission to get richard to his campbell's chunky soup. it's new chunky beer-n-cheese with beef and bacon soup. i love it. and mama loves you. ♪

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going directly after isis leaders, a series of air strikes

yesterday pounded the convoy that, is iraq's second city in an attempt to kill leaders of that terror group. however, it's unclear whether the group's top commander was actually in that convoy. joining me now from bloomington, indiana, major general james spider mark. thank you for joining us this morning. >> thank you, mark. >> let me ask you this, is the military making the leader a top priority? is that really an effective strate strategy? >> well, he is a target. he certainly is a priority on the target list. the key thing is going after the leadership is a necessary step but it's not sufficient. the sufficient strategy is air strikes across the board in terms of going after very key targets both in iraq and in syria. but also the complication along all those elements of power. there has to be a very strong

effort to address the sunni grievances in iraq and across the region where it simply is not going to work. isis will continue to get a foothold. you can kill leaders all day and they will be replaced. it's not unlike going to -- you problem bhi heard, you know, you take out the leadership in the pentagon, the pentagon will continue to exist and be quite infective. some would say even more effective. can you go after leadership but you have to have a very large foundation of strategy underneath. >> well, while i got you here, i want to ask about the new deployment. 1500 with additional troops sent to iraq to help fight against isis. what do you think of this? >> well, i think it's necessary. it's absolutely necessary. and clearly the context of this new deployment is that this is good money after good money. clearly there's been momentum on the part of the iraqi security sfo forces. they've had a few key victories. it's necessary to reinforce that

momentum if you will. if the iraqi security forces were completely collapsing, you'd see a far different strategy. it would have been far more aggressive, earlier. but what you see is some success. so that's a good thing. but it needs to be done. again, there are rules that will govern the way that these troops will be engaged in terms of their training mission and their advice mission to the iraqi security forces. it's more than just more the same. this truly is an expansion of the mission. this isn't incrementalism. if you set a time line for that, it will work. but if you're willing to continue the strategy and continue this approach over the course of time, it will be effective. and that's what you see right now in our military leadership saying this -- we can get this done. we just have to give us strategic patience and take the time necessary to get the job accomplished. it's not going to be done overnight. >> all right, we'll continue to follow it. thank you very much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. and we want to get you caught up with morning read.

>> today marks the 25th, can you believe it, 25th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall. the german chancellor is taking part in ceremonies. here she is placing flowers in the preserve segment of the wall. the fall of the wall in 1989 became a powerful symbol of the end of the cold war. if you were alive then and watching, it was amazing. >> president obama is on his way to china, the first stop in an eight-day asian diplomatic trip as we've been saying. he is set to ascend a series of summits beginning with the asia pacific economic forum in beijing. the president will also visit myanmar and australia where he is expected to discuss trade and human rights issues. >> in sports, they may be called america's team. but today the dallas cowboys face off with the jacksonville jaguars in london. it will be the last of three nfl games that have been played this year at wembly stadium. kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. eastern

time. and in science -- do you see what that is? astronauts onboard the space station had a little fun with the go-pro. this time they put that cameras, as you can see, inside a bubble of water. remember this is space. so water floats. we've seen it before. what we haven't seen is what it's like to be inside the bubble. now you can say you learned something this morning. >> absolutely amazing what they can do up there. in weather, here come the cold. thanks to the jet stream dragging down frigid air from canada. temperatures already beginning to plunge. by midweek, expect the arctic blast to spread snow and ice from the northern rockies across the northern plains and into the great lakes. if you haven't done it already, dig out everything warm you got and get ready to put it on. >> yeah, people need to know where that, is how long it's going to last. we have a live report on all of that coming up.

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you are ready for some cold air? it is coming, especially the northern plains and the great lakes. we're going to have this huge dip in the jet stream as we go throughout this week. you see the hot pinks and purpos purples. that is very, very cold air. we're talking temperatures, high temperatures in the teens and rapid city tuesday, wednesday, thursday. don't get out of the teens. temperatures on monday, high temperatures will be 24. minneapolis staying below

freezing. monday through thursday. chicago, temperatures will stay in the 50s and dive down to right around freezing and below on thursday. it doesn't really affect us as much. temperatures will stay a little warmer. high temperatures in atlanta on thursday, 56. high temperatures in new york city will be 48 on thursday. so it's really not as much of an impact on the northeast. this is really for the plains and also the midwest. eight to 12 inches possible in minneapolis. this isn't going to be a huge snow maker, mainly just for the northern plains and midwest. >> 8 to 12 inches. that sounds like a snow maker. yeah, i guess, for certain people. thanks to you, jennifer. we can consider ourselves warned. thank you. back on u.s. soil and free, kenneth bae had these words to describe his time in captivity. >> and also i'd like to thank north korean government as well allow me to go home. it's been amazing two years.

i learned a lot. i grew a lot. i lost a lot of weight in a good way. >> not the diet i'd recommend. thanking the country that imprisoned him. we'll talk to an expert on north korea and bae's release. then check this out. a bright green and orange fireball lit up the sky over texas. >> but first, what does it take to be a top deejay? in this week's one to watch, three of the stars in dance music show how it's done. ♪ >> dance music is the fastest growing genre. festivals are sprouting up across the world, selling out in seconds and tracting hundreds of thousands of fans to a party punctuated by nonstop music and spectacular sets. it stars with producers of those

tract and the zee jay who's mix and perform them to vast audiences. f top deejays are in great demand of producers of dance music across the world. >> before this, it was a few deejays. now it's a massive festivals. you no longer need somebody else to promote your music. you can literally be out there and produce your own tracks and play them on stage. >> whether i started, it was about being a good deejay. it's still the case. but there's no way you can become famous only as being a good deejay. now, that's an amazing producer in order to get the crowd following you. >> it's your connection with the audience and with the crowd through your music. the song selections and the different emotional peaks.

and you're there conducting. >> you should watch the full show at cnn.com/onetowatch.

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it is the bottom of the hour. we're thankful for your company. i'm christi paul.

>> here are the five things you need to know for your new day. let's start with number one. the last two americans being held prisoner in north korea are back home. take a look at the emotional scene as they met their families after landing in washington state. kenneth bae and matthew todd miller were found guilty of crimes in north korea and were serving multiple year sentences in labor camps. >> number two, usair strikes near mosul. warplanes tact a convoy in a series of strikes. it's not clear whether the group's top commander was in that convoy. >> number three, president obama says loretta lynch is his pick for attorney general. she's a two-time u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york. the president described her as tough, fair, and independent. lynch would be first african-american woman to have the nation's top law enforcement job. number four, pennsylvania jury convicted a university professor of killing his wife

with cyanide. authorities say robert mixed the deadly poison with creatine in an effort his wife was taking to have their second child. >> a possible meteor falling to earth lit up the skies over texas this weekend. the bright orange and green fireball was founded in laredo on the border of new mexico. there were reports of the ground shaking overnight due to a possible meteor landing. how about that? >> that is something. as is this. now that kenneth bae and matthew todd mill rer back on american soil, the big question is what's next here? >> earlier today, bae thanked supporters, even joking about his two years in captivity. listen. >> it's been amazing two years. i learned a lot. i grew a lot. lost a lot of weight, in a good way. but i'm standing strong because

of you. >> all right. want to bring some be in who has u neck p unique perspective on this. he had a chance to speak with bae and miller in an exclusive interview earlier this week. will, what do you make of the reports, first of all, that -- that north korea instigated this conversation. they requested the u.s. and a cabinet level official to talk? >> yeah. it's really not surprising when you think about the fact that the north korean government clearly had an agenda when they made these three detained americans available to cnn and we happen to be in the country on a completely different assignment. not only were they made available, but they all reiterated they wanted a special envoy from the u.s. government to come to pyongyang and secure their release and now here we are just over two months later and that has indeed happened. all three of them are now home. >> tell us about the letter that allegedly president obama sent to north korea.

how symbolic is that? what could it have said? >> so it was a short letter, we're told, that essentially named james clapper as the special envoy, the director of national intelligence as the special envoy to pyongyang to secure the release of the two americans. a short letter, a couple sentences. probably not too significant from the united states government perspective. but from the north korean perspective, anything official from the president of the united states is very significant. they have a display hall outside of pyongyang where they have a small bowl that madeleine albright brought on her visit to the country. they have that on display. they have a cnn pen behind gloss that one of our crew brought. >> a lot of people are wondering why matthew todd miller didn't speak when he exited the plane overnight. can you give us a little more insight into how you would characterize him? you have a unique opportunity to

sit down, to speak with him even though it was in a very controlled environment. what was your take away about this man? >> well, it was certainly out of the three interviews, matthew todd miller held back the most. there was some questions he didn't want to answer. he didn't want to talk at all about any sort of message he had to give to his family. he said i spoke with my family privately we'll leave it at that. you see his family in california with a very similar response. this entire time they had a sign on their door telling reporters to stay away, unlike kenneth bae's relatives, sister especially who came on cnn a number of time. so the two families, miller and bae, they certainly handled things very differently. so it would surprise me, frankly, if matthew miller now that he is released does decide to grant an interview. if he does though, it will be interesting to hear his perspective why did he truly go into the country and tear up his visa which is what north korea found him guilty of doing. >> all right, will rippley,

thank you for sharing this morning. moving on to other news. today marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall. german chancellor is taking part in the ceremonies. we'll take you there live next. and then president obama is headed to asia. we'll take a look at the political impact his trip could have on the u.s. economy. ring ring! ...progresso! you soup people have my kids loving vegetables. well vegetables... shh! taste better in our savory broth. vegetables!? no...soup! oh! soup! loaded with vegetables. packed with taste. that's the way i look at life. looking for something better. especially now

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economy. >> president obama travels to china monday. it's a political trip with huge implications for the economy. secretary of state john kerry sums it up well. >> the u.s./china relationship is the most consequential in the world today. period. and it will do much to determine the shape of the 21st century. that means that we have to get it right. >> here are three reasons that the u.s.-china relationship is so critical. first, trade. the u.s. trade deficit with china is the largest in the world. the u.s. imports more from china than from canada, mexico, japan, germany. china has become america's factory for the u.s. imports so much more from china than it exports. the trade deficit is hundreds of billions of dollars. where do all those dollars go? the communist leadership is flushed with cash to invest in oil fields, factories, buildings

and it finances american borrowing. you could say that china is america's banker. second, china's economy is now slowing after a decade of breakneck kpangs thaexpansion a expanding midding class. but home prices are slowing, lending is getting tighter. if the china bubble were to burst, china is so big it would hurt everyone. number three, cyber spying. a top concern of the europeans, business owners and the white house. the summer attorney general eric holder charged five chinese nationals with stealing company secrets from metal producers in the u.s. china has also been accused of hacking defense contractors and other very sensitive businesses. officials in beijing always deny engaging in any government-backed cyber espionage. it's an issue many are urging the president to take up directly with chinese leadership next week. christine romans, cnn, new york. >> thank you so much. cnn by the way is traveling with the president. we'll bring you full coverage of his trip. next a live report from

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the sound of germany celebrating the 25th anniversary of the night that berlin wall fell. if you lived through it, you won't forget it. it was such a pivotal moment. on this day in 1989, people tore

down the iron curtain that was separating east from west. the fall of the wall is seen as a symbol of the end of the cold war. >> and it was such a profound moment in history. you want to take a look at pictures here taken by cnn 25 years ago. people hammered, chiz willisell in a wall and finally bringing it down. and then there was this. the mad dash to freedom. hundreds of people broke through the barrier separating east from west. want to bring in jim clancy. he is in berlin at the celebration. before we talk, jim, i want to listen real quickly to you covering the fall back in 1989. >> the vast majority of east germans don't want to leave homes, jobs, and families to live in the west. but since the relax of the travel laws, one thing is clear -- >> yes! that is jim, the man you're seeing there now. and, jim, i'm wondering what are your thoughts as you watch

today's celebration after all of your unique experience there as well? >> every time i see that video, i'm reminded i changed a lot. the same time germany changed a lot. you know, this city of berlin has changed a lot. we started tout day about three, four hours ago. it was only a couple -- you know, it seemed to me there were a few score people here at the gate. now there are thousands. daniel is conducting the berlin state opera. and we've been listening to them play beethoven's ninth symphony and ode to joy. that is a theme song for the unity of all of europe. but if you good down in the crowd and ask any of the people gathered here, they will quickly tell you that is german music. it is the soundtrack really of the end of the divide between east and west.

ode to joy in every way seems to capture the exuberance, the joy, and the relief that people in this city felt that night when the wall was -- came down. of course, the entire wall didn't disappear all at once. but the openings were there. and it signaled the collapse of communism. we can talk about the cold war. we can talk about all of the other places where communism was crumbling, in poland, in czechoslovakia, romania, bulgaria, so many other places. but this behind me, this is the center of that east-west divide. and when we saw the change in berlin, we knew that was key, the collapse of communism was already taking place in front of our eyes. it was the most exhilarating day of my life. it captured everything. it was unbelievable. many of us did not think that the east germans would ever open

up that wall. at least not of their own volition. they were forced into it economically and politically. christie, incredible day here. thousands of people on hand. the orchestra just practicing a little bit. they'll be back on in about five hours time. back to you. >> you have such a personal perspective. we thank you so much for sharing that with us this morning. >> someone else who has an interesting perspective joining me now is john emerson. he is the american ambassador to germany who is live in berlin. john, you have a deep german heritage beginning with your grandparen grandparents. what was it luke whike when you heard the news 25 years ago? >> well, it was extraordinary. i'd been to berlin twice in 1975 and then again in 1988. i've been through the wall at checkpoint charlie. and i was in my office in los angeles. i always had my television tuned to cnn. and i began to see some of these reports. and just couldn't believe my

ears. because having been to berlin a very brief period before that, it never kuoccurred to any of u that this could be happening. it was exhilarating but at the same time i had a nagging fear that we might see the same kind of thing that happened in tiananmen square just five months previously. thank goodness we didn't and it was a huge positive, exciting story for freedom loving people around the world. >> you know, it absolutely was, oo ambassador. any of us that grew up during the whole cold war and the east-west divide was so significant. today as we look 25 years on, how you would say that nation reunited? what has it meant for the united states? >> oh, it's big deal for the united states. i mean germany is clearly one of our top few allies in the world.

one of our most important allies in the world. whether it's dealing with the russian incursion into the ukraine or the terrorism in the middle east that is ma tast sizing throughout europe in the form of foreign fighters or fighting the battle against ebola or fighting for climate change, germany is front and center in just about everything that we do. the two countries reunited and quickly germany became a powerful economic force in the world and also an important partner for united states. >> indeed, a remarkable period of time not just for the united states but as you say for obviously the country of germany. john emerson, ambassador. thank you very much for joining us. >> i have a story -- okay. thank you. >> no, please. if you got a story, we've got a

moment. >> okay. i was sitting next to the chancellor with b.about a year they showed a film of a concert that was held just a few days after the fall of the wall when they played beethoven's ninth and ode to joy. and she turned to me and she said that was such an motional moment. and i asked her, i said were you there? and she said, i wasn't there. i was listening on the radio, you know, she lived in the east at the time. she said but the important thing was i knew i could be there. i thought that was very powerful. >> great insight. ambassador, again, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. you can't breathe through your nose, suddenly, you're a mouth breather. a mouth breather! well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. cold medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip and pow, it opens your nose up to 38% more.

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it's also a mechanism for healing. we're on this morning patrol and walking down the road. i never been hit by an ied before. it felt like i got hit by a wrecking ball. i sat up, my legs were completely gone. what happens if you don't quite get killed and you don't quite survive, you're somewhere in the middle? i was a shell of a man. who i was was gone. >> let's take it right before the melody comes in. >> our organization helps wounded warriors play music and recover their lives. ♪ >> we match the injured troops with professional musicians who come visit at walter reed medical center and work with them on music projects, learning music, writing, and performing. ♪ >> we're going try to

incorporate more metal. >> i'm not a music therapist. i'm a musician. but by injecting music into this space we can inject life. >> something survived that horrible injury in afghanistan. and that was my ability to play the guitar. >> arthur and his program changed my outlook on what is possible. ♪ >> music has no stigma. folks who work with has nothing injured about the way they do it. it's just good music. ♪ >> a lot more news to tell you about this morning. >> next hour of "new day" starts right now. you are looking at the first pictures of kenneth bae and matthew todd miller as they come home to the u.s. after being released by north korea.

>> thank you for supporting me and lifting me up and not forgetting me. >> the reunions with the families straight ahead. >> and president obama on the move this morning. he's heading to asia. we'll take a look at why this trip is so important for the u.s. >> plus, get ready. an icy blast is just around the corner for a lot of us. how cold it could get where you live. that's coming up. but we do want to say good morning to you. so grateful for your company as always. i'm christi paul. >> and i'm martin savage in for victor blackwell. it is 7:00. thank you for joining us. we're going to begin with a story, good news, of the two american detainees released by north korea. this morning they're waking up on u.s. soil. there were smiles, there were tears of joy. there were hugs as kenneth bae and matthew todd miller stepped off a plane in washington state. >> bae and miller were detained after being convicted of crimes against the state and sentenced to several years hard labor. anna cabrera is live in washington. we're seeing it through the

camera. but you are there. you got to see it in person. what stuck with you? >> it was just such a joyous moment. so many hugs. so many smiles. as you mentioned the tears of joy for the families as kenneth bae and matthew miller stepped off the plane into the arms of their loved ones. a moment that had been anticipated for months and even years. and while there are still a lot of questions surrounding their release, one thing is for sure this was an answer to many prayers. after months and years of detention, two americans helped prisoner in north korea are back in the united states. first off, the plane kenneth bae who had been held for two years and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for hostile acts against the government. claiming he was part of a christian plot to overthrow the regime. >> i want to say thank you all for supporting me and standing

by me during this time. and it's been just amazing blessing to see so many people being involved, getting me released the last two years. and not to mention -- not only mentioning thousands of people are praying for me as well. >> reporter: then matthew todd miller stepped off. mill her been detained since april. he was sentenced to six years of hard labor. he had been accused of tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum upon entering north korea. miller did not speak to the media after his arrival. their will he lease comes after thorn north korea reached out to the white house to discuss the detentions. apparently there wasn't a guarantee that americans would be brought home. they were set free after director of national intelligence james clapper went to the capital of pyongyang in a

secret mission delivering a letter from president obama to north korean leader kim yong un. the letter was short and to the point. clapper did not meet with kim. >> it's a wonderful day for the families and obviously very grateful for their safe return. i appreciate it. director clapper did a great job on what was obviously a challenging mission. >> reporter: their release comes less than a month after north korea let go jeffrey foul, an ohio man who spent five months in detention. and now with the men who just returned, there are no americans being held in north korea. >> it's been an amazing two years. i learned a lochltt, i grew a l lost a lot of weight in a good way. but i need to stand strong because of you.

>> reporter: now kenneth bae is actually from washington which is only about an hour north of where we are in tacoma. so presumably he got to sleep in his own bed last night. matthew miller's family close to spend this moment very privately. they did not speak last night. they're from california. it's unclear exactly what their plans are today. as one u.s. official told us last night, what these men choose to do moving forward is up to them and they are truly free. >> good point. >> wonderful news for their families. thank you very much. >> thank you. we're now joined by cnn's will rippley. he's in tokyo. it was recently in north korea where he was speaking to both men. >> such a unique opportunity. so we're anxious, will, to get your thoughts on hearing that, you know, hearing bae and what he said when he was back here in the u.s. >> you can tell just by looking at him, seeing smiling that a

true weight has been lifted. whether we saw him there at pyongyang, he was very tired. he talked about his weight loss. and also some of the other health problems. his health was deteriorating. seem as if he was quite energetic whether speaking to the cameras. so that makes me feel good. hopefully he'll get checked out by physicians to make sure that all the health issues are resolved and can move forward after two years of truly not being free. i'm sure it must have been extraordinary for him and is extraordinary for him this morning to wake up knowing that once again he is free. >> i was struck by the same thing. we heard so much about his health, yet, he did seem pretty good. i want to ask you about matthew todd miller. he didn't have anything to say. why not? >> it doesn't surprise me, martin. he held back a lot even when i spoke with him in pyongyang. there were a lot of questions he didn't want to answer. he didn't want to talk about any conversations he had with his family or motive for enter the country and tearing up his visa in the first place. their family was very private saying they didn't want to talk.

to see them pull back and stay away from the spotlight is the same, you know, that the family -- the same approach the family has taken this whole time. that certainly is their right to have this moment, you know, as a famili family without being bothered by the media. >> how do you think your interviews with them played into any possible back room negotiations that led to the release? >> well, look, we were there again for a completely unrelated assignment. the moment we entered the country, one of the first questions is if we could speak'three detained americans. we were told that is impossible. we asked a couple other time. we were told it wasn't going to happen. then our last day, they decided to grant this interview. it seems that north korea was ready to work out a deal. perhaps the americans were realizing it no longer official for them to hold them in custody. they took advantage of the fact that a cnn crew is in country, to use the men to send a message to the u.s. government.

here they are now, all three of them back on american soil with their families. >> all right. will rippley, great job. thank you so much. we appreciate it this morning. >> now we're joined by ambassador joseph detran iflt, the president of the intelligence and national security alliance and former special envoy to north korea. did i say that correctly sir? i'm sorry? >> you did. thank you. >> we're so grateful you're joining us. if you would, please, let's take a listen to some more new sounds from kenneth bae this morning. >> and also, i'd like to thank the north korean government as well allowing me to go home and come home and be united with our family and for the people. >> yeah. i think a lot of people listen to that and they're surprised not that he thanks president obama and state department here. but also that he thanks the north korean government. what do you make of that? >> the less people you would think. >> the sense i have on that is

he's so happy to be home after two years. it must have been really hell for him for two years. i think that's sort of reaction. i think as we get into a few more weeks, i think we'll get some counter-terrorism information from kenneth bae as far as his ordeal. it was a very tragic situation. to this day, one has to wonder why the north koreans kept him for two years what so-called crimes he committed. it's beyond belief that that happened. so i think it's understandable what he said. in truth, it's very tragic that the north koreans kept this man for two years. >> can you take us behind the scenes and sort of give us insight on what possibly with the inner workings of the negotiations with north korea, how did james clapper manage to pull this off? >> you know, my personal view is the dni, the director of national intelligence, james clapper, was an ideal individual to go to north korea.

one, he's in charge of the intelligence community. 16 agencies that watch north korea very, very closely. they have a very good sense of what north korea is doing with their nuclear programs, missile programs. they're illicit activities and so forth. if anyone can speak to what's happening in north korea, although we say it's very opaque, i think for the intelligence community, at the no that opaque. the director of national intelligence that can speak to those issues. so they will want to get into particulars. he's not carrying the political message at all. he is speaking about what's going on and what's happening in north korea and why there are issues between the united states and north korea and other countries with north korea. >> you know, bill richardson, former ambassador to u.n. said he believes that north korea wants a warming of relation ands food, humanitarian assistance, energy assistance, sanctions lifted. how likely do you think any of that will happen and by whom

does that need to happen with? >> you know, they do need all of the above. but when you look at what's happened over the last 2 1/2 years since kim un took over, it's been apalling. i mean what's gone on here with missile launches, executing his uncle, threatening the u.s. with a preemptive nuclear strike. i think they realize they've been on a very bad path and they need to change targct and get together. i think the realization is because they've become that much more isolated to include with the principle allies the people's republic of china. so they realize things are really dire, very difficult and they have to change tact. i think this is part of their approach. we saw that with the foreign minister going to the united nations. the number two or three person going down to korea, south korea for the asian games. we saw this with the deputy premier going to the european parliament. so north korea is reaching out.

this is kim and the advisors around him saying it's not working. you have to change. let's move on that. >> all right. we'll see how genuine that change will be. ambassador, thank you very much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> and speak of interesting timing, president obama's on his way to china this morning. >> yep. we'll break down that trip, his trip to asia, i mean, and his message. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] this is the cat that drank the milk... [ meows ] ...and let in the dog that woke the man who drove to the control room [ woman ] driverless mode engaged. find parking space. [ woman ] parking space found. [ male announcer ] ...that secured the data that directed the turbines that powered the farm that made the milk that went to the store that reminded the man to buy the milk that was poured by the girl who loved the cat. [ meows ] the internet of everything is changing everything. cisco. tomorrow starts here.

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makes my job a lot easier. [ female announcer ] over 100,000 businesses have already used zip recruiter and now you can use zip recruiter for free at a special site for tv viewers; go to ziprecruiter.com/offer5. president obama is on his way to china. take a look here. going to be waving as he departs from joint base andrews in maryland. this was overnight. >> that's a long flight, by the

way. mr. obama is expected to attend a series of summits during his eight-day trip. and cnn's erin mcpike is live to fill us in on more with all of it. good morning. >> good morning, martin. first, i want to talk about beijing. he's meeting with the chinese president there. they're going to be talking about the economic relationship between the united states and china. also trade climate change and essentially just this relationship between the u.s. and china as secretary of state john kerry had said recently. the most important economic relationship that united states has is with china. now also when president obama was running for re-election in 2012, a lot of foreign policy analysts said that president obama has managed the china relationship well. so this will be important for his legacy. the next, he's going to meet myanmar. in 2012, in fact, president obama was the first sitting u.s. president to visit the country. it's opened up had some political and social reforms

over the last few years. but some people say it's beginning to backslide. so that, too, will be important for the president's legacy. last, he's heading to brings bo -- brisbon for the g-20 summit. putin will be there. they don't have any meetings scheduled. they may meet and have a side conversation which, of course, is important. since march the relationship between the united states and russia has been somewhat damaged. we're all waiting to see if that meeting will take place. >> all right. we pick it this morning. thank you. >> quite a to do list. >> yes, it is. >> you know, we want to get to another story we have to watch this morning. the u.s. targeting the leaders of isis. new air strikes this weekend aimed at a convoy in iraq. >> that just after the president's big announcement did more u.s. troops. we dig into what's happening next in iraq right after this. ♪ hi. i'm new ensure active clear protein drink.

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we're joined now by cnn law enforcement analyst tom fuentes. i was listening to bob bear yesterday and he actually said that going after baghdady, killing him is a bad idea. i think what he's saying is the devil you do know is better than devil you don't meaning you don't know who will replace him. what do you say to that? >> there's truth in what bob says, christie. but also, you know, leadership matters. so if he's the charismatic leader of this organization and he's helping in the recruiting efforts, declaring himself the kalif of the newly established group, you know, taking him out would matter. but bob's correct. we would not know necessarily right away who is replacing him or the replacement background. one of the things about some of the leaders is they're very narcissistic and they want people to know who they are and what they have believe in and what they say and in that process you learn a great deal

about them psychologically. >> you know sh it's been mentioned, of course, that we're send ago decisional troops there to iraq. so what come next? how do you see this progressing? >> well, it could progress into full scale war down the line. and unless some other country from the vast coalition we've allegedly assembled, unless somebody else volunteers to put boots on the ground, you know, it may come to the point that the u.s. is going to have to ensure that baghdad doesn't fall and the rest of the country doesn't fall into isis hands. and i think that what the president is dealing with is that his legacy could be that he becomes the first u.s. president to lose a war that america already won. and that's the problem here. we've expanded 4,500 lives to secure iraq and a trillion dollars and au50,000 wounded people for life to sit back the last couple years and watch about a third of the country fall into the hands of isis. >> they keep saying that troops

will be based out of -- at bases outside baghdad and irbil. i'm wondering, we know that isis is so strong and enforceful in taking over so many territory. how secure do you think the bases are? do you think some sort of combat with our troops on the ground is inevitable? >> it's a very strong possibility. i'm not sure how secure the bases are without somebody's combat troops protecting them. and we have not exactly seen a lot of activity by the iraqi military that would give us confidence that they are absolutely going to protect it. in addition, you have terrorism now increasing. the sectarian violence increasing in baghdad itself. and now we're having almost daily bombings with shia groups being attacked and sunni troops being attacked. this is something that, you know, this is what we saw ten years ago in baghdad. and now it's returning. >> right. yeah. it seems like a revival of the

civil war. tom, thank you very much for joining us this morning. we undoubtedly will talk to you again. >> talk, tom. >> you're welcome. >> i don't know if you peeked out the window yet this morning or maybe you opened the door just a crack to let the dog out. it didn't feel good, did it? winter is here and it is coming in with a force, folks. we're going to tell where you it's hitting, how long it's going to last and how bad it's going to be. ♪ there it is... this is where i met your grandpa.

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let's get you caught up with this morning's morning read. today marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall, the berlin wall on this night, 1989, people rushed to the wall and they hammered it to pieces. take a look at that. a few hours ago, german chancellor placed a flower in a small segment of the wall being preserved. if you do live through it, you probably can't recall how important it is. she is taking part in the ceremonies that are commemorating the increedible anniversary. and president obama says loretta lynch is liz pick for attorney general. she's a two-time u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york. the president describes her as tough, fair, an independent. we cannot say the same thing about the weather. it's tough. it's not always fair. and it's knocking at our door, jner if gray.

-- jennifer grey. >> yes, it is. we're going to see chilly changes already beginning with our friends from the north. portions of minnesota and north dakota feeling very, very cold this morning. and we're also going to see a little snowfall with this. this thin swath of snow, that's what we're going to see. eight to 12 inches possible in minneapolis. 6 to 9 for portions of the dakotas. that's really it. this area is going to see concentrated amounts of snow. rest of the nation, we'll just see very cold temperatures. so winter weather advisories in place. winter warnings in place through tuesday. that does include minneapolis. temperatures get into the teens. minneapolis, you wont reach freezing for the next several days. guys? >> jennifer, thank you. on monday, we got word that tom magliosi, the co-host of car talk, he died of complications from alzheimer's disease. he was 77. alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the united

states and the only one that can't be prevented, cured or even slowed. >> so we got a rare look inside the small village that he said what the future of dementia care looks like. >> welcome to a little village just minutes from downtown amsterdam. the first glance, it looks like any other small touchdown. but look closer. outsiders are not allowed in here. everyone that lives within these walls has something in common. it's the last place any of them will ever call home. >> so this is a neighborhood? >> yes, it's a neighborhood. >> a neighborhood for people with dementia? >> yes.