>> tits [ bleep ] [ bleep ] [ bleep ] mother [ bleep ] oh, my god. tonight, television takes a look at itself. >> what's on the idiot box? it's only an idiot box if an idiot is watching. >> i'll tell you about the golden age of television. this period of time will be looked upon as the platinum age. >> our obligation is to entertainment. if we've left something to think about, so much the better. >> television should not be just entertainment. >> charges were leveled at the commercial television networks. >> congress has no right to interfere in the media. >> excuse me! >> we have the responsibility to give the audience what it tuned in to see. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the years of the '60s which end in a few hours have a bad reputation that is not entirely justified. some things got worse, obviously. but tv and other news coverage is better, not worse. we simply developed more demanding standards.

>> when i think of tv, i think of the '70s. >> what is this world coming to? >> the american public was hungry for more. >> more was allowed that hadn't been before. >> it was the last decade where it was a campfire television, where there was one in the living room. >> i want to watch an all-black show for a change. >> oh, where are you going to find one? >> here's one -- the los angeles lakers against the milwaukee bucks. >> young people were interested in relevant things. and so television began to reflect that. >> this is cbs. >> really it was very simple. you had three channels plus pbs. >> when the decade turned over into the '70s, television was very rural. ♪ >> "hee haw!" >> the beverly hillbillies. >> cbs had "the beverly hillbillies." "green acres." >> "petticoat junction." and these rural fantasies of mayberryism.

>> the hillbilly shows were everywhere and then they weren't. >> fred silverman who was running programming at cbs said, we're going to get rid of the shows that are most highly rated and replace them with shows that they thought would be more appealing to that younger audience. >> they change the face of television. >> my name is norman lear. >> until 1971 he was a very successful if largely unheralded producer/writer in hollywood. but then he burst upon the public consciousness when he took on bigotry with his "all in the family." >> norman lear and bud yorkin created absolutely iconic shows. >> they revolutionized not only cbs but all of american television. >> our world is coming crumbling down, the coons are coming. >> to use language like that on tv was just unheard of it. but it really captured a certain moment. >> archie, 12% of the population is black. there should be a lot of black families living out here. >> yeah, this is only a beginning but i think it's wonderful.

>> well, let's see how wonderful it is when the watermelon rinds come flying out the window. >> it scared me when i saw "all in the family," i thought they better be careful. >> there was no doubt in my mind the american people were going to accept it. >> do you have a quick answer for the people who say the show reinforces bigotry? and that charge started from the very beginning. >> yes. my quick answer is no. >> everybody is going to see something they knew damn well was going on and nothing that surprising. >> edith, we're out of toilet paper! >> no, we're not, i bought some yesterday, it's in the closet in the kitchen. >> i ain't in the kitchen! >> oh! >> hearing a toilet flush for the first time was a big deal and made headlines. [ toilet flushes ] >> what's this country coming to anyhow? >> what is it, archie? bad news? >> what else? >> did we get out of vietnam or something? >> don't be a wise guy, huh? >> i wasn't going to play around with "mom dented the car. how are we going keep dad from finding out about it?" not when i see everything that's going around in our country.

>> just because a guy is sensitive and he's an intellectual and he wears glasses, you make him out a queer. >> i never said a guy who wears glasses is a queer. a guy who wears glasses is a four-eyes, a guy who's a fag is a queer. >> "all in the family" did something really new for television. it put before the american public archie's friend, who was very masculine and who happened to be gay. >> how long you known me? 10, 12 years? >> yeah. >> in all that time did i ever mention a woman? >> oh, come on, steve. >> -- to be glorified on public television -- >> nixon objecting to the show, that was a badge of honor. >> it was really culturally on point. every time. for a sitcom, that was unheard of. >> one, two, three.

>> i wanted to do an episode where somebody could give archie what he earned. >> shut up all of you! >> we created a character that could really let him have it. >> maude. >> i'm only here because of edith. the fact that you happen to be here with her is beyond my control. like any other freak of nature. >> before that show was off the air, fred silverman was on the telephone with me saying, "there's a show in that woman." >> hello? no, this is not mr. findley, it's mrs. findley. yes, mr. findley has a much higher voice. >> now get your coat and come on! >> what makes you think you can order me around like that, henry? >> you're my wife, that gives me the right. >> when he says wife he means possession. >> so what, maude, you told me a hundred times you want to feel possessed. >> walter, i never said that standing up and you know it. >> norman lear and bud yorkin really turned the spinoff series

into an art form. >> norman lear hates to call it the lear factory. all his series come out of this building, allowing lear to move from show to show like a dervish. >> "good times" was like holy smokes. there's black people on tv! >> there had never been a complete black family on tv with the father. >> what made it so unique and universal was that we had the same problems in our household, and we do not live in the projects in chicago. >> dynomite! >> you want to worry your head about nothing, go on and do it. i have $32 in the shoe box. and i got another $6 in my pocket. >> you worked all night all they paid you was $6? >> there were a lot of folks who were not happy with the show. the black panthers were very upset. when huey newton came to see me, the big complaint was why can't we see a black man that's doing better than that? >> "the jeffersons" started as neighbors of archie bunker. >> don't call me honky.

>> why are you so sensitive all of a sudden? >> how would you like it if i called you nigger? >> he called me nigger! >> that's no worse than honky. >> you're right. nothing is worse than honky except being married to one. >> norman lear set the stage for other shows in the '70s that just brought gravitas to television. >> what are you staring at? >> i was just thinking, i ought to bring my neighbor's kids over here. this place is better than the zoo. you done already? i'm out of data again! i can't work out without my music! you need to switch to sprint. i got unlimited data, talk and text for 50 bucks a month! and you get $300 off a samsung galaxy s7 edge. i didn't even have to wait on my tax refund. i heard 5 gigs of data is all you need. how's that working out for you? (vo) get sprint's unlimited plan for $50 a month. plus, get the samsung galaxy s7 edge and save $300.

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bristol-myers squibb thanks the patients, nurses, and physicians involved in opdivo clinical trials. on saturday nights, the cbs lineup in the early '70s was amazing. 8:00, "all in the family." 8:30, "m.a.s.h." 9:00, "the mary tyler moore show," and you have "the bob newhart show." >> and it ended with the "carol burnett variety show" at 10:00. >> they used to call it murderers' row. >> people had no dvrs, no vhs, nothing with initials. so people would stay home on saturday nights. they wouldn't go to the movies. they wouldn't go to restaurants. that may be the best night of television in all of television history. >> mary tyler moore was a single woman working as an associate producer on a nightly tv show. >> you know what? you've got spunk. >> yeah. >> i hate spunk!

>> there were a lot of young women entering the workplace then. and for some of them, mary tyler moore was like a port of entry. >> i'm doing as good a job as he did. >> better. >> better! and i'm being paid less than he was because -- >> you're a woman. >> the television female could be a hero. she could be the main event. >> rita. all right. >> out loud! >> the first script written by allen burns and jim gricks had mary coming to minneapolis divorced. and very quickly cbs says, no, no, no, no, no. >> at the beginning of the decade, divorce was considered somewhat scandalous. >> she went on dates with a lot of guys. >> but the guys were really important. >> we seem to be hitting it off. and i just thought -- >> you just thought? >> she's not obsessed with finding a husband.

>> don't forget to take your pill. >> i won't. >> i won't. >> this was about people coping with one another. and the workplace was like a family. >> i told ted to close with the copy for sue ann. >> oh, my god. >> what's wrong? >> i told the projectionist it was the other way around. >> oh, my god. >> local pig farmers served notice today that rising corn prices are forcing them to find other means to feed their stock. here's one pig. just look at her gobble up that slop. starting tomorrow we'll be presenting a new feature on wjm, "dining out with sueann nivens." >> once jim brooks said to me, i know there's a world of comedy in my wife's purse, i just can't access it, we've got to find some female writers for this show. >> did you crash the men's room? >> of course not. i went as somebody's guest. >> why do you think it's such a

winner? >> i think because of the casting. and i think because of the writing. they don't sacrifice the character for the sake of a good joke. >> that effort to keep the female sensibility is what made it authentic and good. people would say "you're just like me and my girlfriends." >> how can you gorge yourself like that and stay so skinny? i'm going crazy with hunger. >> well, eat something. >> i can't. i have to lose 10 pound by 8:30. >> pretty soon the head of network at the time said, valerie, listen, i'm going to spin you off. and i thought, oh my god, i'm fired. because spin-off is a term that was originated in the '70s. >> if women start living together we've got to tell each other everything. >> okay, joe. i want to be married. >> rhoda and joe's wedding became a huge national event. 52 million people tuned in to see that. >> suddenly rhoda is in a happy relationship. they didn't know what to do with that.

then they had to have her get divorced to try to reboot the show. >> why did you marry me? just answer me that. why did you marry me? >> you made me marry you. >> i feel so funny. >> it's a matter of trust. >> oh, she's not going to do it. >> where does that leave us, where do we go from here? >> that we'll have to discuss at future sessions. >> the '70s also had this therapeutic overlay. >> hi, bob. >> hi, bob. >> hi, bob. >> hello? >> we decided to make him a psychologist. >> we seem to have run out of things to say. >> why don't we pray? >> let's pray for the end of this session. >> i didn't know anything about therapy prior to that. >> i'm from the planet bluthar. it's in the galoo galaxy. >> how -- how long you going to be in town? >> i didn't want to do a show, "where are your children?" i didn't want to be the dumb dad. >> sit, boy.

>> howard, i don't care, i just don't want to make any more decisions. >> people will say, "gee, my dad and i used to watch the show. and it was great." and then you realize you're part of people's lives. ♪ >> the '70s was the era where a certain artistry developed. "m.a.s.h." really changed people's perception of what the sitcom can be. the sitcom could be cinematic. >> "m.a.s.h." was shot like a movie. and "m.a.s.h." was maybe the single most unique situation comedy ever. >> i have a headache. a tremendous headache. it goes all the way down to my waist. >> the television series "m.a.s.h." had one thing the movie in my estimation did not, which was heart. >> there are certain rules about a war. rule number one is young men die. rule number two is doctors can't change rule number one. >> it was about korea but we were talking about and doing

things that had to do with vietnam and everybody knew it. >> rolling. action. >> war isn't hell. war is war and hell is hell and of the two war is a lot worse. >> we had 30 million people a week watching "m.a.s.h." >> have you ever really considered the foot? >> yeah, but i prefer girls. >> better not bump into henry in that jungle. >> i intend only to bump into nurse baker. repeatedly if possible. >> these were people who would go through the scripts and say "you can't use this word." we felt like we were in the midst of a battle. this is freedom of speech. >> at the senate hearings on television violence today, strong charges were leveled at the commercial television networks. >> the broadcasting industry now stands charged with having molested the minds of our nation's children to serve the cause of corporate profit. >> the family hour was established by the three networks and the federal communications commission in response to complaints of too much sex and violence on early evening television. >> the family hour, the two

hours from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. during which parents and children are supposed to be able to watch television without being made to feel uncomfortable. >> it's topless, edith! >> and so it seemed altogether unfair, and we sued. >> family hour is under attack from some producers, unions and others in the television industry. they have filed a lawsuit to have it abolished. >> as those scheduled to testify arrive, mary tyler moore enterprises. they passed through a picket line protesting the hearing. >> congress has no right whatsoever to interfere in the content of the media. >> if you can censor a joke today, and tomorrow you can censor expression of any thought if you can censor a joke. it just becomes easier the next day. >> a federal judge in los angeles ruled the so-called family hour on television from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. was unconstitutional, a violation of the first amendment guarantee of free speech. >> the first amendment was upheld and a most important

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"the rookies" will not be seen tonight so we may bring you the following special program. >> tonight television takes a look at itself. we are looking at what you watch most of the time.

entertainment programming on the three commercial networks. what are you looking at? is it good for you? >> somewhere around the middle or late '70s it's like people got tired of talking about real stuff. >> if the good lord provided us with berries, i think we ought to eat them. >> there was a longing for a simpler time when it didn't seem like there was so much anger and contentiousness. when people weren't so mad at each other. >> during last season "the waltons" caught on. >> good night, john boy. >> good night. >> this year there will be more nostalgia and wholesome family drama. >> now that dinner is over let's try out the piano. >> oh, good. >> i am taking requests. ♪ sunday monday happy days >> i created "happy days" not what a family really was. i thought it would be good if there were some families that didn't get divorced. >> you guys are really -- >> it wasn't by accident everybody on "happy days" hugged each other. it wasn't by accident that everybody in the family ate at the same time at the same table.

>> it was a sweet, tender show. in the vein of "american graffiti." looking back on the era of the '50s with a certain affection. >> haaay! >> abc wanted fonzi's "haaay" to compete directly with jimmy "j.j." walker's "dynomite." >> cause i'm the fonz! haaay! >> catch phrases were big. >> sit on it! >> sit on it, howard. >> does any one say, thank you, arnold? you know what they say? >> sit on it, arnold. >> that's what they say. >> you watch fonzi and you just want to be fonzi. >> oh. >> hey, girls. knock yourselves out. i'm really sorry it was a slip of the fingers, slip of the fingers. >> it's a fantasy of what teen life could be. >> hey, dafazio. they're here. all right. laverne. this is laverne dafazio. she's mine. this is shirley feeney. she's yours. as you can see. >> nice to meet you, ritchie. >> my pleasure. >> when "laverne & shirley" made

a guest appearance, one of the cameramen said, look at this two shot. that's a series. >> shamele, shamozle -- hossenfere incorporated. >> tuesday night between 8:00 and 9:00 is called the death spot, death to any program that dares to go head-on between abc's "happy days" and "laverne & shirley." >> "laverne & shirley" was one of the few sitcoms that debuted as number one. >> the absolute top number one show this season is "laverne & shirley." a seemingly harmless but essentially brainless exercise in adolescent silliness. >> you have to go all the way back to "i love lucy" to get the same sort of slapstick and physical comedy. >> we never thought about its importance, except that, you know, it was two girls trying and the value of friendship. it must have something going for it. >> i don't rodeo-do-do. >> you rodeo-do-do. >> i don't rodeo-do-do. >> they couldn't say sex.

they said rodeo-do. >> you rodeo-do. >> everybody knew what they were talking about. >> once. >> my son didn't want to watch "laverne and shirley" or "happy days." i said, you don't like it? he said, i like it. but what's missing? spacemen! because we were getting into space. so that's when i created -- a space man. >> wait a minute, who are you? >> i am mork from ork. >> the writers all rolled their eyes, an alien. he wants an alien. i had to make up a story. fonzi is running out of adversaries. >> that's right, fonzi never lost a hall attacker yet. we got the home planet advantage. >> then we've got him on his own show. and "mork & mindy" was the hit show of the '70s. >> the audience, talk about a willing suspension of disbelief, is willing to buy the premise. >> mind if i do? >> just so they can watch robin williams. >> nanu-nanu. >> well, excuse me!

>> that was an interesting part of the balance i think of the television diet. that there was an attempt to explore deeper into the psyche of what makes us tick. but there was also, you know, a need to escape. >> i'm going to a beach barbecue. >> uh-huh. i can see what's going to heat up the coals. >> if there's any single phenomenon that's tilted the ratings books in abc's direction, it's t & a. herb jacobs at the cbs affiliates meeting he explained how these t & a shows are concocted. >> they take the clothes off three times. they get idea. and then they have to run three times. so they jiggle. they're all well-endowed. of course. and then they say, now, let's get three undressed scenes. and three jiggles. and write a script around it. >> there are some who will tell you t & a has peaked and is on its way out. abc has shows like "the love boat" and "three's company." >> jiggle tv referred to the fact that these were women who were, you know, who were, you know -- >> good morning, angels. >> good morning, charlie.

>> "charlie's angels" became a very enduring trademark out of the '70s. >> i've already made arrangements for you three to go to prison. >> open your towel. >> i'll be standing as erect as ever. good luck, angels. >> oh god, i did "battle of the network stars" a couple of times. and i hated it. >> i think i made up some pretty good time on billy crystal. >> networks would loan out their tv stars to compete in a series of quasi olympic-type events. >> she is leaning so far over she seems to be wobbling a great deal. >> erin gray. with that spry, supple body. >> she's got a great set of legs, what the heck? >> i think we have a lot to apologize for for the worst of television. >> my only defense, it was the '70s. >> did i jiggle much? live and learn. this beer gets straight to the point.

it looks you in the eyes... ...and firmly shakes your hand. coors banquet. that's how it's done. this is krm breaking news. >> a statement is expected soon from u.s. president donald trump and japanese prime minister shinzo abe. after reports that north korea has fired a ballistic missile. it was an intermediate-range missile according to one u.s. official talking to cnn. sources say it traveled 500 kilometers before landing in the sea of japan, also known as the east sea. a white house official says mr. trump has been briefed on the situation which developed while he was hosting mr. abe. last month, north korean leader kim jong-un said his country was close to test launching an

intercontinental ballistic missile. mr. trump responded by saying it would not happen. white house correspondent athena jones is in south florida where president trump is playing host to japan's prime minister. athena, for the moment there's been no reaction from the president? >> hi, that's right. we know that the white house is aware and monitoring the situation closely. we know that president trump has been briefed. we don't know who he was briefed by. and we know that the press pool, the pool of reporters who closely follow his almost every move that they can, was able to ask a question of the president, ask him to respond to this north korea missile test before heading into that dinner with prime minister abe and his wife a couple of hours ago. you could clearly hear the press asking him to respond and the president ignored the questions. so it was a clear signal this is a white house that was trying to respond cautiously to this provocation by the north koreans.

it shouldn't come as a huge surprise. we reported, cnn reported just last month, about u.s. intelligence agencies having satellite imagery that showed some possible preparations for a launch like this were taking place. so it shouldn't come as a surprise. we know that the north koreans like to test new presidents early in their terms. they did their second nuclear launch during president obama's first term. their third nuclear launch about a month into his second term. so it's not entirely surprising that they should take this action, what is interesting is to see the white house and the national security council so carefully respond. it will be interesting to see what the president says now that he's had a few hours to figure out what to say. so we'll be closely watching that. >> atheathena, just to be sure, we're going to get some kind of response soon, correct? >> that is the plan. we're being updated by the press pool now. those are folks who are setting up right now for what we're told will be a joint statement by the

japanese prime minister and president trump. i spoke with the japanese foreign ministry spokesman earlier who assured me that of course prime minister abe had been briefed and that he had given certain orders to the relevant japanese government agencies, government departments. perhaps we'll hear more on what the japanese are planning to do. but very importantly, of course, is what the u.s. response is going to be. and that is what we are anxiously awaiting and expect to have it relatively soon. that's at least the idea and the plan, to have that joint statement happen live any minute now. >> athena, we're looking at the live pictures right now. and as you say, we're expecting that statement any minute now. one would expect that the new administration has done some kind of planning for this. and i say this because it had been -- the threat from north korea, the nuclear capability from north korea, had been identified by this administration and the new

security figures within the administration as one of the main threats and the priorities for the u.s. going forward. >> absolutely. this is not absolutely that should have caught the administration flat-footed. i'm not suggesting it necessarily did. but it clear that the president is trying to take maybe a little bit less of an aggressive bellicose approach. we've been talking about that tweet he sent at the beginning of january, he said north korea just stated it is in the final stages -- january 2nd, still president-elect. the president-elect said, north korea just stated it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the u.s. it won't happen." now, he did not respond in a similarly aggressive way tonight, so this could be some indication of the difference between rhetoric on the campaign trail and actually governing. we also remember on the campaign trail then-candidate trump talking about how maybe south korea and japan need to pay more

for u.s. protection and defense, maybe they need to develop their own nuclear weapons so they wouldn't have to rely on us. you know what was notable about that statement, that joint statement from the u.s. and japan after the first official meeting between the leaders on friday, just yesterday, it seems like a long time ago, just yesterday when that statement came out there was none of that talk about japan going it alone. no, instead we heard the usual diplomatic language we would have heard coming out of the obama administration, talk about the unshakeable alliance between the u.s. and japan, talk about how that alliance is the cornerstone of peace and stability in the asia-pacific region. also notably in that same statement, they talked about north korea specifically and urged north korea not to take more provocative actions. that's exactly what the north koreans are doing. and there are experts you talk to who say the u.s. has got to be somewhat careful in how they respond, not to overreact. we're talking about a missile, as far as we know, went only about 500 kilometers. that's not very far, that's clearly not going to reach the u.s.

perhaps it's more smoke than fire. the north koreans want to elicit a response from the u.s. and they're getting it. it's not a coincidence they're doing this just as the president is hosting prime minister abe for this weekend of diplomacy here in south florida. it's going to be very, very interesting to hear both what president trump says and what the prime minister has to say any minute now, we hope. >> thank you very much. we continue to keep an eye on live pictures. you're going to come back and continue to cover this with us. we've got a number of people who are going to give us analysis, what's happening on the ground in seoul. let's go straight to south korea. matt rivers our correspondent standing by. even as we keep an eye on this statement we're expecting any moment from u.s. president donald trump and japanese prime minister shinzo abe, can you update us on what we know specifically about the missile launch? >> we know that south korean officials say that they are working with their counterparts in the united states to try and figure out more details exactly

about what this launch was. what kind of missile it was. frankly whether the north koreans are going to view this as a success or a failure or whether the international community would view this test as a success or failure. you mentioned it only went 500 kilometers, that is indicative of the fact that this is suspected to be an intermediate-range missile. that really matters in terms of the kind of missile tests that are happening because of what we were expecting what many people were expecting from the north koreans was a launch of -- a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range missile, a range up to 5,500 kilometers, the kind of missile that could deliver some kind of payload to the united states. kim jong-un early on this year, on january 1st in fact, said that his regime was in the final stages of preparing that kind of test. so that's what many people were expecting. so the fact that this was an

intermediate-range missile, test missile launch, is something that maybe didn't come as a surprise, but it wasn't certainly the worst-case scenario many here in south korea were expect. this is the kind of situation frankly the south koreans have reacted to many, many times before. this exact kind of test happened multiple times throughout the year in 2016. there was some two dozen different test launches that were conduct the by the north koreans in 2016. so the south koreans came out today, they said they were very upset by this as they always are, they say it's against international law, they say they are going to try and look at more punitive actions, but it's the exact same kind of thing we hear from the south koreans every single time the north launches a test missile like what we saw early this morning. >> matt rivers, we're seeing japanese prime minister shinzo abe, u.s. president donald trump, let's listen in. [ speaking in japanese ]

>> translator: north korea's most recent missile launch is absolutely intolerable. [ speaking in japanese ] >> translator: north korea must fully comply with the relevant u.n. security council resolutions. [ speaking in japanese ] >> translator: during the summit meeting that i had with president trump, he assured me that the united states will

always will japan 100%. to demonstrate his determination as well as commitment, he is now here with me at this joint press conference. [ speaking in japanese ] >> translator: president trump and i myself completely share the view that we are going to promote further cooperation between the two nations and also we are going to further reinforce our alliance. that is all from myself. >> thank you very much, mr. prime minister. i just want everybody to understand and fully know that the united states of america stands behind japan, its great ally, 100%. thank you.

>> all right, very interesting. stay with cnn. we're going to break down what just happened with a number of correspondents, analysts who are with us right now. we just heard from the japanese prime minister shinzo abe, we just heard from u.s. president donald trump. let me run you through who's going to help us break this down. thea jones, white house correspondent. alise jab bot, global affairs correspondent. matt rivers on the ground in seoul going to give us the perspective from that region of the world. we've got lieutenant general mark hurtling who's with us, military analyst and ambassador christopher hill in denver, colorado. so happy to have you with us. we're part of the six-party talks, former ambassador to

south korea, we'll want your insayings. athena jones, you heard those statements from shinzo abe and donald trump. short, terse, to the point. >> absolutely. very short, terse, and to the point. we heard prime minister abe really echo what we've already heard from the u.s. and japan about the need for north korea to comply with u.n. security resolutions and a restatement that the u.s. promises to basically have japan's back. that's exactly the kind of language that although in more diplo-speak we heard in the joint statement issued by the u.s. and japan after their first official meeting at the white house just yesterday. then we heard president trump say very little. he said, thank you very much, mr. prime minister, the united states stands behind japan, its great ally, 100%. so clearly a restatement of the u.s. commitment to the defense of japan. and i should mention also, south korea. that's also part of this relationship.

these are two very important alliances in the asia-pacific. we've heard talk about how the u.s. and japan have an unshakeable appliance that is the cornerstone of peace and stability in the region. so very interesting to see those two leaders come out late tonight. we know they had a dinner earlier. we know the president was briefed earlier but he didn't want to respond to questions. they wanted to respond in this more formal way. i would still say this was a somewhat cautious reaction to north korea's clearly planned out, preplanned provocation. and it's unclear if this is a strategic move as we've talked about experts saying maybe it's not such a good idea to overrespond or overreact to north korea. north korea clearly trying to test this new president as they have past presidents, including president obama. clearly trying to show they have maybe tried to gain the upper hand in any future negotiations. the white house approaching this rather cautiously, i would say, tonight. >> yeah, donald trump certainly not giving any specifics.

an extremely short statement, just one sentence. the united states of america said the president stands behind japan 100%. all right, athena jones, our white house correspondent, stay with us. we're going to go to matt rivers covering this live from seoul, south korea. matt, you heard that statement. we've been waiting for weeks to find out what the u.s. policy would be especially with respect to its key allies in that part of the world. south korea and japan. we just heard it. the u.s. president standing by, standing next to the japanese prime minister. >> yeah, and i think what here in south korea they're going to stake away from that is taking to heart the fact that donald trump got up there and stated unequivocally united states stands with its ally japan. given in south korea we saw defense secretary james mattis make his first overseas trip to south korea, it seems this administration is kind of

coalescing around the idea that the alliances in this part of the world as a buffer against what's going on in north korea are going to be something that it holds to a high degree of importance moving forward. and there had frankly been some concern over that given the statements that we have heard from donald trump, both on the campaign trail and as president-elect, talking the possibility of maybe pulling back from some of these alliances in the region. specifically about south korea, how maybe south korea doesn't pay enough to warrant the level of u.s. troop presence that exists here. some tens of thousands of troops. so that certainly had allies like japan and south korea worried for some time. what we have seen from this administration over the last several weeks was what appears to be a reaffirmation of these long-standing alliances between both sides. and this latest test from north korea really is the first test for the trump administration. how were they going to respond? how are they going to be responding moving forward? you heard a very, very short statement from the president there, we don't really have

specifics in terms of how, if at all, the united states will respond to this specific test. but i think what the south koreans at least will take away from this is that the united states does appear committed to standing with its historic allies in this part of the world. >> matt, there's something i want to make absolutely clear to viewers. you mentioned there were tens of thousands of american troops stationed in japan. it was 45,000 the last time i checked, give or take. but that means that any threat to japan is also potentially a threat to the u.s. >> that's absolutely right. the united states, i mean, for example, in south korea and the deployment or the planned deployment of this anti-missile defense system for later this year, you know, what you hear from the united states is not only are they trying to protect the south korean allies in this part of the world, they're also protecting u.s. interests in this part of the world. there are two different sides to this coin here. of course protecting south koreans, protecting the japanese, but also protecting

the incredible investment both in troops and in money that the united states has placed in this part of the world. they want to make sure that the money and the troops that they're putting here, that they're well protected. and so yeah, you're absolutely right, there are american interests and american lives at stake in south korea and japan. >> all right, matt, stand by. let's bring in cnn global affairs correspond ant elise labott, she's in washington. i want to hear your assessment of that statement by president trump. i don't recall ever hearing in a situation akin to this one a statement as short as the one we heard from mr. trump. again, just one sentence. the united states of america stands behind japan 100%. >> i thought it was remarkable. this is a president that on the campaign trail that certainly since taking office has been very brash, has been very confrontational. you know, really a lot of bombast, okay? he seemed very sober.

he doesn't have his aides around him. this was supposed to be yes, serious talking, but kind of a lighthearted evening for him. obviously this was kind of expected. but he was, you know, very sober. his rhetoric was gone. and i think this is a real wakeup call for this president that this is not the campaign, this is reality, and he is faced with one of the greatest national security threats facing the united states. president obama had warned him coming in in their meetings that north korea was one of the biggest threats facing the u.s. the trump administration has been very concerned about this. i think that's why as matt said you saw jim mattis traveling out there. the first major trip by a u.s. national security official to the region. reaffirming those alliances. and i think the fact that, you know, i think the president is maybe -- although in theory this

is expected, i mean, this is reality now for this president, and he has his first national security crisis that he has to figure out what to do. i thought it was very remarkable that he was restrained, that he was sober, and he just stated the reaffirmation to the alliance. he's going to be huddling with his national security team on a strategy ahead. >> what do you make of the fact that he gave absolutely no specifics? >> i think they're still trying to figure out what it is. i mean, we know this is an intermediate-range missile, we know the range, but you know -- i think when you have a launch of this nature, you don't hear from a u.s. president so soon after in front of the cameras make a statement. maybe we see a national security statement or a pentagon statement or a statement from the secretary of state. or maybe even a spokesman. you don't see the president

coming out. i think this was for prime minister abe's benefit. he is in japan. this trip is very important for him to solidify his relationship with this new president. he put a lot of stock in what he thought was japanese officials told me was a relationship in the making. the fact that he's at the president's kind of winter resort was very important to him. and this is him showing his people back home that he has a deliverable. that the u.s. standing shoulder to shoulder with its ally. you note that president trump just said that the u.s. stands with japan. obviously, the u.s. also stands to visit south korea as part of that alliance. but he focused on japan. and i think this was probably for prime minister abe's benefit. i don't know that he would have seen president trump coming out to the rose garden or to the oval office and making a statement so soon after a test, if he wasn't with prime minister abe. but again, very restrained, very sober.

the u.s. doesn't really have a plan right now. they've been talking for weeks about what they would do. obviously, that came up with the meeting with the prime minister, but i think this was for prime minister abe's benefit, probably. >> all right. elise labott, thank you very much. we're also looking at a map, and i really want to underscore the importance of this map to our viewers. this is showing the missile range currently attributed to north korea. you see those red lines, concentric lines around north korea. so one, two, and three are missiles that north korea currently has. that's how far the north korean missile capabilities actually stands. four and five, now, those are the ranges of missiles that north korea is trying to acquire. they're understood to be in development and, in fact, there is some dispute within experts on this topic as to how far their current missiles can currently fire. i would remind our viewers that the current north korean leader, kim jong-un in his new year's

address warned the world and the u.s., put the u.s. on notice, saying that he was in a position, he was able to fire tan intercontinental ballistic missile that could hit the u.s. at any time of his choosing. now, so far, that capability is not proven. they've never demonstrated that they are able to do that. let's bring in former u.s. ambassador to south korea and iraq, christopher hill. he's one of the people who knows the most about this topic. you were part of six-party topics. obviously, the diplomatic efforts that ran for years to try and get north korea to de-nuclearize. those failed. my question to you, mr. hill is, what can donald trump do today? and athena jones cited his tweet of january 2nd. so just over a month'ing, he said, you know, it's not going to happen in reference to north korea's intercontinental nuclear capability. what can he actually do to

curtail their nuclear ambitions? >> well, as he goes forward, i mean, this will eventually be a crisis. i don't think tonight was a crisis. this was an intermediate missile, this is not new. tonight is not a crisis. but overall this issue in the next four years will be a crisis. because north korea intends to have a deliverable nuclear weapon. and i think for donald trump, it was actually, this has been a pretty good few days on east asia policy. first of all, very successful visit to korea and japan by his defense secretary and then he had a very successful telephone call with xi jinping. and now, what better way to show support and show solidarity with the japanese people than a north korean test. so i think it has been a good day for the president in terms of the policy coming ahead.

and i think it's pretty clear what needs to be done. first of all, the alliances with korea and japan need to be strengthened. and in particular, i think the u.s. has a role in trying to strengthen the relationship between korea and japan. that has to get better. the alliance needs to be strengthened, and it needs to be strengthened through the delivery that america has, at its best, which is the ballistic missile system. and finally, he's going to have to pivot over and work with the chinese on this. because they need to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. >> and he has pointed that out. he has in fact said in no uncertain terms that the chinese were not helping enough when it comes to north korea. >> he's also implied that it's kind of [ inaudible ] outsource it to china. and i think certainly, his conversations with abe would reveal the fact that no one country can solve this problem. that's why president bush and

president jinping created that six-party process. so i think it's been kind of a dress rehearsal from president trump in a sort of international context, and i think it's gone -- it's, so far, gone well. and now he has to put together a strategy and i am sure part of that strategy has to be a kuf deep dive with the chinese on how we're going to manage this. because no ones in the next four year, north korea will be fielding a deliverable nuclear weapon. >> christopher hill, ambassador hill, thank you so much for your insights. now, we're covering this story from all angles on cnn. athena jones is in florida following president trump. he just listened and broke down the statements by mr. trump and the japanese prime minister, shinzo abe, for us moments ago. matt rivers is in seoul with the information on the ground from the region. ambassador christopher hill we just spoke to in denver, colorado. now let's bring in lieutenant general mark hertling who joins me with his perspective, cnn's military analyst. what do you make of today's

missile test? pause it is one of those things, we've been seeing, especially over the last year to 18 months, more and more testing. both on the missile front and on the nuclear capability front from north korea. and it gets to the point where it's hard to determine what the level of threat is, and how serious each given occurrence of this is. >> i don't think that you've seen a whole lot of advances on the nuclear front, so i'll counter your statement on that a little bit. but we have seen significant number of launches throughout 2016 of these types of missiles. now, this particular launch went, as you said earlier, about 500 kilometers. that's not much. that's about a little less than average of the type of launches they've had throughout the year. the map you threw up earlier, too, as we talk about the ranges of the -- everything from the scud to the musudan to the tie pong d, to the various missiles

that korea has, what we have to make sure our listeners know, that all of them, across the board, are very inaccurate. so talking about the potential range, yes, there is the probability that they can get to those distances, but when north korea throws a missile up in the air, they never know where it's going to land. >> that's why they're aimed at the sea, right? that's why they're aimed at the open sea? >> yeah, right. the sea of japan is a pretty big body of water. and when you're talking about just putting a missile out there, again, it's an indicator of what the north korean leader is trying to do. he's drawing attention to himself and trying to get people to react to him. and i think we saw from president trump tonight the type of reaction we need more of. get more information. he was probably briefed very quickly by an aide, saying, this is what happened, we'll have more details as we get them. the national security team has probably pulled together,

they're probably together right now, elements that show the four different national powers of the united states, military, diplomatic, informational, and economic, saying, what do we do next? prime minister abe said the right things. he said, hey, this is a violation of the united nations security council resolution 2321 that north korea continues to do this. we have to stop them and we have to find ways to do this. and my friend, president trump, stands behind us. and then mr. trump basically said, we're behind them 100%. but i think mr. trump is also getting a feel for, these are not business deals. these are not binary negotiations between different countries. he has to consider, first of all, as someone earlier said, we do have about 28,000 soldiers on the korean peninsula. we do have trade and defense pacs with not only japan but other countries in the theater. and not only are u.s. troops on the peninsula and korea defending -- south korea, defending that country, but there are also canadians, poles,

australians, new zealanders and a whole bunch of other people who are there since the 1953 truce. this is one of those kind of things where i think mr. trump is saying, wow, there's a lot more to this than i thought during the campaign. i can't be as blustery and say some things without the consideration that, you know, what i said to one country today might affect another country tomorrow. >> mark, that's what i was going to ask you. what we saw, what we saw during that statement, ultimately, sounded quite a lot like what we would have seen two months ago around previous u.s. administration. mark, we'll have to leave it there for just a second. of course, we're going to continue our coverage. you know, thank you for watching our coverage of north korea's launch of the ballistic missile and reaction from the u.s. and japan. our viewers in the u.s. will be returning to regular programming. i want to remind you, if you're just tuning in, as to what we've learned this evening. north korea has tested a new missile. it is believed to have been an intermediate range ballistic missile. that comes to us from a u.s.

administration official, talking to cnn. and we were just breaking it down with our guests. the main takeaway from the statement from the japanese prime minister, shinzo abe and u.s. president, donald trump. all right. stay with us. that's probably the most important cultural event in the history of america. >> a generation of freaks. >> guys kind of get off on. high energy. >> the sight and sound is your pleasure. >> bet your bottom, we got them baby. >> unless you have been living in a sealed cave, you probably know america's latest craze is disco dancing. >> this is punk rock. its purpose to promote violence, sex and destruction in that order. >> pure rock 'n' roll. pure! ♪