all right. on a really busy night here, that is all in for this evening on this election night 2017. the rachel maddow shows joins right now. >> you just started using your feet too. so he's -- >> south korean legislative assembly and ralph northam's headquarters. >> exactly. and david ignatius bringing it all full circle in talking about the international implications of these results. there is a lot going on. happy tuesday, happy election day. it is clear already that this is a big election night for democrats. before we get into the details of that, let me just say what's going to happen over this hour that i'm responsible for. right now it is 9:00 p.m. on the east coast in the united states. right now it is tomorrow. it is 11:00 a.m. on wednesday in

south korea. so president trump is in south korea. he's about to address the south korean parl lnlt. this is the first time a u.s. president has addressed the parliament since the earlier '90s when bill clinton was there. it's certainly the first time any u.s. president has spoken anywhere in the korean peninsula since this president threatened that he would totally destroy north korea. it's the first time any american president has traveled to the korean peninsula since president trump threatened north korea with fire and fury like the world has never seen. >> north korea best not make any more threats to the united states. they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. >> that was august. that was president trump's red line promising what he would do if north korea made any more threats to the united states. north korea responded immediately to that red line by

threatening to bomb guam. then they shot missiles over japan, then they tested a hydrogen bomb. while the president prepares to address the parliament in south korea tonight, we've got i'lls on that. we've also got our first electoral results from this offyear election night tonight. so it is sort of a split screen night but the election results are in, sort of earlier than we thought they'd be. the most closely watched race in the country tonight is the virginia governor's race, republican ed gillespie, very high profile republican, who almost unseated democratic senator mark warner, facing ralph northam. polls closed 7:00 p.m. ed gillespie had gotten closer in the polls. a lot of people thought this was going to be a squeaker. we'd be up really late tonight

waiting for the results. that is not how it turned out. just one hour after polls closed right around 8:00 p.m. eastern, nbc news did project the winner of the virginia governor's race as democrat ralph northam. that means democrat terry mcauliffe will be succeeded in office by his lieutenant governor. it means that the best chance the republican party had for a gubernatorial pick-up this year is now dead because the other governor's race tonight is in new jersey. the race to replace republican chris christie who is still a high profile national political figure, even while his 14% approval ratings at home make him not just the least popular governor in the history of new jersey, by some measures he's the least popular american governor of any state ever in the history of american polling. no surprise within three minutes of the polls closing at

8:00 p.m. tonight, nbc news was able to project that phil murphy will be the next governor of the great state of new jersey. he defeated republican kim guadagno whose political experience serving as the lieutenant governor for seven years was really the opposite of an asset for her in this election. so those are the two governors races tonight. all ready a big night for democrats. democrats securing both of those governorships. we've been watching those governors races and other very interesting races tonight including some that might be, you know, watch them all night down to the wire races. doesn't worry. we'll be live into the wee hours tonight as results continue to come in. but i want to bring in the conversation now richard engle. he's live tonight for us, tomorrow for him in south korea. he's in seoul. thanks very much for joining us tonight. it's great to have you here. >> reporter: it's good to be with you. it's now just after 11 in the morning on wednesday and we're

waiting for president trump to address the parliament here and so far during this trip he has been quite diplomatic. he has been not giving those fire and brimstone speeches. in fact, yesterday he was talking about north korea should come to the table. we should all sit down and have talks. but he has arrived with a big show of force. three aircraft carrier strike groups, an extra submarine. they're about 32,000 troops here. so while he's saying we should talk, he is also carrying a very big stick. so we will see what kind of rhetoric he brings to the parliament. there are many people in this country who are not comfortable with the fact that he is speaking to parliament. yesterday there were quite a few people on the street demonstrators with a single slogan, no trump, no war. they think that this president, unlike his predecessors is pushing this region to a brink and that if that were to be crossed, there could be an enormous war and that this

country and this city in particular seoul would suffer tremendous casualties and tremendous consequences. >> richard, we've heard tonight that there was an effort by the white house, an effort by the american government to send president trump to the dmz. that effort was aborted because of thick fog and bad weather. we had been told explicitly by the white house that the president wasn't going to go there but then they apparently made this attempt. do you have any inside into what they were trying to do that dmz visit as an unannounced surprised? >> reporter: i was told that it wasn't going to happen. when you were told specifically it's not going to happen, the president is not going to go there, you start to think, well, is he going to do that? is that orchestrated? so by saying and laying out the case that he's never going to go to the dmz, he's not going to go to the north korean border it would have been very much like president trump to then decide he's going to order the

helicopters around. he's going to go there himself and go to the border. but apparently the weather was not cooperative and that trip got aborted. >> richard, i sort of hate to ask you this but i feel like i have to. is there anything that could really go wrong tonight with the president's speech? is there anything that he could say or do here that would really be dangerous in terms of the threat of the war with north korea, in terms of anything that could threaten our allies in the region? >> reporter: yes and yes. there are many things. we've been speaking to a lot of analysts, military experts, retired military officials. we have an entire hour as you know full well on friday about this subject. when you have so much force in the region and you have the alignment of the political stars as they are right now where you have xi jinping in china feeling empowered, you have president trump with this enormous appetite for brinkmanship, you

have kim jong-un, young leader also with a huge appetite for provocations, when you have these three leaders right now at this moment where the north korean missile program and nuclear program are advancing to a stage where the u.s. says it is an untolerable risk, then any miscalculation could send things out of control here. there is a risk that by sending the wrong message, if he comes out again and is insulting to the north korean leader, if he starts issuing more bellicose threats then the real concern is with so much military power with these leaders who are in charge right now, that you get a miscalculation from a fighter pilot, from a sub commander. something happens a small escalation, it goes into a bigger escalation, so there is a real concern that if he doesn't watch what he says that things

could -- things could escalate. >> richard engle live for us in seoul tonight. thanks for being with us right now to set things up my friend. we are waiting the president's live remarks. we're waiting for the president to start speaking. he should've started couple of minutes ago based on the guidance that we have but we expect that this will be shortly. i do want to recap the major domestic news of the night as we're waiting for this address by the president and that is that there have been two governor races tonight, one in new jersey which was won easily by the democratic candidate there, phil murphy who was running against chris christie's lieutenant governor, so the current governor of new jersey is a republican, he is a spectacularly unpopular governor at home. his approval ratings in new jersey are on the order of 14 or 15% which makes him among the lowest polling governors ever in the history of american polling in any state. kim guadagno being his

lieutenant governor did not help her against phil murphy tonight and phil murphy has won that race. nbc news projects him to be the winner. a more surprising result tonight, i guess maybe not surprising but maybe not, was the virginia democrats winning the governor's race there too. gillespie defeated by northam. joining us now live is virginia democratic senator mark warner. senator warner, thanks very much for being with us. i know it's been short notice. we're happy to have you. >> hey, how you doing? >> i'm really good. you ran against ed gillespie. he gave you a run for your money in 2014. a lot of democrats watching this race tonight were worried that the polling in virginia tended to understate how republicans did there, but this has been a big win tonight for ralph northam. are you relieved? how do you feel?

>> rachel, i feel great. this is a voice that was across not only across virginia, but across the country. people are tired of the kind of approach that donald trump is brought. i want to thank you for continuing to try to bring out the truth that we are pursuing as well and people are saying, enough, enough of hatred, enough of division and what we've done in virginia, kept our eye on the ball. we've got a great current governor. raefl northam tonight is leading a sweep not only of all our statewide elected officials but a whole host of house of delegates. it is a great night for virginia but for people who say our country is better than what we've been getting from donald trump. >> you mentioned that statewide speep tonight. we have now nbc news project the winners in the governor's race and in the lieutenant governor's race, democrats winning all three of those statewide races

tonight. we're continuing to wax those numbers come in tonight. the republicans vay tremendous lead heading into tonight in the house of delegates, 66 to 34. democrats would need to pick up 17 seats tonight in order to take control of that house. do you think that's within reach for democrats tonight? >> rachel, who knows. none of us -- we were hopeful but we will didn't really expect to be able to take it back. i think what's happening is, this is the first time since donald trump was elected that americans, in this case virginians have had a chance to have their voices counted. and we've come so far in virginia. 16 years ago, tim kaine and i, i was governor, tim kaine was lieutenant governor, 16 years ago, virginia was as red a state as any state in the country. every statewide elected official was republican. we've come back now because virginia democrats know how to govern. we know how to get things done. and tonight this is both a win

for ralph northam and his great ticket and a lot of house of delegates but it is also a very strong message. i hope we'll be heard across the country and for that matter, across the world. we reject the kind of division that donald trump has put forward and frankly, and i know i'm not supposed to say nice things about folks in the media, but people want to know the truth about many of the things that took place in 2016. >> senator warner, you're just talking about this being potentially a bellwether in terms of how this relates in national politics, is there a special sauce? is there a describable approach in terms of how virginia democrats approached this tonight that other democrats in other states or other democrats nationwide might build on in terms of trying to rebuild democratic success in the trump era? >> well, you know, there's often times in washington and elsewhere a lot of internal naval gazing.

in virginia, we thought about we don't want to leave anybody behind. we did very well in urban areas and suburban areas. we still got more progress to make in rural communities but there's a young man, i want your audience to look at named chris hurst. he ran, he was a reporter whose girlfriend was shot on air in a horrible tragedy a few years back in the most rural parts of southwest virginia. he's winning by huge margin tonight. so we're showing that virginia democrats can win, not just in urban and suburban areas but rural areas as well. i think we've got a message that i hope that the rest of the national party will take going forward because there's a lot more elections to take on in 2018. >> virginia's democratic senator mark warner. senator warner joining us from a celebration tonight in virginia. thank you for your time, sir. looking forward to having you back on the show again soon.

>> thank you, rachel. joining us in a most is steve ver knack can i. we want to stay closely focused on what's going on in virginia. as we heard senator warner say there, a democratic sweep of the statewide elections. a very interesting situation unfolding in terms of the control of the state legislature there. we'll talk to steve about that. i should also tell you in the immediate moment we're also waiting for the president to start his remarks tonight in south korea. you see a live shot there of the south korean parliament. steve, what are you watching right now in terms of that legislature? >> what it has to do with is the coat tail effect. you can see now he's edged up a eight points. we're in territory that we haven't been in more than 30 years. the last time a democrat won in virginia, it was 1985, it was a ten-point margin then. this thing is creeping up. it could get even higher still when you look at some of the areas still to come. the overall headline story here,

the reason this has potential implementations for 2018. think about to election night last year. donald trump got elected. we were talking about that class divide. that 40 point margin that trump got with noncollege white voters. we're seeing the other side of that tonight. you're seeing the college degree half of that, the suburbs here in virginia, northern virginia around richmond. you're seeing turnlout that we did not expect. zoom in. this is the d.c. suburbs and go through. ed gillespie, basically the model for ed was this. donald trump got blown out in these suburbs last year by a margin worse than republicans usually do. the gillespie model was to get back to it. a respectable loss. i'll give you an example of what happened. in louden county tonight, gillespie lost this by 20

points. this is worst than trump. how about this? ed gillespie ran for the senate in 2014, he won this county. get back to my 2014 levels here and then get the trump levels in rural virginia but you don't see it any where. take a look in arlington. 80% tonight for ralph northam the democrats. that's more than hillary clinton. she got 76% here. this is an improvement. you're seeing a turnout and you're seeing a level of support here for the democrats that is much more than was expected and extends to look down in virginia. take a look here. this is a place when ed gillespie ran three years ago, he loses by 23 points. this is a trump gap. you're seeing the whole theory for gillespie was you play those cultural hot button issue and you run up the republican support in southwestern virginia but you do it in a way that doesn't sacrifice or get you

stigmatized like trump did. he got it. the implications for 2018, you talk about those districts, those hillary clinton districts that have republican incumbents and places where hillary clinton was competitive that have republican incumbents. these suburbs look like they haven't moved at all since election night 2016. or it's even further away from donald trump. you're seeing energy. you're seeing a desire to vote against trump and against republicans because it was trump issues that ed gillespie ran on. we talk about that coat tail effect. these are about three minutes ago. you said 17 is the magic number. if democrats want to get the house of delegates in virginia, they need a net gain of 17. as of about three minutes ago when i was handed this, you had ten that were in the bag for democrats. ten republican seats that they had won. you have seven republican seats that they are leading in. ten and seven, 17. now those seven not official yet so it's a fluid situation but it

is possible. democrats will end up tonight. they've won the governorship and attorney general's race, they've won the lieutenant governor's race. nobody thought this was really a gain tonight. they may win the house of delegates too. that would be a sweep that was unimaginable 24 hours ago when people were talking about it. >> steve, i have one update for you and then i have a couple of clarifying questions. we just heard from the south korea parliament that president trump is working on his speech. they've made some sort of announcement that he's working on his speech. they've asked people to hang out and wait for a minute before he gets ready to go. we had expected the speech to start about 15 minutes or so ago. we now know that the president is apparently still working on it. we'll stay watching for that. let me ask you, though, in terms of this -- the overall tide that we're looking at in virginia here. we get northam winning. we get him winning by more than the polls suggested he was going to win by.

the state senate is not up in virginia right now, is that right? and the state senate is very close, 21-19. with the democrats winning the other statewide seats, they win the attorney general's office, mark herring stays on. we also get a democratic lieutenant governor, johnsustic taken fairfax. that's the only second african-american statewide elected virginian ever. but if somebody in the virginia state senate could be persuaded to switch parties, he would become the deciding vote as lieutenant governor if there was going to be partisan pressure in the senate. the only way that pressure could be created is if democrats also take the legislature, take the house of delegates. now all 100 seats in the house of delegates are up, right? >> right. >> democrats need 17. how unlikely are the ten that the democrats have picked up

already? are those the ones that you expected them to get in a win this big? are those ten already exceeding? >> what you're starting to see -- the highlight race that you're talking about earlier that's in prince william county. we can show you right here. i'm always scared to touch this. perfect example here. prince william county. i got to look down at my notes. here is the story of what happened tonight. in 2014. here's the sort of suburbs, excerpts from washington, d.c. this is a three point loss for gillespie. it turned into a 17 point loss for trump. the margin exploded against republicans. >> steve with us tonight. president trump is about to begin his remarks in seoul, south korea, before south korea's national assembly. this is obviously a time of intense heightened tension with north korea. the president was due to visit the dmz today, tried to visit

was pushed back by heavy fog. as the president is at the dais and about to begin his remarks. we've got here as part of our coverage tonight, nuclear expert, we've got korea chair for international studies. sumi, can i start with you briefly as we're waiting for the president to start his remarks. we were talking about richard engle about worse case scenario, things that could go wrong in the president's remarks tonight. are you bracing for danger tonight in terms of the president's remarks or are you expecting a more traditional diplomatic speech? >> well, we're always bracing because you never know with mr. trump and i'm sure south koreans are bracing themselves for anything to go wrong. they're used to mr. trump's rhetoric about totally disregarding north korea and even calling president moon a peaser. i do think that mr. trump and

i'm hoping that he will stick with the script because he really needs to show south koreans that they can trust mr. trump with their security, that trump is trying to get south korean on board on getting tough on north korea policy. we need to get south korea and washington on the same page, so i hope mr. trump does that tonight and stick with the script for once. >> in terms of the idea of him having a script, we just had this shot moments ago showing rex tillerson the social medecr state and jared kushner and h.r. mcmaster who are all in person there at the national assembly waiting for this speech to begin. nuclear security analyst, the pentagon said this, that there is no way to independently secure north korea's nuclear arsenal in the event of conflict. absent a massive american ground

invasion of north korea, what are you expecting tonight from the president in terms of just the military and the nuclear part of his message? >> what the pentagon is telling the president and what his adviser is telling him there is no good military option. if you start a war, even if a powerful u.s. push, you have no guarantee that you can find the nuclear weapons and that the north koreans will not use the nuclear weapons short of a complete ground invasion. that is not the kind of scenario the president wants. it may be why his tone in south korea has been more muted than previously. why he's making a nod towards diplomacy emphasizing diplomacy first in south korea whereas he just left japan where the president of japan abe said this is not the time to talk. what's unclear is which position donald trump really holds.

the bellicosity we've heard up until name, it's an eradek policy. some people think it's a psychosis. whatever it's been a policy that has failed. it is driven the north koreans into a mutually reinforcing cycle of escalation that brings us to the brink of war. the fear that i have -- >> joe? >> the president's remarks beginning right now in the south korean national assembly. >> ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the extraordinary privilege to speak in this great chamber and to address your people on behalf of the people of the united states of america. in our short time in your country, melania and i have been awed by its ancient modern wonders and we're deeply moved by the warmth of you're welcome.

last night, president and mrs. moon, showed us incredible hospitality in a beautiful reception at the blue house. we had productive discussions on increasing military cooperation and improving the trade relationship between our nations on the principle of fairness and reciprocity. through this entire visit, it has been our pleasure and honor to create and celebrate a long friendship between the united states and the republic of korea. this alliance, between our nations, was forged in the crucible of war and strengthened by the trials of history. from the inshon landings to pork chop hill, american and south korean soldiers have fought together, sacrificed together

and triumphed together. almost 67 years ago in the spring of 1951, they recap toured what remained of this city where we are gathered so proudly today. it was the second time in a year that our combined forces took on steep casualties to retake this capital from the communists. over the next weeks and months, the men soldiered through steep mountains and bloody, bloody battles. driven back at times, they will their way north to form the line that today divides the oppressed and the free. and there, american and south korean troops have remained together holding that line for nearly seven decades.

[ applause ] >> by the time the armah sift was signed in 1953, more than 36,000 americans had died in the korean war with more than 100,000 others very badly wounded. they are heros and we honor them. we also honor and remember the terrible price the people of your country paid for their freedom. you lost hundreds of thousands of brave soldiers and countless innocent civilians in that gruesome war. much of this gareat city of seol was reduce today rubble, large portions of the country were scarred severely, severely hurt

by this horrible war. the economy of this nation was demolished but as the entire world knows over the next two generations, something miraculous happened on the southern half of this peninsula. family by family, city by city, the people of south korea built this country into what is today one of the great nations of the world and i congratulate you. [ applause ] >> in less than one lifetime, south korea climbed from total devastation to among the wealthiest nations on earth. today your economy is more than 350 times larger than what it was in 1960.

trade has increased 1,900 times. life expectancy has risen from just 53 years to more than 82 years today. like korea and since my election exactly one year ago today, i celebrate with you. [ applause ] >> the united states is going through something of a miracle itself. our stock market is at an all time high. unemployment is at a 17 year low. we are defeating isis. we are strengthening our judiciary including a brilliant supreme court justice and on and on and on.

currently stationed in the vicinity of this peninsula are the three largest aircraft carriers in the world. loaded to the maximum with magnificent f-35 and f. 18 fighter jets. in addition, we have nuclear submarines appropriately positioned. the united states under my administration is completely rebuilding its military and is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to the newest and finest military equipment anywhere in the world being built right now. i want peace through strength. [ applause ] >> we are helping the republic of korea far beyond what any

other country has ever done and in the end we will work things out far better than anybody understands or can even appreciate. i know that the republic of korea, which has become a tremendously successful nation will be a faithful ally of the united states very long into the future. [ applause ] >> what you have built is truly an inspiration. your economic transformation was linked to a political one. the proud sovereign and independent people of your nation demanded the right to govern themselves. you secured free parliamentary elections in 1988, the same year you hosted your first olympics,

soon after you elected your first civilian president in more than three decades. and when the republic you won faced financial crisis, you lined up by the millions to give your most prized possessions. your wedding rings, heir looms and gold luck keys to restore the promise of a better future for your children. [ applause ] >> your wealth is measured in more than money. it is measured in achievements of the mind and achievements of spirit. over the last several decades, your scientists have engineers and engineered so many magnificent things. you've pushed the boundaries of technology, pioneered miraculous

medical treatments and emerged as leaders in unlocking the mysteries of our universe. korean authors penned roughly 40,000 books this year. korean musicians fill concert halls all around the world. young korean students graduate from college at the highest rates of any country and korean golfers are some of the best on earth. [ applause ] >>, in fact, and you know what i'm going to say, the womens u.s. open was held this year at trump national golf club in bedminster, new jersey, and it

just happened to be won by a great korean golfer, sung hung park and eight of the top ten players were from korea and the top four golfers, one, two, three, four, the top four were from korea. congratulations. [ applause ] >> congratulations. and that's something. that is really something. here in seoul, architectural wonders like the 63 building and the world tower, very beautiful, grace the sky and house the workers of many growing industries. your citizens now help to feed the hungry, fight terrorism and solve problems all over the world and in a few months you will host the world and you will

do a magnificent job at the 23rd olympic winter games. good luck. [ applause ] the korean miracle extends exactly as far as the armies of free nations advanced in 1953. 25 miles to the north. there it stops. it all comes to an end. dead stop. the flourishing ends and the prison state of north korea sadly begins. workers in north korea labor grueling hours in unbearable conditions for almost no pay. recently the entire working population was ordered to work for 70 days straight or else pay

for a day of rest. families live in homes without plumbing and fewer than half have electricity. parents bribe teachers in hopes of saving their sons and daughters from forced labor. more than a million north koreans died of famine in the 1990s and more continue to die of hunger today. among children under the age of five, nearly 30% of afflicted and are afflicted by stunted growth due to malnutrition and yet in 2012 and 2013, the regime spent an estimated $200 million or almost half the money that it allocated to improve living standards for its people to instead build even more monuments, towers and statues to

glorify its dictators. what remains of the meager harvest of the north korean economy is distributed according to perceived loyalty to a twisted regime. far from valuing its peoples as equal citizens this cruel dictatorships, measures them, scores them and ranks them based on the most arbitrary indications of their allegiance to the state. those who score the highest in loyalty may live in the capital city. those who score the lowest starve. a small infraction by one citizen such as accidentally staining a picture of the tyrant printed in a discarded newspaper can rank the social credit rank of his entire family for many

decades. an estimated 100,000 north koreans suffer, toiling in forced labor and enduring torture, starvation, rape and murder on a constant basis. in one known instance, a 9-year-old boy was inprisoned for ten years because his grandfather was accused of treason. in another a student was beaten in school forgetting a single detail about the life of kim jong-un. soldiers have kidnapped foreigners and forced them to work as language tutors for north korea spies. in the part of korea that was a strong hold for christianity before the war, christians and other people of faith who were found praying or holding a

religious book of any kind are now detained, tortured and in many cases even executed. north korean women are forced to abort babies that are considered ethnically inferior and if these babies are born, the newborns are murdered. one woman's baby born to a chinese father was taken away in a bucket, the guard said it did not deserve to live because it was impure. so why would china feel an obligation to help north korea? the horror of life in north korea is so complete that citizens pay bribes to government officials to have themselves exported aboard as

slaves. they would rather be slaves than live in north korea. to attempt to flee is a crime punishable by death. one person who escaped remarked, when i think about it now, i was not a human being. i was more like an animal. only after leaving north korea did i realize what life was supposed to be and so on this peninsula we have watched the results of a tragic experiment in a laboratory of history. it is a tale of one people but two koreas. one korea in which the people took control of their lives and their country and chose a future of freedom and justice of civilization and incredible achievement. and another korea in which

leaders imprison their people under the banner of tyranny, fascism and oppression. the result of this experiment are in and they are totally conclusive. when the korean war began in 1950, the two koreas were approximately equal in gdp per capita but bill the 1990, south korea's wealth had surpassed north korea's by more than ten times and today the south's economy is over 40 times larger. so you start it the same, a short while ago and now your 40 times larger. you're doing something right. considering the misery wrought by the north korean dictatorship, it is no surprise that it has been forced to take

increasingly desperate measures to prevent its people from understanding this brutal contrast. because the regime fears the truth above all else, it forbids virtually all contact with the outside world. not just my speech today, but even the most commonplace facts of south korean life are forbidden knowledge to the north korea people. western and south korean music is banned, possession of foreign media is a crime, punishable by death. citizens spy on fellow citizens. their homes are subject to search at any time and their every action is subject to surveillance. in place of a vibrant society the people of north korea are bombarded by state propaganda

practically every waking hour of the day. north korea is a country ruled as a cult. at the center of this military cult is a deranged belief in the leader's destiny to rule as parent protector over a conquered korean peninsula and an enslaved korean people. the more successful south korea becomes, the more desigh civilly you discredit the dark fantasy at the heart of the kim regime. in this way, the very existence of a thriving south korean republic threatens the very survival of the north korean dictatorship. this city and this ais sem bring are living proof that a free and

independent korea not only can but does stand strong, sovereign and proud among the nation's of the world. [ applause ] >> here the strength of the nation does not come from the false glory of a tie ranlt, it comes from the true and powerful glory of a strong and great people, the people of the republic of korea. a korean people who are free to live, to flourish, to love, to build and to grow their own destiny. in this republic, the people have done what no dictator ever could. you took with the help of the

united states responsibility for yourselves and ownership of your future. you had a dream, a korean dream, and you built that dream into a great reality. in so doing you performed the miracle on the haan that we see all around us from the stunning skyline of seoul to the plains and peaks of this beautiful landscape. you have done it freely. you have done it happily. and you have done it in your own very beautiful way. this reality, this wonderful place, your success is the greatest cause of anxiety, alarm and even panic to the north korean regime. that is why the kim regime seeks conflict abroad to distract from

total failure that they suffer at home. since the so-called armatice there have been hundreds of attacks. these attacks included the capture and tortured of the brave american soldiers of the u uss pueblo and the 1969 drowning of a u.s. surveillance plane that killed 31 americans servicemen. the regime has made numerous lethal incursions in south korea, attempted to assassinate senior leaders, attacked south korean ships and tortured otto warmbier ultimately leading to that fine young man's death.

all the while, the regime has pursued nuclear weapons with the delewded hope that it could black mail it's way to the ultimate objective and that objective we are not going to let it have. we are not going to let it have. all of korea is under that spell divided in half, south korea will never allow what's going on in north korea to continue to happen. the north korean regime has pursued its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in defiance of every assurance, agreement and commitment it has made to the united states and its allies. it's broken all of those commitments. after promising to freeze its plutonium program in 1994, it repeated the benefits of the

deal and then -- and then immediately continued its elicit nuclear activities. in 2005, after years of diplomacy, the dictatorship agreed to ultimately abandon its nuclear programs and return to the treaty on nonproliferation. but it never did, and worse it tested the very weapons it said it was going to give up. in 2009, the united states gave negotiations yet another chance and offered north korea the open hand of engagement. the regime responded by seeking a south korean navy ship killing 46 korean sailors. to this day it continues to launch missiles over the sovereign territory of japan and all other neighbors, test nuclear devices and develop

icbms to threaten the united states itself. the regime has interpreted america's past restraint as this would be a fatal miscalculation. this is a very difficult administration than the united states has had in the past. today i hope i speak not only for our countries, but for all civilized nations when i say to the north do not underestimate us. and do not try us. we will defend our common security, our shared prosperity, and our sacred liberty. we did not choose to draw here on this peninsula. [ applause ]

this magnificent peninsula. the thin line of civilization that runs around the world and down through time. but here it was drawn and here it remains to this day. it is the line between peace and war, between decency and depravity, between law and tyranny, between hope and total despair. it is a line that has been drawn many times in many places throughout history. to hold that line as a choice free nations have always had to make. we have learned together the high cost of weakness and the high stakes of its defense. america's men and women in

uniform have given their lives in the fight against nazis, imperialism, communism, and terrorism. america does not seek conflict or confrontation, but we will never run from it. history is filled with discarded regimes that have foolishly tested america's resolve. anyone who doubts the strength or determination of the united states should look to our past and you will doubt it no longer. we will not permit america or our allies to be blackmailed or attacked. we will not allow american cities to be threatened with destruction. we will not be intimidated. and we will not let the worst atrocities in history be repeated here on this ground we

fought and died so hard to secure. [ applause ] that is why i come here to the heart of a free and flourishing korea with a message for the peace loving nations of the world. this time for excuses is over. now is the time for strength. if you want peace, you must stand strong at all times. the world -- [ applause ] the world cannot tolerate the menace of a rogue regime that threatens with nuclear devastation. all responsible nations must join forces to isolate the brutal regime of north korea to

deny it and any form, any form of it you cannot support, you cannot supply, you cannot accept. we call on every nation, including china and russia to fully implement u.n. security council resolutions, downgrade diplomatic relations with the regime and sever all ties of trade and technology. it is our responsibility and our duty to confront this danger together because the longer we wait, the greater the danger grows. and the fewer the options become. [ applause ] and to those nations that choose to ignore this threat, or worse still, to enable it, the weight of this crisis is on your

conscience. i also have come here to this peninsula to deliver a message directly to the leader of the north korean dictatorship. the weapons you're acquiring are not making you safer. they are putting your regime in grave danger. every step you take down this dark path increases the peril you face. north korea is not the paradise your grandfather envisioned. it is a hell that no person deserves. yet despite every crime you have committed against god and man, you are ready to offer, and we will do that, we will offer a path to a much better future. it begins with an end to the aggression of your regime, a stop to your development of

ballistic missiles and complete verifiable and total denuclearization. [ applause ] a sky top view of this peninsula shows a nation of dazzling light in the south and a mass of impenetrable darkness in the north. we seek a future of light, prosperity, and peace. but we are only prepared to discuss this brighter path for north korea if its leaders cease their threats and dismantle their nuclear program. the regime of north korea is right about only one thing. the korean people do have a glorious destiny, but they could not be more wrong about what that destiny looks like.

the destiny of the korean people is not to suffer in the bondage of oppression, but to thrive in the glory of freedom. [ applause ] what south koreans have achieved on this peninsula is more than a victory for your nation, it is a victory for every nation that believes in the human spirit. and it is our hope that some day soon all of your brothers and sisters of the north will be able to enjoy the fullest of life intended by god. your republic shows us all of what is possible. in just a few decades, with only the hard work, courage, and talents of your people, you turned this war-torn land into a nation blessed with wealth, rich

in culture and deep in spirit. you built a home where all families can flourish and where all children can shine and be happy. this korea stands strong and tall among the great community of independent, confident, and peace-0i peace-loving nations. we treasure our sovereignty and control our own destiny. we affirm the dignity of every person and embrace the full potential of every soul. and we are every prepared to defend the vital interests of our people against the cruel ambition of tyrants. together we dream of a korea that is free, a peninsula that is safe, and families that are

reunited once again. well dream of highways connecting north and south, of cousins embracing cousins, and this nuclear nightmare replaced with the beautiful promise of peace. until that day comes, we stand strong and alert. our eyes are fixed to the north, and our hearts praying for day when all koreans can live in freedom. thank you, god bless you, god bless the korean people. thank you very much. thank you. [ applause ] >> president trump wrapping up his remarks to the national assembly in south korea in seoul. it is just coming up on 10:00 p.m. on the east coast in the united states. that means it is coming up on noon tomorrow, wednesday in seoul, south korea. the president making lengthy remarks tonight. started a little bit late. but coming almost right to top

of the hour tonight. you see first lady melania trump there. he is also joined in the chamber by his national security adviser, h.r. mcmaster, by secretary of state rex tillerson and by his son-in-law jared kushner, who appears to have overlapping and wide responsibilities, particularly on diplomatic and international matter, although they are somewhat poorly defined when it comes to mr. kushner. but he is there. in terms of the content of the president's speech tonight, certainly bellicose, as is the president's wont. as far i am willing to be corrected on this matter. but as far as i hear this, i do not think there was anything actually new announced by the president or called for tonight. it is remark to believe hear the american president denigrate the possibility of negotiation or diplomatic solutions to conflicts like the ones -- like the one that we have with north korea. but from this president, that is not a surprise. lengthy complimentary remarks for his south korean h