one reason, on friday, it is kim jong-un's 3 3rd birthday. normally these tests happen around major events. in this case, it would be a clear message to the world of kim jong-un's power to hold a nuclear test, a hydrogen bomb test around his birthday. also this is nearing the second term of president obama's presidency. that was probably the closest the u.s. north korea had back in 2000 to any sort of normalized ties. and then when the bush administration took office, it ended. there hasn't been any movement with the obama administration. we'll have to watch closely to see how this process moves forward. will it bring other nations to the table now that north korea has shown that their nuclear program is growing and growing quickly. >> it's a cycle of behavior we've seen over the past few years, and if this test was, in fact, successful, north korea somehow has been able to make stunning advancements. thank you, will. >>> barack obama held nothing back as he announced the actions he's taking. they're called executive actions meant to curb gun

incident ally, kim jong-un turns 33-years-old on friday. he considers the sound of a hydrogen bomb exploding exciting. the rest of the word, though, very troubling. the u.n. city council holding an emergency closed door session less than seven hours from now. john. >> i got to tell you, i'm watching markets, to see if any of this will factor into world trading today? it's another reason why markets have been nervous overall. china a big, big reason to be concerned here. what do we think about the chinese reaction to this? and what this says, specifically, about kim jong-un an maybe an ad ver sarl relationship he has with the new chinese leader? >> reporter: as you point out, christine the chinese government in a very, very precarious position right now. ever since the october 10th workers party celebration, the military pyongyang i attended, korea sent a high level dellegatto meet personally with kim john unit. it appears relations between china and north korea were doing quite well. but the chinese president has condemned testing. china is

we know this order was issued by kim jong un on the 15th of december. that's according to the state-run media. that was a few days after kim jong-un had claimed that north korea possesses the hydrogen bomb, a claim which at the time was diffused by many, whether this jump in capability was realistic or not. we still don't know if it was, in fact, a hydrogen bomb as north korea claim. and then on january 3, kcna said kim jong-un signed that order. those are the photos that we are seeing. that would have been just three days earlier. and as you say, 10:00 a.m. local time this wednesday morning here in korea is when that test was carried out. north koreans say it was tested perfectly. they say they have a right to defend their country. and in an announcement after that test, they say they were defending themselves against the united states. this is a justification they've used time and time again, saying the u.s. is hostile towards them and they feel the need to defend themselves. john? >> paula, thank you for the update. keeping a close eye on the news out

and maybe this is what allows kim jong-un to claim that he has the h-bomb. but we've got to bear in mind, this is really for a domestic audience. let's recap what happened woenz. >> kim jong-un signs the order for nuclear test number four. saying the country is, quote, starting the year with exciting noise of the first hydrogen bomb. if this is true, it would signal a huge jump in the country's capability. but south korea's defense ministry said it would be difficult to believe it was hydrogen, according to a news agency. officials say it could be days before they know for sure. some say they may never be 1 you recollect h% certain. condemnation around the world. they oppose the test, saying it did not have prior knowledge of it. the south korean president calls it a provocation which threatens people's lives. >> it is important to take stern measures with the international community with the yao its and our allies. >> the united states, japan, the uk and others adding to the condemnation. south korea's military are on alert. a peace treaty was never signed a

our next guest spoke with nuclear scientists who insisted they work. >> august 1998, speem leader kim jong un is just 15 years old when his father, the leader kim jong il fires a multistage rocket over japan, demonstrating north korea's frightening potential to develop rockets that reach around the region. >> north korea claims nukes is its only lifeline to defend itself against the u.s. which it says is hell bent on toppling pyongyang. december 2012, in spite of u.n. resolutions condemning rocket launches, north korea fires what it calls a peaceful satellite into space. increased sanctions stoke the north's anger further. state media announcing a third nuclear test in february 2013. with each test, north korea gains valuable new knowledge. in may, another bombshell. north korea claiming it has miniaturized nuclear weapons. warheads small enough to put on a missile. >> i think the situation is very dangerous. there's no constraints on this in program. >> north korea seems determined to build up its arsenal. the facility has an underground rail line, movable building and a kor over the launch

>> they are under tremendous pressure to punish kim jong-un. ey could actually freeze kim jong-un's bank accounts he has in china. he has a few of those making him a very rich man. they can crackdown on all the counterfeit viagra, drugs, cigarettes, cash, liquor the north koreans smuggle all over the world. but the chinese are deathly afraid of destabilizing north korea. that kind of economic retaliation could do that. >> because there could be swarms of people coming into china. >> that's right. >> thanks, brian, very much. >>> joining us is chairman of the house foreign affairs committee republican congressman ed royce of california. i know you're sponsoring new house legislation to further sanction north korea, but all the sanctions -- they're already the most sanctioned country in the world. do you really think more sanctions can achieve anything? >> well, wolf, you eluded to one change. and that was the question of freezing those bank accounts, right? and that was something we tried in 2005 when we caught north korea counterfeiting $100 ban

ambassador, you tried to work with kim jong-il, the father who detonated a nuke in 2006. do you think kim jong-un, the son, is more dangerous, more erratic than the father? >> yeah, i think he is. i don't think kim jong-il was ever particularly devoted to the negotiating process, but he certainly would hear it out and certainly valued his relations with the chinese and even the russians. i think today we're dealing with a very impetuous kid, essentially, who really doesn't understand these issues. and is no doubt as jamie suggests trying to project strength in north korea. even these hideous dictatorships have their own politics. but this is someone you can't rely on and rely to be wise when we have an issue like this. so i think there's much to be concerned about with this third generation kim. >> and you know we're in trouble when kim jong-il is the good old days. >> right. exactly. >> that's right. >> jamie, do you think north korea has the ability to directly hit the united states with a missile containing a nuclear payload? >> i don't think they have it now. i think it's quite likely that if

that's mike and gus giving kim jong-un haircuts. when we come back a new episode of "the bachelor" to dissect. plus the un-believable results of our kim jong-un makeovers so stick around! [ cheers and applause ] (air horn, trap door opening) rootmetrics, in the nation's largest independent study, tested wireless performance across the country. verizon won big with one hundred fifty three state wins. at+t got thirty-eight, sprint got two, and t mobile got zero. verizon also won first in the us for data, call speed, and reliability. at+t got text. stuck on an average network? join verizon and we'll cover sfx: rocket sfx: rocket blasting off sfx: (countdown) 3, 2, 1 rocket dad, you can just drop me off right here. oh no, i'll take you up to the front of the school. that's where your friends are. seriously, it's, it's really fine. you don't want to be seen with your dad? no, it's..no.. this about a boy? dad! stop, please. o, there's tracy. [ horn honks ] what! bye dad! it brakes when you don't. forward collision warning and autonomous em

meanwhile north korean leader kim jong-un celebrated a turned 33. no one knows for sure. no one knows much about kim jong for sure. he's very mysterious. there are reports recently that authorities are ordering men in north korea to get the same hair can you tell as kim jong-un. you know the kind of a fresh parens of pyongyang look. into the haircut, your barber died. now, i've never seen anyone in the united states with anything like that haircut. so tonight we decided to change that. tonight we go out onto hollywood boulevard to ask pedestrians, can we un you? my barbers bruce and mike from legends barbershop in l.a. are standing by. bruce and mike, how are you doing? >> how you doing, jimmy? >> doing good. >> jimmy: good to see you. has anyone asked you for the kim jong-un haircut before? >> yes, yeah. lady gaga earlier. >> yes, she did. she's thinking about it. >> jimmy: you have done this, then. >> not officially done it. but we're going to do it now. >> jimmy: are you confident that you can pull it off? >> absolutely not. >> jimmy: i see we've got -- >> i've done it

kim jong-un says his country has exploded a massive hydrogen bomb. is kim's claim even true?n front-runners donald trump and ted cruz. trump doubles down on the cruz birther issue and ted cruz fires back. >>> and an exclusive "outfront" investigation. inside an active shooter situation. can an armed civilian stop a massacre? let's go "outfront." good evening. m

rishaad: how secure is kim jong -- kim jong-un. within thecure regime.at is insecure is the state itself. the north korean people need to be continued reminded for the need of this military high first protect the race against the enemy. it is not kim jong-un who needs to be legitimizing himself. it is the state that needs to be justifying its own existence as a separate korean state, and those people who keep saying that north korea needs to get away from this military business and reform itself are essentially asking north korea to become irrelevant, to become a kind of second-rate version of south korea, and that is just not viable for the regime. rishaad: brian myers, thank you for joining us in south korea. >> the stories making headlines. iran says it is ready for talks with saudi arabia to defuse growing diplomatic fight. the president says they want good relations with all neighbors and that riyadh should end its anti-iran rhetoric. relations were strained after the embassy in toronto was set on fire after the execution of a prominent shia -- shii

the main beneficiary would be is young dictator, kim jong un. ear weapons are about one thing for him. his own survival. wants tos kim jong un tell his domestic constituents he is powerful, strong, and in control of the regime he just took over. he seems to be trying to tell the international community he and his company is a -- he and his country is a nuclear power. , thet: for people in seoul have aat north korea may hydrogen bomb is terrifying. what can the world deal about it? sanctions have been tried and failed. maybe it is time for the world to engage with north korea. it is hard to see how any western leader can engage with a regime that just set off a nuclear device. un security the council met in emergency session to condemn north korea and consider what to do next. >> this act is profoundly destabilizing for regional security, and seriously undermines international nonproliferation efforts. i condemn it unequivocably. rupert: so far, north korea has defied every one -- including exploding 4 nuclear devices. its ambition is to go furthe

kim jong-un appears to want to get international attention back. as well as firming up domestic support. >> this is a way in which the leadership, kim jong-un can cement his authority at home. >> and a mounting cost, south korea's government calling the atomic test a grave provocation and china saying it was firmly opposed to the detonation. the u.n. security council gearing up for more action against pyongyang. >> this act is profoundly destabilizing for regional security. and seriously undermines international proliferation efforts. >> one more thing, our contact in the region told us, this blast does seem to confirm, that kim jong-un is going the same way, as his father and grandfather, and very few people seem to be willing to stand in that dangerous way. >> greg, thank you. >>> if north korea has h-bomb technology, it presents new and dangerous complications for an obama foreign policy already under siege. correspondent kevin corke has that part of the story tonight from the white house. >> neither convinced nor surprised. that's the white hous

i think the key thing is having a nuclear capability has a cornerstone of kim jong-un's regime. it's really central to his identity. the boosts his prestige. it boosts his hold on hower inside north korea. it gives north korea a lot of additional leverage, whether it was a hydrogen bomb or something else. the north korean, yet again, are in the driver's seat. they have the entire international community reacting to what they've done and if there is any diplomatic follow-up, it gives the north the leverage of everybody knowing they've got this powerful new device. they will continue to go more unless they get what they want. which from the united states is recognition of some kind. respect from china, it probably involved money. more aid and without that, the north is signaling very clearly, it's going to keep moving ahead and developing this nuclear capably. >> you talk about north korea's relationship with china. it's primarily financial. how much pressure do you expect china to exert in the coming days and weeks? >> well, the test is really a slap in the face to china and its

across the world terrified about the north korean announcement of a successful hydrogen bomb test, kim jong-un and his regime are getting ready to celebrate his birthday and compelling the north korean public to join them. kim jong-un now calling his country a nuclear world power as the hermit kingdom prepares for that birthday. while many experts say the evidence does not suggest any h-bomb test was successful, the fact that the north koreans detonated any sort of nuclear device is alarming. the obama administration is vowing to punish the rogue regime joining with other nations to impose more and more sanctions. reuters is reporting that south korea has asked the pentagon to send more strategic weapons to the korean peninsula where 28,000 u.s. troops are already stationed. about six hours from now in response to the nuclear device the south korean government will resume anti-regime propaganda broadcasts into north korea. let's go into north korea right now to pyongyang. that's where we find cnn correspondent will ripley, the only american tv reporter in that country. will, last august when s

isolated country that prides itself on the projection of power, real or imagined, under supreme leader kim jong-un. otherwise, she would be out of a job, obviously. or worse. she barely made it through this announcement on the death of kim jong-un's father, kim jong-il in 2011. we make this announcement with in an interview with chinese sia shntalarn ph abohik ir. ul

larry: first off, why you hang out with a maniac like kimm jong un. >> hold on. kim jong un gets criticism. he's a normal guy. super chill. super chill. super chill. >> larry: really the perception is he's a brutal dictator. >> no, no, no. he's like -- a lion with a thorn in his paw. you take out that thorn and he's a pussycat. ya. >> larry: that analogy makes no sense at all. the reports are he's completely unstable. >> you take this from me, dennis rodman. he is stable. stable. >> larry: why should i take it from you? you seem like a horrible judge of stable. okay. >> ahhh. larry: just saying. what do you do together? >> every day he announces it's his birthday. we go to pyongyang denny's. [laughing] >> ya, ya. larry: denny's? >> yes. we eat for free. free moons over my hammy. how, how you going to hate that guy? how you going to hate that guy? >> larry: it's classic dictator behavior. >> larry, you just focus on the negatives. okay there are a lot of positives. >> larry: like what. >> like every time he walks in the room people stand up and cheer. who do that if h

it is kim jong-un's birthday in two days. do you think that has something to do with this? first of all, kim jong-un has not consolidated political control despite being in power for four years. i think this is good regime politics. it helps him with regard to other people in pyongyang. there's this issue of the regime versus the people in north korea. you know, the economy there is not terrible, growing at maybe 1%. but nonetheless, there is dissatisfaction. and so this is also good politics for the regime, bolstering its legitimacy in north korea. when lashing out, that's something that they say oh, it's really fine if you're in the regime. >> balbina, what does the world do about this? just because about every nation is coming out against this. the united states is, also china which has got a complicated relationship with north korea to say the least. >> that's exactly right. now, first, i don't agree with this view that north korea does this to get attention from the world. i think north korea is primarily driven by domestic reasons. but the most important is that north

that also was under kim jong-un, the current leader at a time of heightened tensions. there was juan in 2009 and also 2006 under his father, kim jong-il. back in 2003 was when they first said we have power and the capability. we do understand north korea is blaming the u.s. for this. they used the u.s. as justification for these tests in the past. the state-run media saying, quote, this test is a measure for self-defense. the dprk has taken to firmly protection the sovereignty of the country and vital right of the nation from the ever huff growing nuclear threat and blackmail by the u.s.-led hostile forces and to reliably safeguard the peace on the korean peninsula and regional security. blaming the u.s., they have done that before. they are likely to do it once again. they also issued a photo of kim jong-un signing the order for this test back on january 3rd. and it was a note on this order believed to have been written by him, it says for the victorious and glorious year of 2016, when the seventh convention of the workers party will be held. make the world look up to

that says a lot to me about kim jong un. his father at the very least tried to keep the chinese on its side. >> china can clearly be more annoyed with kim jong un ever since he took power. they have basically frozen out north korea and north korea is returning the favor. clearly now kim jong un is not trying to keep china onboard either. >> so given that, is it possible then in the bigger picture as we move further down the road. the japanese and the south koreans are moving closer to the united states and also possibly pushing the chinese even further away. >> essentially, again, we don't have a whole lot to do to punish north korea. >> why would it be the north koreans know that. so why kwould they say or appear to say yet again that they have done something with they may not have done. >> yeah. i think this test is mostly for domestic politics in north korea. kim jong un is facing a workers policy meeting that hasn't met in 1980. >> no one in north korea is going to notice, right? >> and they're not too interested in figur

north korea's leader kim jong un knows that... but signed the test order anyway. japan too is alarmed... military planes taking off to test air samples. the ususmbassador meeting toto reassure a government that says the test is a serious threat. caroline kennedy/ us ambsador to japan "we stand with japan solidarity in the face of n. korean provocations" north korea's leader kim jong un is still consolidating his power... and now flexing his muscle at a world that's looking at north korea with real anxiety. bill neely/ nbc news/ london, england "so it may take weeks to work out if this was a hydrogen bomb and if it was a successful test and indeed a viable device. but anything that can produce a seismic shock of 5.1 is dangerous and there will be consequences for north korea. the u.n. will meet later and may move toward tighter sanctions, but kim jong un is unlikely to you." >> a u.s. military official says two wounded american soldiers and the body of a third have been evacuated from a battlefield in southern afghanistan. the casualties occurred during fighting th

what we need to do is to understand that kim jong un is a little unstable, a little unpredictable. steve: carson says the u.s. should intensify sanctions on north korea. our washington bureau is following the north korea announcement too. sally: i'm sally kidd in washington. north korea carries out another nuclear test but was it a , hydrogen bomb as the regime claims? stacey: plus, gadget gathering. the very latest in tech from a big electronics show in vegas. steve: and it's kcci night at , hilton coliseum. take on the red raiders.ded all your old technology... so what about this? it's time to get into the new with ford come and get it if you really want it... new is ecoboost technology. new is a foot-activated liftgate. new is tougher, stronger and lighter. new is ford. america's best-selling brand. now get into a new focus, fusion, or escape with 0% financing for 60 months plus $2,000 dollars trade-assist cash. only at your local ford dealer. you got people working incredibly long hours. median family income today -- $4,000 less than it was in 1999. what this campaign is about

worn, and there really hasn't been the frequency or intensity of leader-level contacts between kim jong-un and the chinese leaders that existed under his father. kim jong-il. >> you underscored my point better than i did. allies have something they do for each other. with china as north korea's patron as a world where north korea isolates itself, where north korea doesn't have enough money why again would they be doing this? wouldn't they be wanting to say to china you're our oanld friend, let's kee only friend,let's keep on good ? >> north korea a pretty self-centered isolated place, china needs north korea for its own stability. they know that china cares in fact about north korean stability and they're betting that that desire to see north korea as a buffer, as a security buffer for china, will be sufficient to keep china in line and not be willing to do anything that would pull the plug on north korea. >> china's sowrchina's support for north korea militarily, financially, has helped keep the kim family in power despite overwhelming international criticism. but it doesn't need -- you w

state media showed north korean leader kim jong-un signing off on the order. he's a man who likes attention. particularly close to his birthday which falls on january the 8th. so this may have been his way of celebrating early.

marco rubio or kim jong un? on the democrat side, bernie sanders still wearing the same pair of rockports he bought in 1982. >> a good ad for rockports. they last and last. and marco rubio's shoes looked great. >>> coming up in this half hour, they struck it rich, then their luck, it seems, just ran out. we'll take a closer look at the so-called -- he doesn't look very happy -- the so-called lottery curse as millions line up for a shot at the record powerball jackpot. >>> plus the mysterious vanishing buck sellevanish ing booksellers of hong kong. are men being kidnapped who sell books that criticize hong kong's leaders? >>> the "portland press herald" reports that the governor of maine is accused of making racially charged comments at a town meeting. paul lepage talked about problems with drug dealers. >> these are guys with the name

in december, north korea's leader kim jong un claimed north korea had a hydrogen bomb... but the u-s said there was no solid evidence of such a device. both the a-bomb and h-bomb can destroy everything within a several mile radius. it could take days to verify north korea's claim. news of north korea's h-bomb claim could impact the stock market today. u-s stock futures are lower check dow futures than 200-points. about china's helping either... bottom line, there are some scary geopolitics going on right now, which is leading to market unrest. european markets are all down about 1-percent in early trading. asian markets ended the session slightly lower -- except in china where the shanghai ended up 2- percent. new overnight... denver police chased a truck through parts of the city. d-p-d tells us it started when a person called 9-1- 1... to report that they were being followed by the truck. shortly after that, someone inside the caller. hurt. police found the suspect truck and it ended at 34th and quivas in the highlands... when forced the truck 3 suspects were taken into

adam: feels like we have been seeing headlines not just with kim jong-un but his father for so long. could we be stuck in this for another 50 years? how do we break out of the cycle of him throwing a temper tantrum and having to respond? sen. rubio: the dynamics are bizarre. it is a regime that does people, they have death camps. our responsibility is to ensure they cannot do anything to the u.s. they are increasing the capability of long-range rocket spirit we' ve never had a time in the world where a lunatic possesses long-range missiles and a nuclear warheads capable of striking the u.s. we need to act with urgency about having the missile defense systems that are necessary to prevent that from hurting our people. s game plan with an idea. north korea launches conventional missiles and south

kim jong-un says his country has exploded a massive hydrogen bomb. is kim's claim even true? >>> plus, cnn speaks with the republican front-runners donald trump and ted cruz. trump doubles down on the cruz birther issue and ted cruz fires back. >>> and an exclusive "outfront" investigation. inside an active shooter situation. can an armed civilian stop a massacre? let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm kate bolduan in for erin burnett. nuclear nightmare. the world is struggling with how to respond after a hydrogen bomb was discovered by north korea. if true, it could pose a threat to the united states. kim jong-un congratulating himself in a statement saying the test is forcing the world to, quote, look up to our strong nuclear country. cnn's chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is "outfront" tonight. it seems like it's going to be a while before the u.s. or anyone can really say with certainty what happened here. >> well, that's true. the white house is fairly confident now as are other nuclear experts we've spoken to. a yield of this explosion, that said, it's