paula hancock, cnn, seoul. >> so now we're joined by gordon chang.e's live in toronto. >> gordon, thank you for being with us. you heard paula hancock's reporting. no conditions, no strings attached according to u.s. officials. i heard you earlier say you think there's a charm offensive, that might have been part of the motive for north korea here to release these two men. charm who? elaborate on that for us. >> yeah. north korea wants to charm the international community specifically russia, japan, south korea and now us. the reason is about a year ago there was a rupture in their relations with their primary backer which was china. so north korea needs to replace the support that it's been getting from beijing and where better else than the united states. >> you know, this place is so mysterious, north korea and kim jong-un disappeared for a while, he's back, you get this release. could his disappearance and the release now be related? >> you know, i'm sure they are related it's just that outside of a very small circle in pyongyang we don't know. i

paula hancocks joins us now with more. what do we know at this point? >> reporter: well, john, we've just learned that the captain has been sentenced to 36 years in prison. and he's also been found not guilty of murder. so obviously, many ever the families will be very disappointed with this verdict. prosecutors will be disappointed. they had been calling for the death penalty for the captain of this ferry which sanction back in april, killing more than 300 people, many of them high school students. now many of those families of those victims were in the court when this verdict was read out. we're waiting to hear what the reaction was, but we can only imagine what that reaction would have been. so 36 years for the captain of the sewol ferry, and as i say, he was found not guilty of murder. now prosecutors had to prove that he had willful negligence and intended to kill people. some say he deserved to die because of the crime but he said he had no intention of killing people. he said he was confused when this incident happened. when the accident happened

let's go to paula hancocks. parents here don't think 36 years is worth the lives of all the children lost. they are still upset. >> reporter: absolutely, christine. they are devastated by the verdict. one of the mothers of the child that died said the verdict was outrages. they are calling for the prosecutors to carry out an appeal. it looks like the prosecutors will at this point. whether it is against the captain or all crew members is not clear at this point. many of the families who actually in court when the verdict was read were crying out causing commotion. saying how can you call this law and what about our children's lives? they wanted the death penalty for all 15 crew members. they had been to many of these court cases. they have been to dozens of the days. they say it is difficult for them to watch the people they believe killed their children. according to the three judges, the captain has been acquitted of murder. they believe to his account of his events that he had actually called for the ship to

cnn's paula hancocks joins us live from seoul, south korea. good morning, paula.per securing their release. why now? >> reporter: that's the question that everyone is still asking. it is a good pr exercise for pyongyang. this is a decision that could only have been made from the top by kim jong-un, the leader himself. the humanitarian gesture according to pyongyang would make him look good. there was no quid pro quo for releasing the two men. we heard recently from the u.s. preside president obama in beijing describe what happened. >> we had an indication there was a possibility of a release of these two hostages or prisoners and we pursued it. it did not touch on some of the broader issues that have been the source of primary concern when it comes to north korea. it's in particular its development of nuclear tests. >> reporter: obama says this is a gesture. he said there is a broader fundamental conflict with washington and pyongyang. the fact that pyongyang is refusing to denuclearize. a statement that obama actually apologized. given an earnest apology for what

>> paula hancocks in seoul for us. thank you very much.t. >>> coming up, former north korean detainee, jeffrey fowle, talks with cnn about the surprise release of his fellow detainees, bae and miller. you're going to want to hear this. quick break, we're back. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel. kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift? ah, nothing much. just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big things that move an economy. see you tomorrow, mac. see you tomorrow, sam. just another day at norfolk southern. do you have the coverage? you need? open enrollment ends december 7th. don't put it off 'til later. now's the time to get on a path that could be right for you... with unitedhealthcare medicare solutions. call today to learn about the kinds of coverage we offer, including aarp medicarecomplete plans insured through unitedhealthcare. these medicare advantage plans can combine parts a and b, your hospital and doctor covera

paula hancocks, cnn, seoul. >> many thanks to paula hancocks for that report. >>> well, this weekendince typhoon haiyan tore through central philippines. we all remember it. the official death toll was 6,000. this was one of the worst storms on record, by the way. about one thousand people remain missing and are presumed dead. and more than four million were displayed by the storm. cnn's meteorologist looks back at haiyan's path of destruction. >> it took only five days for haiyan to strengthen from a weak tropical depression to the strongest landfalling storm in recorded history. it all began on the 3rd of november in the open waters of the western pacific. it encountered extremely warm surface temperature, topping out at 30 degrees celsius. and the upper-level winds were extremely weak. these ingredients created the perfect atmosphere for a colossal storm. in the early morning of the 8th, it made landfall in gyan, with estimated winds of 315 kilometers per hour and gusts, believe it or not, to 380. as the storm continued to move across land, thousands in its wake, we also found our

i want to turn to cnn's paula hancocks. she is live in seoul. ula, this is a national tragedy for south korea. these parents are not satisfied with the verdict. >> reporter: absolutely not, christine. one mother described it as outrageous. you say 36 years behind bars for the captain. he is approaching 70 years old now. he knows he won't be freed anytime within his lifetime. the fact is the families want the death penalty for the captain and all crew members on trial. in this country, death doesn't mean death. an execution hasn't been carried out since 1977. the three judges decided to acquit the captain of murder. they said they believed his account he did give the order for evacuation of the ship. it wasn't carried out by those under him. this is the main criticism in the country that the passengers were told to stay where they were as the ship went down and the captain and crew escaped. this is why the death toll was so high. more than 300. the prosecutor will appeal. they are trying to decide to appeal the captain's verdict or all verdicts. o

i'll bring in paula hancocks, live in seoul, south korea. paula, the big question, why now? >> nothing happens by accident in north korea. everything that comes out of that country is highly choreographed. every picture you see of the leader, everything on state-run media, and the fact that they have released these two u.s. citizens. every analyst says there is definitely something that north korea wants. now, they have pegged this as a humanitarian gesture, and they have effectively said that they should doing this because of the u.s. president barack obama having a number of requests and also an apology which, of course, is propaganda gold for the north korean leader being able to say to his own people the most powerful man in the world has apologized for what these two men have done. their crimes or at least crimes as they're seen in north korea. certainly from a p.r. point of view kim jong un has got a fair amount from this, but what else does he want? we are seeing a remarkable charm offensive from the north korean leader, from the top officials traveling around the wor

. >> paula hancocks joins us live from seoul, south korea. paula, what is the reaction like there? >> well, pamela, there was shock to start with. i have to say. >> if you look at the statement that north korea released, they specify the fact that president obama made numerous requests. they also said that he gave an apology. >> domestically he can now show that the most powerful man in the world gave an apology. it makes him more relevant on the international stage. it gives kim jong-un a lot in the short-term, and analysts expect him to want more in the long-term. >> paula hancocks, thank you so much. >>> the calendar may say fall, but the temperatures, they're about to plummet into an arctic winter impacting about two-thirds of the country. cmn's meteorologist jennifer gray says an estimated 200 million people will experience the blast of frinl i had air. jennifer. >> pamela, we have some very, very cold arctic air that's sinking down into much of the country as we go through the beginning part of the week. we're talking 200 million people affected by this. we are going to see t

we want to turn to our paula hancocks who is following the trial and joins us now live from seoul. as we said, the verdict and sentences have been handed down for the captain and chief engineer. there's a possibility here the prosecution may appeal, but at this juncture, what has been the reaction there, particularly for family members who were looking for the death penalty? >>> well, as you can imagine, rosemary, there's a very emotional reaction from the families. they're outside the court and giving a press conference. they wanted the death penalty for all 15 of these crew members, talking about how difficult it was for them to watch every day these defendants sitting in front of them, as many of these families were actually present in court during this five-month trial, saying it was very difficult to say tit t and watch the people they say killed their children. there is an emotional appeal for support from the nation. one mother said they wanted to appeal these sentences. the fact that the captain did not get the death penalty has angered many of the families. he got 36 years

. >> for more on what went on in north korea leading up to the release let's go live to paula hancocks. she's in south korea's capital, seoul. you spend a lot of time covering north korea, trying to figure out what they do and what's behind their actions. so tell us what you think about the fact that north korea instigated this. >> reporter: well, natalie, north korea doesn't do anything accidentally. everything is highly choreographed. everything that comes out of that country. every decision that's made. you can see from state-run media every photograph that's shown of the leader. everything is highly choreographed. so certainly this was not an accidental decision. this was not a quick decision. this would have been assessed for the pros and cons within pyongyang itself. but the question is on many experts' lips and those that observe north korea from afar, why did north korea decide to do it now? and of course why did they decide to release both of these men together? according to the u.s., there was no quid pro quo. so it appears they got nothing physical in return. a top secret mi

paula hancocks is in seoul. she joins us live with more reaction on this. and paula, do we know why the court decided the captain was guilty of negligence, not homicide? >> reporter: well, john, it was really up to the prosecutors to prove there was willful intention to murder on the part of the captain that would have allowed the judges and the court to agree he was guilty of murder. but according to the three judges, it seems as though the prosecutors failed to show that there was intent to murder. we heard from the captain himself. he said for my crimes i do deserve to die, but i did not intend to murder anybody. we also understand that he said he did give the evacuation order. it just wasn't given to the passengers. and it appears as though the court believed his version of events, that he had tried to evacuate the ship. of course, prosecutors don't agree. they say that the captain and 14 crewmembers who were all on trial during these past five months did nothing to try to evacuate people. they had all the means of communication and life jackets and boat

let's bring in paula hancocks.s us folklife seoul, south korea -- joins us from seoul, south korea. it's hard to believe a simple denial of this in the wake of mounting evidence year on year, but they're denying this. they're, in fact, pushing back a bit. what can you tell us? >> reporter: that's right, errol. really since we've had this united nations commission of inquiry which of released earlier this year, pyongyang has been consistently denying the fact that they have these political camp that exist even though that report and many defectors show that they have significant evidence to prove that. human rights groups saying that there are human rights abuses. so of course the united states saying there are crimes against humanity in pyongyang. this is what they found. the draft resolution you talked about is going to be voted on later tuesday. if that passes, it will then go to the general assembly to be voted on. of course, there is an amendment that has to be voted on first by one of the very few allies that

our paula hancocks filed this report, after he received a visit there from his mother. >> reporter: anfor a son she feared she might lose. she has been allowed to see her son, kenneth, just once, during captivity in north korea. >> my heartbreaks when i saw him with the hospital garment in a con nined in a small space. >> reporter: bayh has been hospitalized, suffering from a number of illnesses, including diabetes, heart problems and back pain. he was arrested in 2012. bae was operating a tour group out of china, visiting north korea well over a dozen times. tried and sentenced to 15 years hard labor the following spring, his official crime, hostile acts to bring down the government, and planning religious activities. bae was filmed admitting to these crimes from his prison cell. >> translator: my wish is that the u.s. government will help me return home as soon as possible. >> reporter: a former mission tear, bae's christian beliefs would not have been welcome in a country that's officially atheist. bae is a father, a son and a brother, in every photo, he is smiling. a very different

let's go to paula hancocks live in south korea with more on this. good morning, paula. >> reporter: john, well first of all, let's look at why. nothing happens in north korea that is accidental. it is a highly choreographed country. everything is pored over as it comes out of the country. it is intentional. this decision came from the top. it would have come from kim jong-un. he did it for a reason. i spoke to analysts who have worked on this country for years. they say it is good pr for pyongyang. if you look at it, the north korea official statement that came out after the two citizens were released, they say that u.s. president obama had given an earnest apology. now washington hasn't commented on this particular statement, but the fact is if they have an apology from the most powerful man in the world, for kim jong-un, this is propaganda gold. he can use this to show the power and leverage he has on the international stage. that is the way it will be spun in the country itself. it is good pr as far as they're concerned. they played this as a huma

we turn to paula hancocks from south korea with background on this. >> reporter: rosemary, north korea'sy u.n.kcondem condemnations over the years, but this one has them rattled. pyongyang's sending officials all over the world trying to mitigate the effects of the inquire eye. th they deny many charges and are trying to discredit many defectors and those who have been part of the political prison system in north korea. we spoke to one of those men who saw it first hand. he shows me the scars from his time in north korea's brutal camp. he says by the time he was released he barely had any teeth left. he's also blind in one eye. bodyguard to kim jong il for years. he was imprisoned and tortured for months before being sent to the camp. the one man who has truly seen both sides and lived to tell the tale. when i got there, he says, people looked like walking skeletons. they had severe malnutrition, as did i. my weight dropped from 94 kilos to 58 kilos in six months. he says his heartbreaks when he thinks back. he talks of scarce food, beatings, weekly executions prisoners are faced to watc

but as paula hancocks reports a death sentence in south korea does not mean the condemned will actually be put to death. >> reporter: 58 people are on death row in south korea. but here the death penalty does not actually mean death. more than 900 people were executed since the freeing of the country in 1958. this unofficial moratorium started in 1998. as a pro-democracy activist kim was himself sentenced to death in 1980. he was later pardoned after intervention from both the pope and the u.s. government. >> the death penalty in south korea, especially during the military dictatorship before 1987, has been abused -- has been used and abused to get rid of political opponents. >> reporter: amnesty has launched many campaigns over the years calling for the death penalty to be abolished, saying it is a violation of the right to life. the justice ministry rejected our repeated requests for interview saying simply, there are no plans to review the policy. a policy in sharp focus as the captain and 14 members of the crew of the doomed ferry wait to hear their fate in court tuesday. they escap

. >> paula hancocks live for us there in seoul. >>> we're going back to jerusalem. images coming in from the scene outside that synagogue where we are now told by police that four israelis are confirmed dead in an early morning attack at a synagogue during early morning prayers. two palestinians are accused of carrying out this attack, armed with knives and an ax. they may have also had some kind of handgun as well. there is a third suspect who is also being looked for right now. residents in the area have been told to stay indoors while they search for a third suspect. those two palestinians who the police are now calling terrorists were shot dead, along with four israelis killed. a number of others remain in a critical condition. the last report we had, five israelis were in a critical condition, but that may have now changed that we have confirmation that four israelis were killed in this attack. this happened in the northwestern part of jerusalem. at a synagogue, earlier today in the early part of the morning there in jerusalem. all of this coming during a perio

our paula hancocks is in seoul with more on how their freedom was negotiated. >> reporter: mission in the dead of night. a top spy chief from the united states arrives in pyongyang carrying a letter from the u.s. president. he leaves one day later with two former prisoners. no conditions and no strings acatch attached according to the u.s. why this sudden humanitarian gesture from north korea? >> clearly they crave having this kind of high-level attention. obviously they're pleased general clapper came. >> reporter: kim jong-un wants to show he's still in charge after disappearing for six weeks. he's back in the spotlight, limping but without the cane. others believe pyongyang's recent charm offensive including a high-profile visit to seoul, technically enemy territory is a pr exercise to improve its image. the trigger, abuses a report termed crimes against humanity. >> had to basically show a lighter side, humane side to the international community. although there could be labor actions or international criminal court proceeding against north korea, north korea is also very much cons

bodyguard who worked under kim jong un's late father spoke with cnn international correspondent paula hancocko how he described two different sides of the father, kim jong il. are. >> reporter: when he's happy he will give gold bars to people. when he's not, he could kill you in an instant. his advisers were too scared to tell him the truth about the country. sometimes they'd even run away when they saw him coming and hide in the grass. to survive, he says, they'd flatter him. kim yong il was cruel, he sent one official to a camp for using his elevator. >> his bodyguard tried to defect. he eventually escaped. he's a duck farmer in south korea. now some more perspective. are author of "the genesis code." he served with president clinton's security council and was in north korea earlier this year. thanks for joining us. so what is the significance of the story from the bodyguard? >> well, this is another dehe forgetter from north korea. there are lots of defectors. sometimes they're high-up people like this. there have been even higher level people who have defected. and every time we learn jus

let's start with paula hancocks in seoul.e of the timing and circumstances on his release, paula, because this kind of came out of nowhere. >> absolutely. everyone was surprised when this happened, not just that they were released suddenly the fact that they were released together. this is not what analysts have expected. of course the question is, why now? why has pyongyang decided to release these two pen? according to washington, there was no quid pro quo. there were no conditions. certainly, there are many answers. one assumption is it is a pr exercise for pyongyong. we seen an offensive in recent months, most notably, according to experts, because there is this human rights report going through the u.n. at this point saying pyongyong has committed crimes against humanity, pyongyong is trying to mitigate that report, they're trying to soften that image internationally. also, there is the fact that in the short term this is beneficial to kim jong-un, the leader. it's clear this decision came from him. it could only have co

our correspondent out of seoul, south korea is paula hancocks, and she has covered these two men's ordeal. she's covered the north korea-south korea issue for some time. she joins us now live. >> reporter: with kenneth bae the first lady she hugged, i spoke to her a year ago and she was allowed to go into north korea. only member of his family that was allowed to go to pyongyang to visit him. that was a very emotional moment as she realized just how ill he looked. we saw his sister terry chung there. she's been very vocal in trying to lobby for his release. he has diabetes. he has heart problems. it was a matter of urgency according to the family he came home. and now you see he has come home. he was sentenced to hard labor. six years hard labor. he's serving a couple months of that. >> i was reading something about why one perspective was to solidify his power so he could get a senior official with the obama administration to come to north korea. bear in mind it said he'd made an apology. north korea saying the most powerful man in the world has apologize odd to me, so i'm giving this hu