Mattis' Blunt Warning To North Korea; North Korea Preparing Another Missile Test; Trump's Trade Threat
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: -- the best of humanity out there, and now we are seeing some good corporate do-gooding.</s>ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN ANCHOR: All right. "EARLY START" continues right now.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any threat to the United States or its territories will be met with a massive military response, a response both effective and overwhelming.</s>MARQUARDT: The secretary of defense right there with a firm warning for North Korea after Pyongyang's latest nuclear test. We've learned the U.S. and South Korea will look to deploy military assets including bombers. We are live in Seoul.</s>KOSIK: President Trump will propose ending protections for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. Could Congress give DREAMERS another chance?</s>MARQUARDT: And could billions in recovery funds for Harvey victims be tied to raising the nation's debt ceiling? The treasury secretary says yes. Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Alex Marquardt.</s>KOSIK: Good morning. I'm Alison Kosik. It's Monday, September 4th. It's 5:00 a.m. in the east. It's 5:30 p.m. in Pyongyang. And top U.S. defense officials are responding to North Korea's biggest nuclear tests yet with a blunt warning. Defense Secretary James Mattis advising that any threat by Pyongyang against the U.S. or its allies would draw what he called a massive military response. Mattis' warning coming after a meeting with the president, vice president, and top national security advisers. Mattis said this, quote, "Our commitments among the allies are ironclad."</s>JAMES MATTIS, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Any threat to the United States or its territories including Guam or our allies will be met with a massive military response. A response both effective and overwhelming. We are not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely North Korea. As I said, we have many options to do so.</s>MARQUARDT: This new warning coming after North Korea's claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb on Sunday. A test that was overseen by Leader Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang claimed that the weapon was designed to be carried by an intercontinental ballistic missile, the kind that North Korea has also been testing recently. President Trump was asked about the nuclear test on Sunday as he left a church service.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, will you attack North Korea?</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We'll see.</s>MARQUARDT: Our coverage begins this morning with CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Alison, Alex, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and General Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, making that extraordinary appearance in front of the White House. Mattis delivering a very carefully worded message, saying that the U.S. does have military options. That any threat from North Korea to the U.S. or its allies would be met with a massive military response. He was very clear the U.S. isn't looking for total annihilation of North Korea, but make no mistake, they are looking to send this very stern, grim message to Kim Jong-un that if he does not give up his nuclear weapons, if he threatens or attacks, the U.S. would take him out. The U.S. strategy at the moment if there is a military strategy is to try and convince Kim Jong-un that he himself and his regime could not survive if they were to attack South Korea, Japan, Guam, or the United States. But on the other hand, it's a message we've heard before. None of it has worked to change Kim's mind and by all accounts, this latest underground nuclear test is a massive step forward. It is a larger test than anything North Korea has done before -- Alison, Alex.</s>MARQUARDT: Our thanks to Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Now the U.N. Security Council is set to meet in emergency session this morning in the wake of this latest test. It's just the second meeting in just a week. Past meetings have done little to stop North Korea's provocations. Earlier this morning, South Korea's Army and Air Force conducted a combined live-fire exercise in response to that North Korean nuclear test. Now North Korean state media is blasting South Korea for saying the drill shows that Seoul is hellbent on escalating confrontation. The exercise comes after President Trump called out South Korea on Twitter suggesting that Seoul is appeasing the North Koreans. CNN correspondent, Ian Lee, is live in Seoul, South Korea, with the regional response. Good morning, Ian. So, what kind of response have we seen from Seoul this morning?</s>IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Ales. We saw those military exercises early in the morning and what's important about these is South Korea says that these were directed towards North Korea, saying that these missile tests were targeting their North Korean leadership and nuclear infrastructure in the event of a war. So, a very tough response there. What was used were ballistic missiles as well as advanced air-to-surface missiles fired from an F-15. We're hearing that there could be another test of those advance missiles today. But we're also hearing from intelligence agencies saying that the intelligence groups saying that there could be another ballistic missile test by North Korea sometime soon before that. You know, South Korea, one of their strategies going forward is trying to get the United States, and have a united front with them. That includes asking the United States for advanced weaponry to come to the South Korean Peninsula. They didn't specify what the weaponry would be. But when asked if that could be nuclear weapons, they say that the South is still committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. So, what we are seeing is a tough stance by the South Koreans. One that they want to take the international community so that they can have a united front when isolating North Korea -- Alex.</s>MARQUARDT: Some fast-moving developments in a serious potential for escalation. Our thanks to Ian Lee in Seoul.</s>KOSIK: OK. Time for an EARLY START on your money. President Trump says the U.S. is considering stopping trade with any nation doing business with North Korea in response to the country's latest nuclear test. This could mean a halt to U.S. trade with China, which has supported economic sanctions on North Korea but remains the key economic partner for the rogue nation. China is the United States' biggest trading partner in goods. Total trade between the U.S. and China topping almost $650 billion last year. That's according to the office of U.S. Trade Representative. Meantime, the "Washington Post" reporting this weekend that President Trump is telling advisers to prepare for withdrawing the U.S. from a free trade agreement that it has with South Korea. According to the paper, Trump is frustrated that the new South Korean President Moon is not willing to accept some U.S. trade demands.</s>MARQUARDT: And breaking overnight, President Trump is moving to end the program that protects undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children. But the move is far from a done deal with multiple sources saying that the White House is looking at a six-month delay in any action against the so-called DREAMERS so that Congress has time to pass legislation, which would allow them to stay in the country.</s>KOSIK: The expected move ending the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals Program called DACA. It comes after weeks of deliberation within the White House. The move may satisfy the president's base, but it could also disrupt the lives of almost 800,000 people working and studying in the U.S. DACA protects qualified applicants from being deported.</s>MARQUARDT: Now several sources are cautioning that this decision is not final until it is announced. That is expected to be on Tuesday. But already there's been a flood of reactions with immigration advocates calling it cruel while Trump's core supporters are applauding it as the restoration of the rule of law.</s>KOSIK: If the president plans to end DACA, but gives Congress a chance to let dreamers say, will lawmakers go along with the president's decision? We get into that next.