Believing in someone plays a huge part in confidence, and performance, and the outcome of the common goal, which for us was to go to college. Woodruff all that and more, on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. The ford foundation. Working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff President Trump again denounced north korea today, saying the u. S. And its military was ready to deal with any provocation by the pyongyang regime. Special correspondent Nick Schifrin starts us off. Reporter the u. S. Military calls guam the tip of its pacific spear, and today it showed off bombers that carry more conventional weapons than any other american plane. From guam, b1 bombers can reach north korea in only a few hours. Thats what this Continuous Bomber Presence does. It assures our allies and deters our adversaries. Reporter the military wouldnt detail the bombers mission, but the message was clear, as President Trump tweeted this morning military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should north korea act unwisely. Hopefully kim jongun will find another path he continued his warning late this afternoon. I hope that they are going to fully understand the gravity of what i said. And what i said is what i mean. If he does anything with respect to guam, or anyplace else thats an american territory, or an american ally, he will truly regret it, and he will regret it fast. Reporter on guam, authorities are taking no chances. They distributed a fact sheet in case of imminent missile threat. Instructions include make a list of potential concrete shelters, and do not look at the flash or fireball, it can blind you. In japan, the military deployed patriot interceptors in the districts that north korea promised its missiles would overfly. An alarmed world is urging calm, from german chancellor Angela Merkel translated i am firmly convinced that an escalation of rhetoric will not contribute to a solution of this conflict. Reporter to Russian Foreign minister sergey lavrov. He called u. S. And north korean rhetoric over the top, and the risk of conflict high. translated when you get close to the point of a fight, the one who is stronger and wiser should be the first to step back from the brink. Reporter in china, a state owned newspaper urged both sides to step back. But it delivered a warning to north korea, when it wrote if north korea attacked first, china will stay neutral. Despite the tensions, we learned today that u. S. And north korean diplomats have had back channel discussions that continued after the june release of an american in north korean custody. He later died. Those talks obviously havent calmed tensions, but they could become a foundation for more serious negotiations. We turn now for a view from north korean capital, pyongyang, and Associated Press correspondent rafael wober. Rafael, thank you very much rafael, during past points of tension, weve seen things like air raid drills, camouflaged cars in the streets of pyongyang. But today its actually quiet. Why is that . I think here people have lived with this threat of war for decades so, on the streets of pyongyang, it is still calm. There isnt preparation visible here for war. But the statement which came from the general in charge of the d. P. R. K. s strategic forces, thats its missile forces, that came from him this week is something new, and it sets a bar, it sets a kind of something to try to focus u. S. Attention on making steps towards negotiations sooner rather than later. Here in the u. S. Kim jong un is often disparaged. I want to play sound, one u. S. Ambassador nikki haley and john mccain. This is not a rational pern who is thinking clearly. China is the only one that can control kim jong un, this crazy fat kid thats running north korea. Is the u. S. Underestimating kim jong un, and whats the impact if it is . I think foreign analysts have often said the d. P. R. K. , north korea, is a country which plays a weak hand very strongly. So it is in a difficult position and the leadership is often characterized in this way, plus, of course, the previous leader of the d. P. R. K. North korea, kim jongil, the man in charge before kim jong un, he is remembered as saying one of the best ways to keep a strong hand is to try to keep things under wraps and not give away anything and, in fact, theres often the feeling that the koreans here want to keep the world guessing, and thats the best way to make a strong position out of not very much. So i think that these kinds of assessments from the outside world, the throwaway comments made often are not really accurate, and i think theres plenty of analysis from experts over the past weeks, months and years even going back to the early 1990s which suggests that because, after all, it was back in the early 90s that people thought that the country would collapse following the collapse of the soviet union. In fact, here we are in 2017 and it is still here. Rafael, quickly, can you describe how kim is different from his predecessors who really emphasized the military aspect but he has emphasized both the military Nuclear Program and the economy . I think that, since 2012, which was is first full year that the new leader kim jong un has been in charge, theres certainly been a change. Weve seen it here in discussions with economists here as well as out and about in farms and factories, businesses and shops, and thats called here a new in new Economic Management methods, the leadership here, the north korean government calls it a dual track policy, which is developing the National Defense industry the same time as the economy. Essentially, as economists here have told us, a new method of trying to free up people in the country to trade and do business and to become more productive economically. So weve seen there is definitely a big increase in Economic Activity within the country. Of course, the International Sanctions most recently this past weekend, those are having an effect on the countrys ability to trade with the outside world. But since 2012, there has been a major stepup in Economic Activity. People doing business, trading with each other, being more productive inside the country. Rafael wober with the Associated Press in pyongyang. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Woodruff in the days other news, kenyas Election Commission says president Uhuru Kenyatta has won a second term. It follows days of protests by backers of Opposition Leader raila odinga, who claimed the vote was rigged. The Commission Said kenyatta won 54 of the vote, which it called credible and fair. Afterwards, kenyatta spoke in nairobi and appealed for unity. To my worthy competitor, the honorable ralia odinga, i reach out to you. I reach out to all your supporters, i reach out to all who are elected in now the opposition ventures. We shall work together. Woodruff but just minutes after the results were announced, there were reports of protesters clashing with police in opposition strongholds. Witnesses say they heard gunshots and screaming. At least 43 people are dead after two passenger trains collided in egypt today. It happened just outside the mediterranean port city of alexandria, and is the countrys deadliest rail accident in over a decade. More than 120 people were injured. A train traveling to cairo crashed into the back of another train, which was waiting at a station. Its not clear what caused the accident. In venezuela, embattled president Nicolas Maduro now says that he wants a meeting with President Trump. It comes amid the countrys deepening political crisis and after the u. S. Sanctioned the socialist leader and his allies. Maduro spoke before members of the new, allpowerful constitutional assembly, and called for something to be arranged. translated initiate negotiations, so i can have a personal conversation with donald trump. If you are so interested in venezuela, here i am. Here is the chief of your interest, Nicolas Maduro, constitutional president of the bolivarian republic of venezuela. Mr. Donald trump, here is my hand. Woodruff maduro suggested the two could meet at next months United Nations general assembly. But in the same speech, maduro ranted against President Trump, calling him an emperor. And late today, peru expelled venezuelas ambassador to protest what it sees as a power grab by maduro. The head of the Senate JudiciaryCommittee Said that he no longer expects an imminent vacancy on the u. S. Supreme court. There had been speculation in recent months that 81yearold Justice Anthony kennedy was considering retirement. But Iowa Republican chuck grassley, whose committee handles court nominees, said today, evidently that is not going to happen. There is word that congressional investigators now want to question President Trumps longtime personal secretary. Abc news reports it is part of the probe into last years meeting between Trump Campaign officials and a russian lawyer. The assistant, rhona graff, was mentioned in an email exchange between donald trump jr. And a british publicist who helped set up the meeting. On wall street today, stocks turned slightly higher, after days of jitters over north korea. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 14 points to close at 21,858. The nasdaq rose 39. And the s p 500 added three. For the week, the dow lost about 1 . The nasdaq and s p dropped about 1. 5 . Still to come on the newshour what is the trump administrations plan for north korea . David brooks and ruth marcus on the escalating war of words from the white house. How an art program is helping young women in baltimore got to college. And, much more. Woodruff we return to our lead story, north korea. We want to explore what options are before the trump administration, and get some insights into the reclusive north korean regime. That comes from retired u. S. Navy admiral dennis blair. He served as commander of American Forces in the pacific, and later as president obamas first director of national intelligence. And, sue mi terry. She spent seven years as a senior korea analyst at the c. I. A. , and later as a director on the National Security council. And we welcome both of you back to the newshour. Im going to start with you, admiral blair. More tough language just in the last few hours from President Trump. How do you size up where this situation stands now . Like many administrations, this administration believes that when it becomes aware of a problem, its the first time the problem ever existed, and those of us who have been dealing with north korea for many years know that its hyperbolic, threatlaced language. Its nothing new. Thats simply the way it talks. It has a very small military capability with and talks loud for both at the terrence and to for both deterrence and to try to intim date. The military facts are its very limited in what it can do. So i am unimpressed pi this level of talk. You have to look at the underlying military situations which hasnt changed, which is very much in the american and south korean and japanese favor. This is not new, judy. Woodruff so sue mi terry, how are things different this time . Well, i think, honestly, the wildcard here is mr. Trump because as admiral blair said, those of us who have been following north korean issues for a very long time, we understand this is how north korea behaves. Kim jongil and kim jong un and before that, thats how North Koreans behave. The wildcard is mr. Trump with his increased rhetoric. Honestly at the end of the day, even though we say military options are on the table, im not sure if anything is realistic. North korea, their conventional artillery are over 10,000 within reach of seoul. I think mr. Trump is putting himself out there on ledge like this to increase the risk of, you know, blundering into a conflict no one really wants. Woodruff is that what you sew, admiral bhair, that could happen . You said manet ago the North Koreans have a small capability. What do you think the prospects are for a conflict . I think the prospects for a conflict are really very low. The facts are known by both the United States and korea are that if korea starts a conventional military conflict, they lose, they lose north korea loses, the regime dictator loses his life. If they were to use a Nuclear Weapon against korea or south korea or japan much less the United States, we will retaliate with Nuclear Weapons. They may have 15 or 20, we have about 2,000. Its the end of the regime. This is not a suicidal regime. They operate very cleverly just below the level of major war or major provocation which they know they would lose, and we are seeing more of that now. So i dont rate the chances of conflict as high. Woodruff sue mi terry, you met recently with representatives of north korea, the d. P. R. K. , what is your assessment of them and their attitude now even though you obviously dont county talk to them this minute. Right, no, i think North Koreans are bent on completing their Nuclear Program. Kim jong un is bent on completing his nuclear arsenal. North koreans wont give up their Nuclear Weapons. They said over and over explicitly they wont give it up. Its not up for negotiation anymore. Maybe his father was willing to negotiate to get concessions but i dont think its the case. I think kim jong un will complete the program. They said they will continue with testing. Even an icbm test, which they have followed through with that threat. So i think they will continue with this path. Woodruff given that, admiral blair, do you see a way out . I see the way out as intensification of the current set of measures were taking with north korea. We dont accept them as a nuclear state, despite the reality of their having a nuclear capability. We squeeze them very hard economically and the new set of u. N. Sanctions are good. Were always ready to talk to them in case they want to actually change the course of their policy. We keep our military defenses, both conventional and nuclear strong, and we wait for this terrible, brutal dictator, who has oppressed his people, his family has oppressed the people, to fall, which he will as other tick tarts have. Woodruff sue mi terry. I agree with his assessment. We need to continue with the pressure, the sanctions, even a secondary boycott against chinese banks and entities that do illicit business with north korea to keep the pressure on the chinese. We have to do that. I would just add, i think, also, Information Warfare against the north korean regime is very important because at the end of the day, under this regime, not much is going to change and we need a different regime coming into north korea. When we say regime change, im not talking about military strike or decapitation at the head, im talking about north Korean People bringing about the change. That would be the longterm game. Before that, containment and pressure. Woodruff any out the the u. S. And allies can deter the North Koreans before they do serious damage, wreak serious havoc on the region or even the u. S. . Im very confident of that, judy. This dictatorship has a highly refined sense of preservation and conduct ago major attack on the United States is the recipe for the end of the regime, not for the continuation, and if this regime can do anything, it can do whats necessary to survive. Woodruff admiral dennis blair, sue mi terry, thank you both. Thank you for having us on. Thank you. Youre welcome, judy. Woodruff and just moments ago, President Trump addressed cameras again. He said there is a military option to solve the Current Crisis in venezuela. Mr. Trump also indicated by september 1, the u. S. Will have a response to russia for expelling diplomats. And on north korea, he plans to call the president of china tonight to discuss it. Standing with the members of his National Security team, he stressed the administration was united in its strategy on north korea. I think its the combined message if we want to get Effective Movement out of the regime in north korea. I think the president made it clear he prefers a diplomatic solution, i think he responded to that effect a moment ago. I think what the president is doing is trying to support our efforts by ensuring north korea understands what the stakes are. Woodruff and that was the president and the secretary of state just moments ago. Now we turn to a lawmakers perspective. Last night, we heard from democratic senator ben cardin of maryland. Tonight, we get a republican take from senator james risch of idaho. He is a member of the Senate Foreign relations and intelligence committees, and he joins us now from boise. Senator risch, welcome. You just heard