Insight Into North Korea's New Leader
BALDWIN: "Globe Trekking" now. And reports of more horrific massacres in Syria. An opposition group says some 250 people were slaughtered in just two days. The White House released a statement saying the only way to bring about change that the Syrian people deserve is for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to leave. CNN's Rima Maktabi is following that story. She has more -- Rima.</s>RIMA MAKTABI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, an alarming death toll has come out of Syria over the past couple of days, urged the Syrian opposition, Arab League, and the international community to voice out concerns over the situation in Syria. In a strongly-worded statement, the White House says, "Assad's regime has no credibility and has flagrantly violated its commitment to end violence." The Syrian National Council asked for an immediate meeting for the U.N. Security Council and Arab League ministers to take necessary measures to protect civilians. The SNC called the violence a horrific massacre that left more than 200 people dead within two days only. CNN cannot verify the authenticity of reports or social media that is coming out of the country. The Syrian state TV showed Syria's military and navy staging war games as a show of strength. Activists and opposition report massacres in Syria while the Assad regime talks about terrorist armed groups committing horrors. And the past nine months, the international media have not been allowed into Syria to report freely about events that may mark history -- Brooke.</s>BALDWIN: Rima Maktabi, reporting for us in Abu Dhabi. Rima, thank you. Now to North Korea, where we have learned the first orders have been given by the country's new leader, Kim Jong-un. The son of former leader Kim Jong-il gave orders to the military before his father's death was announced. That is what South Korea's news agency has been reporting. They say it's a sign that, yes, he has taken "complete control" of the military. CNN spoke with a man whose family is inside North Korea. He paints a grim picture, saying people are starving, and he's risking his life just by talking to CNN.</s>STAN GRANT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "North Koreans don't speak openly," he says. "If anyone knows I'm talking, I would be sent to prison, and there's no mercy there. I would be shot dead."</s>BALDWIN: CNN's Anna Coren gives us a unique look inside the regime. She spoke with a former chef who describes this lavish lifestyle of former leader Kim Jong-il.</s>COREN (voice-over): As North Korea mourns the loss of its "Dear Leader," the world is anxiously waiting for his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, to reveal what sort of successor he will be. One man with a personal insight is Kenji Fujimoto. For 13 years, he worked as Kim Jong-il's personal chef, one of the few outsiders allowed into this secretive and reclusive world. He says he was a</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He would always take the lead over his brothers. He was always going to succeed his father.</s>COREN (on camera): Kim Jong-un has inherited a country with nuclear capabilities, a crippled economy and a humanitarian crisis. The U.N. estimates a quarter of the population is facing starvation. And while many are concerned that Kim Jong-un will follow in his father's footsteps, Fujimoto believes this Swiss-educated leader is worldly and very aware of what his country does not have.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I believe he is aiming at reform in open society, explains the chef. He will look to China as an example so that the country can move forward.</s>COREN (voice-over): While there are fears Kim Jong-un and those around him may act to prove his leadership, Fujimoto is hopeful he may bring stability to the Korean Peninsula and lead his country out of the wilderness and into the international arena.</s>BALDWIN: Anna Coren for us from Seoul. Now this, kick the can down the road, pinning themselves into a corner, way too many analogies describing Congress right now. Not enough compromise in this whole fight, this impasse really over this payroll tax cut extension. Ten days until it expires. If they don't get their acts together, your taxes will go up in those 10 days. Columnist Craig Srawford, good enough to stand by. I have a feeling he's fired up over this one. We're going to talk right after this quick break.