U.S. Troops to Stay in South Korea as Trump Sets Up 2nd Summit with North Koran Leader; Democrats Prepare Week of Blockbuster Hearings into Trump
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Just in, the U.S. and South Korea have reached a preliminary agreement on the costs of keeping nearly 30,000 U.S. troops stationed on the peninsula. The president had suggested he would consider withdrawing troops, pressuring South Korea to contribute more to the financial costs of keeping them overseas. So let's go to national security report, Kylie Atwood. Kylie, the president will have a second summit with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un, this month. What more do you know about this deal with South Korea?</s>KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, State Department sources tell CNN that the U.S. and South Korea have finally come to an agreement over how much South Korea is willing to pay the U.S. to keep their forces in South Korea. We're told that the figure is nearly $1 billion. That's a far cry from what President Trump wanted. He wants South Koreans to start paying almost double what they had been paying in the past, which was around 800 million a year. I want to point out however this is a preliminary agreement. Essentially, President Trump could still nix it. We don't know if the president himself has signed off, but what we know is his negotiators have come to something they think is a fair agreement of where they're at and how they can move forward. However, the other factor here is that we are told this is a one-year agreement. In the past, these agreements have been for five years. That means, in a year from now, less than a year from now, actually, the U.S. and South Korea will have to sit down to the table again. It will give the U.S. some more negotiating room to get more money for keeping its U.S. forces in South Korea. But this agreement right now does ease the anxiety for U.S. officials that were worried that President Trump might use this as a negotiating tool, U.S. troops in South Korea, when he comes to the table with Kim Jong-Un for what is predicted to be a second summit between the two at the end of the month. That would be something that would be extremely, extremely hurtful to the U.S./South Korean alliance.</s>BALDWIN: Kylie Atwood, thank you very much. A cold, hard reality of a new Democratic majority in Congress, about to hit home for President Trump this week after the president delivers his State of the Union speech tomorrow night. Democrats preparing for a week of blockbuster hearings, everything from presidential tax returns to the family separation policy at the southern border all in the spotlight. Let's go CNN's Lauren Fox. And give us a little preview, Lauren, of what to expect.</s>LAUREN FOX, CNN: This is week the president will see what that Democratic oversight looks like. Let me give you a rundown of what the president will see this week. There are two important subcommittee hearings. One in a Ways and Means Subcommittee, it will be over presidential tax returns. Specifically why the president needs to release them. How Democrats plan to write legislation in the future to require presidents to release them. That hearing, very important and something the president himself might be you know interested in learning a little more about. There's also an Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing. That looking at the family separation on the southern border. Then two important hearings later in the week. One of them in the House Judiciary Committee. That's with Matthew Whittaker, the acting attorney general. Democrats have had tough words about he how he talked about the Mueller investigation. Watch for some fireworks in that hearing. Then behind closed doors, Michael Cohen, the president's former lawyer and longtime fixer, is going to be coming before the House Intelligence Committee. So a lot on the agenda this week. It's just a sampling of what to expect. There will be more cabinet secretaries summoned to Capitol Hill. They'll have to answer tough questions from Democrats. But this coming after the government shutdown and just days after the president's State of the Union, which is traditionally meant to unify the parties. So a lot to look forward to -- Brooke?</s>BALDWIN: A big week. Lauren Fox, we know you'll be ready for it. Thank you very much on Capitol Hill. Coming up next, as we watch what happens with Virginia's governor, Ralph Northam, a look at the races in the 2020 campaign. Some of those considering a run have called the president a racist. But at least one African-American candidate hasn't quite gone that far. Let's talk about why.