i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: a thaw in relations, as north and south korea stage their first talks for more than two years. we'll be live in seoul, where the south korean president is about to speak. from trump's closest confidant, to outcast. five months after he was forced out of the white house steve bannon quits breitbart news. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme, growing calls for the release of two journalists held in myanmar for their coverage of the rohingya crisis. and running out of space. low gravity triggers a surprising growth spurt for this japanese astronaut. it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london and 9am in seoul,

where after months of tension between the two koreas, there's signs of a sudden and dramatic change. for the first time in over two years north and south korea have engaged in formal military talks, to try to defuse tensions between the two countries. let's cross over now to a special press c0 nfe re nce let's cross over now to a special press conference taking place right now in seoul, where the south korean president is addressing the nation. translation: we'd dream again and we hope again. —— we dream. my fellow people, you have spared your own time to participate in a candlelight rally to lead south korea in the right direction, so now the south

korean government owes that to the south korean people, and to make south korean people, and to make south korean people, and to make south korea to be this country. myself and my government's aim is to pursue better life for all the fellow people. my fellow people, i will make sure you can feel the better life. the first thing i did asa better life. the first thing i did as a president was to put my plan in the room so i can share my day to day life with you, my fellow people.

human beings should be the centre of the korean government. and in doing so the korean government. and in doing soi the korean government. and in doing so i have pursued to create more jobs, to provide better opportunities for all the fellow koreans. this year, i have also increased the minimum wage, up to 16.4 increased the minimum wage, up to 16.1; points. there are more companies who are helping, contributing, to improve minimum wage. south korean government will continue to expand such an effort for the new year. for the minimum wage labour, we will help them out to have more stable income so they

can help out and look after their families better. we will also introduce more social benefits, so it can help korean people to have a better life. from 2020, we believe this will start to show a clear difference, and job opportunities for young graduates will be feasible. i will also welcome to improve the quality of working place. and i will be working on to have more full—time jobs.

place. and i will be working on to have more full—timejobs. and the fundamental definition of what we call a job is one of the focus we are working on. it is something we cannot postpone. everybody need to be part of economic development. we need to have a social dialogue with all the fellow korean. regardless, big company, small medium companies, i will be happy to sit down and i will be happy to seek for solution to create morejob will be happy to seek for solution to create more job opportunity for young people. they are trade is also one of the things we will continue to focus on. —— fair trade.

innovation is critical elements for us innovation is critical elements for us to create more job as well. driverless car, 2000 smart company, the new model of smart city... so, you are watching a live press conference with president moon jae—in in south korea, speaking about the economic situation in south korea and the improvements he wa nts to south korea and the improvements he wants to make. he is specifically talking about jobs and wants to make. he is specifically talking aboutjobs and the minimum wage, and how he wants to improve the quality of the workplace and how he hopes these differences will be visible by 2020. he has not yet spoken about north korea and the upcoming winter olympics, and the hope that north korea will send a delegation to those winter olympics. let's get a bit of background from oui’ let's get a bit of background from our correspondent, rupert wingfield—hayes. the skiers on the slopes of pyeongchang today were moving a little slower than they will be in a month's time.

then, the world's best will be flying down these pistes. and now we know that when the olympic games open here on february 7th, there will be a full north korean team competing. they will march in side by side with their south korean compatriots. translation: i think with sport, we can put everything aside and everyone should do their best to achieve their goals in the competition. north korea isjust 50 miles away in that direction, and the north has really completely overshadowed preparations for the olympics here. some teams have threatened to pull out. ticket sales have been slow — you can see this place isn't exactly humming with skiers. so there is immense relief here that the north and the south are now at least talking. this morning, north korea's chief delegate, ri son gwon, strode across the demarcation line

that divides the two koreas. he warmly shook the hand of his south korean counterpart. "the weather is cold", he said, "but despite the cold, the people's desire for improving relations is unfrozen". it's hard to overstate how dramatic and rapid this shift has been. it's only a month since north korea test—fired this huge new missile, boasting that it could hit any city in the united states. off the coast of korea, us aircraft carriers massed, their decks swarming with supersonic strike aircraft. it felt like this region was teetering on the brink of war. so is pyongyang's sudden change of heart real, orjust a tactic to avoid war with america? north korea would like to gain time in order to avoid a potential immediate retaliation by the united states against its wmd facilities and eventually re—engage in the provocation cycle so that it can threaten the united states with nuclear action.

the winter olympics may be a cover for kim jong—un, a convenient excuse for him to step back from the brink. but here in the south, any chance to talk is better than the terrifying alternative. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in pyeongchang, south korea. live now to the south korean capital, and the bbc‘s sophie long. sophie, you are monitoring the speech president moonjae—in is giving. he is speaking about the economic situation, but of course we all want to know about the next stage of this thaw in tensions between south korea and north korea. yes, he is running three his domestic economic policies. but

there is a lot of international interest in his press conference this morning because everybody expects to hear his view on the talks which took basis of a. historic talks, the first time a north korean and south korean governments sat down face—to—face for two years. i think yesterday he will have breathed a sigh of relief and he will be pleased to be making the speech this morning, because he has long said these 0lympic the speech this morning, because he has long said these olympic games could ea vessel of peace. —— be a vessel. you heard in rupert was mac report that tensions have been running at their highest point for a number of decades, at the end of 2017. -- number of decades, at the end of 2017. —— rupert's report. so there has been a significant shift, but we will wait to see what happens next. he will be very pleased that pyongyang will be sending a full delegation to the olympics. that will make lots of people happy. we have heard here in the local national press that the ticket sales for the pyeongchang games are already going up, and for people living in seoul, it is great news.

they want a nice, peaceful winter 0lympics, they want a nice, peaceful winter olympics, and the fact that kim jong—un is sending a delegation makes it less likely he will do any nuclear tests or rocket launchers or anything like that over that period of time. now, the ground has been laid, we heard ahead of these talks that the south korean and us governments agreed to suspend a joint military exercises which take face in south korea on a regular basis. they say they are defensive, but the north korean leader says they are a rehearsal for invasion. so as you rightly say, we are now waiting to see what happens next, because although there could be a period of peace and stability through the duration of the winter 0lympics through the duration of the winter olympics and paralympics, that all reaches a conclusion on the 19th of march, and those military exercises i was talking about, they have only been suspended until the end of the games. it will be crucial to see what happens next. and those military exercises really do annoy pyongyang. it is important to state, as you and rupert have said, you

cannot underestimate how dramatic this shift is. even the reinstatement of this telephone hotline, which i know you were reporting on, which hasn't been used in two years, the imagery is quite remarkable. yeah, that's right. you speak to analysts who have been covering and looking at korean relations for a number of years and decades, and they will cynically point out that we have talked about turning points and relations many times before. —— in relations. what is important is that this period of time which it looks like we will have now will create a breathing space, and will really change the atmosphere. we had the sixth and most powerful nuclear test just atmosphere. we had the sixth and most powerful nuclear testjust in september, and the intercontinental ballistic missile launch at the end of november, which north korea claimed could reach the united states. when you think about that, and where we are now, the hope is it

will change the atmosphere in which potentially more negotiations could get under way and they could talk about other issues, potentially more important issues, like military tensions on the north korean peninsula and of course that fundamentalist view of denuclearisation. —— fundamental issue. we will return now to solve, where the south korean president is giving a live press conference. —— seoul. translation: suffer from dementia, and age—related disease. —— an. we will provide more support. we will start to provide some allowa nce for we will start to provide some allowance for elderly people. all the young children, we will provide support to help out the lower income

family to have more affordable childcare. —— for the young. we will also invest more money into education. all—day childcare programmes will kick in on the first quarter of this year, so it will ta ke quarter of this year, so it will take lots of the burden off working mothers. childbirth, maternity leave. these working mothers will be able to do how bad better quality of life. —— able to have a better. i would like to emphasise again, my policy will be focused on korean people's lives. i will make sure there will be no corruption. so the south korean government can regain

the trust of the south korean people. my my dear fellow people. we do remember clearly about the candlelight rally from last year. i visited incheon national —— international airport at the end of last year. shortly after i became the 19th president. and i was informed that they have increased more full—time workers. who were before part—time workers. this is an example about how we are moving forward. we have indeed opened a new

era, more optimistic, more positive future. it has been opened. we are open to dialogue. a more mature, open to dialogue. a more mature, open society that is what south korea is going to be. my fellow people, you have lit the light of democracy into south korea. we have got to the till —— facilitate such as sprint into a more practical way. south korean government has taken responsibility and our pupils ownership has changed and fold so much from 30 years ago. now we are going to follow south korean pupils

will and that is what we are going to focus on. we are going to increase and enhance the human rights of every single south korean. we also announce the that we have all agreed that this will be the most efficient way of us moving forward. we have got to consider to use the tax which we received fellow from people in smarter way. and we should never fall into from people in smarter way. and we should neverfall into black from people in smarter way. and we should never fall into black hole. we don't have much time until next

election and i would like all the people involved to participate, to prepare, co—operate. the new constitution is should be based on the south korean pupils will end in doing so, i will do my best as the south korean president. —— people's. we will discuss with the south korean parliament in doing so. my dear fellow people. we have established the peace in the korean

peninsula. this will be the only way koreans can be happy. korean war should never happen in south korea ever again. i do not anticipate immediately unification. my aim to establish a proper peace first. you, fellow people, established the democracy. you are the source of the peace. i depended totally on your help last year. so i could insist on my policy. south korea, north korea

into a korean relationship. i could insist on having communication. north korea and south korea stopped talking for a while but now we opened new windows. donald trump has supported this move. he has also agreed in postponing joint south korean military exercises. this is the starting point. we have got to have a successful peaceful winter 0lympics. furthermore, the nuclear issue of north korea should be discussed. this should allow us to have a new chapter for the new peace

of south and north korea. in doing so, america, china, japan and all oui’ so, america, china, japan and all our other alliances and i hope they do so. the north korean nuclear issue and establishing peace in north and south korea will be my aim. nuclearisation is the fundamental pathway we need to pass which is totally cannot be compromised. it should be the only

way price to achieve full peace in the korean peninsula. i will make sure we get to that point. last week i met korean elderly ladies who are victimised during the japanese colonies. it reminded me of what a korean government can do. japan... the south korean president they're giving a live press conference. he has touched upon the thawing relations between north and south

korea. sophie long has been monitoring this. interesting that he is talking about not anticipating immediate reunification but certainly moving forward and yes, moonjae—in has always been at the heart of his election victory had this desire for peace between the two countries. he has long looked to involving north korea in more engagement but the key thing there is that he said denuclearisation of the north and south korean peninsula cannot be argued against. that's what a lot of people around the world will be wanting to hear. we heard about the steps made yesterday with a delegation being sent to the winter olympics by pyongyang. you get the sense they want to have a successful winter olympics. they wa nted successful winter olympics. they wanted to go off successfully and

then they will look at this denuclearisation is chewed but a lot of conservatives here and internationally, the trump administration will be looking to hear about that because he had sent in the past even though he wants to engage north korea more, they do need to deal with this issue. that wasn't really discussed yesterday. interestingly, the south korean delegation brought it up briefly at the north korean delegation did not engage. how do they get over that? that is the big stumbling block. how on earth do they move forward? there are two stumbling blocks. both sides are two stumbling blocks. both sides are very pleased. they sorted out the olympic issue. they also touched on humanitarian issues. families divided by the korean border, people who have not seen family members for decades, talking about a reunion to

them. we also had the reopening of them. we also had the reopening of the military hotline. the two stumbling blocks will be the economic and nuclear issues. they are linked. the north korean regime is subject to very tough economic sanctions and any economic cooperation between the two will be frowned upon if they are going to undermine those international sanctions. that is why the sanctions are in place, to squeeze the pyongyang regime, to get them to stop their nuclear and missile programme and bring them to the negotiating table. any economic cooperation and the fundamental issue, stopping the north korean nuclear and missile programme. sophie long bear. thank you very much are watching this special edition of newsday. tuesday was a disappointing day up

and down the country, cold, damp and grey with the exception of western scotland which saw a little sunshine. into wednesday we start to see a bit of change to the weather. a band of rain slowly moves eastward across the country. first thing on wednesday, across central and western areas, clear skies and quite chilly with a touch of frost, a little fog. wednesday for many of us looks brighter. we should see some sunshine, particularly in the afternoon because it begins cold with ice in northern ireland. central, northern and east areas has a weather front slowly moving out into the north sea. in fact, for a good portion of scotland it could stay damp all day. there will be a little mist and murk and hill fog. most of the rain across north—east of scotland and into the northern isles so i think some

western fringes and south—western parts of scotland should see sunshine in the afternoon. that veil of cloud with the weather front is draped across the eastern counties of england down towards the south—east. the further west you are, the brighter the afternoon. it will feel a little warmer in the sunshine. ten, 11 degrees maybe and a couple of showers across the south—west. as we head towards wednesday evening and overnight a few heavy showers will clear away from the south—west of england. the weather front will eventually clear from the eastern side of england but is confined to the northern isles there. elsewhere under clear skies with light wind it will be quite chilly and a touch of frost here and there. some mist, ice and fog — that is a sign of things to come towards the end of the week with morning frost and fog. it could cause a little bit of a problem. for thursday it is a cold start with a little mist and fog around. frost as well but it should generally lift. there is a little that could be

stubborn in a few places but there should be sunshine breaking through for many although for the northern isles will remain damp. a bit more cloud across the coastal and eastern counties. as we head into friday, high pressure holds on with a change across the west. tightly packed isoba rs and more breeze. clouds arriving in northern ireland late in the day but for much of the country should be dry, chilly with an early fog but a few sunny spells in the afternoon. on saturday the weather front across the west will very slowly move eastwards during the course of the day. it won't reach the east until later on where it will stay dry and on the cool side. this is bbc news. our top story. north and south korea have agreed to hold military talks to defuse border tension. and the two countries' teams will appear together at next month's winter olympics in the south. it follows their first high—level meeting in two years. the us has given the talks a cautious welcome. but the north's delegation ruled out any discussions on its nuclear weapons programme. former trump strategist steve bannon

has quit his right—wing news group breitba rt. it follows unflattering comments attributed to him in a new book about the white house. and this video is trending on bbc.com. it's the alligators of north carolina demonstrating their ability to survive the cold weather. they poke their snouts through holes in the ice to breathe. when it's this cold, they enter a state of hibernation. and the top story here in the uk: theresa may says her reshuffle makes the government look "more like the country it serves," with a "new generation" of ministers brought in.