north korea's leader kimjong—un has said a nuclear launch button is "always on his table" and warnedbe able to start a war. in a televised speech he said the entire us was within range of north korea's nuclear weapons, adding "this is not blackmail but reality". but he also offered a potential olive branch to south korea, suggesting he was "open to dialogue". it follows months of escalating tensions over his country's weapons programme — and an angry exchange of insults with us president donald trump. sophie long reports from seoul just after the first sun of 2018 rose over the korean peninsula, kim jong—un delivered his new year's address live on state—run television, with an unsurprisingly defiant message for the united states. translation: the entire united states is within range of our nuclear weapons — and the nuclear button is always on my desk. this is reality, not a threat. perhaps more surprising was the olive branch he appeared to offer his neighbour, south korea. he said he hoped the winter olympics they're about to host would be a success. and said he was considering send

this at a button is bigger and more powerful than kimjong un‘s.a is a nuclear power. that is further evidence, if you like, of the absence of a real strategic sense of balance on the part of president trump. kim jong balance on the part of president trump. kimjong un has demonstrated he still has the ability to get under the president‘s skin. those sorts of tweets do not take as much further in terms of talks between washington and pyongyang. but you‘re absolutely right, the prospect of talks between south korea and the re—establishment of that hotline, the offer from north re—establishment of that hotline, the offerfrom north korea re—establishment of that hotline, the offer from north korea that it is willing to participate in the 0lympic is willing to participate in the olympic games. if something could be worked out for both sides, this is an important step forward to do is not something that the americans, particularly president trump, welcomes. you say it is juvenile, but in a senseit you say it is juvenile, but in a sense it is what the the

is they are worried about the motives of kimjong—un. time for his nuclear programme, is ita buy time for his nuclear programme, is it a propaganda stunt? they are pushing for the centres to be held to the letter of the law and to continue despite this in diplomacy. i sat down with the south korean foreign ministerjust i sat down with the south korean foreign minister just after the i sat down with the south korean foreign ministerjust after the news broke with these talks and i asked her exactly why did north korea come to the table now, was it the threat of military action from the united states ? of military action from the united states? i think we understand north korea better than anybody, having dealt with north korea for decades, having had a series of discussions. we have not had any significant engagement in the recent past. but this is an opportunity. you can have all kinds of theories of white are they here, they're obviously calculations going on in the of the north koreans because decision—makers as their actions, but in th

his comments, on twitter, were the latest in an increasingly personalfeud with kimjong un.d restored a hotline between the two governments, after a silence of nearly two years. 0ur correspondent in seoul, sophie long reports. this morning, in a broadcast on its state—run television, north korea announced it would reopen an inter—korean hotline. translation: by upholding a decision by the leadership, we will make close contact with south korea in a sincere and faithful manner. we will discuss working—level issues related to the dispatch of the winter olympics delegation. just after 3:30 seoul time, the south korean government announced that it had received a telephone call from the north, the first direct form of communication between the two countries for nearly two years. it's hoped this could pave the way for high—level talks proposed by the south on tuesday. if they go ahead, the two sides are expected to discuss the possibility of pyongyang sending a delegation to the winter olympics, due to get under way in south korea next month. the south korean president, moonjae—in

the leader of north korea, kimjong un, has warned the united states that he has a nuclear button on hisch also seemed to open up the possibility of better relations with neighbouring south korea — from where our correspondent sophie long reports. lets get some reaction from the us and we can speak to anthony ruggiero, a seniorfellow at the washington—based conservative think—tank, the foundation for defense of democracies, and spent more than 17 years working in the us government. hejoins us from woodbridge, virginia. this is a mixed message from kim jong—un, threatening with the nuclear button, but also offering a message of hope to south korea. there is more consistency there, because earlier in the message he makes clear that they will develop and produce more nuclear weapons and ballistic missile is. the reported olive branch to south korea, if you look closely, it looks like north korea is saying, stop the military drills with the united states in order to negotiate and have we're between north and south. so essentially it is offering to have a conversation with someone with north

up until now kimjong—un had completely cold shouldered his south korean counterpart.st wants to damage the relationship between south korea and the united states? i fear that could be right, cynical as it may sound. i thought he was missing a trick not doing this because this is what his father was very adept at during the sunshine era. whatever you think of that and in general i was in favour of that. but clearly any government in washington would not want south korea to go too far and now there will be big dynamic setting for the south korean government. huge relief from south korea that the olympics can now go ahead peaceably. but with the nuclear and missile programme still recover the trent... and that reference to having the button on the desk, just more kind of average or call response between him and president trump? my button is bigger than your button, that sort of thing? perhaps. one thing we should not misunderstand, the rhetoric from both sides, from john yang and washington, has often been very extreme. but north korea, it is carefully calculated. i wish

kimjong—un said in his new year's speech that he was open to dialogue with the south, and things movedom there on, until we got to this point, where talks are now taking place, the first time in two years. it's massively unlikely that anything groundbreaking will be achieved, or they will even touch on denuclearisation, but people will be looking for signs there might be a chance of progress. i think we know that the first thing they will talk about is the winter olympics. but it's hoped, if pyongyang do send a delegation to the winter olympics — and of that, most people are quite confident. both the south korean president and the north korean leader have said that they want that to happen. so, if that happens, it's hoped there will be a period, at least, of some peace and some stability. a lot of people feel that, if north korea have a delegation there, then they are very unlikely to do any missile tests or nuclear tests throughout that period. the last test they carried out was an intercontinental ballistic missile on 29 november, so some weeks ago. if you add to that the period of t

but a short while ago the us state department expressed scepticism about the talks, saying kimjong undrive a wedge between the us and south korea. more analysis on our website. in other news today: there've been huge protests in pakistan against comments made by president trump. he accused pakistan of lying and of harbouring terrorists while receiving billions of dollars from the united states. the us has confirmed that it will withhold aid to pakistan. the administration is withholding 255 million in assistance to pakistan. pakistan has played a double game the years. they work with us at times and they also harbour the terrorists that attack oui’ harbour the terrorists that attack our troops in afghanistan. that game is not acceptable to this administration stop we expect far more operation from pakistan in the fight against terrorism. a bus has crashed in peru killing at least 36 people. it happened on a dangerous stretch of road, north of the capital lima. witnesses say the driver lost control after the bus was hit by another vehicle. it then plummeted nearly a hundred metres down

but, michael, four kimjong—un, pyeongchang olympics.eongchang olympics. but, michael, four kimjong—un, reaching out to south korea, could this be a sign sanctions are taking a toll and that he is desperate for cash and assistance wherever he can get it? —— for. that might have — i mean, certain sanctions might have bitten and factored into the strategic calculations, but kim jong—un and his immediate subordinates are very holistic thinkers, and so that was probably something they did take into account, but there is a whole host of other reasons and we have to sort of look at this meeting happening shortly as part of the dprk's efforts for recruitment with south korea. what about for south korea, michael, how should president moon and this administration prepare and approach of these talks? -- reproachment. president munoz a lot of experience dealing with dprk, having served under the previous south korean president —— moon president moon is proceeding very cautiously and we have to look at this as a baby steps process. and should the pa

it eclipse donald trump's tweet about kimjong on.ld trump's tweet about kim jong on. it now seems that the president and steve bannon are engaged for who has the biggest bite and in the most powerful one. let me read you a little more of what the president has said about his former chief strategist. steve had little to do with our historic victory. he does not represent myspace. he is only in it for himself. he was rarely in a one—on—one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influenced a full a few people. this is an unprecedented statement from president. so why the van? firstly because steve bannon has gone after family and secondly because it makes it much more difficult for donald trump to deny collusion with the russians when you have someone who was on the inside talking about treasonous and unpatriotic behaviour. there is one source of comfort for the white house, steve bannon continuing to be an influence after he was fired. no longer. he has now been cast out into darkness and the question is what does he do next? he

we welcome the north korean leader, kimjong—un, we welcome the north korean leader, kim jong—un, that improve inter—korean relations and peace. in his statement, kim jong—un raised the possibility of sending a north korean team to the winter olympics in pyongchang in south korea next month. south korea's moved at speed. it's suggesting talks at the panmunjom peace house onjanuary 9th — a week's time. the peace house is in an area that straddles the border between the north and south. by the way, only two north koreans have qualified for the games. they're both figure skaters. more details coming into the newsroom , more details coming into the newsroom, the us state department have said it's up to south korea as to whether to hold these talks but washington is sceptical of kim jong—un's sincerity, if such talks happen. that is reuters quoting the us state department. the americans standing back from this. a lot of people waiting to see whether kim jong—un would send a team to talk to the south koreans. we will see. well, celia hatton is the asia pacific editor here in the bbc newsroom

. —— kimjong un.that will be disruptive to us foreign policy and could change the direction of things on the ground. i think if kimjong unis on the ground. i think if kimjong un is listening he will not be necessarily furious or intimidated by people like what the president said, that he elevated him to his own level so the entire world news todayis own level so the entire world news today is focused on these two world leaders essentially being treated within the same sentence as equals. so it is a victory for kim jong un. meanwhile of course we see these signs off at least an opening up of communication channels between north and south korea. where do you think that leeds. i think that will not go far but it will lessen tensions, at least the fear that so hard that they could be bombarded by artillery shells from north korea, that will be less now. and i think they will explore ways to create some kind of stability in very tense circumstances. i think they're watching on the one hand a positive move

on the ist of january kimjong un said he what that is.un said he would what that is. on the ist of january kimjong un said he would be open what that is. on the ist of january kim jong un said he would be open to dialogue with the south. 0n the south the government said they offered proposed high—level talks on tuesday of next week. 0vernight we waited for a response and that came today in the form of this hotline reopening. meanwhile, we have some more sabre rattling from donald trump in the white house on twitter saying his nuclear button is bigger and more powerful than kimjong un's. yes. this is donald trump's first response to kim jong un's speech that he gave on new year's day. that speech had a normal defiant message to the united states saying he had completed his nuclear project. he had a button on his desk always. when donald trump was asked about this and he was still on his festive holiday, he said we will see, we will see. 0vernight we got a tweet saying his button was bigger and it worked. that is what is going on in the bac

north korea's leader, kimjong—un, used his new year's day speech to announce for the first time thatonth's winter olympic games in pyeongchang. skating pair ryom tae—ok and kim ju—sik are the only north korean athletes to have so far qualified for pyeongchang 2018. meanwhile, kamil stoch leapt up to second place in the fis skijumping world cup standings thanks to victory on monday. the pole clinched first place in germany with the lastjump of the day. he didn't go as far as his nearest rivals, but his technique was judged to be better. he has won two out of two of the four hills tournament and leads at the halfway stage. the ski—jump hill in oslo was used for parallel slalom racing as andre myhrer won the men's event. the swede beat michael matt after the austrian fell in the final run. and the women's event was won by mikaela shiffrin. the american beat the swiss ski—er wendy holdener in a closely contested final. to darts where rob cross playing in his first ever pdc world championship has shocked 16 time world champion phil ‘the power‘ taylor to win at alexandra palace in london.

the winter of the pics a cover for kimjong—un, a the winter of the pics a cover for kim jong—un, a convenientck from the brink. —— olympics. but here in the south, any chance to talk is better than the terrifying alternative. steve bannon, the former white house adviser to president trump, has resigned as executive chairman of breitbart news, the right—wing news organisation. mr bannon, who was a key member of the trump team, has recently been quoted in a new book criticising the president's son. breitbart said that mr bannon was a valued part of its legacy and they'd always be grateful for his contributions. our correspondent david willis is in washington. the writing was on the wall for steven bannon, after the president came out and slapped him down, called him sloppy steve and made it clear that he wasn't happy with him and the money followed. it certainly did and you know when the president slaps you with some sort of thing like that it is only a question of time. you are right. it was the money that ran out to him. rebecca mercer and herfather, money that ran out to him. rebecca mercer

the north korean leader kimjong—un has warned that he is always within reach of the nuclear button.comes after months of escalating tensions over his country's weapons programme. california has become the largest us state to legalise recreational cannabis use. adults aged over 21 can now possess up to 28 grams of the drug, and can grow up to six marijuana plants at home. china has banned the import of many types of foreign rubbish. beijing will no longer recycle 2a categories of overseas waste — including plastic. china had become the world's biggest market for waste, but many of the materials it imports are hazardous. at 10pm reeta chakra barti will be here with a full round up of the days news. first, one of the highlights of the year from our award—winning documentary series, our world. angus crawford follows the path of madagascar‘s poor — who flock to the country's remote forests to illegally mine for sapphires — and reports on how the wealth they seek comes at a price. a handful of raw sapphires. beautiful and valuable. but they also pose a threat to this, the indri lemur, one

the kimjong un gave a speech on new year's day in which he talked about having a nuclear button on hisp seems to have been taunted by that into sending out this rather extraordinary tweet. there have been a slew of reports in the us in the last few days about how the president can be played by foreign leaders. national security experts are worried he can be played by kim jong un, taunted, effectively, by the very reckless, unpredictable leader of north korea. and if he can be taunted in this way and both countries, one of them has a huge nuclear arsenal, the other is on the verge of gaining nuclear weapons that can be delivered, that is a very combustible mix. it might sound like a joke, makes everybody laugh, but we're talking about two potential nuclear powers and an awful lot of conflict and the potential that something could just go wrong and a mistake be made. i have not heard anyone say on either side that this kind of tweeters helpful to the us or global security. katty kay and christian fraser are an error couple of hours before 0utside source connor wood beyond 100 days. in th

donald trump calls north korea's leader "little rocket man" and kimjong—un has mocked a tweet by theton, calling it a "spasm of a lunatic". but this war of words between the two leaders downplays the horrifying destructive power of nuclear weapons. that's the theme behind a series of images by singapore artist sim chi yin. she's been named 2017's nobel peace prize photographer — and spoke to me earlier about why she chose nuclear missile sites for her main subject. the main thing in this project is that i wanted to create land skip pictures and paint them. one is from north korea and the other is from the us and the idea is to ask people to think about how we judge countries for having nuclear weapons and who gets to have what and to get people to reflect on the horrifying situation that we are in. we sometimes forget that the nuclear issueis sometimes forget that the nuclear issue is with us still, not merely a cold war relic. and particularly with the north korean tests in recent months. how did you even go about getting some of these shots? presumably, access to north korean sites

the north's leader, kimjong—un, said he was considering sending a team to pyeongchang in south koreasure the north's delegation attends. translation: we welcome that the north korea leader, kimjong un, expressed a willingness to send athletes to the olympics and hold talks during his new year address. i believe this is in response to our proposal to make the olympics an opportunity to improve inter—korean relations and peace. a second politician from germany's afd party is being investigated for allegedly inciting hatred on twitter. she expressed support for a fellow politician who tweeted discriminatory remarks about migrants. the comments came after the police sent a new year's eve greeting in several languages. al franken will officially resign his seat today. this follows sexual misconduct allegations. many of the accusations refer to incidents before he elected in 2008. for many americans the new year has brought record low temperatures. the bitter cold weather has reached as far south as florida, with warnings in place from texas to the atlantic coast. the northeastern united s

north korean leader kimjong—un has made a defiant new year message saying he is always within reach ofter months of escalating tensions over his country's weapons programme. in the televised message, its reported kim jong—un said: "the nuclear button is always on my table. this is not blackmail but reality." he went on to say he will use nuclear weapons only when north korea's security is threatened. china's leader, xijinping, has used his new year's message to suggest his country will play a greater role in international affairs in 2018. under previous presidents, china kept a lower international profile, but president xi set out his foreign affairs priorities in a number of areas. translation: as a responsible major country, china must speak out. china will staunchly safeguard the authority and status of the united nations and actively fulfill its due responsibility and duty in international affairs. china will honor its promises in countering global climate change and actively push forward the common construction of the "belt and road". china will act as a builder of world peace and

north korean leader kimjong—un has made a defiant new year message saying he is always within reach ofcomes after months of escalating tensions over his country's weapons programme. in the televised message, its reported kim jong—un said "the nuclear button is always on my table. this is not blackmail but reality." he went on to say he will use nuclear weapons only when north korea's security is threatened. no matter how much the united states shows of their nuclear weapons and provokes world, or war, we have deterrence and the us will not be able to do anything. if north and south korea put their minds together, we can prevent war. as a state that promotes peace, we will not use our nuclear weapons unless an invasive enemy violates our sovereignty. we will respond firmly against any actions that destroy peace and security. let's speak now to our correspondent in seoul could bea to our correspondent in seoul could be a clear message for washington?‘ clear message. he began by saying not only can we reach any point on the us main lined with our arsenal but there is also a button on my d

four out of six nuclear tests by north korea have happened on kimjong—un's watch.h korea might be willing to put their nuclear programme on the table when it comes to negotiations in the future? sanctions, indeed are biting and there is a lot of evidence of that including koupg's new year's address. he talked about sanctions being a threat to the regime. we have seen for instance officials in pyongyang are not getting their rations through the distribution system. the soldier who defected in december had uncooked kernels of corn. those most favoured a scroujing for food. north korea is not at the point to sit done artalk about denuclearisation. that means that sanctions need to be ramped up. at some point, i think, that sanctions need to be ramped up. at some point, ithink, that that sanctions need to be ramped up. at some point, i think, that the regime, either kimjong—un at some point, i think, that the regime, either kim jong—un or those around him are going to realise this they have no choice, but to give up, but the pressure has got to be much more than it is

north korean leader kimjong—un has made a defiant new year message, saying he is always within reaches after months of escalating tensions over his country's weapons programme. in the televised message, it's reported kim jong—un said "the nuclear button is always on my table. this is not blackmail but reality". he went on to say he will use nuclear weapons only when north korea's security is threatened. well, earlier i was joined by our correspondent in seoul, sophie long. i asked her if the message from kim jong—un was a clear message for washington. this was his new year message that has become a tradition here. it was broadcast here early this morning on the state television service, and those certainly were the headlines. he said that the whole of the united states mainland is now within reach of his nuclear weapons and he said "i have the nuclear button on my desk". he says "that's not a threat, it is simply reality". and he said because of that reality, the united states would now never be able to start a war with north korea. so it was a defiant message and clearly one for the

she said it was important to keep up the pressure on kimjong—un's regime., angela merkel, says she's optimistic that her centre—right christian democrat party can reach a coalition deal with the centre—left social democrats. five days of talks have just begun, three months after mrs merkel failed to win a parliamentary majority. malaysia's long—serving former prime minister, muhateer mohamad, has been chosen once again as a candidate for the top job, at the age of 92. mr mahathir resigned as prime minister in 2003, but has been drawn back into politics because of his opposition to the current prime minister, najib razak. more than 30 people are missing after a collision between an oil tanker and a cargo ship off the east coast of china. the missing sailors, mostly iranians, are all from the tanker, which is still on fire. andy moore reports. still burning fiercely, many hours after the original collision, and still no confirmed news about the fate of its 32 crew. 30 were iranian and two were from bangladesh. the sanchi is more than 170 metres long and carry

don't be surprised if donald trump mocks kimjong—un as little rock man.pressure. the question is how north korea will respond will it lead to a pause in nuclear and missile testing. if it doesn't it's hard to see direct talks taking place between washington and pong cong. nick thanks very much. 0nce between washington and pong cong. nick thanks very much. once again, nick thanks very much. once again, nick bryant with the latest for us there at the white house. in syria, at least 85 people have been killed in the past ten days in a besieged suburb of damascus, which is under rebel control. the united nations has condemned the recent upsurge in attacks on eastern ghouta by government forces, calling the situation "a human catastrophe. " the area's been under siege for more than four—and—a—half years. 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, reports from syria. this report contains some distressing images. the bombs fall every day now in eastern ghouta. rescue teams rush in to bring survivors out. frightened children, trapped inside, not knowing

the leader, kim jong—un, the leader, kimjong—un, has a defiant new year message, saying he is alwaysng tensions over his country's weapons programme. in a televised message, it is reported he said the nuclear button is always on my table. this is not blackmail, but reality. he went on to say he will use their weapons only when north korea's security is threatened. and now we will go back to one of the top stories, the protesting sweeping iran. i am joined from dusseldorf by adnan tabatabai, an iran analyst and ceo of germany—based think tank, carpo, the centre for applied research in partnership with the orient. thank you for coming in on bbc news. we have heard the president speaking today. what you make of his comments? umm, well, we have to see whether it helps, whether he could reach those people who took to the streets in the past few days. we will know more tomorrow. at this point already, we can say there is a big difference to the 2009 protests where the officials did not even acknowledge the grievances of the protesters. that has at least been a tiny good step, or a step wel

but kimjong—un and his immediate subordinates are very holistic thinkers, and so that was probably something there's a whole host of other reasons, and we have to sort of look at this meeting happening shortly as part of the dprk's efforts for a rapprochement with south korea. what about for south korea, michael? how should president moon and his administration prepare and approach these talks? president moon has a lot of experience dealing with dprk, having served as a chief aide to the previous south korean president. president moon is proceeding very cautiously, and we have to look at this as a baby—steps process. and, should the participation of the dprk in the winter olympics be realised, it's likely that they will then proceed cautiously to further interactions, further down the line. and i'm sure everyone will be very curious, michael, who the north korean side will be sending over for this dialogue. do you think it could be anyone close to kim jong—un? there is a possibility, and anything is possible, of course, but there's a good possibility that he might send his younger sister, th

people say that the leader comment kim jong—un, sports however some people say that the leader comment kimjong—un known to love skiing. we will be watching that closely when it kicks off tomorrow. india has the highest number of child brides in the world. almost half of girls there are married before they are 18 even though the practice is illegal. but some girls are determined not to let it stop them. 21—year—old neetu was married and a mother at 14, and she has gone on become a champion wrestler winning a medal in the national games. and inspirational story there. when nature photographer jayaprakash bojan set off for the island of borneo last august, he didn't quite imagine that a photo he shot there would make him national geographic‘s nature photographer of the year. this photo of an orangutan crossing a river was chosen as the winning photo from more than 11,000 entries. jayaprakash took the image while standing in the water himself, as he came face—to—face with the orangutan, which has been since been nicknamed cooper. we spoke to jayaprakash earlier about his journey to this point. i have

economy is now robust enough in north korea that kim jong—un is more robust enough in north korea that kimjong—un south korea and where the diversions is with washington. also to seek what mainly the moon administration may be able to sell in dc in terms of a compromise position. what does this mean now in terms of improved relationship between seoul and washington, given that seoul and pyongyang and now talking directly to each other. there is a real risk in the relationship between seoul and washington. both sides are going to have to be very careful and be in co nsta nt to have to be very careful and be in constant communication and co—ordination because we have seen over the last year, vijay in's primary objective is to make sure that a war does not break out on the korean peninsula. that is his main task. he is most interested in defusing tensions as much as he can. washington on the other hand is for interested in applying as much pressure as possible. that includes rhetorical pressure as well. the interest two have diverged a little bit and interest two have diverged a little bitand in int

the leader of north korea, kimjong un, has warned the united states that he has a nuclear button on his his televised new year's day speech also seemed to open up lets speak to christoph blut, professor of international studies and security at bradford university, who has written books about north korea. how do you reconcile this statement which seems to be both aggressive and conciliatory? there is a period escalation of tensions and then trying to re—engage, in this case with south korea and also kim jong—un certainly wants to north koreans present at the olympics, if you can. there is some effort to engage the international community but that does not mean that the nuclear programme is being dismantled or that he is considering that. is there any sense of optimism, whetherfor self—interested reasons or not, kim jong—un is wanting to play a part in international community, if only to be able to take part in the 0lympics, does that provide the glamour of opportunity? there may be opportunity for new dialogue between the south that has not happened in a while because of the tension, and

going on between donald trump and kim jong—un‘s response. tweets going on between donald trump and kimjong—unnse. as a country were you watching, knowing you were on the front line and thinking, hang do my allies know that we could bear the brunt of this? well, we watched, of course. we track every messaging coming from north korea, coming from our ally, very, very carefully. the daily management of the messaging is a big pa rt management of the messaging is a big part of foreign policy. but again we have to focus on the longer term. i think the longer term is the denuclearisation goal, we are very much on the same page with the american ally. but in fact the entire international community. the denuclearisation of objective is written into this series of security council resolutions and commits everybody towards that goal. i get the impression from talking to the foreign minister that the approach the south korean foreign ministry is taking is one of softly softly, gently gently. we hope rather than expectation of north korea. yes, they're encouraged by the breakthrough they are having, but t

donald trump and north korea's leader, kim jong president donald trump and north korea's leader, kimjongaii started practising air raid drills last month and while estimates vary, state officials say residents will only have about 12 minutes to find shelter once a real alert is issued. staying uncharacteristicically quiet, the president of the united states. he was golfing at the time and did tweet after the incident but, it wasn't about hawaii. donald trump repeated one of his own mess adgess about the fake news media. his silence hasn't gone unnoticed. reza aslan said: "trump knew within minutes no missile was hurtling between hawaii, he didn't tweet." no-one knew one thing about as far to do or where to go. a lot of people in honolulu, they don't live here, they are on have acation, they didn't know where to go. that's been echoed across hawaii. many people realising if it had been real the consequences would have been catastrophic, partly because many people don't have an emergency plan. a federal investigation has been launched and the emergency alerts now acquire a two—person sign—

it isn't something kimjong—un pulled out of a hat.pproach, but one which seems to be getting traction on south korea's part, so it is a significant development. so we know that for the period of the olympics there will be no nuclear or missile tests. how much further do you think rapprochement is will go? how genuine do you think north korea is about this? yeah, the winter olympics and the timing of that, it creates a window of opportunity. it lowers the temperature and opens up some space. as your question implies, there has to be pretty active steps taken and it has two, i think, include the americans, really, before the olympics ends, so that we're notjust back really, before the olympics ends, so that we're not just back at square one wants the games are over. denuclearisation is something the us stresses, president and stressed it in his press conference today, the international community has affirmed its through the un security council, but realistically, that is a long—term goal. you need to be able to walk and chew gum. you ne

so, how does it feel about attempts to pile the pressure on kimjong—un?ao, a former interpreter to the chinese leader deng xiaoping and now director of the china national first. all, first . all, the chinese government has already called the vancouver conference as illegitimate and nonrepresentative. this is because all these 20 countries also were actually fighting in 1950 in the next several years in the early 19505 next several years in the early 1950s against china during the korean war. therefore, the impression china got from this vancouver conference is that these countries were ganging up again in preparation for another military effort involving the korean peninsula at the very critical moment where relations are kind of improving on the korean peninsula, this gesture is not welcomed and may be very unconstructive worry than destructive. but victor, there are concerns that china is not holding up concerns that china is not holding up its end of the agreement on sanctions on north korea. that is why they were excluded from these talks. is this jus

now, kimjong—un said in his new year's speech that he was open to dialogue in the south, and things movedfrom thereon, until we got to this point, where those talks are now taking place. the first time in two years. those talks are now taking place. the first time in two yearslj those talks are now taking place. the first time in two years. i guess it is massively unlikely that anything groundbreaking will be achieved, or they will even touch on denuclearisation. but people will be looking for signs that there might bea looking for signs that there might be a chance of progress. yes, i think we know that the first thing they will talk about is the winter olympics. but it is hoped if pyongyang do send a delegation to the winter olympics, and of that, most people are quite confident, both the south korean president and the north korean leader had said that they want that to happen. so if that they want that to happen. so if that happens, it is hoped there will bea that happens, it is hoped there will be a period, at least, of some peace and some stability. a lot of people feel that if north

she said it was important to keep up the pressure on kimjong—un‘s regime.o let them go and dramatise the fact that they have a button right on their desk and that they can destroy america. we want to always remind them, we can destroy you, too. so be very cautious and careful with your words and what you do. i know it's something that makes people nervous, but if we didn't do it we would be in an... do you think the tweet was a good idea? i think he needs to keep kim on his toes. it's very important we don't ever let him get so arrogant that he doesn't realise the reality. the german chancellor, angela merkel, says she's optimistic that her centre—right christian democrat party can reach a coalition deal with the centre—left social democrats. five days of talks have just begun, three months after mrs merkel failed to win a parliamentary majority. malaysia's long—serving former prime minister mahathir mohamad has been chosen once again as a candidate for the top job, at the age of 92. mr mahathir resigned as prime minister in 2003, but has been drawn back in

despite the often alarming public feud with the rocket man, kimjong—un, north and south korea are athat about the wall? perhaps the campaign promise that resonated most with the base. right now the president is demanding congressional funding as part of immigration reform, and there is still plenty of resistance. the one thing we can say with some certainty is that mexico isn't going to pay for it. at least not directly. the promised ban on muslims, well, that became a travel ban on countries that were predominantly muslim. the legal challenge to that is ongoing. the courts, much like the media, have incurred the president's wrath. 0n policy it's a mixed report, with some successes. the one thing that has changed beyond all recognition is the oval 0ffice staffing list. the national security adviser, general mike flynn, he lasted just 2a days, replaced by general mcmaster. flynn is now co—operating with the special counsel robert mueller. 0ut too the chief of staff, reince priebus, sacked injuly, having failed to stop leaks from the oval office. in came the ringmaster, generaljohn kel

south korea has proposed high—level talks with pyongyang, a day after north korea's leader, kimjong—unence, the south korean unification minister suggested a meeting at the border in a week's time. he said the discussions were likely to focus on bringing a north korean delegation to next month's winter olympics in south korea. 0ur correspondent sophie long is in the south korean capital, seoul. after so much sabre—rattling, does it look like we might be in for a period of quietness in the new year? this comes off the back of kim jong—un‘s new year message in which he said he was open for dialogue with south korea and he was considering sending a delegation to the olympics due to take place in south korea next month. this morning, we had a response from the south korean government and they proposed that talks should take place in the demilitarised zone, a fortified zone that separates the countries on tuesday of next week. that will be 9th january, a month before the olympics are due to take place. president moon of south korea made many overtures to kim jong—un over the past year invit

donald trump and north korea's leader, kim jong—un, started donald trump and north korea's leader, kimjong—unle estimates vary, state officials say residents will only have about 12 minutes to find shelter wants a real alert is issued. staying uncharacteristically quiet, the president of the united states. he was golfing at the time, and did tweet after the incident. but it wasn't about hawaii. donald trump re— tweeted one of his own m essa 9 es trump re— tweeted one of his own messages about the fake news media. his silence hasn't gone unnoticed. author and scholar reza aslan said an international golf competition was about to tee off in honolulu when the message was sent out. no one knew one thing as far as what to do, where to go. a lot of people here in honolulu are not going to live here, on vacation or whatever, so we didn't know where to go. and thatis so we didn't know where to go. and that is being echoed around hawaii, with many people realising that if this had been real, the consequences would have been catastrophic, partly because many people don't have an emergency plan. a feder

the winter olympics may be a coverfor kimjong—un, a winter olympics may be a coverfor kim jong—un, a 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. five men and a woman have appeared in court charged with belonging to the banned far—right group, national action. the six, who were arrested during raids across england last week, appeared at westminster magistrates court. they'll appear at the old bailey later this month. virgin trains have stopped stocking the daily mail on board their west coast route. the company said concern had been raised by colleagues about the mail's editorial position on issues such as immigration, lgbt rights and unemployment. the daily mail has accused the company of censoring the choice of newspapers offered to passengers. the director—general of the bbc has been asked to appear before mps to answer questions about gender and pay at the corporation. lord hall will face questions by the culture and media select committee. the request comes after the

the offer follows north korean leader kimjong un‘s new year address, in which he announced the possibility sophie long reports from south korea's capital, seoul. as preparations for the winter 0lympics move into the final month, excitement in south korea has been mounting. but there's always been a question mark over whether north korea would attend. on new year's day, kim jong—un said he was considering sending a delegation, and now, the south korean government's response... translation: the government proposes to hold high—level talks with north korea on 9th january at the peace house in the truce village of panmunjom, to discuss north korea's participation in the pyeongchang winter olympics, as the winter olympics are a month away. pyongyang hasn't yet responded to that proposal, but people are hopeful that it will, and that the meeting will take place. we would like to maximise the opportunity and as soon as possible. so, when south korea made this offer of a high—level meeting with north korea, north korea...very quickly and we would like to see a high—level meeting happening very soo

the leader of north korea, kimjong un, has warned the united states that he has a nuclear button on hisp the possibility of better relations with neighbouring south korea. just after the first sun of 2018 rose over the korean peninsula, kim jong—un delivered his new year's address live on state—run television, with an unsurprisingly defiant message for the united states. translation: the entire united states is within range of our nuclear weapons — and the nuclear button is always on my desk. this is reality, not a threat. perhaps more surprising was the olive branch he appeared to offer his neighbour, south korea. he said he hoped the winter olympics they're about to host would be a success. and said he was considering sending a delegation to the games. that comes as music to the ears of violinist won hyung joon. for ten years, he's tried and failed to organise a peace concert with these young south koreans playing together with north korean musicians. he now hopes to make that happen at the pyeongchang opening ceremony. we have hope that the olympics is coming, and everyone is coming,

kimjong—un is on a charm offensive. the panmunjom talks are the only game in town right now.oreans would do well to try to keep them going. there are a lot of issues that are peninsula issues and that the us should be careful not to appear to be thwarting. if there's a perception in south korea that the us is keeping south korea away from its northern cousins for the purpose of family unification and issues like that, i don't think that will help the us. with just a couple of days until the opening of the winter games in south korea, the venues are ready in the world is watching. north korea now says it will send delegates, as it did to the 2006 olympics and world cup. and for the south, this is a timely gesture thatjust might unlock the bigger issues at stake. i believe we can make the pyeongchang winter olympics as a kind of turning point in the escalating tension on the korean peninsula and engaging in a direct dialogue and exchanges with the north, and further creating an environment conducive to more serious negotiation on nuclear and ballistic missile issues. but lest w

the winter olympics may be a coverfor kimjong—un, a winter olympics may be a coverfor kim jong—un, aent excuse for him to step back from the brink, but in the south, any chance to talk is better than the terrifying alternative. few could disagree with that thought. earlier we were joined few could disagree with that thought. earlier we werejoined by south korea's ambassador to the uk and started off by asking him what is the long—term goal of what has just begun. the us and korea have the same view that we can not accept a nuclear armed state. and also we wa nt a nuclear armed state. and also we want to preserve the verifiable... but they give nothing in order to come to the table and the fear is pyongyang is trying to drive a wedge between seoul and washington. pyongyang is trying to drive a wedge between seoul and washingtonm they try to drive a wedge between they try to drive a wedge between the us and korea, they will fail because we maintain very close collaboration and coordination on a daily basis at every level. as i said, we have the same goal and the same approach. so the d

rumours say they are hand—picked by kimjong un rumours say they are hand—picked by kim jong un himself they sing songs about loyalty to the state. one of the big tunes is, comfortable we call him father, which is an ode to the north korean leader. —— one of the big tunes is, we call him father. . and will be a lot of attention on these two athletes because they are the only two north korean athletes who qualified, two skaters. there are plans to send a north korean cheerleading troupe. more intriguing perhaps rumours that could be a united women‘s ice hockey team, and that athletes from north and south will march together in the opening ceremony. it is not confront but if it were to happen it would be symbolic and also potentially significant of the country‘s longer term relationship. but before we get carried away, let me play you this could of sophie long with more details. only yesterday, north korea was reporting that they were criticising the south korean president, for crediting donald trump with helping to open up this renewed inter—korean dialogue. and it said in a thinly veile

concerns and because of how world leaders are handling the crisis — that's a reference to trump and kimjong3 — that's when the us and soviet union were testing hydrogen bombs. here are two of the scientists. in 2017, we moved the clock from three to two and a half minutes to midnight, an unprecedented step that reflected a darkening security landscape, characterised by an increasing recklessness around nuclear rhetoric and the increasing attacks on expert and expertise worldwide, at the exact moment when such expertise is needed. for the first time in many years, no us— russian nuclear arms negotiations are under way. if the draft us nuclear past review is any guide to us policy, there will be no us — russia nuclear arms control negotiations for the foreseeable future. instead, we could see a return to a nuclear arms race. thank you for watching the first half of outside source. we will be back with you in a couple of minutes. if you want to see that speech by donald trump at davos, whether you are watching in the uk on the new channel or elsewhere on bbc world news, you will of course see