it s 8am in singapore, midnight in london and 9am in seoul where south korean government negotiators meet shortly for talks with their north korean counterparts for the first time in more than two years. the two sides are expected to discuss the possibility of pyongyang sending a delegation to the winter olympics being held in south korea next month. let s go live now to the bbc‘s sophie long in seoul. and all eyes will be on the dialogue between north and south korea and what may be discussed apart from sports and is meeting? good morning, rico. yes, that is right, a lot of focus on these talks, the first government level talks between the north and south korean governments in more than two years. we know now that the south korean delegation led by the unification minister has left seoul, just over one hour ago and the convoy has crossed unification bridge on the way to the demilitarised zone, and there and panmunjom they meet with a delegation from north korea, and they w
donald trump broke with long established diplomatic convention by recognising jerusalem as israel s capital. his recent tweets on the israeli palestinian conflict have been music to the ears of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. so what do the palestinians do now? my guest today is mahmoud zahar, co founder of the islamist movement hamas, which controls gaza and has been at loggerheads with the palestinian authority in the west bank for more than a decade. are the palestinians staring defeat in the face? mahmoud zahar, in gaza, welcome to hardtalk. most welcome. i have to begin by asking you about your frame of mind, your spirit at the beginning of this new year, 2018. i look at the diplomatic, the political and the economic situation in gaza and i can barely imagine anything more bleak. is that the way you feel too? first of all, i d like to address that this is one of the most important points in our history. yes, our life is very miserable, not because of bad manag
it is 9:00am in singapore, 1:00am in london, and 10:00am in seoul, where south korean government negotiators are meeting for talks with their north korean counterparts for the first time in more than two years. the two sides are expected to discuss the possibility of pyongyang sending a delegation to the winter olympics being held in south korea next month. it is hoped it could reduce tensions on the korean peninsula, which have reached their highest point in decades. let s go live now to the bbc‘s sophie long, in seoul. sophie, everyone is watching and waiting. what could be the result of this dialogue between north and south korea, and the discussions, apart from the olympics? yes, that s right. the huge amount of focus here on these talks. the first time government level talks had ta ken place between the two countries in more than two years. now, we know that the south korean delegation arrived in the village which straddles the border between the countries just after 9
for the first talks between their countries in more than two years. they are expected to discuss whether the north will send a delegation to the winter olympics in south korea next month. a series of north korean nuclear and missile tests, and the insults traded between pyongyang and washington, have raised tensions on the peninsula to the highest in decades. live now to the south korean capital, and the bbc‘s sophie long. sophie, things have been so worrying, i guess any talks about anything our reason for some hope. yes, exactly, and there is another hope here, certainly in south korea. those two delegations are now meeting. the meeting got under way just over one hour ago. just before they sat down to begin those talks, they sat down to begin those talks, the first time there has been government level talks between the north korean and south korean governments in more than two years, there was a lot of national press there, a huge amount of interest in this, of course he
for the first talks between their countries in more than two years. they are expected to discuss whether the north will send a delegation to the winter olympics in south korea next month. a series of north korean nuclear and missile tests, and the insults traded between pyongyang and washington, have raised tensions on the peninsula to the highest in decades. earlier i spoke to the bbc‘s sophie long who is in the south korean capital seoul just before they sat down to begin those talks, the first time there has been government level talks between the north korean and south korean governments in more than two years, there was a lot of national press there. a huge amount of interest in this, of course, here, and both parties spoke to media present. ri son gwon, the north korean leader of the delegation, said that he was here with the hope that we could give a new year s gift to our people, and he said he hopes for precious results from these talks. he actually suggested that