We begin with news from the Korean Peninsula as the DPRK and South Korea are holding their first formal talks for more than two years. The meeting began about two hours ago at 9:00 am Beijing time and the two countries have come together to discuss how the DPRK's athletes can attend next month's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics despite ongoing political tensions.

The talks come after DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un used his New Year's Day speech to announce he was open to sending a delegation to the Olympics as well as reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Five senior officials from each side are currently meeting at the Peace House on the South Korean side of the Panmunjom truce village. One of the top agenda items will be whether athletes from the two nations can make joint entrances at the opening and closing ceremonies, as they did for Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and the 2006 Winter Games in Turin. The size and membership of the DPRK delegation and their accommodation -- widely expected to be paid for by Seoul -- will also be discussed. With only a handful of qualified winter sports athletes, analysts believe the DPRK is also likely to send significant numbers of cheerleaders to the Pyeongchang Games, which run from February 9th to 25th.