North Korea "appears to be in the early stages of a launch cycle for another intercontinental ballistic missile test," CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports. South Korea just proposed a high-level meeting near the border between the two countries after the North suggested they discuss peace.
The activity is at the same site from which the North launched an ICBM two months ago, per CBS. The test would likely take place later this week or next, Martin reports.
UN Ambassador Nikki Haley solidified America's support for the Iranian protestors during a press conference outlining her 2018 priorities, and said the U.S. will call for an emergency session on Iran in New York and in Geneva at the Human Rights Council.
"In these first days of 2018, nowhere is the urgency of peace, security, and freedom being more tested than in Iran. We applaud the tremendous courage of the Iranian people ... This is a precise picture of people rising up against an oppressive dictatorship. The UN must speak out. We must not be silent. The people of Iran are crying out for freedom."
First look at a dire warning from one of the top analysts of global trends — Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group, and Eurasia Group Chairman Cliff Kupchan are out this morning with their "Top Risks" report for 2018:
The big picture: "2018 doesn't feel good. Yes, markets are soaring and the economy isn't bad, but citizens are divided. Governments aren't doing much governing. And the global order is unraveling."
"North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for urgent talks with South Korea to make the Winter Olympics next month a success even while repeating claims that he could strike the U.S. with a nuclear bomb," per Bloomberg.
Kim, in an annual New Year's Day speech: ""It's reality, not a threat, that the nuclear button is always on my desk ... The U.S. can never start a war against myself and our nation now."'
A tuxedoed Trump, strolling past the media pool at his Mar-a-Lago New Years' Eve party, replied when asked about Kim's "button" claim: "We'll see, we'll see. Come on inside."
