Axios

Russian President Vladimir Putin complimented North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a "shrewd and mature politician" who has "won this round" against the United States, per Reuters. Putin cited the North's success in its missile testing as well as start of the first inter-Korean talks since 2015 in his comments to Russian journalists.

I think that Mr. Kim Jong-un has obviously won this round. He has completed his strategic task: he has a nuclear weapon, he has missiles of global reach, up to 13,000 km, which can reach almost any point of the globe.

Steve Bannon has hired lawyer Bill Burck from Quinn Emanuel in preparation for his interview with the House Intelligence Committee over Russia's involvement in the U.S. presidential election, Betsy Woodruff from The Daily Beast reports. Per Reuters, he will testify this Tuesday.

Burck's in business: He has also represented White House Counsel Don McGahn and former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus for the Russia probe, which could annoy some prosecutors, according to Woodruff.

President Trump is expected to waive sanctions on Iran this week under the terms of the Iran nuclear deal, the AP reports citing U.S. officials.

Why it matters: By not immediately reimposing the sanctions, Trump is avoiding a step that could effectively end the Iran nuclear deal. But he's expected to add new sanctions on Iranian businesses and people, some of which apply to entities that saw their sanctions scrapped under the deal. That "could test Tehran’s willingness to abide by its side of the bargain," per AP.

The White House is calling for "the immediate release of all political prisoners in Iran," per a statement by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

Why it matters: Approximately 3,700 Iranian protestors were arrested in the last two weeks — a much higher number than what the Iranian government released. And the protests in Iran are the biggest since 2009; more than 25 cities have seen demonstrations and tens of thousands of Iranians are participating. While they stemmed from unrest over the economy, they quickly snowballed into something larger.

For decades, the U.S. has been the No. 1 destination for international students seeking a foreign college or graduate school education. The U.K. has been second. But in recent years, China has suddenly appeared in the No. 3 slot, and Allan Goodman, president of the Institute of International Education, tells Axios that it is on track to overtake the U.K. and capture No. 2 this year.

Why it matters: A large percentage of entrepreneurs and workers in the U.S. tech industry is foreign-born, many of them former students at U.S. universities. President Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric and mass shootings are deterring a still-unknown number of international students from studying in the United States.

President Trump told South Korean President Moon Jae-in in a call on Tuesday that he remains open to holding talks with North Korea “at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances,” according to the White House readout of their call.

Why it matters: Trump’s stance has generally been that he's unwilling to talk with the regime until it eases up on its nuclear program. This shows Trump may be a step closer to accepting talks, but what exactly Trump meant by “under the right circumstances” wasn’t immediately clear, and could very well still include that same demand that the North abandon its nukes, which it has previously said it will never do.

"A sweeping new report by congressional Democrats warns of deepening Russian interference throughout Europe," AP reports:

• Why it matters: "[E]ven without GOP backing, the report's recounting of Russian operations in 19 European nations foreshadows the still-unpublished Senate intelligence committee's bipartisan inquiry into Russia's role during the 2016 U.S. presidential election."

Chinese investors and firms own a majority of almost 2,400 American companies employing 114,000 people, about the same number as the combined U.S. staffs of Google, Facebook and Tesla, according to data from MacroPolo.

Why it matters: Chinese trade and investment are among the most divisive topics in the U.S., and a focus of Trump administration threats to crack down against Beijing. MacroPolo's map appears to be the first open-source, county-by-county study of every majority-owned Chinese company in the U.S. — $56 billion worth.

Congress was notified on Tuesday that the Trump administration approved an SM-3 anti-ballistic missile sale with Japan that, per a State Department Official, is estimated to cost $133.3 million.

Why it matters: North Korea has flown ballistic missiles over Japan. In September, Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Sug said Japan will "never tolerate this repeated extreme provocative action," according to Al Jazeera.