North Korea

North Korea has been making progress in making its missiles harder to detect and intercept, increasing the threat of nuclear strikes against the U.S. and its allies in East Asia. (Source photo by Korea Media/Kyodo) 
Datawatch

North Korea strives to make missiles harder to intercept

Arsenal with variable trajectories account for 40% of firings since 2019

26 September 2022
The USS Ronald Reagan arrives in Busan ahead of joint military drills with South Korea. (Photo by Junnosuke Kobara)
International relations

North Korea rattles saber as U.S. carrier arrives for drills with South

Ballistic missile fired for first time since June with sub-launched test looming

26 September 2022
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York, on Sept. 20. 
International relations

Kishida demands UNSC reform as Russia undercuts 'credibility'

Japan PM seeks to bolster functions, including nuclear nonproliferation

21 September 2022
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met Kim Jong-il, the late North Korean leader, in Pyongyang on Sept. 17, 2002.
Interview

Japan-North Korea summit still relevant after 20 years: Victor Cha

Abduction should be negotiated with other issues: CSIS senior vice president

17 September 2022
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reviews Self-Defense Forces personnel at Camp Asaka in November 2021.
Politics

Japan to broaden scope of defense budget as Taiwan tensions mount

Cross-ministry framework to include airport and cyber spending

14 September 2022
A group of Japanese shopping and tourism workers greet a group of tourists from Hong Kong upon their arrival at Tokyo's Haneda airport, as Japan gradually opens to tourists after two years of COVID-19 restrictions.
Your Week in Asia

Marcos Southeast Asia trip, Apple fall event, Japan further reopens

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

4 September 2022
Unification Church followers hold a rally in downtown Seoul on Aug. 18, protesting negative Japanese media coverage of their religion after the suspect in the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe blamed the church for his family's financial troubles.
1 September 2022
A tank stands by during the U.S.-South Korea joint Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises in Paju, South Korea, on Aug. 22. 
International relations

South Korea, U.S. begin first field training drills in four years

Exercises start as regional tensions rise over Taiwan and North Korea

22 August 2022
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has fleshed out an "audacious" plan to offer North Korea aid economic assistance in return for dropping its nuclear ambitions. (Source photos by Reuters and KCNA) 
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea slams Yoon's 'audacious' aid-for-denuclearization plan

Pyongyang has shot down similar proposals, including one from Donald Trump

17 August 2022
Stream article image
The Big Story

Confrontation to conflagration: Asia's six likeliest wars

A shifting balance of power may reignite frozen conflicts from North Korea to Pakistan

17 August 2022
On the 77th anniversary of the end of World War II, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, offers flowers at Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo, while South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at a ceremony in Seoul. (Source photos by Suzu Takahashi and Reuters) 
Japan-South Korea rift

South Korea's Yoon vows to 'swiftly' improve Japan ties

On WWII anniversary, Kishida talks of global cooperation to solve world's problems

15 August 2022
Yoon Suk-yeol seems content with waiting for Kim Jong Un to make a diplomatic overture.
Opinion

South Korea's Yoon is slipping into a cycle of escalation with North

President should direct military leaders to cool provocative tone

15 August 2022
Vegetables and watermelons are sold at an outdoor market in the North Korean city of Hyesan during late July. The photo was taken from the Chinese city of Changbai. 
N Korea at crossroads

North Korean shortages put out the lights and shrink marketplaces

Observations from nearby Chinese city hint at misery since COVID border closures

10 August 2022
No masks are in sight as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un embraces veterans on July 28. The photo, published by the Korean Central News Agency, appears to be a message that coronavirus is no longer a concern in Pyongyang. (KCNA via Kyodo)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea's triple economic woes stoke fears of 'silent' famine

COVID curbs and sanctions deepen Pyongyang's isolation from the world

7 August 2022
North Korea has tested explosive devices used for nuclear testing, according to a U.N. report.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea tests explosive devices at nuclear site: U.N. report

Activity at Punggye-ri paves way for atomic weapons development, experts warn

5 August 2022
Donald Trump walks with Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June 2018: No breakthrough deal emerged.  
Opinion

U.S. should build on the lesson of Trump-Kim summits

Meetings showed that North Korea will not negotiate in good faith

4 August 2022
North Korea and Russia have grown closer since the onset of the Ukraine war. Moscow has raised the possibility of having North Koreans work to help build the devastated Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. (Source photos by KCNA/Reuters, Reuters and AFP/Jiji) 
N Korea at crossroads

Russia grows closer to North Korea amid international isolation

Moscow floats idea of using workers provided by Pyongyang to rebuild Donbas

3 August 2022
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, left, and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol told media after their meeting that they would work closely together in dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. 
International relations

North Korea tops Jokowi-Yoon agenda as leaders form closer ties

Indonesian leader asks South Korea for help in developing new capital

28 July 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Feb. 4. The two countries are increasingly deepening military cooperation.
The Nikkei View

Japan's defense white paper sounds alarm over China-Russia ties

Tokyo must prepare for increasingly tense security environment in Asia

27 July 2022
Troops take part in joint military exercises by U.S. and South Korean forces in 2016. (Photo by Kentaro Ogura)
Indo-Pacific

South Korea and U.S. ready for first full-scale war games in 4 years

Exercises to resume in August as North Korea launches missiles at breakneck pace

26 July 2022
Trade across the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, pictured here on the Chinese side in Dandong, is vital to North Korea's isolated economy. (Photo by Shin Watanabe)
N Korea at crossroads

Shortage-hit North Korea urges China to restart freight rail lifeline

Coronavirus restrictions loosened as country struggles to feed itself

20 July 2022
Amphibious assault vehicles of South Korea's Marine Corps -- part of the navy -- sail to shore in a smoke screen during a landing drill in Pohang, South Korea, in September 2021.
Politics

South Korea to bring land, air and sea power under new body

Strategic command slated to launch by 2024 as North steps up missile tests

7 July 2022
Stream article image
Feeding Asia

Hunger in Asia on the rise

Inflation, COVID-19, climate, conflict drive food insecurity

6 July 2022
Brian Nelson, the U.S. Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, speaks with Nikkei in Tokyo on July 1. (Photo by Tetsuya Kitayama)
Interview

U.S. and allies target North Korean arms procurement, crypto theft

Treasury official visits Japan, South Korea amid fears of another nuclear test

1 July 2022
From left, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in Madrid on June 29.
International relations

Biden, Kishida and Yoon discuss threat of North Korea nuclear test

First three-way summit since 2017 focuses on detection and deterrence

30 June 2022