"Just like Kim Il Sung had 'juche' and Kim Jong Il had 'songun,' Kim Jong Un too is trying to create his own thought form, by combining these two ideologies and naming it after himself."
Asia Insight

Kim Jong Un-ism: Leader seeks 'new' ideology for North Korea

The third Kim is trying to build an image distinct from his father and grandfather

11 January 2022
Tokyo this year will recast its national defense program guidelines, which define key security policy challenges and detail how they will be tackled.
Comment

How to defend weak Japan: A bitter national security reality

As military balance shifts and China gains dominance, Japan restructures

9 January 2022
North Korea claims it fired a hypersonic missile Jan. 5, shown in this photo released by the country's Korean Central News Agency.
N Korea at crossroads

Seoul rejects North Korea's 'hypersonic missile' claim

South Korean defense ministry thinks conventional ballistic missile was fired

8 January 2022
North Korea's decision comes after not attending Tokyo Olympics in 2021. 
Beijing Winter Olympics

North Korea to skip Beijing Winter Olympics

Pyongyang also calls U.S. moves an 'insult' to Olympic sprit

7 January 2022
Kim Jong Un speaks in Pyongyang: the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act would run up against the same intransigent North Korean government that has mooted all past attempts at peace negotiations.
Opinion

Peace with North Korea remains a pipe dream

Draft U.S. legislation another attempt in search of elusive 'golden concession'

4 January 2022
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chairs a session of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in this photo released on Dec. 29. (Photo by KCNA via Reuters) 
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea calls for greater loyalty by troops to Kim Jong Un

Country celebrates 10th anniversary of his ascension as supreme military commander

30 December 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un addresses the Central Committee of the Workers' Party on Dec. 28.
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un urges rural growth ahead of 10th anniversary in power

North Korean leader unveils new road map to fight food shortage amid COVID

30 December 2021
Buildings in North Korea are seen behind the Friendship Bridge in Dandong, China. The bridge is one of the few ways to enter or leave the North.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea braces for economic winter as omicron cuts off trade

A decade later, Kim Jong Un continues policy of suppression over development

21 December 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers remarks in Pyongyang. Kim emulated his grandfather, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, during the early days of his tenure.
N Korea at crossroads

10 years in, Kim Jong Un steps out of his grandfather's shadow

North Korean leader's weight loss evidence of his desire for long-term rule

19 December 2021
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force troops take part in military exercises with U.S. Marines in Shiga Prefecture in February 2019. (Photo by Masaya Kato) 
Comment

What's behind Japan's drive for military strike capability?

North Korean attack on island in South in 2010 lingers in Tokyo's mind

5 December 2021
A South Korean soldier walks by the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas. The peninsula technically remains at a state of war nearly 70 years since fighting ceased.
4 December 2021
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook met Dec. 2 for the allies' first regular top-level defense meeting of the Biden administration.
International relations

U.S. will maintain troop levels in South Korea, Austin says

Allied defense chiefs meet to update strategy, sending signal to China

3 December 2021
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida boards a tank at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Camp Asaka on the edge of Tokyo on Saturday. (Photo by Andrew Sharp)
Politics

Kishida tells troops: Capacity to strike enemy bases is option

PM vows to bolster Japan's defenses in face of China, North Korea threats

27 November 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tours a development project in Samjiyon, a city nestled at the base of the sacred Mount Paektu.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea's Kim makes 1st public appearance in a month

Leader tours city development project ahead of regime's 10-year anniversary

17 November 2021
Samsung Electronics President and CEO Kim Kyun-suk shares the company's vision for connecting devices on Nov. 10. (Photo by Karina Nooka)
Global Management Forum 2021

Samsung plans multi-device 'experiences,' from fridges to phones

Takeda, Google, Salesforce and other execs share management tips at Nikkei forum

10 November 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, shakes hands with Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, upon his arrival for the meeting on May 26, 2018, in Panmunjom, North Korea. (Handout photo from South Korea's presidential Blue House)
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Yo Jong now in charge of North Korea's diplomacy and security

Leader Kim Jong Un focuses on building ideology: South Korea spy report

29 October 2021
North Korea says the recent missile firings tie back to its five-year plan to develop its weapons system.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea boosts surprise attack ability with wider range of missiles

Submarine-launched and trajectory-shifting weapons could overwhelm defenses

21 October 2021
A new submarine-launched ballistic missile is tested in this undated photo released on Oct. 19 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea claims successful new ballistic missile launch from sub

U.N. Security Council to discuss Pyongyang's violation of resolution

20 October 2021
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks with reporters about North Korea's latest missile launch on Oct. 19. (Photo by Rie Ishii)
Politics

Kishida orders Japan NSC to weigh strike capability after North Korean launch

Prime minister cuts short first campaign day to return to Tokyo

20 October 2021
Japan's missile defenses consist of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air missiles, pictured here, and Aegis-equipped vessels at sea.
N Korea at crossroads

Japan explores defense options for emerging North Korean threats

Satellite fleets, base strikes would counter hypersonic and trajectory-shifting weapons

11 October 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his willingness last week to reactivate the hotlines, which North Korea cut off in early August in protest against joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises. 
N Korea at crossroads

Two Koreas reopen hotlines as North urges South to mend ties

Restoration comes after Kim Jong Un expressed willingness to reactivate links

4 October 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech to parliament on Sept. 29, offering to reopen a hotline with Seoul while slamming South Korea's policies.
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un seeks to split Seoul and US with hotline offer

North Korean leader rejects idea of talks with Biden administration

1 October 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his willingness to reconnect inter-Korean hotlines to achieve "better relations and lasting peace," according to state media. 
30 September 2021
The newly developed hypersonic missile Hwasong-8 is test-fired in this photo released by North Korean state news agency KCNA.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea claims test of defense-busting hypersonic missile

Kim's regime joins race for cutting-edge weapon led by Russia and China

30 September 2021