North Korea

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un speaks in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo released on March 5, 2021 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea fires 2 suspected ballistic missiles into sea

South Korean and Russian foreign ministers condemn move as Kim 'flirts with limits'

25 March 2021
U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan speaks as Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on, at the opening session of U.S.-China talks at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska on March 18.
N Korea at crossroads

US, Japan and South Korea to discuss North Korea next week

White House downplays Pyongyang's missile launch saying it doesn't breach sanctions

24 March 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's regime appears reluctant to talk with the Biden administration unless Washington changes its approach on the isolated nation.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea seeks sanctions relief offer before any US talks

History shows both strategic patience and maximum pressure approaches failed

19 March 2021
Left to right, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook pose before "two-plus-two" talks in Seoul on Thursday.
N Korea at crossroads

US and South Korea omit 'denuclearization' from joint statement

Seoul affirms importance of trilateral cooperation with Japan

19 March 2021
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong in Seoul on March 17.
International relations

Blinken presses South Korea to work with Japan in Indo-Pacific

Secretary of state reaffirms commitment to alliance but wants to 'build' on it

18 March 2021
The North Korean nuclear issue is expected to be a key topic when foreign and defense chiefs from the U.S. and Japan meet in Tokyo on Tuesday.
International relations

US started contacting North Korea in February, official says

Washington has received no response as it tries to reduce risk of escalation

15 March 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Mount Paektu during Moon's visit to the North.
N Korea at crossroads

Olympic hopeful? Moon pins legacy on Kim Jong Un trip to Seoul

South Korean leader sees Tokyo Games as opportunity to kickstart stalled talks

14 March 2021
People collect straw in preparation for winter on the North Korean island of Hwanggumpyong in the Yalu River on the border with China, in this photo taken from the Chinese side on Nov. 13, 2020. 
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea executes lockdown violators fleeing starvation: UN

Expert says country's human rights abuses should be referred to ICC

13 March 2021
North Korean President Kim Jong Un at the Workers' Party Congress in Pyongyang: the isolated regime faces a major economic setback from closing its border with China over the coronavirus.
International relations

Border lockdown strains North Korean economy to breaking point

Shortages amid plunging trade could force Pyongyang to seek help from China

19 February 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the formation of a unit for strategic oversight of cyber operations in 2012.
International relations

North Korea ramps up ransomware attacks in hunt for cash

Emerging cyber power trains 1,000 digital 'warriors' a year

18 February 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to commemorate the birth anniversary of the late leader Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang, in this undated photo released by Korean Central News Agency on Feb. 17.
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un's English title is now 'president'

North Korea's state media switch from 'chairman'

17 February 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, pictured on Jan.14: we know what North Korea wants because it told us.
Opinion

The futile pursuit of North Korea's 'golden concession'

Evergreen strategy rests on a fatally flawed premise

15 February 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un blamed officials for the country's economic struggles at this week's Central Committee meeting.
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un lashes out at cabinet over economy, with US unengaged

North Korean leader sacks top economic official appointed a month ago

13 February 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden, center, has already called Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. (Source photos by Reuters and Uichiro Kasai)  
Biden's Asia policy

Biden seeks Tokyo-Seoul thaw to help end North Korea deadlock

Fractious ties between Japan and South Korea hamper trilateral approach with US

10 February 2021
In two cases of hacking that targeted cryptocurrency exchanges, North Korea used a technique known as "chain hopping."
International relations

North Korea cyberattacks gained $300m in cryptocurrency: UN panel

Draft report shows isolated nation continues to evade sanctions during pandemic

9 February 2021
Questions are swirling in South Korea over whether President Moon Jae-in, right, presented plans to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, at their historic meeting in April 2018 to potentially help his country build a nuclear power plant. (Source photos by Reuters)
Comment

North Korea nuclear power plant plans rock politics in the South

Opposition parties accuse Moon of aiding 'enemy' as documents reveal secrets

8 February 2021
The China-North Korea Friendship Bridge is a vital trade link. North Korea closed the border in January 2020 as coronavirus cases rose in China.
N Korea at crossroads

Key North Korea factory shuts down from COVID-19 parts shortage

Border closing with China deals heavy economic blow to Pyongyang

8 February 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, attends the congress of his ruling Workers' Party congress in Pyongyang in this photo supplied by the official Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 10.
6 February 2021
People pay tribute to statues of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, right, on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea on Jan. 1. Photo supplied by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency.
Comment

North Korean congress minus ancestor portraits shows Kim ambition

With title of general secretary, young leader seeks greater freedom of action

2 February 2021
Transparency International says the Philippines, ranked 115th for perceived corruption, has responded to COVID-19 with "abusive enforcement, and major violations of human rights and media freedom."
Coronavirus

Corruption deepens COVID impact in developing Asia: report

Singapore is region's only country in Transparency International's clean top 10

28 January 2021
Jung Pak becomes deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the State Department as talks between the U.S. and North Korea remain stalemated. (Screenshot from The Brookings Institution's YouTube page) 
Biden's Asia policy

Biden bolsters North Korea team with Korean American ex-CIA analyst

Jung Pak is a critic of Trump-Kim summits and advocates full denuclearization

28 January 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, center, has made rapprochement with Pyongyang a key policy objective, but it is unlikely that U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un any time soon. (Source photos by Getty Images and Reuters) 
N Korea at crossroads

South Korea faces roadblocks to brokering US-North Korea dialogue

Biden set to be harder than Trump on human rights, risking friction with Seoul

27 January 2021
Directional signs bearing North Korean and U.S. flags are seen near the demilitarized zone in Paju, South Korea.
International relations

South Korea's Moon moves US alliance up on agenda, with eyes north

Seoul seeks chance to break North Korea impasse with help from Biden

24 January 2021
The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th U.S. president was welcomed by allies and partners across Asia. (Source photo by AP) 
Biden's Asia policy

Asian allies embrace Biden as China bids Trump 'good riddance'

Beijing says 'kind angels can triumph over evil forces' in regards to transition

21 January 2021
Antony Blinken, Joe Biden's nominee for U.S. secretary of state, speaks during his Senate confirmation hearing in Washington on Jan. 19.
International relations

Biden's top diplomat pick says Trump 'right' to be tough on China

Antony Blinken, in Senate hearing, calls for new alliance-based approach

20 January 2021