North Korea

Kurt Campbell on a visit to Japan in 2013: The former Obama administration official will be heading up Joe Biden's Indo-Pacific policy.
Biden's Asia policy

Biden point man Kurt Campbell returns to an Asia that has pivoted

Old hand welcomed back but faces new tests, from China to Koreas to ASEAN

18 January 2021
North Korea shows off a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) during a military parade to mark the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang on Thursday.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea bolsters arsenal with 'world's strongest weapon'

Kim Jong Un seeks to raise leverage for possible talks with Biden team

15 January 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un receives applause during the eighth congress of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang.
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un refocuses on nuclear buildup as party meeting closes

North Korea takes hard line against US leading into Biden transition

14 January 2021
There is no doubt that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s real intention is to meet with the new U.S. president. 
The Nikkei View

Denuclearization in North Korea is the only way forward

Plan for self-sufficient development shows country is headed in wrong direction

13 January 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Workers' Party congress in Pyongyang, in this photo supplied by the country's Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 11.
Politics

'General Secretary' Kim Jong Un tightens grip on party in year 10

North Korea leader reaches back to the past, claiming forebears' title

12 January 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang in this photo supplied by the official Central News Agency on Jan. 11.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea's Kim Jong Un crowned as party general secretary

Sister Kim Yo Jong not in Politburo, likely to protect her from 'villain role'

11 January 2021
Trump supporters besiege the U.S. Capitol building after a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 presidential election results by Congress on Jan. 6 in Washington. 
Comment

Political pandemic to deepen wounds of world

China may become biggest risk to international politics in long run

11 January 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the Workers' Party congress in Pyongyang, in this photo supplied by the regime's Korean Central News Agency.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea vows military buildup 2 weeks before Biden takes office

Kim seeks new economic path at party congress as pressure builds

7 January 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a meeting of the Workers' Party Political Bureau. The ruling party last held its congress in May 2016.
Politics

North Korea to hold party congress around time of Biden inauguration

First meet since 2016 to be watched for Kim Jong Un's stance on new US administration

31 December 2020
Although North Korea is likely to be a low priority for incoming U.S. President Joe Biden, left, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is thought to want a prompt restart of talks. (Source photos by Reuters) 
N Korea at crossroads

Is North Korea's silent leader planning a surprise for Biden?

Pundits speculate on Kim Jong Un's intentions, but sense he wants nuclear talks

27 December 2020
Japan plans to order two more warships based on a Maya-class destroyer equipped with SPY-7 radars. (Photo by Masamichi Hoshi)
Politics

Japan's plan for 2 superdestroyers to cost more than Aegis Ashore

Defense Ministry's estimate is up to 25% higher than US-made missile shield

25 November 2020
Kim Jong Un speaks at a meeting of the politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea in this image released by North Korea's Central News Agency.
N Korea at crossroads

Post-Trump, North Korea set to return to brinkmanship

Missile testing among possible provocations during US transition to Biden

10 November 2020
Thousands rally to mark the eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on Oct. 12.
US elections 2020

Brinkmanship or talks? North Korea's next move hinges on US vote

Either Trump or Biden victory will have consequences for Seoul and Pyongyang

2 November 2020
Vendors at this fish market in Dandong, China, say that none of the seafood comes from North Korea. (Photo by Shin Watanabe)
N Korea at crossroads

Stranded North Koreans in China keep earning for homeland

Tens of thousands of workers unable to return home due to border closure

22 October 2020
The Asia-Pacific is wondering what a victory by Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden in the U.S. election on Nov. 3 would mean for American policy in the region after four years of President Donald Trump.
Asia Insight

What would a Biden presidency mean for Asia?

From tech and trade to Taiwan and North Korea, Trump's legacy will weigh heavily

20 October 2020
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a mining town damaged by a recent typhoon. (KCNA/Kyodo)
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un voices rare regret for pitiful housing

North Korean leader's admission comes during visit to typhoon-ravaged mining town

15 October 2020
North Korea displays what appears to be a new intercontinental ballistic missile at a parade Oct. 10 in Pyongyang for the ruling party's 75th anniversary, in a photo published by party newspaper Rodong Sinmun. 
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea's new ICBM sends chilling reminder to US

New rocket capable of carrying multiple warheads, experts say

13 October 2020
Kim gave an address during the event, in which the new weapon was unveiled.   (KCNA/Kyodo)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea unlikely to fire new 'monster' ICBM before US election

Pyongyang inclined to wait with Washington distracted by pandemic and campaign

11 October 2020
North Korea shows what appears to be its newest and largest ICBM in a military parade early Saturday in Pyongyang to mark the 75th anniversary of the nation's ruling party.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea unveils seemingly new, larger ICBM at military parade

Kim Jong Un claims nation has not had a single COVID-19 case

10 October 2020
Delegates arrive for celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea at Pyongyang railway station on Monday.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea parade to signal whether Kim plans to provoke US

A new advanced weapon could be unveiled at weekend's celebrations

8 October 2020
Kim Jong Un speaks during the 19th Meeting of the Political Bureau of the Seventh Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea: Kim announced an 80-day battle to jump-start an economy.
Opinion

North Korea may return to fire-and-fury mode in time to ruin 2021

Trump's weird Kim bromance would put a President Biden in near-impossible situation

8 October 2020
A South Korean news program airs a photo of Jo Song Gil on Oct. 7. Jo had been North Korea's acting ambassador to Italy before he vanished in November 2018. 
8 October 2020
Lee Rae-jin, the older brother of a South Korean fisheries official killed by the North Korean military, reacts during a news conference Tuesday in Seoul.
N Korea at crossroads

3 mysteries cloud South Korean's shooting death by North Korea

Grieving family casts doubt on allegation that victim defected to the North

2 October 2020
An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 80th Fighter Squadron at Kunsan Air Base takes off during exercises with South Korean forces. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Air Force)
International relations

Majority of Americans against cutting US forces in South Korea: poll

Public opinion ahead of election diverges from Trump's talk of troop reductions

2 October 2020
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga delivers his prerecorded speech to the U.N. on Sept. 25. (Image courtesy of the United Nations)
International relations

Suga 'ready to meet Kim Jong Un without any conditions'

Japanese leader debuts at UN, determined to host Tokyo Olympics

26 September 2020