South Korean President Moon Jae-In and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in Monday in Beijing.
N Korea at crossroads

Moon and Xi agree to cooperate as North Korea 'deadline' looms

South Korean leader is in Beijing before three-way summit with China and Japan

23 December 2019
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to reporters at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Saturday night after speaking with U.S. President Donald Trump. (Photo by Masayuki Terazawa)
N Korea at crossroads

Trump and Abe hold 'thorough' talks on North Korea

Phone call comes after special envoy fails to access Pyongyang

22 December 2019
Kim Jong Un supervises a strike drill on May 4: the North Korean leader dialed up the pressure another notch.
Opinion

North Korea holds most of the cards in nuclear negotiations with US

Kim Jong Un wants to keep weapons and face down sanctions

18 December 2019
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, talks as Vice President Mike Pence looks on at a deregulation roundtable in the White House on Dec. 16.
N Korea at crossroads

Trump says US is keeping eye on North Korea

Special envoy awaits contact with Pyongyang

17 December 2019
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, shakes hands with Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha during the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in Busan, South Korea on Nov. 25.
Comment

How ASEAN can gain from South Korea relations -- and Kim Jong Un

10-nation bloc should use Seoul's pivot south to bolster its diplomatic prowess

15 December 2019
Members of the Aomori Coast Guard Office's Mobile Surveillance Unit record the number of a wooden boat that washed ashore in Tsugaru, Aomori Prefecture. (Photo by Kai Fujii)
Politics

Japan Coast Guard launches unit to handle North Korean 'ghost ships'

Derelict fishing boats wash up on northern shores when weather turns rough

7 December 2019
U.S. President Donald Trump called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, standing closest to rocket launcher, "Rocket Man" on Dec. 3.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea dusts off 'dotard' after Trump reignites 'Rocket Man'

Ballistic insults fly again as diplomat rips US for disrespecting Kim

6 December 2019
Kim Pyong Il is the son of North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung. This image, taken at the 25th annual memorial service of Kim Il Sung in July, was released by North Korea's Central News Agency.
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un's uncle: Pensioner or soon to be purged?

Homecoming of Kim Pyong Il sparks speculation over his fate

5 December 2019
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversees a super-large multiple launch rocket system test last week. (KCNA/Kyodo)
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un's year-end 'deadline' makes South Korea sweat

North Korea turns aggressive as it seeks new dialogue proposals from US

2 December 2019
Kim Pyong Il, seen here in a 2015 photo in Prague, served as North Korea's ambassador to the Czech Republic.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea brings Kim's uncle home from Europe, says Seoul

Longtime ambassador faces political purge, some speculate

2 December 2019
Girl group Blackpink performs on stage on January 23: K-pop bears the inflated dreams and desires of a country in crisis.
Opinion

K-pop deaths highlight South Korea's desperation for soft power

In unpromising economy, music groups are rare financial and cultural success

30 November 2019
South Korea's Moon Jae-in attends last year's South Korea-ASEAN summit in Singapore
International relations

Kim's snub overshadows South Korea's big ASEAN meeting

Moon Jae-in keen to stage successful summit as part of South East Asia push

25 November 2019
Sailors aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown man the rails as the ship pulls into Visakhapatnam, India, as part of the Tiger Triumph exercise in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy) 
International relations

India and US strengthen military ties with 'Tiger Triumph' drill

Maiden exercise comes as China seeks to widen influence in Indo-Pacific

18 November 2019
A performer sings at a North Korean-themed restaurant in Shenyang, China. North Korean laborers can skirt UN sanctions by applying for entertainment visas. (Photo by Tsukasa Hadano)
N Korea at crossroads

Sanctions on North Korean migrant workers undermined by 'interns'

Pyongyang exploits alternative visa programs while China looks the other way

15 November 2019
U.S. President Donald Trump's former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster delivers a keynote speech at a Nikkei/CSIS symposium in Tokyo on Friday. (Photo by Hiroyuki Yamamoto)
International relations

Ex-Trump official urges US to resist China by bolstering democracy

Former security adviser McMaster says US-China tensions are no Cold War

25 October 2019
Abe said he wants to meet with Kim Jong Un on Oct. 4: Abe may be in a unique position to inject new momentum.
Opinion

Abe must step up efforts to engage North Korea

Japan cannot afford to stand by as Pyongyang raises the military stakes

25 October 2019
While Donald Trump has been boasting about his personal relationship with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader has been expanding his nuclear threat. (Nikkei Montage/ Reuters)
Comment

As North Korea's missile arsenal grows, so does its nuclear threat

Donald Trump's goofs have allowed Kim Jong Un to add to his delivery capabilities

19 October 2019
Kim Jong Un welcomes Xi Jinping at the Pyongyang International Airport, undated photo released on June 21 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency: Beijing continues to hold one of the few keys to steering Kim's behavior.
Opinion

US economic war on China weakens nuclear North Korea too

Seventieth anniversary of China-North Korea ties highlights Beijing's regional sway

18 October 2019
Players from the two Koreas play a World Cup qualifying match in an empty stadium in Pyongyang on Tuesday, in this photo provided by the Korea Football Association.
N Korea at crossroads

Two Koreas play soccer in empty Pyongyang stadium as relations turn icy

North denies direct flight to South's players, expressing displeasure at Moon

15 October 2019
What appears to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile launches from an undisclosed location in this undated picture released by North Korea's Central News Agency on Oct. 2.
Comment

North Korea's nuclear threat crosses a perilous line

It is time for countries to coolly deal with the reality of Pyongyang's buildup

13 October 2019
The diplomatic roadblocks the U.S. has hit with China and North Korea are the result of U.S. President Donald Trump's "America first" policies, according to a former senior U.S. diplomat focusing on Asia.
Interview

Trump lost leverage on China and North Korea: former Obama aide

Late US efforts to convene Tokyo and Seoul contributed to nations' rift

10 October 2019
A North Korean fishing boat sank after colliding with a Japanese patrol ship on Oct. 7. (Photo courtesy of Japan's Fisheries Agency)
8 October 2019
U.S. President Donald Trump has kept his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, left, as well as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in high hopes -- despite repeatedly dashing them. (Original photos by Reuters)
Comment

'The Unpredictable One' stirs up Korean Peninsula tensions

North Korea fires a missile as it clings to hope of making a deal with Trump

7 October 2019
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, last met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom in the Korean Demilitarized Zone on June 30.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea tightens pressure on Trump with collapse of talks

Pyongyang turns aggressive as US reaches for progress ahead of 2020 election

7 October 2019
North Korea's delegation in Stockholm on Saturday: Chief negotiator Kim Myong Gil, third from right, said that expectations for the talks had not been fulfilled.
N Korea at crossroads

US-North Korea nuclear talks break down: Pyongyang envoy

Washington puts positive spin on meeting, saying talks will continue in two weeks

6 October 2019