North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and an aerial view of a light water nuclear reactor and a 5 MW nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. (Source photos by Reuters and 2020 Maxar Technologies/Getty Images)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea conducting tests at reactor site: UN report

Despite economic woes, reclusive state pushing ahead with weapons programs

6 August 2021
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield says sanctions on North Korea will allow for humanitarian assistance.
International relations

US open to North Korean humanitarian assistance: UN envoy

Thomas-Greenfield says Washington wants to deepen 'unofficial ties' with Taiwan

6 August 2021
North Korea has turned to a policy of dialogue with South Korea during the Olympics in a drive to get out of dire straits, and the South has responded. (Source photos by Koji Uema, EPA/Jiji and KCNA/Reuters) 
International relations

North and South Korea see Olympics as occasion to move

Antagonism alternates with reconciliation on peninsula

4 August 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during Moon's visit to Pyongyang in September 2018.
N Korea at crossroads

As food grows scarce, North Korea accepts South's olive branch

Moon and Kim start mending fences with return of hotlines after year of silence

28 July 2021
Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un acknowledges the audience after watching a performance in Pyongyang in September 2018: Moon has failed to give North Korea concessions so significant that a potential conservative successor cannot undo them.
Opinion

Beware Moon Jae-in's final months in office

Rush to cement legacy may yield dangerous giveaways for Pyongyang

22 July 2021
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman speaks in Tokyo on July 21.  (Photo courtesy of U.S. Embassy)
International relations

Transcript: Biden's No. 2 diplomat on Olympics, North Korea, ASEAN

Wendy Sherman weighs in on wide range of subjects at Japan roundtable

21 July 2021
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman speaks in Tokyo on July 21. (Photo by Eri Sugiura)
International relations

US deputy secretary of state adds China visit to Asia itinerary

In Tokyo, Wendy Sherman says allies seek 'best approach' to Taiwan Strait deterrence

21 July 2021
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, visits North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during 2019. The two leaders have exchanged messages calling for deeper bilateral ties.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea courts China to break US stalemate

Neighboring allies reaffirm ties on 60th anniversary of friendship treaty

13 July 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on July 8 to mark the death of his grandfather, Kim Il Sung. Ri Pyong Chol stands in the third row, second from the left. Photo supplied by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea nuclear official appears ousted from top leadership

Ri's apparent demotion seen after Kim berates officials for 'grave incident'

9 July 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks to the Workers' Party Politburo on July 5. He appears to have lost some weight since the beginning of the year.
N Korea at crossroads

Kim warns North Korea food crisis threatens state security

Leader assuages public with removal of key party officials and weight loss

6 July 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the plenary meeting of the Workers' Party Central Committee on June 17. He called for officials to prepare for both "dialogue" and "confrontation" with the U.S. that day.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea plays hardball with US over reviving nuclear talks

Pyongyang seeks concessions as it leans on China for economic turnaround

25 June 2021
 A South Korean researcher checks a radio active lever of debris from dismantled experimental reactor belonging to the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute.
International relations

North Korean hack targets South's nuclear power research

State-linked attack last month possibly leaked technology to Pyongyang

18 June 2021
Members of BTS pose during a photo opportunity promoting their new single "Butter" in Seoul on May 21: Kim Jong Un railed against the "attire, hairstyles, speeches" and "behaviors" of the band.
Opinion

K-pop tirade reveals Kim Jong Un's desperate need for a hit

Recent diatribe was unhinged even by North Korean standards

17 June 2021
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in recent months has signaled a shift away from his father's focus on the military above all. (KCNA via Reuters)
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un recasts party rulebook to forge own identity

North Korean leader shifts from 'military first' to 'people first' in bid to form popular mandate

10 June 2021
The strategies adopted by the two previous U.S. presidents failed to get North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons.
Comment

Japan must reassess US nuclear deterrence against North Korea

As Kim's nuclear arsenal grows, pandemic shows consequences of ignoring warnings

7 June 2021
A Taurus long-range air-to-surface missile fired from a South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jet is seen during an exercise in Taean-gun, South Korea. Taraus is capable of covering all of North Korea with its 500-kilometer firing range. 
Aerospace & Defense Industries

South Korean arms makers in spotlight after missile limit lifted

Shares of defense contractors LIG Nex1, Hanwha, KAI rise on long-term prospects

2 June 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks alongside U.S. President Joe Biden in the White House on Friday.
N Korea at crossroads

Moon-Biden summit makes limited progress on North Korea

US decision to remove restrictions on South Korean missiles a potential issue

24 May 2021
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, left, met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong in London Wednesday.
International relations

Japan and South Korea agree to coordinate with US on North Korea

Tokyo and Seoul try to thaw ties as foreign ministers meet in-person for first time

6 May 2021
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, left, speaks with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in London on May 4.
International relations

G-7 ministers aim for complete Korean denuclearization in UK talks

Blinken briefs fellow top diplomats on new US approach to Pyongyang

5 May 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un: The Biden administration's policy toward Pyongyang will not focus on achieving a "grand bargain" on denuclearization, the White House says. (Source photos by Reuter and KCNA via Reuters)
Biden's Asia policy

US searches for North Korean reset after ending policy review

Pyongyang hits back, saying Biden shows hostile intentions

2 May 2021
Taiwanese warplanes are parked on a highway during an exercise to simulate a response to a Chinese attack on the island's airfields.
Comment

27 years later, security still dominates US-Japan summit

Biden and Suga to discuss Taiwan, with Tokyo in better position to help

15 April 2021
Members of the Workers' Party of Korea gather at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on Nov. 20, 2020.
Economy

North Korea fears decline in party loyalty amid COVID recession

Kim Jong Un speaks of 'Arduous March' in reference to 1990s famine

12 April 2021
White House press secretary Jen Psaki signals a subtle change in the Biden administration's approach to North Korea.
Biden's Asia policy

White House seeks 'denuclearization of Korean Peninsula': Psaki

Spokesperson says administration is prepared for 'some form of diplomacy'

8 April 2021
North and South Korean athletes walk together under a Korean Peninsula flag at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February 2018. (Photo by Koji Uema)
Comment

North Korea dashes hopes for diplomatic gold at Tokyo Olympics

Seeing little political payoff, Pyongyang bows out of Tokyo games

7 April 2021