Politics

European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels on May 5.
Indo-Pacific

EU pushes for deeper Indo-Pacific ties in face of China concerns

Draft document shows bloc is seeking closer trade, investment ties with Taiwan

14 September 2021
The new missile did not make an appearance at last week's parade marking the 73rd anniversary of North Korea's founding. (KCNA via Reuters)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea cruise missile adds new threat as Biden envoy visits Japan

U.S. remains ready to meet 'anywhere, anytime without preconditions,' White House says

14 September 2021
A man walks past a poster for the movie "Sacrifice," which is about China's entry into the Korean War to fight alongside North Korea against the U.S., in Beijing on October 22, 2020.
International relations

South Koreans sour on China ahead of Wang Yi visit

Growing anti-Beijing sentiment adds wrinkle to already complicated relationship

13 September 2021
This montage shows Lee Jun-seok, left, leader of the opposition People Power Party, and Song Young-gil, leader of the ruling Democratic Party. South Korea's two main parties are gearing up for what looks set to be a hard-fought race. (Source photos by AP/Ahn Seong-bok)
Interview

Wealth gap set to dominate South Korean presidential race

With approval ratings neck and neck, youth vote seen as key

10 September 2021
South Korea's Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, a 3,000-ton class submarine used to test-fire a sub-launched ballistic missile. (Photo provided by the South Korean navy)
8 September 2021
South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction is working with U.S. startup NuScale to develop small modular reactor plants, like the one pictured here. (Photo courtesy of  NuScale Power)
Energy

Small is beautiful in South Korea's pivot back to nuclear power

President Moon cornered by carbon pledge with few renewable options

2 September 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has described press freedom as a "pillar of democracy" and commended the country's media for "balancing freedom and responsibility on a foundation of truth." (File photo by AP) 
Politics

South Korea to vote on 'fake news' bill opposed by media outlets

Opposition lawmakers say legislation would curtail journalists' ability to report

29 August 2021
Afghan evacuees who supported the South Korean government's activities in Afghanistan, arrive at Incheon International Airport in South Korea on Thursday.
Afghanistan turmoil

South Korea accepts 'Afghan friends' despite hostility to refugees

Moon cites 'moral responsibility' to Afghans who worked with Koreans

27 August 2021
The Gwangju Uprising, 1980. Members of the generation of South Koreans that once took down a military government now wonder where they misplaced their ideals. (Source photo by UPI/Kyodo)
Politics

South Korean youths tell Moon's party to get its act together

50-somethings who once forced out military government now forced to learn Excel

23 August 2021
Hundreds of people run alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane as it moves down a runway of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug.16.
Afghanistan turmoil

Asian countries rush to bring back citizens from Afghanistan

India evacuates embassy staff while Chinese mission 'operating normally'

17 August 2021
Members of South Korea and U.S. Special forces get on a CH-47 Chinook during a joint military exercise conducted by South Korean and U.S. special forces troops in Gangwon province, South Korea in 2019. (Photo by U.S. Air Force via Reuters) 
Your Week in Asia

Huarong EGM, US-South Korea military drills, China's data privacy law

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

15 August 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech on Aug 15.
15 August 2021
Japan's sweet and fragrant Shine Muscat grapes fetch high prices at grocery stores. 
Agriculture

Japan sours as premium grape widely copied in China, South Korea

Two neighbors beat Tokyo in Shine Muscat production volume

15 August 2021
Members of South Korea and U.S. special forces take part in a joint exercise at Gunsan Air Force base in South Korea in 2019. 
International relations

US-South Korea war games anger North and China

Pyongyang calls mostly online drills 'rehearsal' for war

13 August 2021
The drills are an "unwelcome, self-destructive action" that threaten the North Korean people and raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Kim Yo Jong says in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA.
International relations

Kim Yo Jong says US and South Korea will face new threats

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister warns on scheduled joint military drills

10 August 2021
South Korea gaining self-sufficiency in high-tech materials would be to the detriment of Japanese companies, but Tokyo has little sense of crisis.
Comment

Despite Moon's claims, South Korea still relies on Japanese chip materials

Seoul touts success in made-in-Korea drive but trade numbers tell another story

8 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
Former head prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl recently joined South Korea's largest opposition party to run in its presidential primary this fall.
Politics

South Korea presidential race tightens as Moon rival joins opposition

Former prosecutor general Yoon builds on conservative party's momentum

4 August 2021
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un leads the first workshop of the commanders and political officers of the Korean People's Army in Pyongyang, in this image supplied by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on July 30, 2021
N Korea at crossroads

Inter-Korea hotline: Will daily calls build momentum to a summit?

The two Koreas are chatting, but Kim's sister says talk of leaders' meeting 'premature'

3 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
Malaysia's Leong Mun Yee and Pamg Pandelela will take a shot at the podium in the final of women's synchronized 10m platform diving on July 27.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics

What to watch at the Tokyo Olympics on July 27

We break down key sports and stars worth your time

27 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 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
Yoon Seok-youl, right, South Korea's former top prosecutor, has roundly criticized President Moon Jae-in's foreign policy as burdened by ideology and divorced from reality. (Source photos by Reuters and Getty Images) 
Japan-South Korea rift

South Korea presidential hopeful aims to change attitudes on Japan

Former top prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl appears ready to redefine relationship with Tokyo

20 July 2021
Hirohisa Soma, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, visits South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on July 13.
20 July 2021