Politics

Participants march during a Pride event in support of LGBT rights in Seoul on June 1, 2019.  LGBT people are a marginalized group in a country where churches have a powerful influence on politics.
Politics

Moon stays silent on equality law in LGBT-unfriendly South Korea

Human rights watchdog recommends National Assembly to enact legislation

1 July 2020
 Passengers walk through Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on June 8. Thailand is extending its coronavirus state of emergency for a third time but will also further ease restrictions, including some covering travel into the kingdom. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Coronavirus

Thailand stays under COVID-19 emergency with third extention

Curbs will be eased, paving way for allowing business travel from Japan and China

30 June 2020
Kim Tae-san, leader of the One Korea Work Together, says North Korean authorities have issued orders to follow and ostracize defectors' families as a result of the leafleting from the South.
N Korea at crossroads

Defectors in South Korea fret over families in North amid tensions

Anti-Pyongyang leaflets draw criticism from proponents of North-South ties

29 June 2020
Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the BOK Center in Tulsa on June 20: only 6,200 went through the turnstiles.
Opinion

How BTS fans became a force in US politics

K-pop is skilled at using social media to promote good causes and fight racism

26 June 2020
Kim Yo Jong, foreground, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who is walking with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang on Sept. 18, 2018.
N Korea at crossroads

North and South Korea cling to tenuous peace on war anniversary

After weeks of tensions, Pyongyang edges back from brink of fresh confrontation

25 June 2020
An explosion of the joint liaison office in Kaesong, North Korea on June 16: a period of quiet and stability is over now.
Opinion

North Korea wants a crisis, not cooperation

Destruction of joint liaison office sets back years of incremental progress

24 June 2020
South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said Wednesday she is running to be the next director general of the WTO. (Yonhap/Kyodo)
Trade

South Korea's trade minister announces bid to lead WTO

Amid Seoul-Tokyo export spat, Yoo vows to reform body under fire from Trump

24 June 2020
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at a Politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in this photo released June 7 by the country's official Korean Central News Agency. (KCNA via Reuters)
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un suspends military action against South: state media

North Korea discusses ways to further bolster 'war deterrent'

24 June 2020
The pandemic-induced slowdown may offer the Asia-Pacific region a prime opportunity not only to catch up on environmental targets, but also to lay the groundwork for a greener future. © Illustration by Hiroko Oshima
Asia Insight

Asia risks missing 'green' economic reset after coronavirus

Except in South Korea, experts see absence of environmental resolve in region

23 June 2020
Park Sang-hak  prepares to release a balloon containing leaflets denouncing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2016.
Interview

North Korea defector to continue leaflet drops despite Seoul ban

Kim Jong Un grew furious after seeing them on trip, Park Sang Hak says

23 June 2020
From left, then-U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Donald Trump attend the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi in February 2019.
International relations

Bolton's account of North Korea talks is distorted, Seoul says

Former US adviser's memoir claims South Korea pushed for Trump-Kim summit

23 June 2020
The North Korean regime is especially sensitive to propaganda leaflets, sent via balloons, that criticize leader Kim Jong Un. (Source photos by AP/Reuters)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea has dealt furiously with propaganda affronts before

From military to activists, South Korea has history of provoking Kim Jong Un

20 June 2020
Staff members of All Nippon Airways wearing protective masks and face shields work at a boarding gate at Haneda airport in Tokyo.
International relations

Japan to restart business travel, but US and China in back of queue

Vietnam and Thailand will be first, with Australia and New Zealand up next

19 June 2020
Marines patrol on Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea, on Tuesday. North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office building just north of the heavily armed border the same day, sharply raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
N Korea at crossroads

North and South Korea border tensions: Seven things to know

The two militaries rarely exchange fire, but accidental clashes are a risk

17 June 2020
South Korean K-55 self-propelled howitzers are loaded onto vehicles in Paju, near the border with North Korea, on Wednesday. North Korea said it will redeploy troops to now-shuttered inter-Korean tourism and economic sites near the border.
N Korea at crossroads

South Korea vows to retaliate against any North military action

Seoul says it can no longer tolerate personal attacks on President Moon Jae-in

17 June 2020
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises a "strike drill" involving rocket launchers in May 2019.
17 June 2020
North Korea demolished the two Koreas' joint liaison office in the border city of Kaesong on Tuesday. (Courtesy of South Korea's Ministry of National Defense)
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea destroys Kaesong joint liaison office with South

Pyongyang has hinted at taking military action in recent days

16 June 2020
Kim Jong Un with his sister, Kim Yo Jong: Kim Yo Jong has become an increasingly visible in the North Korean regime, fueling widespread speculation that she is being groomed as her brother's successor.
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un's sister fans flames of inter-Korean tensions

South Korea on edge over threat of retaliation over anti-Pyongyang flyers

16 June 2020
A huge Black Lives Matter banner is seen at the U.S. embassy in Seoul on June 14.
Politics

'Black Lives Matter' banner removed from US embassy in Seoul

Trump reportedly expressed displeasure at the display

16 June 2020
Travelers wearing face masks are seen at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Thailand wants to create "travel corridors" or "travel bubbles" with certain countries, including China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Economy

Thailand fights to revive reputation as top tourist destination

COVID-19 tracing measures and troubled Thai Airways' cloud tourism revival

15 June 2020
At a meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing in May, members proposed a plan to create an East Asia digital currency based on a basket of Asian currencies.
Comment

China takes battle for cryptocurrency hegemony to new stage

Beijing backs private-sector-led East Asia digital money in challenge to US

14 June 2020
Kim Yo Jong, seen on TV, is considered the most powerful woman in North Korea. 
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un's sister hints at military action against South Korea

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong says liaison office will be destroyed

14 June 2020
North Korean students stage a rally in Pyongyang on Saturday to denounce South Korea after activists in the South flew propaganda leaflets over the border.
N Korea at crossroads

North Korea brands South 'enemy' as domestic woes mount

Income dries up and food crisis looms as coronavirus keeps borders shut

12 June 2020
Vietnam is anxious to resume international flights, especially those between important trade and tourist partners, in hopes of restarting its stalled economy.
Economy

Vietnam to resume flights to Guangzhou, Taiwan, Seoul and Tokyo

Hanoi to make crucial step to reach 5% GDP growth target to rise from pandemic

11 June 2020
Kim Yo Jong seen walking at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in April 2018. 
N Korea at crossroads

Kim Jong Un's sister emerges as policymaker in spat with South

Kim Yo Jong issues statement with unique style, analysts say

10 June 2020