66 h. ago Japan, Philippines tighten ties with new defence pact amid China tensions

Japan and the Philippines signed a defence pact on Thursday that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with Beijing, which was angered by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that potential mainland Chinese action against...

Events

4 d. ago ‘Easier targets’: is Japan safe for foreigners if disaster strikes?

A century after thousands of foreigners were massacred in Japan following a devastating earthquake, human rights advocates worry about rising vigilantism should disaster strike again. It follows calls from the mayor of at least one Japanese city for citizens to form “vigilante groups” in response to reports of rising crime by foreign nationals. “This is symptomatic of Japan’s changing demographics and the rise of xenophobia,” Teppei Kasai of Human Rights Watch in Tokyo told This Week in Asia,...

Events

5 d. ago Why timing may be right for China to press North Korea on denuclearisation

The Ukraine war and Donald Trump’s return to the White House have significantly altered northeast Asia’s geopolitical landscape. North Korea’s defence treaty with Russia and leader Kim Jong-un’s decision to deploy troops to support Moscow have shattered any remaining illusions of strategic restraint. While Russia is believed to be supplying North Korea with finance and technology, Japan and South Korea are accelerating military spending and preparing for long-term confrontation, potentially –...

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5 d. ago Opinion | Why China now needs North Korea’s denuclearisation

Opinion | Why China now needs North Korea’s denuclearisation  South China Morning Post

Events

5 d. ago Why North Korea’s ‘gang of hooligans’ rebuke signals freeze in ties with South

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s influential sister has issued a sharply worded warning to South Korea’s new liberal government after drones were reportedly flown from the South early this month. Calling the country a “gang of hooligans”, Kim Yo-jong used the recent drone incursions to reinforce Pyongyang’s claim that inter-Korean relations were irreparably hostile and blunt Seoul’s renewed push for reconciliation. Kim, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of...

Events

6 d. ago NATO commander warns strategic coordination among Russia, China, Iran and North Korea

NATO commander warns strategic coordination among Russia, China, Iran and North Korea  Türkiye Today

Events

7 d. ago North Korea: the elephant in the room when Xi met Lee in Beijing

The leaders of South Korea and China wrapped up a summit this week with both underlining support for one of Beijing’s diplomatic priorities but making no tangible progress on North Korea, Seoul’s main concern. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday for a high-stakes summit held just over nine weeks after their first meeting. During the trip, Lee declared 2026 as the year for the “full restoration of South Korea-China relations” and Xi...

Politics

7 d. ago North Korea revives drone claims in rebuff to Seoul’s outreach

North Korea’s latest accusations that South Korean drones violated its airspace appear aimed at painting Seoul as a permanent enemy ahead of a key party congress, rather than addressing an actual security breach, analysts say. By reviving claims of cross-border incursions and threatening retaliation, the North is reinforcing its portrayal of inter-Korean relations as irreversibly hostile – just as South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung seeks to reopen channels of communication. Lee, who took...

Events

7 d. ago Body, capsized boat found in Japan waters raise spectre of North Korean ‘ghost ships’

A lone body discovered on a cold Japanese beach and a shattered wooden boat coated in black tar have stirred memories of the “ghost ships” that in past winters drifted across to Japan from North Korea. The body washed ashore on Wednesday in Ishikawa prefecture, while a Japan Coast Guard vessel later recovered the capsized boat nearby, local media reported. Authorities have yet to identify the man and are investigating whether he was linked to the vessel, which bore Korean characters and numbers....

Politics

7 d. ago Mystery ‘ghost ship’ discovery puzzles Japan. Fisherman, defector or spy?

A lone body discovered on a cold Japanese beach and a shattered wooden boat coated in black tar have stirred memories of the “ghost ships” that in past winters drifted across to Japan from North Korea. The body washed ashore on Wednesday in Ishikawa prefecture, while a Japan Coast Guard vessel later recovered the capsized boat nearby, local media reported. Authorities have yet to identify the man and are investigating whether he was linked to the vessel, which bore Korean characters and numbers....

Politics

8 d. ago China cites Biden’s message to Xi that Japan could build nuclear weapons ‘overnight’

China released an official report on Thursday stating that Japan “may already have produced weapons-grade plutonium in secret” and “has the technological and economic capabilities to achieve nuclear armament in a short period of time”. The report assessing Japan’s nuclear threat cited former US president Joe Biden’s direct message to Chinese President Xi Jinping that Japan had the capacity to have nuclear weapons “virtually overnight”. Biden first disclosed the information in an interview with...

Events

8 d. ago North Korea invites China firms to spring trade fair after foreign ban last year

North Korea invites China firms to spring trade fair after foreign ban last year  NK News

Politics

9 d. ago Maduro’s fate in Venezuela hardens North Korea’s nuclear resolve

The US removal of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro from power has reverberated far beyond Latin America. In Pyongyang, where regime survival is the paramount concern and every US action is scrutinised for hostile intent, the deposing of a sitting head of state sends an unmistakable message: dialogue with Washington is a dangerous gamble, and only nuclear weapons guarantee survival. The Venezuela operation may have killed the prospects for meaningful US-North Korea diplomacy in 2026 before they even...

Events

9 d. ago North Korea’s Kim expected to cling to nuclear security blanket after Venezuela operation

The United States’ decapitation operation against Venezuela will reinforce North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, an aspiration that will continue to draw China’s “tacit tolerance”, according to analysts. After the US military abducted Nicolas Maduro during an attack on Venezuela on Saturday, Pyongyang criticised Washington’s actions as “wildly” violating the sovereignty of Caracas. It was one of a slew of countries that issued swift criticism of the US move. In a statement on Sunday, the North Korean...

Events

1 week ago As denuclearisation stalls, China will shape stability on Korean peninsula

At the recent South Korea-China summit, both sides agreed to improve dialogue, rebuild trust and promote regional peace and stability, marking a first step towards a normalisation of relations. While the Beijing meeting produced no concrete agreement for peace on the Korean peninsula, it reaffirmed the peninsula’s stability and peace as a common interest – paving the way for cooperation. The prolonged stalemate over North Korea’s nuclear programme is no longer just a diplomatic impasse. The...

Events

1 week ago South Korea says it urged China to help curb North's weapons tests

South Korea says it urged China to help curb North's weapons tests  Euronews.com

Events

1 week ago Chinese President Xi Jinping urges Seoul to be ‘patient’ over North Korean nuclear talks

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “patience” over North Korea’s nuclear programme, the South’s president, Lee Jae Myung, said on Wednesday. Speaking during a visit to Shanghai, Lee said he had asked Xi to act as a “mediator for peace” on the Korean peninsula, including on the nuclear issue. He said all channels between the North and South had been blocked and there was “zero trust” between the two sides. “President Xi noted the efforts until now and said patience is needed,” Lee said. He...

Politics

1 week ago South Korea's Lee Says Asked China's Xi To Help Curb North's Nuclear Programme

South Korea's Lee Says Asked China's Xi To Help Curb North's Nuclear Programme  Barron's

Events

1 week ago North Korea’s missile test after Maduro’s arrest signals denuclearisation equals ‘suicide’

A missile test by North Korea in the aftermath of the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro signals what analysts have said is Pyongyang’s cautionary stance over the vulnerability of countries without credible military and nuclear deterrence. While overseeing the launch of multiple missiles on Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un alluded to the US attacks on Venezuela and Maduro’s arrest a day earlier and Iran in June as justifications to bolster his nuclear arsenal. The test of what...

Events

1 week ago What North Korea’s missile test after Maduro arrest says about Kim’s denuclearisation stance

A missile test by North Korea in the aftermath of the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro signals what analysts have said is Pyongyang’s cautionary stance over the vulnerability of countries without credible military and nuclear deterrence. While overseeing the launch of multiple missiles on Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un alluded to the US attacks on Venezuela and Maduro’s arrest a day earlier and Iran in June as justifications to bolster his nuclear arsenal. The test of what...

Events