North Korea
COMMENT: What Japan, Southeast Asia and the US can expect from South Korea’s new president
While he has not shied away from criticising Tokyo, Lee has sensibly signalled a willingness to compartmentalise some issues in order to foster cooperation on trade, technology and regional security.
COMMENT: Asian unity in a fragmenting world boosted by the RCEP
In the face of renewed US protectionism and the use of tariffs as economic weapons, RCEP offers the Indo-Pacific region something far more strategic: a framework for resilience, integration and independence.
COMMENT: Asia's team lists in the Washington VS Beijing bout
While fewer in number, some Asian nations have displayed clear signs of alignment or strategic proximity to China.
Lee Jae-myung takes office as South Korean president after snap election
He stepped into the role at 6:21 am local time, immediately succeeding acting President Lee Ju-ho without a transition period, due to the abrupt election triggered by the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Combined effort to tackle Asian climate change gaining momentum
Over the past five years Asia has witnessed unprecedented heatwaves, with countries like Bangladesh recording temperatures up to 43.8°C in 2024, leading to nationwide school closures affecting tens of millions of children
ASIA BLOG: South Korea needs political stability now more than ever
iKorea's current political crisis is deeply troubling. The ongoing impeachment proceedings against the disgraced former president Yoon Suk Yeol, regardless of one’s political leanings, are not merely a domestic affair.
COMMENT: Why Asia should not follow the failed European model
Over the past 15 years, Europe’s trade frameworks have faltered, integration has stalled, and a number of its core political and economic ideas have failed under real-world pressure.
North Korea acknowledges deployment of troops to support Russia in Kursk region
In North Korea the ruling Workers’ Party characterised this move as a demonstration of the “highest strategic level” of the enduring military alliance between the two nations.
North Korea is making billions of dollars a year from supplying Russia with weapons
North Korea has rapidly transformed into a significant arms supplier for Russia and is making billions of dollars a year in the process.
Asian giants thrive in Russia despite sanctions
Maintaining a complex balance between profit, geopolitical alignment and risk management, the presence of Asian nations in Russia reveals a divergence between Western corporate exodus and Eastern mercantile strategy.
ASIA BLOG: China suddenly recognises need for community, in a region Beijing has long polarised
President Xi made no mention of long-standing territorial issues with China’s closest neighbours including Japan, South Korea and the self-governing country long claimed as an integral part of China by Beijing: Taiwan.
South Korea sets June 3 as provisional date for presidential election
Under South Korean law, a presidential election must be held within 60 days following the Constitutional Court’s ruling to dismiss former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office on April 4.
Is South Korea’s political turmoil being underwritten by Beijing?
With Japan, South Korea and China working closer than ever to address US tariffs on three of the world’s leading economies, anti-American agents in Asia are undoubtedly working behind the scenes to further reshape the regional balance of power.