https://www.scmp.com/rss/318214/feed East Asia's latest news, current affairs, politics and regional issues. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump raised concerns about yen weakness at a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Friday, offering an unusually detailed account of the leaders’ talks on currencies. “At the recent Japan-US summit meeting, President Trump expressed concern about the yen’s weakness,” Katayama said at a regular news conference, adding that she was disclosing the exchange for the first time after consulting with the ‌Prime... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368863/japan-says-trump-voiced-concern-over-weak-yen-summit-pm-takaichi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368863/japan-says-trump-voiced-concern-over-weak-yen-summit-pm-takaichi?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 15:52:59 +0000 Simon Tay Simon Tay The good news is, when US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Washington this week, neither chose confrontation. Amid the high pomp and ceremony, what China has called “constructive strategic stability” continues. Even an uneasy truce in great power relations can be useful. Both recognise the considerable incentive to prevent their economic rivalry from spiralling out of control. Even limited understandings can reduce risks in artificial intelligence (AI) and other... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3368638/us-china-world-asean-must-do-more-avoid-choosing-sides?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3368638/us-china-world-asean-must-do-more-avoid-choosing-sides?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 12:30:12 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Singapore and China should look to the next phase of cooperation through potential projects in artificial intelligence and the green economy, after decades of economic ties anchored by industrial parks, eco-cities and transport corridors. Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Friday that the relationship had “never been static”, arguing that the economic challenges of each era shaped the flagship developments of that time. At the FutureChina Global Forum held in the city state,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368773/suzhou-ai-singapore-china-eye-new-playbook-economic-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368773/suzhou-ai-singapore-china-eye-new-playbook-economic-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 06:15:55 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Unregulated companies are running a brisk trade across Japan storing and disposing unclaimed corpses, with a recent report revealing how such “cut-price morgues” are cashing in on legal loopholes to discard the nation’s dead. The business has shed light on the growing number of “lonely deaths” of elderly Japanese as the traditional nuclear family fades. Some industry insiders have expressed shock at the trend and are calling for regulation to block potential loopholes, while others point to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368738/japans-cut-price-morgues-cash-legal-loopholes-lonely-deaths-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368738/japans-cut-price-morgues-cash-legal-loopholes-lonely-deaths-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 04:00:17 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has put North Korea in a propaganda bind, analysts say, by publicly revealing that Kyiv recently transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. The disclosure – made during Zelensky’s address to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday – directly challenges Pyongyang’s narrative that its soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces would choose death over surrender. North Korea is unlikely to acknowledge the transfer publicly, but may strengthen... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368711/ukraines-pow-transfer-reveal-deals-north-korea-propaganda-blow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368711/ukraines-pow-transfer-reveal-deals-north-korea-propaganda-blow?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:38 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s proposal for a phased approach to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes is a pragmatic response, analysts say, but prospects for gaining its arch-rival’s acceptance remain uncertain. In a keynote speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Lee laid out a long-term, step-by-step sequence for pursuing the ultimate goal of North Korea’s denuclearisation. He had called for Washington to ease sanctions in return for North Korea stopping its nuclear... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368586/south-korea-has-pragmatic-plan-phased-denuclearisation-will-north-bite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368586/south-korea-has-pragmatic-plan-phased-denuclearisation-will-north-bite?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 03:23:51 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong Washington is increasingly turning to South Korea to ease ammunition supply bottlenecks triggered by wars in the Middle East and Europe, potentially accelerating Seoul’s integration into the US defence industrial base. Analysts say the United States may struggle to replenish stockpiles quickly enough if conflicts in Iran and Ukraine drag on, creating opportunities for South Korea’s defence industry to expand its presence in the US market. Jang Won-joon, a defence science professor at Jeonbuk... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368481/us-turns-south-korea-ease-ammunition-bottlenecks-amid-global-conflicts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368481/us-turns-south-korea-ease-ammunition-bottlenecks-amid-global-conflicts?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 00:00:07 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo The body of a child was found on Wednesday on the coast of an outlying island in northeastern Japan, with police investigating whether it could be a six-year-old boy who went missing in the area earlier this month. The body, which was found around 11.20am on Tobishima, Yamagata Prefecture, was dressed in what appeared to be a navy blue and red Spider Man-themed jumpsuit, similar to the clothing the boy was wearing when he disappeared, according to prefectural police. A man in his 70s alerted... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368550/japan-finds-childs-body-island-possibly-missing-boy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368550/japan-finds-childs-body-island-possibly-missing-boy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 14:25:32 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A South Korean university has embedded graduation photos with anti-deepfake technology to prevent a repeat of a scandal two years ago, when portraits of female graduates were used to create sexually explicit manipulated images. Seoul National University’s (SNU) use of StealCut Protect, created by a start-up founded by SNU alumni, marked the first time it was used for a university graduation album in the country, The Korea Herald reported. StealCut provided the technology to SNU free of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368396/invisible-pixels-protect-south-korean-graduates-photos-deepfake-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368396/invisible-pixels-protect-south-korean-graduates-photos-deepfake-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 10:10:03 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma The United States, Japan and South Korea agreed to resist “economic coercion” and emphasised the need for stability in the Taiwan Strait, taking an implicit shot at China just days before President Xi Jinping’s White House summit. The three countries plan new talks on economic security and enhancements to a trilateral supply chain early warning system, according to a statement issued after a meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and counterparts Toshimitsu Motegi of Japan and Cho... https://www.scmp.com/plus/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368381/us-tightens-japan-south-korea-ties-ahead-trump-xi-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368381/us-tightens-japan-south-korea-ties-ahead-trump-xi-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:07:00 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Residents of a wide swathe of eastern Japan were picking up the pieces on Tuesday after Typhoon Dujuan tore through the area the previous day, causing extensive flooding, landslides, power outages, flight cancellations and at least four deaths. Nearly 2 million people were instructed to evacuate their homes in low-lying coastal areas, or be prepared to move at short notice, after the Japan Meteorological Agency had warned that the typhoon posed an “imminent threat to life”. While the evacuation... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368348/japan-begins-clean-after-typhoon-dujuan-kills-4-batters-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368348/japan-begins-clean-after-typhoon-dujuan-kills-4-batters-east?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 06:51:54 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo Inside a brightly lit cleanroom at Chungbuk Semiconductor High School in South Korea, a group of teenagers in head-to-toe protective suits carefully handled silicon wafers, learning the same production processes used in commercial chip plants. About half of the school’s graduates head straight to large companies such as Samsung Electronics or SK Hynix without ever setting foot in a university classroom. The scene illustrates how South Korea’s semiconductor boom is beginning to challenge the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368347/who-needs-degree-south-koreas-chip-boom-rewires-university-obsessed-culture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368347/who-needs-degree-south-koreas-chip-boom-rewires-university-obsessed-culture?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 06:49:30 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall More than 200 Japanese companies still operating in Russia face growing uncertainty following Moscow’s seizure of three Western firms’ assets, amid deteriorating diplomatic relations. The Kremlin announced on Friday that the assets of Swiss food giant Nestlé, French retailer Auchan and home improvement chain Lemana Pro had been transferred to Russian entity LEV Management under a decree signed a day earlier by President Vladimir Putin. “These are unfriendly nations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368248/moscows-asset-seizures-unnerve-japanese-companies-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368248/moscows-asset-seizures-unnerve-japanese-companies-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:17 +0000 Kang Jun-young Kang Jun-young The September 24 summit between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump is no ordinary engagement. Their May summit took place in Beijing and largely centred on economic issues. This one will be on Trump’s home turf and is expected to put strategic questions on the table. Will the Korean peninsula and North Korea’s nuclear programme again be pushed to the margins? In Beijing, both sides focused on their immediate national interests, such as trade, semiconductors, rare earths and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3367602/why-trump-xi-summit-must-put-korean-peninsula-back-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3367602/why-trump-xi-summit-must-put-korean-peninsula-back-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 21:30:05 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A 3.5-metre-long shark that wandered into a Busan waterfront channel has become an unlikely internet celebrity in South Korea, drawing nearly 20,000 spectators over the weekend as authorities opted to leave the animal alone rather than risk provoking it. The shark was first spotted on Friday in the waterway at North Port Waterfront Park, where it has remained for at least four consecutive days despite repeated efforts by the public to catch a glimpse of it. South Korea’s National Institute of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3368283/south-korea-gets-new-internet-star-busan-shark-sighting-goes-viral?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3368283/south-korea-gets-new-internet-star-busan-shark-sighting-goes-viral?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 12:53:18 +0000 Nong Hong Nong Hong Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington this week, after the May talks in Beijing and before the November Apec summit in Shenzhen. This sequence of diplomacy will test if the commitment to building a “constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability” translates into practical arrangements. The Washington meeting faces clear limits. Differences over trade, technology, industrial policy, Taiwan and regional security are deeply embedded in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3368013/success-trump-xi-summit-lies-what-happens-afterwards?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3368013/success-trump-xi-summit-lies-what-happens-afterwards?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 12:30:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse More than 1 million people were under evacuation advisories in Japan early on Tuesday and hundreds of flights have been cancelled as Typhoon Dujuan brushed past Tokyo, bringing torrential rain, flooding and landslides to the region. Four people have been confirmed dead as heavy rainfall triggered landslides in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures near Tokyo, local governments reported according to Japanese media including the Kyodo News agency. Japan often sees strong typhoons in the late summer and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368271/over-16-million-japan-urged-evacuate-typhoon-dujuan-nears-tokyo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368271/over-16-million-japan-urged-evacuate-typhoon-dujuan-nears-tokyo?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 10:44:38 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk South Korea has surpassed its 2027 target of attracting 300,000 international students a year ahead of schedule, and universities must now find ways to retain and develop them, a new rankings assessment has shown. First launched last year and described as the country’s most internationalisation-focused assessment to date, The Korea Times University Rankings assess institutions on seven indicators, including the ratio of exchange and international students to total enrolment, diversity of the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3368268/south-korea-beats-foreign-student-target-struggles-keep-them?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3368268/south-korea-beats-foreign-student-target-struggles-keep-them?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 10:30:36 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A Japanese woman was left unable to breathe on her own after a veteran surgeon mistakenly removed healthy tissue instead of a benign tumour from her brain. Kyoto University Hospital apologised for the medical error and vowed to take measures to prevent similar incidents, local news outlet TV Asahi reported. The woman, in her fifties, was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour after consulting doctors for dizziness and unsteadiness. Although she was able to carry out her daily activities, she... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368212/japanese-surgeon-removes-healthy-brain-tissue-leaving-woman-ventilator?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368212/japanese-surgeon-removes-healthy-brain-tissue-leaving-woman-ventilator?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 05:55:03 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Three South Korean military officers were injured in an explosion during an operation near the heavily mined border with North Korea, Seoul’s military said Monday. The incident occurred south of the military demarcation line inside the demilitarised zone (DMZ), one of the world’s most heavily fortified and mined frontiers. Two of the injured officers were evacuated by helicopter, while a third was due to be transported by road before being airlifted, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. It was... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368200/suspected-landmine-blast-injures-south-korean-soldiers-dmz?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368200/suspected-landmine-blast-injures-south-korean-soldiers-dmz?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 03:53:39 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo Japan’s Environment Ministry is stepping up measures against longhorn beetles that are devouring cherry trees, with a request for 6.7 billion yen (US$43 million) to counter invasive species in the next financial year’s initial budget. According to the ministry, the requested amount, which is an increase of 11 times the initial budget of 600 million yen for the 2026 financial year, will be used to eradicate the red-necked longhorn beetle and strengthen measures to protect trees, including plum... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368191/japan-asks-us43-million-weed-out-cherry-tree-devouring-longhorn-beetle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368191/japan-asks-us43-million-weed-out-cherry-tree-devouring-longhorn-beetle?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 02:46:05 +0000 Reuters Reuters Europe faces a fourth-quarter jet fuel deficit, even as it turns to far-flung suppliers including South Korea, which is set to boost its jet exports to Europe to a four-year high in September, according to analysts and shipping data. The continent has been importing more jet fuel from nations including Nigeria, the United States and Canada since the outbreak of the Iran war over half a year ago, which hit Middle Eastern supplies and cut off around half of Europe’s jet imports. Europe remains... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368183/south-korea-steps-plug-europes-jet-fuel-deficit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368183/south-korea-steps-plug-europes-jet-fuel-deficit?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:59:26 +0000 Gabriela Bernal Gabriela Bernal The recent opening of a new road bridge between North Korea and Russia may look like a modest infrastructure project. In reality, the 1km stretch across the Tumen River carries implications far beyond the movement of vehicles between two border towns. For China, it is a reminder that its influence over North Korea is no longer as secure as it once appeared and that Russia may be increasingly capable of challenging Beijing’s interests on its northeastern periphery. The bridge, inaugurated on... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3367489/new-north-korea-russia-bridge-delivers-powerful-message-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3367489/new-north-korea-russia-bridge-delivers-powerful-message-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 12:30:04 +0000 Reuters Reuters North Korea fired two missiles off its eastern coast on Sunday, its second set of tests in roughly a week and days after Pyongyang accused the US of driving tensions on the Korean peninsula through a series of military drills. Nearly three ‌hours after launching a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) towards the East Sea, or Sea of Japan, on Sunday afternoon, North Korea ‌fired a similar missile, according to South Korea’s defence ministry. If the subsequent launch is confirmed to be a ballistic... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368160/north-korea-fires-two-missiles-three-hours-amid-tensions-over-us-drills?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368160/north-korea-fires-two-missiles-three-hours-amid-tensions-over-us-drills?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 11:25:27 +0000 Hao Nan Hao Nan The prospect of United States, Chinese and Russian leaders meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Shenzhen this November has revived the Yalta analogy. Talk of a Trump-Xi-Putin summit – echoing the 1945 meeting that reshaped the world – surfaced during the first Trump term, and speculation returned last year with the 80th anniversary of the second world war. No such meeting occurred. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted the two presidents back-to-back in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3367866/middle-powers-dont-have-wait-trump-xi-putin-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3367866/middle-powers-dont-have-wait-trump-xi-putin-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Fears that advanced artificial intelligence could wipe out humanity have dominated global headlines, but in Japan the technology is being used for a sweeter purpose – developing never-before-seen convenience store desserts. For customers tired of the usual egg sandwiches and rice balls, major chains are turning to AI to develop products, including some unexpected flavours. Lawson, one of the country’s biggest convenience store operators, said on Tuesday it would roll out three new food items,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368085/pickle-flavoured-tart-anyone-japanese-convenience-stores-turn-ai-novelty-sweets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368085/pickle-flavoured-tart-anyone-japanese-convenience-stores-turn-ai-novelty-sweets?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 03:53:04 +0000 The Korea Times The Korea Times South Korea’s Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won withdrew his nomination on Saturday following allegations concerning his involvement in a Covid-19 treatment and approval of its clinical trials. “After much deliberation, I decided to step down as the nominee for minister of the justice ministry. I apologise for failing to live up to your expectations,” Kim said during a press conference at the National Assembly. Kim, who said he did not want to add any burden to Lee Jae Myung’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368088/south-korea-justice-minister-nominee-withdraws-over-covid-19-drug-trial-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3368088/south-korea-justice-minister-nominee-withdraws-over-covid-19-drug-trial-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 03:17:15 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan’s wartime kamikaze pilots remain among the most recognisable symbols of the Pacific war: young men flying aircraft into Allied ships on missions from which they were not expected to return. Far less well-remembered are the fukuryu – suicide frogmen trained in the closing months of World War II to walk into the sea with mines on bamboo poles, then wait beneath the waves for an Allied invasion fleet. Kanade Hamamoto was one of many Japanese people who had never heard of them, despite... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368036/crouching-dragons-suicide-divers-japan-never-sent-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3368036/crouching-dragons-suicide-divers-japan-never-sent-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 01:30:08 +0000 David D. Lee David D. Lee In Silicon Valley and beyond, the architects of artificial intelligence are increasingly warning about the risks it poses to humanity. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei wants the industry to slow down. A former engineer at his company, who also worked at its rival OpenAI, told reporters after quitting earlier this month that he was “genuinely frightened” unchecked AI development might mean “we could all die in the immediate future”. Even Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist known... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368031/south-korea-wants-free-ai-all-society-ready-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368031/south-korea-wants-free-ai-all-society-ready-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 00:00:14 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim Singapore Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing’s use of Mandarin and Chinese philosophy in his speech at a major security forum in Beijing has won him praise on Chinese social media, while shedding light on how cultural familiarity and language can be diplomatic tools for the city state. Videos of Chan at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum quoting ancient philosopher Mencius, or Mengzi in Mandarin, have gone viral on platforms such as Weixin and Baidu, with users hailing his command of the language and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368046/singapore-minister-chan-chun-sings-mandarin-diplomacy-strikes-china-chord?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368046/singapore-minister-chan-chun-sings-mandarin-diplomacy-strikes-china-chord?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:41:36 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has drawn a clear line against any US request for Seoul to join the war against Iran, explicitly ruling out the dispatch of troops or military assets that could involve his country in the conflict. The stance comes amid mounting public opposition to any military deployment and growing pressure from Washington for Seoul to contribute to efforts to secure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Lee’s government faces the difficult task of balancing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367993/south-koreas-president-rejects-us-request-iran-war-support?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367993/south-koreas-president-rejects-us-request-iran-war-support?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2026 08:26:24 +0000 Glyn Ford Glyn Ford It is clear that US President Donald Trump is pushing hard for a fresh summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the coming months. To achieve that, he appears prepared to downgrade and jeopardise the US-South Korea alliance, as seen in his recent move to scale back joint military exercises. For Trump, this will be a purely bilateral exercise, with both Seoul and Beijing totally sidelined, let alone Moscow and Tokyo. Equally, there is now a general acceptance that the issue of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3367471/new-trump-kim-summit-would-be-nightmare-everyone-pyongyang?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3367471/new-trump-kim-summit-would-be-nightmare-everyone-pyongyang?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:30:06 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Russia is increasingly mobilising North Korean workers to build military drones for use against Ukraine in defiance of international sanctions, giving Pyongyang a key source of revenue to fund its unlawful weapons programmes, according to a report by the US and its allies. Up to 25,000 North Koreans were believed to be working in Russia’s drone industry, including at facilities in Alabuga, Tatarstan, where unmanned aerial vehicles were assembled, the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team said... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367833/russia-employs-north-koreans-build-drones-ukraine-war-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367833/russia-employs-north-koreans-build-drones-ukraine-war-report?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 06:37:36 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Okinawa has handed a landslide victory to a conservative who accepts Tokyo’s plans for relocating a controversial US airbase – delivering a blow to 12 years of anti-base politics in Japan’s southernmost prefecture. Genta Koja’s victory on Sunday over two-term governor Denny Tamaki raised a question cutting to the heart of Okinawa’s post-war politics: is it finally starting to move on from the US military base issue? Koja, a 42-year-old conservative backed by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367712/japans-okinawa-finally-moving-past-anti-base-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367712/japans-okinawa-finally-moving-past-anti-base-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 03:00:08 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong North Korea’s decision to send a record delegation to the 2026 Asian Games in Japan could serve as a calculated opening for limited diplomacy with Washington and Tokyo, even as major obstacles to formal talks remain. State media reported on Wednesday that a delegation led by Kim Il-guk, North Korea’s sports minister, had left for Japan to attend the Games. The 20th Asian Games are being held in Nagoya and surrounding Aichi prefecture and run from Saturday to October 4. North Korea’s 180-strong... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367736/north-korea-japans-asian-games-sports-diplomacy-or-propaganda-stunt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367736/north-korea-japans-asian-games-sports-diplomacy-or-propaganda-stunt?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 01:30:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said on Thursday that the country’s nuclear-armed status was “absolute”, calling those hoping for its denuclearisation “idiots”. North Korea has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear weapons state, with its leadership declaring the country’s nuclear arsenal permanent and irreversible. US President Donald Trump recently said Pyongyang possessed 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons, with Seoul putting the figure at between 80 and 120. “The... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367785/only-idiots-expect-north-korea-give-nuclear-weapons-kim-yo-jong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367785/only-idiots-expect-north-korea-give-nuclear-weapons-kim-yo-jong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:33:54 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s invitation for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to visit Kyiv has created a diplomatic dilemma for the Japanese leader, who is under pressure to show firmer support for Ukraine without further antagonising Russia. Zelensky extended the invitation through Eisuke Mori, speaker of Japan’s House of Representatives, during his visit to the Ukrainian capital earlier this week. Mori, who helped establish the cross-party Japan-Ukraine parliamentary friendship group... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367750/will-takaichi-visit-kyiv-zelenskys-invite-puts-japan-pm-diplomatic-bind?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367750/will-takaichi-visit-kyiv-zelenskys-invite-puts-japan-pm-diplomatic-bind?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:15 +0000 Daisy Wu Daisy Wu Hong Kong has retained its status as Asia’s top financial hub for a fourth consecutive edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), even as many of the world’s leading centres saw their scores slip slightly amid rising geopolitical headwinds. The city also ranked third globally in the 40th edition of the twice-yearly report, released on Wednesday amid a remarkably tight race at the top of global finance. Hong Kong scored 756, just one point behind London and a point ahead of Singapore.... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3367656/hong-kong-rated-asias-top-financial-hub-4th-straight-year-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3367656/hong-kong-rated-asias-top-financial-hub-4th-straight-year-report?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2026 06:00:06 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A South Korean crime lord convicted of murder in the Philippines reportedly planned to escape prison by strapping himself to a drone – until his own accomplice’s rehearsal footage gave the game away. Park Wang-yeol, 47, was sentenced in 2022 to 60 years behind bars for the killing of three South Koreans in a sugar cane field outside Bacolod City in 2016, a crime that earned him the nickname “sugar cane field killer”. The drone-assisted escape plot was planned for earlier this year, in the weeks... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367673/south-korean-killers-drone-escape-philippine-prison-foiled-test-footage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3367673/south-korean-killers-drone-escape-philippine-prison-foiled-test-footage?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2026 05:10:05 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Koukyo Yoneta, a fifth-generation Buddhist priest in a small town in Japan’s Hokkaido, was struggling to keep up with the maintenance needs of his century-old temple, so he chose a path that would have been unthinkable for his predecessors – rather than wait for his congregation to give money they do not have, he invested what they had already donated. The move paid off. Within two years, his portfolio of US treasuries, Japanese real estate investment trusts and stocks including BYD and Hyundai... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367667/japanese-monks-embrace-material-world-raise-cash-donations-shrink?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367667/japanese-monks-embrace-material-world-raise-cash-donations-shrink?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2026 04:30:45 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Seoul court ordered Pyongyang on Wednesday to pay roughly US$32.5 million for blowing up in 2020 an office in North Korea that was intended to foster relations between the two Koreas, Yonhap news agency reported. The lawsuit over the destruction of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office marks the first time the South Korean government has sought damages directly from the North, according to media reports. South Korea’s previous conservative government, led by former president ‌Yoon Suk-yeol, filed... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367655/south-korean-court-orders-pyongyang-pay-us325m-destroying-border-office?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367655/south-korean-court-orders-pyongyang-pay-us325m-destroying-border-office?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2026 02:23:49 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retained many of her Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) executives on Wednesday, in her first reshuffle since taking the helm of the ruling party about a year ago. Takaichi kept the influential former prime minister Taro Aso as vice-president and his brother-in-law, Shunichi Suzuki, as secretary general, as she seeks to maintain continuity ahead of what is likely to be a packed legislative agenda into the end of the year. Policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi was... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367650/japans-takaichi-opt-stability-first-reshuffle-taking-over-ldp?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367650/japans-takaichi-opt-stability-first-reshuffle-taking-over-ldp?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:51:20 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo A Japanese court on Tuesday sentenced a 52-year-old man to five years in prison and fined him 1 million yen (US$6,500) for forcing a 12-year-old Thai girl to provide sexual services at his private-room massage parlour in Tokyo. The Tokyo District Court found Masayuki Hosono guilty of violating the child welfare law, saying the owner of the establishment had created a disorderly workplace environment and failed to verify the girl’s age. Prosecutors had sought a six-year prison term and a 2... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367634/japan-jails-man-forcing-thai-girl-12-sex-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367634/japan-jails-man-forcing-thai-girl-12-sex-work?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Sep 2026 14:28:50 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Iceland’s move towards a whaling ban could leave Japan more exposed than ever as it defends an industry critics say relies on public money, political symbolism and a shrinking domestic appetite for whale meat. The Icelandic government has announced plans to submit a bill early next year to end whaling – a step that would leave Japan and Norway as the world’s only two nations still carrying out commercial hunts. For environmental campaigners, the move has renewed hopes that Japan will no longer... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3367475/icelands-whaling-ban-plan-threatens-leave-japan-alone-defending-industry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3367475/icelands-whaling-ban-plan-threatens-leave-japan-alone-defending-industry?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:13 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Two top executives at Japanese nuclear plant operator Chubu Electric Power would step down following a quake data-tampering scandal, the company said in a statement on Monday. President Kingo Hayashi and Chairman Satoru Katsuno would be replaced, the statement said, and the firm would withdraw applications to restart the Nos 3 and 4 reactors at Chubu’s Hamaoka nuclear plant. Japan is moving to revive nuclear power 15 years after an enormous earthquake and tsunami sent reactors at the Fukushima... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367418/japans-chubu-electric-bosses-resign-over-quake-data-tampering-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367418/japans-chubu-electric-bosses-resign-over-quake-data-tampering-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 06:11:37 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s 36-year-old gender minister nominee stepped down before gaining confirmation of her position amid a public backlash over her suitability for the job in the latest negative fallout from the president’s cabinet reshuffle. Yong Hye-in, a lawmaker of the minor Basic Income Party, pulled out of consideration for the position on Sunday after controversy erupted over her insistence that she would not give up her parliamentary seat while serving in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367394/south-korean-presidents-cabinet-reshuffle-hits-new-snag-gender-minister-nominee-quits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367394/south-korean-presidents-cabinet-reshuffle-hits-new-snag-gender-minister-nominee-quits?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 04:33:36 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A little cheer rose for 79-year-old Hwang Sun-hee after she managed to place an online order at a training session in South Korea, which has one of the world’s starkest digital divides for seniors. Age gaps in digital literacy are a global concern, yet the gulf has widened massively in the hyper-connected and fast-ageing country, prompting national campaigns to bridge it. “You can’t do anything without smartphone apps or a kiosk machine ... It’s too much for old folks,” Hwang said at a senior... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367383/south-koreas-grey-digital-divide-leaves-seniors-pleading-help?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367383/south-koreas-grey-digital-divide-leaves-seniors-pleading-help?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 03:13:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press North Korea said on Monday it conducted a joint live-fire drill involving missiles, artillery and drones that it claimed showed “huge destructive power”. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Saturday’s drill was meant to get familiar with the procedure for the operation of the integrated firepower control system. South Korea’s military earlier said it detected short-range ballistic missile launches from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area on Saturday morning. After observing... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367382/north-korea-tests-weapons-capable-striking-south-korea-huge-destructive-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367382/north-korea-tests-weapons-capable-striking-south-korea-huge-destructive-power?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 02:59:18 +0000 Junaid Kathju Junaid Kathju Bangladesh’s tilt towards China has added a new dimension to security and trade in South Asia, signalling what observers see as Dhaka’s desire to be a strategic actor in the region and ease its overreliance on India. The hedging policy comes after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in 2024 amid a student-led uprising. Under an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, and then the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) after it came to power in February, the country’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367248/bangladesh-draws-closer-china-political-chessboard-balance-india-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367248/bangladesh-draws-closer-china-political-chessboard-balance-india-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Sep 2026 08:00:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters Coffee bars. Water parks. Retail therapy. ⁠North Korea – a country few would associate with leisure or pleasure – is experiencing an ⁠unlikely outbreak of fun. Leader Kim Jong-un, himself no stranger to indulgence, is orchestrating new ways for his citizens to spend ⁠their wealth. North Korea’s imports of massage equipment have surged 40-fold over the past decade, according to Chinese customs data. Treadmill shipments jumped over 600 per cent. Pianos and even bumper cars are pouring in, too. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367279/foie-gras-puppies-water-parks-north-korea-gets-glow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3367279/foie-gras-puppies-water-parks-north-korea-gets-glow?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Sep 2026 05:09:27 +0000