Politics

1 November 2025
APEC leaders stand for a group photo in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Nov. 1.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung shake hands ahead of a bilateral summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Nov. 1. (Yonhap)
International relations

China's Xi and South Korea's Lee highlight economic ties in first summit

Beijing and Seoul sign currency swap deal, but announce no progress on North Korea

1 November 2025
Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during a group photo shoot at the APEC summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Nov. 1, 2025.
International relations

Trump's early exit hands Xi the starring role at APEC

China is confident it is winning the narrative as a stable force over inconsistent US diplomacy

1 November 2025
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures during a military parade in Pyongyang, in this pictured released Oct. 11, 2025 by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. 
International relations

South Korea's Lee pledges to back a Trump-Kim summit

Progressive president invokes the spirit of Kim Dae-jung's 'Sunshine Policy'

1 November 2025
Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung meet for the first time on the red carpet in Gyeongju. (Yonhap)
International relations

South Korea's APEC: Xi makes 5 point proposal for inclusive globalization

Lee says that world order stands at 'turning point'; 'National interests may not always align'

31 October 2025
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Photos

Through the Lens: Trump's Asia-Pacific tour

A selection of photos from across Asia

31 October 2025
A U.S. Virginia-class attack submarine. President Donald Trump said South Korea could build nuclear submarines at American shipyards. (U.S. Navy/Huntington Ingalls Industries via Reuters)
Defense

Will Japan follow South Korea, Australia in nuclear submarine club?

Takaichi's government has shown openness to the idea

31 October 2025
INS Vikrant, India's first domestically built aircraft carrier, was made by Cochin Shipyard.
Transportation

India shipbuilders bet global ambitions on shift away from China

State-owned Cochin Shipyard receives more overseas orders amid New Delhi's push

31 October 2025
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, left, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung shake hands before a bilateral meeting on Oct. 30 in Gyeongju, South Korea.
International relations

Japan, South Korea leaders vow to foster 'future-oriented' relations

Japan Prime Minister Takaichi says first summit with Lee was 'warm' and 'enjoyable'

30 October 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Chinese President Xi Jinping as they hold a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the APEC forum, in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30.
Trade war

Trump cuts China fentanyl tariff to 10% as Xi delays rare-earth controls

At summit, Chinese president says 'reality demands' superpower friendship

30 October 2025
The South Korean navy's Shin Chae-ho, a KSS-III Dosan Ahn Changho class submarine, during a fleet review to mark the 80th anniversary of the navy's founding, in the waters off Busan on Sept. 26. South Korea's new subs will be built in the U.S. East Coast city of Philadelphia.
Defense

Trump says South Korea to build nuclear submarines in US shipyards

Lee says undersea ability will enable navy to track China's and North's subs

30 October 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, stands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju, South Korea on Oct. 29.
International relations

US and South Korea agree to trade deal at APEC summit

Seoul to provide $200 billion in cash investments for lower US tariffs

29 October 2025
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is hosting world leaders this week at the APEC forum, with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump all due in Gyeongju. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Yusuke Hinata, Ken Suzuki and Reuters) 
International relations

Trump and Xi supercharge South Korea's APEC: 5 things to watch

Lee Jae Myung faces diplomatic test as leaders gather in Gyeongju

29 October 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, center left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June 2019 in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.
Trump administration

Trump administration taps key envoy to Seoul seeking North Korea engagement

Kevin Kim becomes acting ambassador as US president floats Kim Jong Un meeting

29 October 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet on Oct. 30 in South Korea, ahead of the APEC Economic Leader's Meeting. (Reuters) 
Your Week in Asia

Trump-Xi meeting, APEC leaders summit, Japan Mobility Show

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

26 October 2025
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's administration is moving to reform a power structure seen as overly centralized.
Politics

South Korea to break up prosecutors' office wielded for retaliation

Lee administration's reform push aims to address centralization of power

25 October 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photo ahead of their bilateral meeting during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019.
US-China tensions

Trump to meet Xi in South Korea as part of Asia swing

US president says he will ask about fentanyl as 1st question

24 October 2025
Just days after her election as Japan's first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, seen here at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Oct. 21, is expected to leverage her political affiliation with her late predecessor, Shinzo Abe, to build a relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, who is visiting Japan next week. (Photo by Suzu Takahashi)
Policy Asia

Japan's Takaichi awaits Trump with economic security in spotlight

New PM to make her diplomatic debut with ASEAN trip; Abe 'lineage' seen strengthening US links

24 October 2025
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Aug. 25.
Trump tariffs

South Korea, US stuck on $350bn investment in tariff talks as APEC nears

Trump expects 'upfront' payment while Seoul eyes loan-based fund

24 October 2025
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump meet at the White House in Washington on Aug. 25. 
Opinion

Japan can learn from South Korea's defiance of Trump's $350bn shakedown

Seoul's counter punches expose limits of US president's economic coercion

17 October 2025
Container vessels at the Port of Oakland on the U.S. West Coast. The U.S. and China are introducing new fees on each other's shipping.
Trade war

US and Chinese port fees kick in at fraught bilateral moment

Shipping sector faces new challenge, while Washington and Beijing spar over wider issues

14 October 2025
China has announced tighter restrictions on exports of rare-earth elements, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to threaten 100% additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
US-China tensions

Trump on track to meet Xi in South Korea, Bessent says

Beijing says US 'cannot ask for talks' while 'threatening new restrictive measures'

14 October 2025
China’s Premier Li Qiang and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walk as they meet on the day of an event marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), in Pyongyang, North Korea, Oct. 9.
North Korea tensions

North Korean defector gives glimpse into tricky Russia, China ties

Ex-diplomat reveals divisions over Ukraine war, awkward 'blood alliance' with Beijing

10 October 2025
Washington's alliances with Japan and South Korea are not equally beneficial to the U.S., according to a report from a Washington think tank.
Indo-Pacific

Japan boosts US strategy, South Korea raises risk: Carnegie

Think tank audits value of America's alliances to compete with China

9 October 2025
Sanae Takaichi could meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping within weeks of becoming Japan's prime minister. (Photos from Reuters, Nikkei and Kyodo)
International relations

Japan's Takaichi poised for early diplomatic test with Trump, Xi summit chances

PM hopeful has little foreign relations experience but set for busy schedule

8 October 2025
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 23. 
Opinion

Syringes and solidarity: South Korea's Lee must not retreat on aid

Seoul should use home APEC summit to show world it can lead from the front

8 October 2025
From left: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump. Ahead of the expected release of the new U.S. National Defense Strategy, allies in Europe and Asia are increasingly concerned that Washington may announce a major shift in military focus. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)
Comment

Where will the US draw its defense line in East Asia?

Uncertainty over commitments to South Korea and Taiwan raises new strategic questions

5 October 2025
Sinan county is considered a prime location for South Korean offshore wind projects. (Sinan county)
Energy

South Korea's Lee doubles down on renewables, scraps 'nuclear zero'

Both energy sources deemed essential as electricity demand grows

3 October 2025
The U.S. Capitol dome is reflected on a glass door on the first day of a partial government shutdown in Washington on Oct. 1. 
Trump administration

Trump Asia visit preparations grind to halt with government shutdown

Malaysia, Japan, South Korea embassies watch Congress closely

2 October 2025
A masked agent wearing a Homeland Security Investigations vest is seen during a raid where about 300 South Koreans were arrested at the construction site for a Hyundai Motor battery plant in Georgia on Sept. 4. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/via Reuters)
Immigration

US to let South Koreans work at investment sites under temp visas

Move follows immigration arrests of hundreds at Hyundai battery plant in Georgia

1 October 2025