North Korea
North Korea's unlikely economic revival reshapes life in Pyongyang as Russia and China deepen support
Pariah no longer, since the war in Ukraine started, Russian and Chinese money has poured into Pyongyang, fuelling a rapid economic development and unexpected real estate boom in a country better known for repression and poverty.
North Korea launches new naval destroyer, plans for two warships a year
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said a programme to equip the navy with nuclear weapons was proceeding according to plan.
COMMENT: Iran war shows why Asia must quit fossil fuels
Across Asia, governments are now accelerating approvals for renewable projects and grid modernisation schemes. Battery storage investments are making headlines almost daily.
Asia welcomes Iran-US breakthrough, but caution remains
The tentative peace agreement between the United States and Iran has been greeted with a mixture of relief and caution across much of East and Southeast Asia, a region that has borne more than its fair share of the economic fallout of late.
Former South Korean president sentenced to 30 years over North Korea drone case
The court found that Yoon ordered the operation in October 2024 with the aim of provoking Pyongyang and using the resulting tensions as a pretext for his declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024.
Inside the growing speculation around Kim Jong Un’s daughter as heir apparent
According to various intelligence sources, Kim Ju-ae is understood to be the daughter of Kim Jong Un and Ri Sol-ju, although North Korea has never formally confirmed her full biographical details.
Asia’s EV race speeds up as China’s champions challenge Tesla
As of mid-2026, China remains the centre of gravity in the EV world.
Asia’s coal comeback complicates energy transition across region
Taiwan has struggled to secure LNG supplies through May and finalised contracts covering roughly half of June demand, but additional procurement costs are expected to reach into the billions of US dollars to complete.
Fuel prices cast a dark shadow over Asia travel season
There will be no real winners in traditional tourism this summer – only airlines, tourist destinations and central banks left counting the cost.
North Korea changes constitution to trigger nuclear strike if decapitation of government attempted
North Korea has amended its constitution to codify an automatic nuclear response if its enemies attempt to decapitate the government and kill Kim Jong Un with a missile strike or snatch operation, according to South Korean intelligence.
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Has the Third World War started – in Asia?
As history has demonstrated many times to date, the ‘start’ of a world war is less a moment than a process, and Asia today is beginning to look uncomfortably similar to Europe of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Asian trade jitters spark fresh Malacca Strait monetisation push
The collapse of maritime stability in the Middle East has cast a long, overdue shadow over the busiest maritime chokepoint in Asia: the Strait of Malacca.
With Washington’s reliability shifting daily, Northeast Asia’s security order frays
US policy is increasingly variable, shaped by domestic politics, transactional needs, and at times which side of the bed its leader wakes up on.
Asia-Pacific defence spending hits post-2009 high as China-Taiwan tensions drive regional build-up
Military expenditure the Asia-Pacific region increased sharply in the last year, reaching a total of $681bn - an increase of 8.1% year on year and the largest annual expansion in military spending since 2009
Trump’s Iran gambit leaves APAC region ‘Quad’ dead in the water
The European Union has already, for all intents and purposes broken away from the US. It is only a matter of time before the Quad either ceases to function or decides to go its own way, without the US.
Iran war is pushing the CRINK alliance closer together, turning it into a military alliance
One of the upsets of the war in Iran has been to drive the members of the CRINK alliance (China, Russia, Iran and North Korea) into a closer military cooperation that is not in the West's interests.
ADB projects slower growth in all of Asia
According to an outlook forecast report by the Asian Development Bank, the broad Asia region including its many developing high growth economies are facing what can be best described as the most complex set of headwinds in years.