N. Korea’s Kim reaffirms relations with China in letter with Xi Jinping: KCNA Yonhap News Agency
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Asia Watch
GYEONGJU, SOUTH KOREA – NOVEMBER 1: South Korean President Lee Jae-myung speaks during an international press conference after the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit was concluded, in Gyeongju, South Korea, on November 1, 2025.
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South Korea is opposed to the U.S. moving air defense assets out of the country, but it is not in a position to make demands, President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday.
Lee briefed the cabinet that “The USFK may dispatch some air defense systems abroad in accordance with its own military needs. While we have expressed opposition, the reality is that we cannot fully push through our position.”
The Gen Z revolution of Nepal has now culminated with a sweeping victory for a new party led by former rapper Balendra Shah. His party is set to replace the ruling party of the past few decades, the Communist Party of Nepal. Shah’s party has won super majorities in both the direct-vote seats of the parliament as well as the proportional representation seats. The Communist Party has fallen from majority party status to fringe 3rd party status in this one election.
Nepal election 2026: Rapper Balendra Shah on track to be next PM as his party heads for landslide – BBC
Former rapper Balendra Shah’s party is on track for a landslide victory during following last week’s elections in Nepal.
It was announced on Saturday that Shah, 35, had unseated four-time prime minister KP Sharma Oli in Jhapa 5, a traditionally safe constituency for the 74-year-old’s Communist Party of Nepal (UML).
But his was not the only victory for his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).
These elections will choose 275 new representatives for Nepal’s lower house of parliament. Unlike parliamentary elections in countries like the UK, 165 of the seats are chosen directly while 110 are chosen by proportional representation (when seats in parliament correspond to total votes for each party).
Not all results are in yet, but so far Shah’s RSP has won 125 of the 165 direct-vote seats, and 58 of the 110 proportional representation seats.
In contrast, Oli’s party won eight of the direct-vote seats and 16 of the proportional representation seats at time of writing. A spokesman for the party called results “unexpected”.
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Election officials were counting votes Friday, a day after a parliamentary election in Nepal which was the first nationwide poll since a violent, youth-led uprising forced the former government from power in September.
The Election Commission said they had begun vote counting in 53 of the 165 constituencies by Friday morning, and expect to begin work in the remaining areas by the end of the day.
Some of the polling stations are high up in remote mountain villages, which are accessible only by days of hiking, leading authorities to arrange the transport of ballot boxes by helicopter to counting centers.
The U.S.-Israel war with Iran could disrupt supplies of key semiconductor manufacturing materials, a South Korean ruling party lawmaker said on Thursday, as the conflict in the Middle East entered its sixth day.
South Korea’s chip industry, which supplies around two-thirds of global memory chips, is also concerned that a prolonged conflict in Iran will lead to higher energy costs and prices, Kim Young-bae said after meeting with executives from companies such as Samsung Electronics 005930.KS and trade groups.
This election will test whether the country is ready for a new, untried generation to shape its future.
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Kathmandu, Nepal – As Nepal heads for a crucial parliamentary election on March 5, the Himalayan country’s established parties are fighting not just for votes, but also for legitimacy.
That legitimacy was challenged in September last year when thousands of young Nepalis hit the streets, demanding that an ageing old guard, which has dominated Nepal’s politics for two decades, step down.
A Cheongung missile launcher is displayed during the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2025) at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, on October 17, 2025.
South Korean defense stocks saw massive gains on Tuesday after the country’s markets returned from a public holiday, as the Iran war fuels interest in defense names globally.
Heavyweight Hanwha Aerospace, which is South Korea’s largest defense manufacturer, saw shares surge nearly 25%, before paring gains to about 13%, while Korea Aerospace Industries gained more than 12%, but cut those to 2.4%.
Shares in air defense systems maker LIG Nex1 soared 25%, while electronic warfare systems manufacturer Victek and anti-aircraft missile components’ maker Firstec saw shares rise more than 20% and 15%, respectively.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claimed his nuclear-armed country could “completely destroy” South Korea if its security were threatened, reiterating his refusal to engage with Seoul, state media said Thursday. However, he left the door open to dialogue with Washington as he concluded a ruling party congress outlining his policy goals for the next five years.
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Myanmar’s new Parliament is to convene next month for its first session after elections The Hindu
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For only the 9th time since the Kim’s took over North Korea in 1948, the Workers’ Party Congress convened. They affirmed Kim Jong-un as their supreme leader and promoted his sister, and right-hand lieutenant, Kim Jo-jong, from a deputy department director to a full department director.
Kim Jong-un’s sister takes major step up in North Korean leadership South China Morning Post
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The Workers’ Party Central Committee on Monday named Kim Yo-jong – previously a deputy department director – as a full department director, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
Thousands of party elites have packed the capital for a once-in-five-years summit of the ruling Workers’ Party, a gathering that directs state efforts on everything from diplomacy to war planning.
…
It is just the ninth time the Workers’ Party congress has convened under North Korea’s decades-spanning Kim rule.
South Korea’s takeover by their Democratic Party has launched the country towards a Chinese death spiral that was confirmed when the U.S. changed its defense agreement with the now-CCP-captured country. Now, an aerial dust-up between the U.S. and China has South Korea complaining about America’s presence, not China’s
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back issued a formal complain with the USFK commander, Army General Xavier Brunson. He was complaining about an incident that saw 10 U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcons entering South Korean and Chinese air defense identification zones. After it entered the space, China sent two fighter aircraft, resulting in what was only described as a “rare standoff.”
Seoul protests US-China fighter jet encounter over Yellow Sea, report says – Stars and Stripes
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South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense has lodged a complaint with U.S. Forces Korea over a brief standoff between American and Chinese fighter jets, according to local media. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back contacted the USFK commander, Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, after learning of Wednesday’s incident, the Yonhap News Agency reported Saturday. Gen. Jin Yong-sung, chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, also raised concerns with Brunson, said the report, which cited unnamed military sources. According to Yonhap, about 10 U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcons were training over the Yellow Sea when they entered an area between the air defense identification zones of South Korea and China. Beijing dispatched its own fighter aircraft in response, resulting in what Yonhap described as a “rare standoff,” though no clash occurred.
Bangkok offers to facilitate Myanmar ethnic talks without interference Thai PBS World
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Taiwan has told Washington that its proposal to move 40% of the island’s semiconductor supply chain to the U.S. was “impossible,” the country’s top tariff trade negotiator said in an interview.
Speaking on a local television broadcast Sunday, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun said she had made it clear to Washington that the country’s semiconductor ecosystem, built over decades, could not simply be relocated.
Taiwan’s international expansion, including its investments in the U.S., is predicated on the notion that the industry remains’ rooted in Taiwan and continues to expand domestic investments, she said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.
BEIJING: China’s President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin hailed their countries’ “stabilising” economic, political and security alliance in the face of “turbulent” times globally, as they spoke via video call on Wednesday (Feb 4).
Moscow and Beijing have sought to present a united front against the West, with ties deepening since Russia’s 2022 Ukraine offensive.
The call comes days after top officials from both countries agreed ties could “break new ground” this year as Moscow and Beijing ramp up economic cooperation.
Gen-Z leaders exerted pressure for appointment of specific individuals as ministers: Nepal Interim PM Karki lokmattimes.com
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‘CCP out’ chants echo through Seoul as anti-China protests grow Taipei Times
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South Korea’s ‘fake news’ law tests press autonomy Yahoo News UK
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The U.S. Defense Department has revealed in a National Defense Strategy release that it is shifting its policy in South Korea, now calling on the state to protect itself from conventional threats to the North. As this was revealed, the CCP-captured government amended their law to prohibit “fake news” publishing. They did so over numerous protestations, including the U.S., who may recognize South Korea is now becoming a liability, a problem, perhaps, for Japan.
US Defense Strategy Signals Shift in Korea Defense, Pushing Seoul to Lead The Diplomat – Asia-Pacific Current Affairs Magazine
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On January 23, the U.S. Defense Department released the unclassified National Defense Strategy (NDS), which marks a definitive shift in the South Korea-U.S. alliance. It explicitly states that Seoul must now take primary responsibility for countering North Korean conventional threats.
The document outlines a strategic pivot where the United States intends to focus its regional resources on deterring China, effectively limiting its role on the Korean Peninsula to “extended deterrence” – the nuclear umbrella meant to prevent an atomic strike. According to the NDS, while Washington has historically provided a wide safety net for South Korea’s defense, future support will move toward a more limited scope. The Pentagon’s assessment justifies this drawdown by asserting that South Korea possesses the capability to lead the deterrence of North Korean aggression, a move that pushes Seoul toward military self-reliance for its own conventional defense.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach includes a broader effort to husband American military assets for high-end conflicts with near-peer competitors like China and Russia, rather than maintaining the decades-old status quo of the armistice. For a sovereign nation like South Korea, which currently lacks wartime operational control (OPCON) and its own nuclear arsenal, this transition carries profound implications.
South Korea’s ‘fake news’ law tests press autonomy Yahoo News UK
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Kim Jong Un’s inspections grow harsher ahead of party congress upi.com
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Trump Hikes South Korea Tariffs, Praises U.S.-Japan Alliance 조선일보
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China and Russia agree to deepen military ties amid US strategy shift MillenniumPost
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Pragmatist To Lam to lead Vietnam’s Communist Party gulftoday.ae
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Uzbekistan’s Anti-corruption Emergency: What Comes After a Decade of Reform? The Diplomat – Asia-Pacific Current Affairs Magazine
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Myanmar, Russia pledge to deepen cooperation in agri sector Global New Light Of Myanmar
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has fired his vice premier and railed against “incompetent” officials in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory, state media said Tuesday.
Vice Premier Yang Sung Ho was sacked “on the spot”, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials”.
“Please, Comrade Vice Premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said.
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A South Korean court on Friday sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison on charges that included obstructing attempts by authorities to arrest him following his failed bid to impose martial law in December 2024.
The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of mobilizing the presidential security service to block authorities from executing an arrest warrant that had been legally issued by a court to investigate him for his martial law declaration.
North Korea’s Kim shakes up security detail amid ‘decapitation’ fears inkl
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