If you want to know how Koreans are reacting to the immigration raid at the battery plant in Georgia, a recent poll has 59.2% responding “I am greatly disappointed in the Trump administration” and 30.7% responding “I understand the Trump administration’s measures” www.realmeter.net/%eb%a6%ac%ec...

I'm stunned by this. In 2019 SEALs killed 2-3 North Korean civilians diving for shellfish and now it's in the NYT www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/u...

In June 1983, Xi Zhongxun, the father of Xi Jinping, hosted Kim Jong-il, the father of Kim Jong-un, in Beijing. They watched a performance by Peng Liyuan, who years later would marry Xi Jinping.

Kim Jong Un's daughter, Ju-ae, has apparently accompanied him on the visit to Beijing

N. Korea publicly announces leader's plan to attend China's Sept. military parade | Yonhap News Agency en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...

Asking if students have done the readings

Ah, the customary and highly symbolic presidential exchange of MAGA hats www.koreatimes.co.kr/photos/photo...

Very colorful Lee and Trump Q&A www.chosun.com/english/nati...

This is pretty dark stuff from Lankov: "achieving success in nuclear development will be difficult. But if it does not succeed, I doubt whether the Republic of Korea will have a long-term future" m.news.nate.com/view/2025082...

Lim Eul-chul, Kyungnam University: "North Korea is seeking to push the Lee Jae Myung administration into making a more drastic shift...by exerting maximum pressure...The key question is whether...[Lee-Trump summit] will show...greater diplomatic autonomy vis-a-vis the US”

Important piece on the abuse of migrant fishers in Taiwan by @michaelturton.bsky.social, who argues that the government has the power to do something about it—if they wanted to.

My new Pacific Review article explains why China’s economic & diplomatic coercion of South Korea over the USFK THAAD deployment had little—if anything—to do with protecting its nuclear deterrent www.tandfonline.com/eprint/PAWTC...

My new Pacific Review article explains why China’s economic & diplomatic coercion of South Korea over the USFK THAAD deployment had little—if anything—to do with protecting its nuclear deterrent www.tandfonline.com/eprint/PAWTC...

The details/quotes in this story are pure gold www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/pe...

This from prof of Chinese foreign policy at Kyung Hee University Jaewoo Choo in 2019 on South Korean progressives’ “pro-China approach” & “a more balanced US policy” helps contextualize the current Lee Jae Myung admin & progressive legislature (if you’re into that kind of thing)t kind of thing):

If you'd like to learn more about President Lee's policies towards China and Russia, you can check out @joelatkinson.bsky.social's and my appearance on KBS World from yesterday (episode from 07.08, at minute 8). world.kbs.co.kr/service/prog...

If you want to know why Chinese leader Xi Jinping (probably) talks about “great changes unseen in a century” with Putin and elsewhere—and you definitely should want to know why—I’ve got you covered thediplomat.com/2025/07/the-...

I explain why Xi Jinping’s signature “Great Changes Unseen in a Century” is likely derivative of a popular Chinese nationalist self-help book, Liu Mingfu’s “China Dream” (2010), which is riffing on a 1994 quote from Kissinger thediplomat.com/2025/07/the-...

I explain why Xi Jinping’s signature “Great Changes Unseen in a Century” is likely derivative of a popular Chinese nationalist self-help book, Liu Mingfu’s “China Dream” (2010), which is riffing on a 1994 quote from Kissinger thediplomat.com/2025/07/the-...

I wrote something for @aspi-org.bsky.social on why there's no political pathway for South Korea to develop nukes. Short answer: sure, there's popular support, but going nuclear requires a sustained bipartisan consensus, which isn't going to happen www.aspistrategist.org.au/why-south-ko...

I wrote something for @aspi-org.bsky.social on why there's no political pathway for South Korea to develop nukes. Short answer: sure, there's popular support, but going nuclear requires a sustained bipartisan consensus, which isn't going to happen www.aspistrategist.org.au/why-south-ko...

Sympathetic article drawing parallels between Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva www.hani.co.kr/arti/english...

New from me on South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's foreign policy prospects asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Sout...

First phone calls and summits with major powers by former South Korean presidents. Trump hasn't called Lee yet (who took office on June 4), nor has Xi

Ok not close and not going to be close

Wow, actually looking close with nearly 12% of votes counted

Lee Jae-myung leading Kim Moon-soo 51.7% to 39.3% in 8PM exit polls www.discoverynews.kr/news/article...

Kim Moon-soo (at 37.4) now within 9.3 points of Lee Jae-Myung (at 46.7). Lee Jun-seok is yellow at 9.3 (up 1.4 compared to Kim's +1.3 ad Lee Jae-myung's -2.1) www.hani.co.kr/arti/politic...

#China: Imprisoned writer #YangHengjun's letter from behind bars is a powerful expression of hope and defiance in the face of crushing repression. We continue to call for his immediate and unconditional release so that he can be reunited with his family ⬇️ www.pen-international.org/news/china-w...

The era of Lee Jae-myung has begun "지금은 이재명"

Xi has made a show of defying U.S. pressure and leaned into his self-styled image as a staunch steward of Chinese sovereignty. He has repeatedly expressed his belief that China will usher out the era of American dominance, a process aided by Western capitalist excess. www.wsj.com/world/china/...

Ethiopian airlines flight to Seoul nearly flew into Kashmir this morning h/t Tanvi Madan

Word on the street is that Kim Moon-soo will unify the candidacy behind former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo rather than vice versa www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/p...

Account of a North Korean hacker attempting to infiltrate a US-based cryptocurrency exchange: "Not all attackers break in, some try to walk through the front door" blog.kraken.com/news/how-we-...

"As our models become more capable and widely used, it’s important to define what ideal behavior actually looks like." openai.com/index/expand...

Hmmm, I have questions... Lee Jae-myung: "The law is an agreement by the people, and the will of the people is what is most important." m-en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...

Very interesting encapsulation of the Beijing-Pyongyang nuclearization dynamic from Thae Yong-ho's recently translated book "Passcode to the Third Floor"

Apple and others have been so stupid the stock market *should* go down: "Chinese authorities are delaying or blocking shipments of iPhone equipment to India without explanation" 9to5mac.com/2025/04/24/a...

Latest issue of free-to-access Journal of East Asian Affairs from South Korea’s Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS). (I am executive editor, with INSS Director Han Sukhee as publisher and Mason Richey as editor-in-chief). Submissions welcome, 1 million KRW honorarium.

Latest issue of free-to-access Journal of East Asian Affairs from South Korea’s Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS). (I am executive editor, with INSS Director Han Sukhee as publisher and Mason Richey as editor-in-chief). Submissions welcome, 1 million KRW honorarium.

A buddha's birthday lantern stupa

New open access article in @journalofgss.bsky.social on how China and Russia (similarly!) use economic sanctions. Using new data, I disaggregate 53 CN and 50 RU cases from 2000-23 to look at ~300 separate sanctions, examining 6 mechanisms of implementation and their dynamics. doi.org/10.1093/jogs...

Korean content accounts for 8-9 percent of total viewing hours on the platform, trailing only U.S. productions, which dominate with 56-59 percent www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainmen...

"In essence, the court rejected Yoon’s claims that the imposition of martial law was merely a warning to his political opponents, that it was within his presidential authority and that it followed a legitimate Cabinet process" www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/p...

Good article on what will happen after the court's announcement on Yoon's impeachment today n.news.naver.com/mnews/articl...

South Korea's Defense Counterintelligence Command has arrested a Chinese national on suspicion of bribing an active-duty soldier to leak classified information such as plans for Korea-U.S. joint exercises koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-04...

Can confirm these numbers, this is hilarious

"the U.S. has redirected multiple scarce air defense systems from South Korea to the Middle East, including two Patriot batteries and one Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery" www.defensenews.com/air/2025/04/...

Something weird on Weibo, as far as I can tell no one is talking/can talk about Trump putting tariffs on China and what impact that might have on China. It's all "global reciprocal tariffs" generalities or tariffs on any country you can think of except China

Breaking News: The Pentagon is set to brief Elon Musk on the U.S. military’s closely guarded plan for any potential war with China, officials said.