Breaking news: The British government said it was formally recognizing a state of Palestine, breaking sharply with the U.S. and reversing decades of unwillingness to accept Palestinians as a sovereign nation.

U.S. tariffs on Japanese autos formally cut to 15% from 27.5% in long-awaited implementation of July 22 agreement.

Some personal news: I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting. Thread incoming. substack.com/@karenattiah...

South Korea may seem an obvious place to be abuzz over “KPop Demon Hunters,” set in Seoul and steeped in the local sights, sounds and foods. But South Korean fans are fascinated because this quintessentially Korean movie is not from Korea. Gift link to my latest, a fun one: wapo.st/4mXEqul

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held a press conference and I had the opportunity to ask him about the Hyundai-LG plant raid in Georgia and the impacts on Korea’s future investments in U.S. He said the incident would make Korean companies “very hesitant” about making more direct investments.

South Korean officials press gaggle at the airport: -there was 1 pregnant detainee, she was seated in first class -none of the detainees displayed health problems, medical staff was in flight -Korean govt exploring psychological support -workers applauded out of relief when they took off from GA

The 316 South Korean workers and 14 non-Korean workers who were detained in Georgia in the ICE raid have now arrived at Incheon Airport. South Korean government officials are applauding for them as they get off the plane. (The workers have requested that the media not reveal their faces.)

President Trump temporarily suspended the repatriation of more than 300 South Korean workers home after the Hyundai-LG raid in Georgia to explore whether they could stay in the U.S. to educate and train American workers, South Korean officials said Thursday. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said during press conference that 316 Korean nationals (310 men, 6 women) are set to be released from the Georgia detention facility at 3pm. He also says that this incident would make Korean companies hesitant about investing in the U.S.

CNN Business analysis: South Korea just learned a deep lesson about dealing with Donald Trump edition.cnn.com/2025/09/09/b...

Love an Asian convenience store. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

The Hyundai immigration raid has sent shock waves across South Korea, a U.S. security ally that has this year pledged to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S. and is now balking at what many here view as the Trump administration’s bad-faith actions. Gift link: wapo.st/47trw2n

BREAKING: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says he is stepping down as party leader, therefore the prime minister of Japan. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has pledged “all-out efforts” to protect Korean nationals in the United States after a large-scale immigration raid at a Hyundai factory in Georgia, the country’s foreign minister said at an emergency meeting Saturday. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Whenever I read about plastics, I'm always horrified at how much we are affected by them and how harmful they are. Yet it's so hard to avoid them... www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

"The only thing harder than building and formalizing a deeply significant relationship with India is not having one. So, with no illusions, the United States and India should get to work." Kurt Campbell and Jake Sullivan in Foreign Affairs: www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

Thread:

Great stuff as always from @myhlee.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com on significance of Kim Jong Un's bring your daughter to the parade. It's a fascinating and important phenomenon in terms of gauging North Korea's future. Appreciate being able to add my 2 cents www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Kim Jong Un takes his daughter to China — and fuels succession chatter. Gift link: wapo.st/3JIaRhK

After the parade, Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin met in a bilateral meeting, Russian state media outlet Tass reported. The two leaders traveled there together in the same car, the Kremlin posted on Telegram. Putin told Kim his soldiers fought alongside Russians “courageously and heroically.”

As China holds its largest-ever military parade, Trump posts on Truth Social: "May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America."

Just remarkable. Putin and Kim flanking Xi walking into the parade in a highly coordinated entrance ceremony, looking chummy and chit-chatty.

The reality of North Korea punditry is that *very* few people *remotely* have an idea of what Kim Jong Un is up to, and even then, they haven’t had an informed take since probably 2019-20. Yet “experts” are asked to opine and speculate and it becomes headline news. Yes, the media fuels this, I know.

Remarkable moment, and the most high-profile sign yet of the potential next successor to the Kim family dynasty: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to be accompanied by his daughter, Ju-ae, on his visit to China, South Korea's spy agency said Tuesday. en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...

Train presumed to be transporting Kim Jong Un has pulled into Beijing, live footage shows. Kim, who rarely travels internationally, left Pyongyang yesterday in his transportation of choice — in a heavily armored, slow-moving train for 16-20 hours — for China's Victory Day military parade Wednesday.

More journalists have been killed in Gaza than in the US Civil War, WW I and II, the Korean War & the Vietnam War combined. In this special report, we detail the growing death toll among (mainly) Palestinian journalists and ask, has our silence enabled their slaughter? www.fccj.or.jp/number-1-shi...

What a sight. Now just add Kim Jong Un in there…

Kim Jong Un decided on Aug. 28, 2024, to deploy his troops to the Kursk liberation mission, a video released by the North's state media showed Sunday. It was shortly after Ukraine launched a surprise offensive into Russia's Kursk region about two weeks earlier. en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...

Kim Jong Un will attend a huge military parade in China next week, where he can admire the weapons his regime aspires to make. With Putin’s help, he’s making progress. Free link to my look at Kim Jong Un's weapons ambitions -- and how much he's achieved, thanks to Russia: wapo.st/3Jz1aSB

Just horrific news to wake up to today. We can't become inured to mass shootings. We just can't. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

Imagine the photo op with the three leaders. It’ll be only the second time Kim has left his country since covid — the first time was to Russia to meet Putin. And Kim’s first time in China since 2019.

Xi Jinping will welcome Kim Jong Un to the PRC for Sept 3 military parade. Putin will be there too. Good chance for Trump to get face-time with three key leaders in the region? More @nknewsorg soon.

Lee Jae Myung's Q&A with @csis.org's John Hamre is worth a read csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/...

Lee Jae Myung gifts to Trump: a golden turtle ship (Joseon Dynasty-era warship signifying South Korean shipbuilding), 5-iron engraved with Trump’s name, MAGA cowboy hats for the first couple, pen engraved with the South Korean flag

Trump meets with South Korean leader after public blast — gift link to our story on the summit: wapo.st/3Ht7PgD

Trump-Lee Oval Office meeting has begun. Lee really leaning into flattery. He compliments the gold decoration, Dow near-record highs, American "renaissance," America as peacemaker under Trump, hopes Trump starts diplomacy w/North Korea & builds Trump Tower there and Lee can play golf w/Trump there.

The bar for US-South Korea summit is not very high (for Lee Jae Myung), but the stakes are high for Lee politically. For weeks, I've heard from S.Korean officials worried about a "Zelensky moment," given Trump's views on trade deficit & defense spending. (And he's never been too fond of South Korea)

He is literally hearing about it for the first time as his staff briefs him ahead of the summit. Not great omen for the summit itself.

For the first time, North Korean state TV has shown its soldiers battling inside Ukraine. This came the same day it televised a ceremony where Kim Jong Un honored over 100 soldiers who were killed in the fighting.

Lee told reporters that "it is true" the United States has demanded "flexibility" of the USFK, but "this is not an issue we can easily agree with."

Japanese PM Ishiba has defied calls to step down, despite back-to-back electoral losses that cost his party its majority in parliament. But his approval rating is rising again and 57.5% of respondents said there's no need for him to resign, per new Kyodo News poll. mainichi.jp/english/arti...

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung signaled a restrained approach ahead of his Aug. 25 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, stressing that Seoul would not acquiesce to additional American demands on trade or security. www.chosun.com/english/nati...

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will meet President Donald Trump for their first summit Monday, with a deal to boost U.S. shipbuilding and cooperation front and center. My latest, from Ulsan, South Korea, home to the world's largest shipyard: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Canmore is truly beautiful 🗻

Wedding in Canada comes with late-night poutine bar to replenish calories burned during dancing 🇨🇦

On a layover in San Francisco en route back to Asia after a wedding weekend in Canada, and eavesdropping on small talk among strangers. Ah, American small talk. It’s been so long. I do miss it sometimes.

Love this so much

President Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will hold their first summit in Washington on Aug. 25, the South Korean presidential office said. Lee will depart for a three-day visit to the United States on Aug. 24. m-en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...

In May, 77% of D.C. residents were extremely or very concerned about him trying to take over D.C., according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll. Even more were concerned about Congress reducing D.C.'s budget www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Every story quoting Trump saying this is to "rescue our nation’s capital from crime" needs to note that violent crime in D.C. is down 26%, murders are down 12%, juvenile arrests are down 20%, and ask who will get hurt from a domestic military deployment and what this "crackdown" is really about