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April 01, 2025
 

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Josh Smith
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 24, 2019
Putin-Kim summit sends message to U.S. but sanctions relief elusive for North Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time this week at a symbolic summit hoping to project himself as a serious world player but likely to come away without a relief from crushing sanctions he seeks.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Mar 7, 2019
Secret science of 'Lenin lab' keeps dead communist leaders looking fresh in North Korea and Vietnam
Perhaps none of the communist legacies shared by Vietnam and North Korea highlighted during Kim Jong Un's "goodwill visit" to Hanoi is stranger than the embalmed leaders on display in their capitals — and the secretive team of Russian technicians who keep the bodies looking ageless.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Mar 1, 2019
Burden falls back on diplomats after Trump and Kim fail to reach deal on North Korea nuclear arms
The failure of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to secure even a limited deal at their second nuclear summit means any breakthrough now depends on working-level talks that have made little progress since last year.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 21, 2018
North Korea's box of bones: A mythical king and the dream of Korean unification
It's the stuff of an Indiana Jones movie: supernatural kings, ancient tombs, and government-backed archaeologists striving to harness the power of legend for a greater cause.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 15, 2018
Safety and verification questions hang over North Korea's plan to close nuclear site
Shutting down North Korea's nuclear test site is trickier than it might seem.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 8, 2018
Focus on human rights fades as U.S. and South Korea pursue North Korea deal
Absent from the recent summit between the leaders of North and South Korea was Pyongyang's human rights record, and the issue appears to have faded from U.S. President Donald Trump's public agenda as he prepares for his own meeting with Kim Jong Un.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Mar 29, 2018
How will Kim tell his country he's ready to give up nuclear arms?
State media calls North Korea's nuclear weapons a "treasured sword of justice."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Feb 24, 2018
'Peace Games' are no game-changer for South Koreans
South Korea's self-styled "Peace Games" have been a sporting success, but public reaction suggests Seoul may have failed its bigger test — to generate the support the president needs to make bold moves to improve ties with old enemy North Korea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 10, 2018
The challenge of turning inter-Korean thaw into longer-term detente
A day of smiles and jokes at the first inter-Korean talks in two years quickly evaporated Tuesday night when the North's chief negotiator threatened to walk out after the South Korean side brought up Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 22, 2017
Inside Kim Jong Un's inner circle, top aides' fates shift
When Kim Jong Un sat down in September to order the sixth and largest of North Korea's nuclear tests, Hwang Pyong So sat by his side, his khaki military uniform conspicuous among the suits at the table, photos released by state media at the time showed.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Nov 9, 2017
Trump's tone during visit to Seoul largely reassures South Koreans
By the time U.S. President Donald Trump departed Seoul on Wednesday, the sometimes bellicose leader seemed to have mollified South Koreans, who had been bracing for more confrontational rhetoric over North Korea, trade, and defense spending.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

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