CNN – Asia/Pacific

By Tara Subramaniam and Eric Cheung, CNN Taiwan confirmed Tuesday that President Tsai Ing-wen will transit the United States en route to Central America at the end of the month, but there was no word on whether a highly anticipated meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will take place. Tsai will head to New

By Jessie Yeung and Teele Rebane, CNN Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has made a surprise trip to Ukraine to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — a day after Chinese leader Xi Jinping met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Kishida arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday afternoon local time, and also traveled to Bucha,

By Eric Cheung and Kathleen Magramo, CNN Taiwan’s former President Ma Ying-jeou will visit mainland China next week, the first such trip by a former Taiwanese leader since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Ma, a senior member of Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) opposition party, will be in mainland China between March 27

By Jonny Hallam, Kathleen Magramo and Yoonjung Seo, CNN North Korea must be ready to launch nuclear counter strikes at any time to deter war, state media quoted leader Kim Jong Un as saying on Monday, as he accused the United States and South Korea of expanding joint military drills near the country’s doorstep. Kim’s

By Sophia Saifi, CNN Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan marked his presence at a much-awaited court appearance on Saturday in the capital city of Islamabad, leaving after the scheduled proceedings. Clashes between supporters of Khan and the police broke out in Islamabad as Khan attempted to enter the capital’s High Court. Clashes also broke

By Junko Ogura, Emiko Jozuka, Tara Subramaniam, Yoonjung Seo and Heather Chen, CNN US strategic bombers took part in joint air drills with South Korean forces on Sunday, the same day as North Korea carried out a suspected ballistic missile test, according to the South Korean military. The exercise featured US B-1B strategic bombers, F-35A

By Heather Chen, Yoonjung Seo and Andrew Raine, CNN Shorter workweeks to boost employee mental health and productivity may be catching on in some places around the world, but at least one country appears to have missed the memo. The South Korean government was this week forced to rethink a plan that would have raised

By Eric Cheung, CNN Avai Yata’uyungana was just 12 when the soldiers dragged his father away to be executed. More than 70 years later, he remembers that feeling of helplessness, confusion and fear as if it were yesterday. “On that day, the military surrounded our family home,” recalled the retired schoolteacher, age 83. “The county

By Heather Chen, CNN With its balmy beaches, laid back lifestyles and holiday vibe, the tropical paradise of Bali has much to offer any world weary traveler — let alone those fleeing a war zone. So perhaps it should be no surprise that since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February

By Will Ripley, Junko Ogura and Natsumi Sugiura, CNN When Kentaro Yokobori was born almost seven years ago, he was the first newborn in the Sogio district of Kawakami village in 25 years. His birth was like a miracle for many villagers. Well-wishers visited his parents Miho and Hirohito for more than a week —

By Mindy Weisberger, CNN Sometimes newfound flower species are lurking where scientists least expect to see them — in parks, gardens and even in planters on balconies. That’s where researchers in Japan recently identified a new species of orchid, its pink-and-white blooms so delicate and fragile they look like they were spun from glass. The

By Chris Lau, CNN Japan has moved hundreds of troops, including missile units, into a new base built on a remote island near China and Taiwan as its seeks to bolster its defensive capabilities in the region. Up to 570 Ground Self-Defense Force members will be stationed at the newly established garrison on Ishigaki island

By Nectar Gan and Anna Chernova, CNN Chinese leader Xi Jinping will fly to Moscow next week to meet with President Vladimir Putin in his first visit to Russia since Putin launched his devastating invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago. The visit will be seen as a powerful show of Beijing’s support for

By Nectar Gan, Gawon Bae and Junko Ogura, CNN The leaders of South Korea and Japan promised to resume ties in a fence-mending summit — the first such meeting in 12 years — as the two neighbors seek to confront threats from North Korea and rising concerns about China. “From now on, I would like

By Kocha Olarn and Heather Chen, CNN Authorities in Thailand are scrambling to locate a metal cylinder with dangerous radioactive contents that went missing from a power plant this week, warning the public of serious health risks should they come across it. The revelation comes just two months after Australia was forced to launch a

By Gawon Bae, CNN North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile early Thursday, the same day leaders from the two US allies were due to meet in Tokyo for the first such summit in 12 years. The missile was fired into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula early Thursday morning local

By Tara Subramaniam and Junko Ogura, CNN A YouTube star who became a Japanese lawmaker has been stripped of his role after he failed to show up for a single day of work in parliament. At a plenary session on Wednesday, Japan’s parliament expelled Yoshikazu Higashitani for his continued absence, the first time it has