• East Asia

    Russia’s stake in North Korea

    Donald Kirk – The Korea Times We hear so much about China and Japan competing on and for the Korean peninsula, now and historically, that we overlook one other great Northeast Asian power. That would be Russia, which has a 17-kilometer border with North Korea as the Tumen River flows…

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  • East Asia

    Importance of next Korean president

    Tong Kim – The Korea Times As no major change on North Korean policy is likely during the remainder of the Park government or under a Hillary Clinton administration, it is critical for South Korea to elect the right person as next president in December 2017 to remove fear of…

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  • East Asia

    Normalization Process Between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan

    1 October 2016 was the most significant time for the relationship between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Firstly, the Uzbek side has opened its borders to the Kyrgyz delegation after several years and they made an announcement of “gesture of friendship” initiative. Kyrgyz delegation gladly accepted this tremendous invitation. The group of…

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  • East Asia

    Chinese companies to help Malaysia build deep sea port

    Three Chinese companies have been selected to help build a new deep-water port in the Strait of Malacca in Malaysia. The project is part of the Chinese government’s broader “belt and road” initiative. PowerChina International, Shenzhen’s Yantian Port Group and Rizhao Port Group have been selected to help a Malaysian…

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  • East Asia

    A joint statement between the China Writers Association and the Moroccan Writers Union

    As part of an agreement signed between the China Writers Association and the Moroccan Writers Union, a high-level delegation representing the Chinese organisation has paid a cultural visit to Morocco, which falls within the scope of strengthening the ties of friendly relations and cultural cooperation between the two Parties. During…

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  • East Asia

    Japan trading houses eye resuming Iran oil imports

    Japanese traders including Marubeni Corp. and Sumitomo Corp. that stopped buying Iranian oil during western sanctions are looking to resume imports, potentially by year-end, industry sources said, The Japan Times reported. Conservative Japanese firms have so far held off taking Iranian crude due to a lack of internationally acceptable insurance…

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  • East Asia

    Duterte awaits ‘soft landing’ on first state visit to Beijing

    Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who arrives in Beijing on Tuesday for his first state visit to China, said he agrees with Beijing’s call for peaceful settlement of the South China Sea issue. Duterte expects a “soft landing” in the dispute over the issue. He will visit China for four days.…

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  • East Asia

    BRICS should help lead world economy out of woods in time of uncertainty

    At a time when a strong and sustainable global recovery remains elusive, the BRICS nations should come even closer together and help lead the world economy out of the woods, just as they had done in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. Later this week, leaders of the…

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  • East Asia

    China’s organ donations increase by 50% in first three quarters of 2016

    China has processed 2,950 organ donations in the first nine months of this year, up 50 percent year on year, according to figures unveiled by the health authority on October 16, Xinhua reports. This exceeds the number undertaken in 2015, which stood at 2,766, the National Health and Family Planning…

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  • East Asia

    Phone revolution

    Foreign journalists love to take pictures of people on the streets of Pyongyang (preferably nice looking and smartly dressed women, of course) busily chatting over their mobile phones. Indeed, the penetration of North Korea by mobile technology as attracted much attention worldwide (not the least of which because mobile phones…

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