https://www.scmp.com/rss/517944/feed Lee Min-Yong is a visiting professor in the School of Global Service at Sookmyung Women’s University, South Korea and a former adviser (foreign affairs and national security) to the Presidential Office of the Republic of Korea. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Lee Min-Yong Lee Min-Yong At the recent South Korea-China summit, both sides agreed to improve dialogue, rebuild trust and promote regional peace and stability, marking a first step towards a normalisation of relations. While the Beijing meeting produced no concrete agreement for peace on the Korean peninsula, it reaffirmed the peninsula’s stability and peace as a common interest – paving the way for cooperation. The prolonged stalemate over North Korea’s nuclear programme is no longer just a diplomatic impasse. The... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3338207/denuclearisation-stalls-china-will-shape-stability-korean-peninsula?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3338207/denuclearisation-stalls-china-will-shape-stability-korean-peninsula?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jan 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Lee Min-Yong Lee Min-Yong The Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting is just over a month away. Hosted in the ancient Korean capital of Gyeongju, the summit will bring together leaders from the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. With both the US and Chinese presidents expected to attend, the gathering is poised to serve as a significant diplomatic stage against the backdrop of mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula and growing uncertainty in global affairs. After North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3326567/apec-offers-stage-china-us-and-two-koreas-make-peace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3326567/apec-offers-stage-china-us-and-two-koreas-make-peace?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Sep 2025 21:30:09 +0000 Lee Min-Yong Lee Min-Yong With wars dragging on in Europe and the Middle East, the risk of conflict spilling over to Taiwan and the Korean peninsula is coming into sharper focus. Against this backdrop, it is a welcome development that South Korea’s new government has signalled its commitment to easing inter-Korean tensions. Reflecting the maxim of “the best victory is to win without fighting”, the South Korean government, inaugurated in June, has made peacebuilding the core of its North Korea policy. Its first step was... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3321665/south-koreas-peace-push-chance-stability-northeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3321665/south-koreas-peace-push-chance-stability-northeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Aug 2025 21:30:07 +0000 Lee Min-Yong Lee Min-Yong This year’s Victory Day celebrations made clear Russia’s political intent. The Kremlin used the event not as a commemoration but as a stage to frame its war in Ukraine as a symbolic victory. By drawing in foreign attendance, it sought to further boost its legitimacy. Two developments in particular underscored this effort. First, among the most noteworthy developments was President Xi Jinping’s early decision to attend. While some might speculate that his prompt acceptance of Russian President... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3311229/chinas-alignment-russia-north-korea-creates-dangerous-triangle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3311229/chinas-alignment-russia-north-korea-creates-dangerous-triangle?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 May 2025 21:30:07 +0000 As ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine stall, another troubling front is quietly expanding in Northeast Asia. North Korea has already deployed thousands of troops to support Russian forces in Ukraine – building on deployments from last year – and more could be on the way. This deepening military alliance, cemented under a revived defence pact, is less about fighting a shared war than about regime survival, strategic leverage and long-term disruption of the regional balance. Now,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3306754/north-koreas-deepening-military-alliance-russia-should-worry-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3306754/north-koreas-deepening-military-alliance-russia-should-worry-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Apr 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Could North Korean leader Kim Jong-un capitalise on another chance during a Trump 2.0 era? Having leveraged Russian President Vladimir Putin’s struggles in Ukraine to his benefit, Kim could again find a way to win US President Donald Trump over. When Trump called Kim his “friend”, North Korea seemed quick to adjust its strategies to take advantage of the dynamic. At the same time, Nato, China and South Korea would likely need to brace themselves, as Trump continues to claim these nations have... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3296309/how-north-korea-might-take-advantage-trumps-second-presidency?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3296309/how-north-korea-might-take-advantage-trumps-second-presidency?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jan 2025 21:30:07 +0000 The threatening nature of the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia has become clear with the reported deployment of North Korean combat troops to Russia. This development came as a surprise, as few had anticipated troop movements so soon after the North Korea-Russia treaty signed in June. South Korea’s intelligence agency first detected the movement of North Korean special forces on October 8. Satellite imagery reportedly showed troops being transported aboard multiple Russian... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3285331/us-china-war-diplomacy-vital-north-korea-complicates-ukraine-fray?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3285331/us-china-war-diplomacy-vital-north-korea-complicates-ukraine-fray?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Nov 2024 01:30:07 +0000 The country most impacted by the fallout from the treaty between Russia and North Korea is China. North Korea’s supply of military aid to Russia has put China’s diplomatic front on high alert. In a severe setback, China’s leverage over North Korea has begun to wane, leading to fractures in their bilateral relationship. The strain between North Korea and China is a predictable outcome based on North Korea’s historical pattern of “pendulum diplomacy”. This strategy of shifting between major powers... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3272254/chinas-leverage-north-korea-slips-its-time-new-approach?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3272254/chinas-leverage-north-korea-slips-its-time-new-approach?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jul 2024 21:30:08 +0000 Amid assessments that a seventh North Korea nuclear test hinges on leader Kim Jong-un’s decision, the timing of its execution remains a matter of utmost concern. Experts indicate that North Korea had met the technical prerequisites for yet another nuclear test as of March 2023. Officials from the United States and South Korea said the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site was ready as of the first half of 2022. Given that the primary objective of the seventh nuclear test is to develop tactical nuclear... https://www.scmp.com/comment/asia-opinion/article/3256058/its-chinas-best-interest-rein-nuclearised-north-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/asia-opinion/article/3256058/its-chinas-best-interest-rein-nuclearised-north-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Mar 2024 21:30:28 +0000