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The defiant Russia-North Korea friendship pact raises big questions for Washington and Seoul – but also for Beijing
A quarter of a century ago, Vladimir Putin flew to Pyongyang to sign a ­“friendship treaty” with Kim Jong-il that helped revive Russia’s relations with North Korea without obliging the two sides to come to each other’s aid in case of a military attack.
With his visit last week, Putin has in effect gone further into the past, reminiscent of the 1961 security pact that existed under the Soviet Union during the cold war. But today Russia is engaged in a hot war in Ukraine that Putin has made his ­foreign policy priority, and a nuclear North Korea has become a crucial lifeline of munitions for his military.

The pact of pariahs between the Russian leader and North Korea’s unpredictable Kim Jong-un risks destabilising region
Vladimir Putin’s visits to North Korea and Vietnam last week caused great , which was undoubtedly his intention. The Russian president is keen to demonstrate that, notwithstanding the widespread condemnation of his illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing diplomatic ostracism and sanctions, he still has international support, and can raise the cost to his opponents of continued backing for Kyiv.
If anyone doubted the extent to which the war in Ukraine has become a truly global issue, here was conclusive proof of its almost universal impact. Putin and North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-un, signed a that commits each country to provide military assistance to the other “with all means at its disposal” in the event of an attack. The treaty represents a significant boost for Kim’s isolated regime – and for Putin’s efforts, with China, to build up an anti-democratic, anti-western international alliance.

Donald Trump said he wants to automatically give foreign students a green card if they graduate from a college in the U.S.

The Biden Administration laid out its plan to move away from investments in Chinese technology industries that may be used to enrich its military.

Beijing ramps up pressure over ‘crime of secession’ while Taipei says China has no jurisdiction over Taiwan and urges its people not to be intimidated
China has threatened to impose the death penalty in extreme cases for “diehard” Taiwan independence separatists, a ratcheting up of pressure even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction on the democratically governed island.
China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has made no secret of its dislike of President Lai Ching-te, who , saying he is a “separatist”, and staged war games shortly after his inauguration.

A Chinese-American victim of deepfake porn posted by a man she rejected has set up a company which she hopes will allow women like her to fight back against malicious online content.

Now the first national long-term study about cancer among Asian Americans has been launched to investigate health disparities among ethnic groups and uncover risk factors.

A Seattle police officer was fired for calling his Chinese-American neighbour racist and sexist slurs while off duty in 2022, according to a news report. Officer Burton Hill was fired in May, The ...

The Treasury Department unveiled rules to curb financing of Chinese semiconductors, quantum computers and artificial intelligence systems.

For anyone slow on the uptake, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un provided some helpful show-and-tell in Pyongyang on Wednesday.

Shadow foreign minister says blasting Beijing in public had negative consequences and a future government would do things differently
The shadow foreign minister, Simon Birmingham, has suggested the Morrison government’s megaphone diplomacy with China was counterproductive and a future Coalition government would approach the relationship differently.
In an interview for Guardian Australia’s Australian Politics podcast, Birmingham conceded that blasting China in public had had negative consequences.

The Treasury Department has fleshed out its proposed rule that would restrict and monitor U.S. investments in China for artificial intelligence, computer chips and quantum computing.