North Korea’s low-cost drone push exposes South Korea’s red tape trap

North Korea on Tuesday slammed the FBI’s allegations that Pyongyang was behind the theft of US$6 billion from cryptocurrency platform Binance, with Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister labelling it a “grave political provocation”. Kim Yo-jong, in a statement released on Tuesday by the KCNA state news agency, said the FBI’s claim was “absurd rhetoric and nothing new”, given earlier US allegations that North Korea was behind last year’s major hack of Bybit. “It is a grave political provocation against...

It’s not just rare earths. China is making it harder for other countries to shed their dependence on its solar, drone and drugmaking technology.

If nothing changes, cities like Ulanqab will struggle to turn their computing boom into a real development advantage.

It’s clear that voluntary measures aren’t enough for ethical sourcing and supply chains.

On TikTok, men and women sent back after living in the United States are documenting the reality of starting over — and finding an audience.

Japan’s ⁠government and ruling coalition ⁠are considering nearly doubling defence ⁠spending over the next five years as part of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to strengthen the country’s military capabilities, according to two people familiar with the matter. If adopted, defence build-up spending for the five years ‌from April 2027 would be set at 70 trillion to 80 trillion yen (US$457 billion to US$508 billion), up about 1.8 times from the roughly 43 trillion yen allocated under the...

The FBI blamed Pyongyang for the largest crypto theft on record. Its cash-out routes rely heavily on China.

Singapore is pitching itself as a bridge between the European Union (EU) and Asean, as the two blocs continue their protracted discussions to seal a free trade agreement (FTA). However, Myanmar’s political uncertainty is a major hurdle towards an EU-Asean FTA, and Singapore will have to play a key role to break the deadlock when it assumes the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, according to an analyst. At a joint press conference with German Chancellor...

Empyrean Technology, China’s top provider of electronic design automation (EDA) tools, plans to acquire a majority stake in a domestic start-up, reinforcing Beijing’s drive for tech self-sufficiency and bolstering support for Huawei Technologies’ semiconductor ambitions. The Beijing-based firm said in a Shenzhen Stock Exchange filing on Sunday that it would acquire a 50.38 per cent stake in Easy-Logic Technology for 218.8 million yuan (US$33 million). Once completed, the start-up would be...

Rising from verdant ridge lines of southern Laos, 133 Chinese-built wind turbines help power Vietnam’s surging growth and represent part of a regional rush to diversify energy sources. “The view is beautiful. They’re bigger than trees,” 23-year-old Toukta Phonsala said inside her wooden stilt house in Dak Wai village, her baby bouncing on her lap. Hydroelectric dams have proliferated across Southeast Asia in recent years, but production drops off in the dry season and critics lament the...

The political challenge for the opposition now is to turn the resistance visible on the streets into electoral change.