Flashback: Syrians, ‘equipment’ were in North Korea train blast

Flashback: Syrians, ‘equipment’ were in North Korea train blast

Special to WorldTribune.com By EastAsiaIntel.com, May 16, 2004 [Editors’ note: Occasionally, we republish articles of interest from our archives.] Syrian technicians accompanying unknown equipment were killed in the massive train explosion in North Korea on April 22, according to a report in a Japanese newspaper. A military specialist on Korean affairs revealed that the Syrian […]

Renewed friction between Seoul and Tokyo rubs Pyongyang the right way

Renewed friction between Seoul and Tokyo rubs Pyongyang the right way

Special to WorldTribune.com By Geostrategy-Direct.com The widening rift between South Korea and Japan is dangerous for the U.S. allies and is being cheered by a North Korean regime that has long been adept at exploiting differences between the East Asia allies. While Pyongyang media revels in the fate of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, […]

Trump crisis in Beijing: Five ‘knowns and unknowns’ have Xi Jinping in the panic mode

Trump crisis in Beijing: Five ‘knowns and unknowns’ have Xi Jinping in the panic mode

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, ‘Inside China’, Geostrategy-Direct.com “As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t […]

China’s quiet space warfare launch poses threat to military satellites

China’s quiet space warfare launch poses threat to military satellites

Special to WorldTribune.com By Geostrategy-Direct Without fanfare and the usual media hype, China on June 29 quietly launched a sophisticated military spy satellite into outer space, marking a significant step in Beijing’s anti-satellite development. Dubbed “Experiment 02,” the satellite is China’s second anti-satellite weapon in the near earth orbit zone where most of the world’s […]

Off the record in Beijing: China’s growth rate is non-negotiable

Off the record in Beijing: China’s growth rate is non-negotiable

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com Who is in charge of China’s macro-level financial and economic policy? Most observers will say President Xi Jinping, who is head of the two highest-level decision-making bodies: the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economics (CLGFE) and the newly set up Central Leading Group on Comprehensively Deepening Reforms […]

Russia, China unite against U.S. THAAD despite North’s test

Russia, China unite against U.S. THAAD despite North’s test

Special to WorldTribune.com By EastAsiaIntel.com On April 29, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi issued a joint statement objecting to the contemplated deployment in South Korea of the U.S. Theater High Altitude Area Defense [THAAD] missile interceptor system. But what is unusual is that the joint Russian-Chinese objection to THAAD […]

Nuclear Kim: Leader launches ‘Byongjin’ doctrine to mark his era

Nuclear Kim: Leader launches ‘Byongjin’ doctrine to mark his era

Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com On the heels of the Party Congress in which North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un presented a five-year economic plan, North Korea has kicked off tougher “work-harder campaigns.” North Koreans, already struggling with hunger and the stresses of survival in the repressive society, are being mobilized for new construction […]

‘Click farms’: China’s propaganda hubs proliferate Facebook likes

‘Click farms’: China’s propaganda hubs proliferate Facebook likes

Special to WorldTribune.com Inside China, EastAsiaIntel.com While China’s 700 million netizens are blocked from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) English-language propaganda machine is harvesting social media fans around the world. Following top-down orders from president Xi Jinping to “tell China’s story” to the world, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are now rife […]

N. Korea plans extended SLBM range, large subs for nuclear attacks

N. Korea plans extended SLBM range, large subs for nuclear attacks

Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — North Korea has prioritized increasing the rage of its submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) to 2,000 kilometers, a military source here said. The North is also said to be building 3,000-ton submarines that can carry multiple SLBMs, the source said. “North Korea is believed to have made […]

Xi consolidates power, elevates 6th Generation Zhejiang protégés

Xi consolidates power, elevates 6th Generation Zhejiang protégés

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com Despite reports about challenges to his power, President and Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping has quietly — and relentlessly — built up his personal faction centered upon cadres associated with the prosperous coastal province of Zhejiang. Members of the so-called Zhejiang Clique are tipped for large-scale promotions […]