1/ Posting on Facebook, President Lee Jae Myung said South Korea must shed the "submissive thinking" (굴종적 사고) that it cannot defend itself without foreign troops, vowing a shift to a smaller, tech-driven "smart force" and "complete independent defence posture."

In return for North Korea halting their nuclear programme, Donald Trump could remove American forces from the South. This would be a dreadful outcome for the world economist.com/leaders/2025/0…

My look the Japanese leadership fight and implications for relations with Korea, for KEI. keia.org/the-peninsula/…

"Howard Lutnick told US cable network NewsNation on Sunday that unless Taiwan moved a significant share of its chip production to America, Washington could not guarantee it would defend the island against an attack from Beijing." sc.mp/xf81g?utm_sour… via @scmpnews

Ahead of a leadership shakeup in Japan's current ruling party, Daniel Sneider examines the potential front runners and how their politics may impact Japan-Korea relations. ow.ly/QQfO50X422o

“If I’m stopped on the street they’d go through my phone, my texts.” On “The Weekend Intelligence”, how Kim Jong Un tightened his control over North Korea during the covid pandemic and never let go economist.com/podcasts/2025/…

WATCH | Daniel Sneider joins 联合早报 Lianhe Zaobao to discuss how rightward shifts in Western politics are informing similar populist movements in Asia. ow.ly/tFV750X7pLi

Wow

Japan's Komeito withdraws from ruling coalition with Takaichi's LDP s.nikkei.com/42xPruc

Komeito's electoral cooperation with the LDP is over too. They won’t endorse LDP candidates or ask for their support anymore.

During her first days as leader of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, Takaichi Sanae, a former drummer in a heavymetal band, chose to butt heads rather than build bridges economist.com/asia/2025/10/1…

Sanae Takaichi has been elected as the head of the LDP party of Japan and is on the cusp of becoming prime minister. Daniel Sneider analyzes her positions and how they may affect politics within Japan and relations with South Korea and beyond. ow.ly/2F4f50Xfbac

Newsweek has published a Japanese language version of their story on the fake news about Prime Minister Takaichi launching mass deportations of foreigners. Neither the prime minister nor any cabinet member has made statements suggesting plans for “mass deportations.”

South Korea and the United States "remain stuck on 'all' the major details related to a $350 billion investment pledge" between the two countries, according to President Lee Jae Myung in an interview with Bloomberg published on Monday. ow.ly/i5fw50Xi7jP

Donald Trump's approval rating in our tracker has fallen to -18, the lowest it has ever been (lower than any point in his first term) economist.com/interactive/tr…

For years U.S. allies and partners in the Indo Pacific have worried about a U.S.-China G2. Here, the president is embracing it.

After observing the recent APEC summit, Daniel Sneider believes that Japan's new prime minster, Sanae Takaichi, will likely follow the pragmatic approach of her immediate predecessors than a more ideological bend in her policymaking. ow.ly/Kv4R50Xli9K

Pete Hegseth declares war on the military-industrial copmlex. Guess who's likely to win. slate.com/news-and-polit…

My latest, on US-South Korea security relations after APEC summit, for KEI keia.org/the-peninsula/…

Following President Trump's visit to Asia, Daniel Sneider examines how countries like South Korea and Japan are simultaneously working to deepen their defense ties with the United States while also increasing their autonomy and national preparedness. ow.ly/PTgV50XqfHT