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Andrew Salmon

Seoul, South Korea-based Andrew Salmon, Asia Editor at The Washington Times. brings two decades of journalistic experience to the position. Before joining The Washington Times, he was Northeast Asia Editor of Hong Kong-based Asia Times. Andrew’s reporting previously appeared in The Daily Telegraph, Forbes, The International Herald Tribune, The South China Morning Post, The Times and The Washington Times. He has made television appearances on Arirang TV, CNN and France24. He can be reached at asalmon@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Andrew Salmon

Japanese court orders dissolution of Unification Church

A District Court in Tokyo ordered the Unification Church's operations in Japan to be dissolved on Tuesday in a move likely to ignite a major appeals battle and trigger condemnation from religious freedom advocates around the world.

March 25, 2025

Tokyo activates new joint-operations command to improve country’s armed forces teamwork

Japan launched a new joint command structure for the country's armed forces Monday that is designed to address decades of inter-service rivalries and communications failures.

March 24, 2025

Korean premier reinstated after impeachment overturned by court

Prime Minister and acting President Han Duck-soo returned to work Monday after the nation's high court overruled his impeachment. But the eight judges of South Korea's Constitutional Court are still deliberating the fate of Mr. Han's boss, impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.

March 24, 2025

Korean opposition moves to impeach third leader in three months

Korea's political crisis, an ongoing struggle between a crippled executive and an empowered legislature, lurched further into uncharted territory Friday as the opposition proposed to impeach acting President Choi Sang-mok.

March 21, 2025

Taiwan’s military plans July drills, citing possible Chinese invasion in 2027

In an echo of U.S. warnings, Taiwan for the first time identified 2027 as the year that a potential Chinese invasion of the democratic island could be unleashed.

March 19, 2025

Russian gains in Kursk open possibility of redirecting North Korean troops to Ukrainian front

A team of high-level Russian diplomats is visiting Pyongyang, but their mission in the North Korean capital is unknown.

March 16, 2025

Crowds gather, tensions grow ahead of expected verdict in South Korean presidential impeachment case

Tensions are mounting across South Korea ahead of a ruling expected next week on the fate of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.

March 15, 2025

Ex-President Duterte arrested for murders during ‘war on drugs’

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested Tuesday morning on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity committed during his deadly campaign against drug traffickers, the latest sensational turn in a political power struggle engulfing a key U.S. Pacific ally.

March 11, 2025

North Koreans unleash missile barrage as U.S.-South Korea’s spring drills kick off

For the Trump administration, it was a duo of firsts on the Korean Peninsula on Monday: the first South Korea-U.S. joint military drills and North Korea's first missile barrage.

March 10, 2025

Kim inspects what North Korea claims is a nuclear-powered submarine

North Korean state media on Saturday released photographs of national leader Kim Jong Un inspecting progress on a "nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine."

March 8, 2025

Yoon released from detention as impeachment drama nears climax

In South Korea's latest shock political development, impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was freed Saturday, a day after a Seoul court ordered the embattled political leader be allowed to await without being detained a Constitutional Court ruling on whether he should be removed from office.

March 7, 2025

Civilians wounded as South Korean jets mistakenly bomb local village

South Korea was in shock Thursday after news broke that two fighter jets had mistakenly bombed a local village, wounding 15 people and damaging eight buildings.

March 6, 2025

East Asian allies in the line of fire as Trump’s trade, security policies come into focus

With America's NATO allies already reeling from the Trump government's apparent U-turn on prior U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Russia, East Asian allies nervously await the full attention of the new administration.

March 5, 2025

Endgame looms for impeached president in a polarized South Korea

Bus after bus filled with riot police lined streets in northern Seoul around the Constitutional Court Tuesday for an extraordinary political spectacle: the final hearing in the divisive impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

February 25, 2025

Australia stunned as Chinese naval flotilla cruises into its backyard

SEOUL, South Korea - Australians this weekend were left mulling their naval defenses -- and their government's confused response -- after reports that Chinese warships were conducting live-fire exercises off the U.S. ally's eastern seaboard.

February 23, 2025

Captured prisoners in Ukraine reveal surprising fragility of Kim’s North Korea

The ideological fragility of the North Korean regime has been exposed as two of its soldiers, captured by Ukrainian forces in January, have spoken with surprising frankness in their first public interview.

February 20, 2025

Ukrainian-American tech exec bypasses ‘deep state’ to get supplies to the troops

He is no front-line fighter, but ex-tech executive Andrey Liscovich is adding significant muscle to Ukraine's uneven battle against Russia.

February 19, 2025

Defying wars and trade fights, baseball still forges bonds between U.S., Japan

In the wake of history's bloodiest war, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, de facto ruler of a war-devastated Japan, witnessed what he considered "the greatest act of diplomacy, ever."

February 17, 2025

U.S.’s leading Asian allies play it cool in face of Trump’s tariff blitz

America's two most powerful allies in the Indo-Pacific have so far responded with low-key prudence after President Trump moved forward on his threat to impose 25% tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel products, effective next month.

February 12, 2025

In central Tokyo: A church under siege tries to find a way forward

The church sits on a side street just a few minutes' walk from Tokyo's bustling Shibuya district, home to one of the world's busiest rail stations, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections and a poignant statue of the famously faithful dog, Hachiko. Things are calm at the service, but the Unification Church finds itself facing what church officials say is a multipronged political, legal and media onslaught.

February 11, 2025

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