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Andrew Salmon

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Andrew Salmon

asalmon@washingtontimes.com

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

In this image made from video, a Japan Airlines plane is seen on fire on the runway of Haneda airport on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. The passenger plane collided with a Japanese coast guard aircraft and burst into flames on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday, officials said. (NTV via AP)

Deadly earthquake, aircraft collision amid recovery efforts mark fraught start to New Year in Japan

With 2024 just two days old, Japan has already been rocked by dual disasters -- an earthquake on its western coast and a plane crash at a major Tokyo airport.

January 2, 2024

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is seen after he was injured in Busan, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. Lee was attacked and injured by an unidentified man during a visit Tuesday to the southeastern city of Busan, emergency officials said. (Sohn Hyung-joo/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea stunned as opposition leader targeted in attack in Busan

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, tipped by many as a potential future president, was in stable condition after being assaulted by a knife-wielding attacker during a visit to Busan, South Korea's second-largest city, Tuesday.

January 2, 2024

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during a year-end plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, which was held between Dec. 26, and Dec. 30, 2023, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea plans to launch three more spy satellites in 2024

North Korea aims to launch three more spy satellites in 2024, state media reported Sunday.

December 31, 2023

This show a construction work off Henoko in Nago, Okinawa prefecture, southern Japan Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, where the Japanese government plans to relocate a U.S. air base from one area of the prefecture to another. Japan’s Supreme Court on Monday dismissed Okinawa's rejection of a central government plan to build U.S. Marine Corps runways on the island and ordered the prefecture to approve it despite protests by locals who oppose the American troops' presence. (Kyodo News via AP)

Frustrated Tokyo overrides local officials on U.S. Okinawa base relocation

In a move described as "unprecedented," Japan's central government has stepped in and overruled the local government of Okinawa in an effort to jump-start construction on a new base for U.S. troops on the island.

December 29, 2023

North Korean defectors and human rights activists stage a rally demanding Chinese government to release North Korean defectors captured in China, near the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea on Sept. 22, 2023. South Korea on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023 said it had expressed its concerns to China after assessing that it recently returned a “large number” of North Koreans, including escapees, back to their homeland. The signs read "Stop repatriation of North Korean defectors to North Korea." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

South Korean plan to prosecute North’s rights abusers seen as double-edged

In an uncompromising signal aimed at Pyongyang, the government of South Korea is vowing to prosecute those who violate human rights in North Korea if and when the two countries are reunited.

December 29, 2023

Actor Lee Sun-kyun gets off a car upon his arrival at the Incheon Metropolitan Police in Incheon, South Korea, Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023. Lee of the Oscar-winning movie “Parasite” has been found unconscious, South Korean police said Wednesday, Dec. 27. Police officers discovered an unconscious Lee at an unidentified Seoul location on Wednesday but gave no further details, police said. (Son Hyun-kyu/Yonhap via AP)

Death of South Korean movie star triggers introspection on suicide trend

South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, famed for his role in smash-hit movie "Parasite," but recently hit by drug allegations, died Wednesday in an apparent suicide.

December 27, 2023

Former South Korean comfort woman Lee Yong-soo, right, and Yang Geum-deok, a South Korean victim of Japan's wartime forced labor, attend a rally against the South Korean government's move to improve relations with Japan in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. South Korea's president on Wednesday called Japan "a partner that shares the same universal values" and renewed hopes to repair ties frayed over Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The banners read "South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's humiliation diplomacy, left, and Japanese apology and compensation." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Court decisions reignite World War II tensions, straining Japan and South Korea’s new amity

Rapidly warming Japan-South Korean relations felt a distinct chill at the end of 2023 as an emotive historical dispute between the two U.S. East Asian allies -- compensation for World War II victims -- reared up yet again.

December 22, 2023

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pose for a photo before their bilateral talks at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, Philippines on July 6, 2022. Wang Yi said on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, the Asian power will maintain military pressure on the Philippines amid a dispute over sovereignty in the South China Sea that could involve U.S. forces defending their treaty partner. (Jam Sta Rosa/Pool Photo via AP, File)

China, clashing with neighbors, reaches out to Hanoi and Pyongyang

With relations deteriorating with its nearest neighbors, China has stepped up efforts farther afield in search of support and diplomatic backup.

December 21, 2023

In this undated photo provided Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his daughter and an official watch what it says is an intercontinental ballistic missile launching from an undisclosed location in North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

More than a test: North Koreans add skills drills to latest missile launch

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea is moving to synchronize the moving parts of its strategic deterrent, revealing this week that Monday's test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile was accompanied by a new missile-launch exercise.

December 19, 2023

Flags of North Korea, rear, and South Korea, front, flutter in the wind as pictured from the border area between two Koreas in Paju, South Korea, on Aug. 9, 2021. (Im Byung-shik/Yonhap via AP, File)

Despite a string of missile tests, Kim has not killed a single South Korean

North Korea's test-firing of its latest intercontinental ballistic missile early Monday captured headlines across Asia.

December 18, 2023

South Korea's presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party poses for a photo before a televised debate for the upcoming March 9 presidential election at KBS studio in Seoul on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korea and the Netherlands, U.S. allies and chip superpowers, move to tighten ties

A brouhaha broke out in Seoul media after a leading daily claimed Dutch officials were irked by the excessive demands made ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit this week.

December 15, 2023

A banner showing members of South Korean K-pop band BTS is displayed on a street in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. Singers RM and V of the K-pop band BTS began their mandatory military duties under South Korean law, their management agency announced Monday. This came a day before two of their bandmates, Jimin and Jung Kook, were also expected to report for duty. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Reporting for duty: K-pop superstars BTS send a message with military service

The South Korean Army admitted two new recruits: Pvt. Jeon Jung-kook, 26, and Pvt. Park Ji-min, 28.

December 13, 2023

Pedestrians walk past campaigners promoting candidates during the District Council elections in Hong Kong, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. Residents went to the polls on Sunday in Hong Kong's first district council elections since an electoral overhaul was implemented under Beijing's guidance of “patriots” administering the city, effectively shutting out all pro-democracy candidates. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

In Hong Kong, ‘patriots-only’ local elections see record-low voter turnout

Hong Kong saw a record-low voter turnout for Sunday's closely watched District Council elections, after a process that saw only those with "patriotic" credentials allowed to run for office.

December 11, 2023

In this undated photo provided on Oct. 16, 2019, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rides a white horse to climb Mount Paektu, North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: &quot;KCNA&quot; which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

Mountain view: North Korea urges pilgrimages to peak linked to Kim ‘heroism’

North Korean state media is encouraging citizens to undertake winter climbs of Mount Baekdu, a peak venerated by Koreans ancient and modern, North and South.

December 10, 2023

In this image from a video, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, right, and Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape shake hands outside the parliament in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape said Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, that he will sign a bilateral security pact with Australia during an Australian visit this week. (Australia Pool via AP) **FILE**

With a wary eye on China, Australia and Papua New Guinea ink strategic partnership

The leaders of Australia and its northern neighbor Papua New Guinea on Thursday signed a bilateral security agreement in a region where Chinese influence is rising.

December 7, 2023

Chinese coast guard and suspected Chinese militia ship block the Philippine coast guard ship BRP Cabra as they approach Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin Shoal, during a resupply mission at the disputed South China Sea on Friday Nov. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Joeal Calupitan)

In fiercely contested waters, Philippine ‘Christmas convoy’ to challenge Chinese claims

In the hotly disputed waters of the South China Sea, "People's War" is a game two can play.

December 5, 2023

In this image from video provided by SpaceX, South Korea launches its first military spy satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, it was the first of five spy satellites South Korea plans to send into space by 2025 under a contract with SpaceX. The launch took place a little over a week after North Korea claimed to put its own spy satellite into orbit for the first time as tensions rise between the rivals. (SpaceX via AP)

Adversaries wage space race across tense, divided Korean Peninsula

North Korea said Sunday that its new Malligyong-1 spy satellite had commenced official operations, after warning the previous day that any U.S. attempt to disable or destroy it would be considered an act of war.

December 3, 2023

This photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, center, and his daughter, right, meet staff of the National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA) for a group photo, following the launch of a spy satellite in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Nov. 23, 2023. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency.(Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea’s spy satellite snoops on U.S. installations; Kim hails new military asset

North Korea's newly launched reconnaissance satellite has captured photos of the White House, the Pentagon and a key U.S. mainland naval base, Pyongyang's state media claimed Tuesday.

November 28, 2023

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, arrives at the general assembly of the BIE, on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, in Paris. Three candidates for World Expo 2030 will be considered for election in November 2023: the Republic of Korea, for Busan; Italy, for Rome; and Saudi Arabia, for Riyadh. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) ** FILE **

South Korea, Saudi Arabia in down-to-the-wire duel for right to host 2030 World Expo

As the South Korean southeastern port city of Busan awaits the outcome of a Tuesday vote that will decide the host city for the 2030 World Expo, a series of last-minute events are underwriting its bid.

November 27, 2023

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, center, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa pose for a photo prior to the trilateral foreign ministers' meeting in Busan, South Korea, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool)

China, Japan, South Korean diplomats agree on trilateral leaders’ summit

The chief diplomats from China, Japan and South Korea agreed Sunday to hold a trilateral summit of their three leaders, but did not specify a time frame for the meeting that will be the first among the three in nearly four years.

November 26, 2023