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Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice.
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We speak with two brothers who are fighting Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI over its massive data center in Memphis, Tennessee, used to run its chatbot Grok. The facility is next to historically Black neighborhoods and is powered by 35 pollution-spewing methane gas turbines the company is using without legal permits. Musk says he wants to continue expanding the project.
“What’s happening in Memphis is a human rights violation,” says KeShaun Pearson, executive director of the environmental justice organization Memphis Community Against Pollution. “Elon Musk and xAI are violating our human right to clean air and a clean, healthy environment.” His brother Justin J. Pearson, a Tennessee state representative for Memphis, says Musk is “perpetuating environmental racism” by ignoring the wishes of local residents: “They are abusing our community, and they’re exploiting us.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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We speak with two brothers who are fighting Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI over its massive data center in Memphis, Tennessee, used to run its chatbot Grok. The facility is next to historically Black neighborhoods and is powered by 35 pollution-spewing methane gas turbines the company is using without legal permits. Musk says he wants to continue expanding the project.
“What’s happening in Memphis is a human rights violation,” says KeShaun Pearson, executive director of the environmental justice organization Memphis Community Against Pollution. “Elon Musk and xAI are violating our human right to clean air and a clean, healthy environment.” His brother Justin J. Pearson, a Tennessee state representative for Memphis, says Musk is “perpetuating environmental racism” by ignoring the wishes of local residents: “They are abusing our community, and they’re exploiting us.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese.
Among candidates to be the next head of the Catholic Church, several prominent cardinals in Asia are thought to be under consideration.
Pope Francis passed away on Monday at the age of 88, concluding a 12-year papacy. A papal conclave is expected to convene at the Vatican within the next 15 to 20 days to elect his successor.
While the official appointment of a pope requires the votes of 90 out of 135 cardinals in the Vatican, prominent candidates span 71 countries, with several overseeing dioceses in Asia from Sri Lanka, South Korea, the Philippines and Myanmar. Any candidate from these countries would be the first Asian pope to sit in the Vatican.
The 76-year-old Charles Maung Bo, born in northwest Myanmar’s now-embattled Sagaing region, resided over the Lashio diocese in the country’s northern Shan state from 1986 until 2003, when he was appointed Archbishop of Yangon and later became a cardinal under the authority of Pope Francis in 2015.
Pope Francis celebrates a Mass with Cardinal Charles Maung Bo in Yangon, Myanmar, Nov. 28, 2017. (L’Osservatore Romano via AP)Despite Catholics comprising just over 1% of Myanmar’s majority-Buddhist population, sources close to Myanmar’s Cardinal Charles Maung Bo said that the College of Cardinals may be looking at finding a candidate with a diplomatic and humanitarian-oriented approach similar to Pope Francis.
Charles Maung Bo became more prominent in 2021 following the country’s military coup when he called for a peaceful solution in the face of armed rebel movements across the country.
In an interview with Radio Free Asia in 2023, he referred to the population of Myanmar as “brothers and sisters,” calling on all sides to lay down their weapons.
“Guns beget more guns. Bullets beget more bullets. If violence is met with violence, it will only lead to more violence,” he said. “All of us, no matter which side we are on, all those who are armed, should lay down our weapons and be family.”
Sri Lanka’s Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, leads mass at the San Lorenzo In Lucino church in Rome March 10, 2013. (Chris Helgren/Reuters)In Sri Lanka, another Buddhist-majority country, 77-year-old Malcolm Ranjith, who serves as the Archbishop of Colombo, the nation’s capital, is eligible for appointment.
Others have speculated that the next pope-elect may come from South Korea, where around 30% of the population is Christian, or the Philippines, a Catholic-majority country. Both have leaders in the Catholic church eligible for the Vatican.
Then-South Korean bishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik talks during a news conference at the Holy See press office at the Vatican Oct. 11, 2018. (Max Rossi/Reuters)South Korea’s 74-year-old Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik may be considered, given the Catholic church’s growth in the country in the last few decades and its large financial contributions to the Vatican. He was appointed to a role within the Vatican as Dicastery for the Clergy as a prefect in 2021 and as a cardinal in 2022.
The Philippines’ Luis Antonio Tagle, 67 years old, has often been compared to Pope Francis and named by experts as a favorite of the late pope for his humanitarian and progressive social views on issues such as migration and same sex marriage, but may prove to be too young for the conclave, who typically select a candidate in his 70s.
Pope Francis hugs Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (L) before blessing a mosaic of St. Pedro Calungsod’s image during a meeting with the Philippine community at the St Peter Basilica in Vatican Nov. 21, 2013. (Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters)As of 2025, there have been 266 popes recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, starting from St. Peter, considered the first pope, to Pope Francis, who became the 266th pontiff in 2013.
Historically, no pope of fully Asian descent has ever led the Catholic Church.
Discussions have been reignited around the possibility of a non-European pope – particularly from Asia – with reports suggesting that an Asian pope would carry deep symbolic and strategic significance, reflecting Catholicism’s rapid growth across the region and reinforcing the Church’s shift toward a more global identity.
As of the end of 2023, Asia was home to approximately 121 million Catholics, accounting for about 11% of the global Catholic population, which totals around 1.4 billion. This represents a growth of 0.6% from the previous year, indicating steady expansion in the region.
The Philippines and India remain the largest contributors to Asia’s Catholic population, with 93 million and 23 million Catholics respectively, together comprising over three-quarters of the region’s total.
Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese and Kiana Duncan for RFA.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese.
Among candidates to be the next head of the Catholic Church, several prominent cardinals in Asia are thought to be under consideration.
Pope Francis passed away on Monday at the age of 88, concluding a 12-year papacy. A papal conclave is expected to convene at the Vatican within the next 15 to 20 days to elect his successor.
While the official appointment of a pope requires the votes of 90 out of 135 cardinals in the Vatican, prominent candidates span 71 countries, with several overseeing dioceses in Asia from Sri Lanka, South Korea, the Philippines and Myanmar. Any candidate from these countries would be the first Asian pope to sit in the Vatican.
The 76-year-old Charles Maung Bo, born in northwest Myanmar’s now-embattled Sagaing region, resided over the Lashio diocese in the country’s northern Shan state from 1986 until 2003, when he was appointed Archbishop of Yangon and later became a cardinal under the authority of Pope Francis in 2015.
Pope Francis celebrates a Mass with Cardinal Charles Maung Bo in Yangon, Myanmar, Nov. 28, 2017. (L’Osservatore Romano via AP)Despite Catholics comprising just over 1% of Myanmar’s majority-Buddhist population, sources close to Myanmar’s Cardinal Charles Maung Bo said that the College of Cardinals may be looking at finding a candidate with a diplomatic and humanitarian-oriented approach similar to Pope Francis.
Charles Maung Bo became more prominent in 2021 following the country’s military coup when he called for a peaceful solution in the face of armed rebel movements across the country.
In an interview with Radio Free Asia in 2023, he referred to the population of Myanmar as “brothers and sisters,” calling on all sides to lay down their weapons.
“Guns beget more guns. Bullets beget more bullets. If violence is met with violence, it will only lead to more violence,” he said. “All of us, no matter which side we are on, all those who are armed, should lay down our weapons and be family.”
Sri Lanka’s Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, leads mass at the San Lorenzo In Lucino church in Rome March 10, 2013. (Chris Helgren/Reuters)In Sri Lanka, another Buddhist-majority country, 77-year-old Malcolm Ranjith, who serves as the Archbishop of Colombo, the nation’s capital, is eligible for appointment.
Others have speculated that the next pope-elect may come from South Korea, where around 30% of the population is Christian, or the Philippines, a Catholic-majority country. Both have leaders in the Catholic church eligible for the Vatican.
Then-South Korean bishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik talks during a news conference at the Holy See press office at the Vatican Oct. 11, 2018. (Max Rossi/Reuters)South Korea’s 74-year-old Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik may be considered, given the Catholic church’s growth in the country in the last few decades and its large financial contributions to the Vatican. He was appointed to a role within the Vatican as Dicastery for the Clergy as a prefect in 2021 and as a cardinal in 2022.
The Philippines’ Luis Antonio Tagle, 67 years old, has often been compared to Pope Francis and named by experts as a favorite of the late pope for his humanitarian and progressive social views on issues such as migration and same sex marriage, but may prove to be too young for the conclave, who typically select a candidate in his 70s.
Pope Francis hugs Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (L) before blessing a mosaic of St. Pedro Calungsod’s image during a meeting with the Philippine community at the St Peter Basilica in Vatican Nov. 21, 2013. (Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters)As of 2025, there have been 266 popes recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, starting from St. Peter, considered the first pope, to Pope Francis, who became the 266th pontiff in 2013.
Historically, no pope of fully Asian descent has ever led the Catholic Church.
Discussions have been reignited around the possibility of a non-European pope – particularly from Asia – with reports suggesting that an Asian pope would carry deep symbolic and strategic significance, reflecting Catholicism’s rapid growth across the region and reinforcing the Church’s shift toward a more global identity.
As of the end of 2023, Asia was home to approximately 121 million Catholics, accounting for about 11% of the global Catholic population, which totals around 1.4 billion. This represents a growth of 0.6% from the previous year, indicating steady expansion in the region.
The Philippines and India remain the largest contributors to Asia’s Catholic population, with 93 million and 23 million Catholics respectively, together comprising over three-quarters of the region’s total.
Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese and Kiana Duncan for RFA.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Read “Cross-strait shadows: Inside the Chinese influence campaign against Taiwan” (Part I here and Part II here)
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Marketed as a cross-strait collaboration, “Taiwan’s Voice” presents itself as a local commentary platform. But behind the familiar hosts and studio lies a deeper link to China’s state-run media.
Over the past year, the Asia Fact Check Lab has traced how content produced in Taiwan, yet aligned with Chinese narratives, is seeping into the island’s media landscape through what it calls the “Fujian Network.”
With slick production and recognizable faces, these shows blur the line between domestic discourse and foreign influence – part of Beijing’s quiet push to shape public opinion in Taiwan.
What is ‘Taiwan’s Voice’?
The show “Taiwan’s voice,” or “寶島, 報到!” in Chinese, is marketed as an original cross-strait news and commentary program designed to “speak through borrowed mouths,” by inviting Taiwan’s pan-blue “opinion leaders” to serve as guest commentators and enhance the effectiveness of messaging directed at Taiwan.
The show – launched in 2019 – is operated by “Straits TV,” a subsidiary of China’s Fujian Broadcasting and Television Group.
The show “Taiwan’s voice” branded itself as a cross-strait collaboration “jointly produced by news teams from both sides,” without mentioning which Taiwanese team was actually working with China’s Straits TV. (Baidu)According to a news release from the Fujian Provincial Radio and Television Bureau, the program was recognized as a “Model Case of Media Integration in Fujian Province in 2021” and recommended for commendation by China’s National Radio and Television Administration.
The program branded itself as a cross-strait collaboration “jointly produced by news teams from both sides,” without mentioning which Taiwanese team was actually working with Straits TV.
Despite this framing, the program prominently features pro-China Taiwanese commentators and content crafted for Chinese audiences, frequently using mainland Chinese terminology.
Who actually produces the show?
While monitoring broadcasts, AFCL noticed a detail: in one episode, a guest of the show, New Party Taipei City councilor Hou Han-ting, thanks live viewers at the start and mentions he had just come from a budget review session at the city council and took a taxi to the studio. This suggests the recording took place in Taiwan.
In another video, the guest host interacted with off-screen staff, confirming a cooperative relationship between Straits TV and Chung T’ien Television, or CTiTV, a Taipei-based broadcaster.
Interviews with media insiders later confirmed the program is recorded in a studio operated by CTiTV in Taipei.
CTiTV, owned by the pro-China Want Want Group, is known for promoting Beijing-friendly narratives. In 2020, Taiwan’s media regulator revoked its license over repeated disinformation and biased reporting.
CTiTV denied the allegations and accused regulators of bias, but the channel reportedly failed to explain the nature of its China-related content and collaborations.
Since then, the broadcaster transitioned to digital platforms to continue its operations, streaming its content online via its YouTube channel and through its dedicated mobile app.
Empty recording studios are seen in the CTi station in Taipei, Taiwan, Dec. 10, 2020. (Ann Wang/Reuters)Interviews and content comparisons confirm at least a practical partnership between CTiTV and Straits TV. This includes content sharing and the provision of production facilities and personnel, jointly producing the politically focused program “Taiwan’s Voice.”
When questioned about whether the scripts originated from China, a CTiTV employee denied the claim, saying that the producers choose the topics and the guests are responsible for preparing their own scripts.
Two CTiTV employees, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFCL they did not believe Chinese authorities had directly intervened in the broadcaster’s operations.
However, they pointed to Want Want Group chairman Tsai Eng-meng’s pro-China stance, suggesting that CTiTV’s editorial direction may already be influenced by Tsai in ways that align with Beijing’s narrative.
CTiTV has not responded to AFCL’s inquiries.
Legal gray zone
While Taiwanese law prohibits unauthorized political collaboration between local organizations and Chinese entities, enforcement remains a challenge.
Under the current law, such collaborations must be approved by the relevant authority – yet what constitutes “political content” or “cooperation” remains vague.
The Mainland Affairs Council, a Taiwanese administrative agency that oversees cross-strait relations policy targeting mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, confirmed to AFCL that any cross-strait political co-productions require pre-approval.
But in practice, responsibility is diffused among various agencies such as the Ministry of Culture, the National Communications Commission, or NCC, and the Ministry of Digital Affairs.
Members of the media use a mobile phone to live-stream the presser after the second live policy address ahead of January’s election in Taipei, Taiwan, Dec. 25, 2019. (Ann Wang/Reuters)National Taiwan University’s journalism professor Hung Chen-ling noted that while such activities may breach the law, penalties are weak.
“Even if someone reports a violation, the fine might be just a few thousand dollars. For those involved, the benefits often outweigh the cost,” she said.
Another hurdle is the challenge of regulating cross-strait media co-productions in the digital era. While cable broadcasts in Taiwan are subject to licensing and oversight, these mechanisms have limited reach online.
Although traditional television content must comply with established regulations, the rise of digital platforms and internet-native programming has introduced enforcement gaps.
As more broadcasters pivot to online distribution, it becomes harder for authorities to monitor content – potentially enabling foreign-affiliated media to reach Taiwanese audiences with less regulatory scrutiny.
Edited by Chih Te Lee and Taejun Kang.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Zhuang Jing, Dong Zhe and Alan Lu for Asia Fact Check Lab.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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The young boy who was abducted as a 6-year-old turned 36 on Friday.
What he does, where he lives or even if he’s still alive isn’t known, thanks to the reticence of the Chinese government, which kidnapped him along with his family and his teacher 30 years ago.
Beijing leaders, ever wary of potential rivals for the Communist Party’s authority, viewed the boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as a possible threat.
Days earlier the Dalai Lama had named him the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second-highest spiritual leader in the largest sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Tibetans have long marked his birthday with celebrations held in absentia, and reiterated long-standing requests to Beijing to reveal Gedhun Choekyi Nyima’s fate.
The Panchen Lama’s abduction illustrates the sensitivity of Chinese authorities to other prominent religious figures amid their effort to control Tibetans by suppressing expressions of their Buddhist faith.
The fight over the 11th Panchen Lama is seen as a likely precursor to the battle over who will succeed the 14th Dalai Lama, who turns 90 this year.
China, always wary of opposition to its authority, particularly in the restive Tibetan region, says it can appoint the successor under Chinese law. But the Dalai Lama said, in a new book, that his reincarnation will be born in the “free world,” which he described as outside China.
Tibetan Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama are reincarnated when they die, and that they have the right to select the religious leaders based on their belief in the principle of rebirth.
A Tibetan monk holds a sign board next to a poster of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama recognised by the Dalai Lama, at a monastery after a sit-in protest against the visit of Chinese President Li Keqiang at Majnu Ka Tila, a Tibetan refugee camp, in New Delhi May 20, 2013. (Mansi Thapliyal/Reuters) Who is the Panchen Lama?
The word “Panchen” is based on a Sanskrit word for “Great Scholar.” Traditionally the Panchen Lama has played a leading role in Tibetan Buddhist scholarship as the leader of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet, which has been controlled by China since 1951.
Buddhists believe that the Dalai Lama is a physical representation of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of compassion, and the Panchen Lama of Amitabha, the Buddha of infinite light.
The two lamas share a special spiritual relationship, with each recognizing the other’s successive reincarnations and serving as the other’s teacher.
Tibetan Buddhists believe that the reincarnations of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama are revealed through a series of tests as judged by prominent religious leaders.
The Panchen Lama’s most important responsibility includes finding and recognizing the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in the event of his passing, one reason why China wants a Panchen Lama under its control.
What happened to the Panchen Lama?
On May 14, 1995, the Dalai Lama recognized Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the Panchen Lama, the 11th reincarnation of his predecessor, who passed away in 1989 at the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Shigatse.
This angered Chinese authorities, who rejected the choice.
Three days later the boy, his family and his teacher were abducted. They have been missing ever since.
For 30 years, Tibetans, global leaders, and rights groups have called on the Chinese government to reveal their whereabouts, to no avail.
Tibetan exiles hold candles and wear masks of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, during a protest ahead of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to India, in New Delhi May 17, 2013. (Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters) Who is the Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama?
Shortly after the abduction of the Dalai Lama-appointed Panchen Lama, Beijing installed another boy, Gyaltsen (in Chinese, Gyaincain) Norbu, as their own candidate in his place.
However, the Chinese government-appointed Panchen Lama remains unpopular with Tibetans both in exile and at home and is perceived as a “political tool” for Beijing.
Ordinary Tibetans and monks in monasteries traditionally loyal to the Dalai Lama have been reluctant to acknowledge or receive him, and during his visits to Tibet, Beijing has in the past handed out small monetary incentives for people who receive his blessing.
Significance of the Panchen Lama’s role
China’s appointment of Gyaincain Norbu as Panchen Lama underscores Beijing’s attempts to interfere in the selection of the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, and gain control and legitimacy among Tibetans, both inside Tibet and in exile, say experts.
The move is also seen as China’s attempts to acquire more influence over Buddhism not only inside occasionally restive Tibet but throughout the Himalayan region. Beijing has increasingly looked to leverage religion as a soft power diplomacy tool across various Buddhist nations in South and Southeast Asia.
In 2007, the Chinese government decreed that China would begin overseeing the recognition of all reincarnate Tibetan lamas, or “Living Buddhas,” including the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama, for which China plans to use its own Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama to sign off on.
Edited by Kalden Lodoe, Jim Snyder, and Mat Pennington.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Tenzin Dickyi and Tenzin Pema for RFA Tibetan.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Four weeks after a devastating earthquake in central Myanmar, a local charity has retrieved dust-covered backpacks, water bottles and lunch boxes from the rubble of “Bright Kids” pre-school in Sagaing city and returned those belongings to tearful parents.
Bright Kids had about 20 children attending when the 7.7 magnitude quake struck on March 28, killing more than 3,700 people. Seven children and one teacher died when the school collapsed.
Workers retrieve children’s belongings at a destroyed pre-school in Sagaing city, Myanmar, on April 24, 2025, four weeks after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake. (Sai Thiha Naing via Facebook)Nam Latt Social Relief Association helped clear the building on Thursday. Children’s belongings were recovered from heaps of masonry and twisted rebar as a backhoe clawed through the wreckage.
The association’s Sai Thiha Naing wrote on social media that today was a day when all the team members shed tears and helped the children who died.
The bodies of the children had been recovered a few hours after the quake when rescuers accessed the crushed interior of the school through a hole in a brick wall at the base of the building.
According to state media, more than 2,500 schools were damaged in the earthquake.
Sagaing was near the epicenter. It is a region that’s also been a focus of bitter fighting between Myanmar’s military rulers and anti-junta forces since a 2021 coup.
Relatives grieve outside of a destroyed pre-school as they collect children’s belongings in Sagaing city, Myanmar, on April 24, 2025, four weeks after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake. (Sai Thiha Naing via Facebook)
The inside of a pre-school is seen through a collapsed wall in Sagaing city, Myanmar, on April 24, 2025, four weeks after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake. (Sai Thiha Naing via Facebook)
Family members as they collect the belongings of children at a destroyed pre-school in Sagaing city, Myanmar, on April 24, 2025, four weeks after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake. (Sai Thiha Naing via Facebook)
Children’s belongings are retrieved from a destroyed pre-school in Sagaing city, Myanmar, on April 24, 2025, four weeks after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake. (Sai Thiha Naing via Facebook)
Family members grieve as they collect the belongings of children killed at a pre-school in Sagaing city, Myanmar, on April 24, 2025, four weeks after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake. (Sai Thiha Naing via Facebook)
Workers retrieve children’s belongings at a pre-school in Sagaing city, Myanmar, on April 24, 2025, four weeks after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake. (Sai Thiha Naing via Facebook)
Toys and children’s belongings collected from a collapsed pre-school in Sagaing city, Myanmar, on April 24, 2025, four weeks after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake. (Sai Thihanaing via Facebook)
An earthquake damaged pre-school is demolished in Sagaing city, Myanmar, on April 24, 2025, four weeks after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake. (Sai Thiha Naing via Facebook)Edited by Mat Pennington and Charlie Dharapak
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan – The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday that North Korea’s nuclear weapons program has grown “exponentially,” and urged talks between Washington and Pyongyang.
Since taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “communication” with North Korea and that Washington “may do something” with Pyongyang.
“I have been saying that we need to engage,” said Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.
“You cannot have a country like this which is completely off the charts with its nuclear arsenal,” he said at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. thinktank.
North Korea’s nuclear program, said Grossi, has “spawned exponentially” and it is currently building a third enrichment facility – a crucial part of building nuclear bombs.
The U.N. has imposed sanctions on North Korea aimed at limiting its nuclear weapons development, but these measures have largely failed to stop Pyongyang’s programs. The North may have up to 50 nuclear warheads, according to a 2024 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Grossi challenged the approach that demands Pyongyang “disarm or we don’t talk,” arguing that “things are more complicated … you have to start by talking.”
He praised high-level diplomacy, specifically mentioning Trump’s letters during his first term to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“Presidential diplomacy is important,” the IAEA chief said.
Asked if Beijing and Moscow would encourage renewed IAEA dialogue with North Korea, Grossi said he doesn’t see the two countries as “against” some form of engagement. But he added that he doesn’t see either country pushing it as a priority.
The watchdog’s chief has consistently expressed concern about North Korea’s nuclear advancements.
During his visit to Japan in February, he advocated for renewed engagement with North Korea, suggesting the IAEA should reestablish its presence in the country.
The IAEA’s inspectors were kicked out of North Korea in April 2009, when Pyongyang told the agency it was “immediately ceasing all cooperation” with the U.N. body.
In November, Grossi reported continued development of a reactor at Yongbyon and apparent work on an undeclared centrifuge enrichment facility at the Kangson complex. More recently, in March, he noted indications of a new reprocessing campaign at the Yongbyon reactor.
As official policy, the U.S. has long refused to recognize Pyongyang as a nuclear power, despite its arsenal of nuclear weapons.
However, the Trump administration has veered from the official line, as the president has called North Korea a “nuclear nation” numerous times since taking office.
Most recently, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described North Korea as a “nuclear-armed” country in an apparent recognition of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons capabilities.
Rubio used the expression in a podcast interview released Wednesday, in which he discussed security challenges facing the United States, including from China, Russia and Iran.
“We live in a world with a nuclear-armed North Korea, with a nuclear-ambitious Iran,” the secretary said in the podcast hosted by The Free Press, according to a transcript provided by the State Department.
The phrase “nuclear power” has sparked concern in South Korea, as it could be interpreted as formal U.S. recognition of North Korea’s nuclear weapons capability – potentially legitimizing Kim’s regime.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.This post was originally published on Radio Free.