U.S. nuclear power faces renewed scrutiny amid Japan's crisis, but it is far too early to gauge the damage suffered by Japan's industry and the effect on U.S. atomic energy's future, says CFR's Michael Levi.

Japan's most powerful earthquake and the accompanying tsunami will sorely test its weak government and have a devastating impact on its struggling economy, says CFR's Sheila Smith.

The latest inter-Korean talks were shadowed by North Korea's failure to apologize for the Cheonan sinking and Yeonpyeong Island shelling. This raises questions about renewed diplomacy on the North's nuclear program, says CFR's Scott Snyder.

South Korea's exercises on Yeonpyeong are a response to last month's North Korean attack and growing public anger, says CFR's Scott Snyder, who urges greater China-U.S. cooperation on the Korean peninsula and strengthening South Korean defenses.

Japan's new national defense policy makes only modest changes to its overall capabilities but signals new concerns about threats from China, says CFR's Sheila Smith.

Yesterday's high-level meeting involving Japan, South Korea, and the United States demonstrated that tolerance for Chinese support for North Korea has reached its limit, says CFR's Sheila Smith.

Reports of a newly operational nuclear enrichment facility in North Korea highlight the regime's defiance of U.S. policy and UN sanctions as well as China's increasing closeness with North Korea, says CFR's Scott Snyder.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan's reelection as head of Japan's ruling Democratic Party means some long-needed continuity in Japanese government, but the party needs to demonstrate its effectiveness, says CFR's Sheila Smith.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula need to be managed carefully so that growing South Korean and U.S. intolerance for Korean belligerence doesn't lead to unintended military escalation, say CFR's Scott Snyder and Paul Stares.

The surprise collapse of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government raises questions about the DPJ party's ability to lead the country, its U.S. ties, and its security policy, writes CFR's Sheila Smith.

In a series of Northeast Asian summits, China gave no signal it was prepared to ramp up pressure on North Korea, to the detriment of regional security efforts, writes CFR's Sheila Smith.

The United States, South Korea, and Japan have displayed solidarity in response to ramped-up tensions with North Korea, but China needs to be more active in crisis diplomacy, says CFR's Sheila Smith.

South Korea's charge that North Korea caused the sinking of one of its warships is likely to result in a drawn-out effort to get the UN Security Council to censure Pyongyang, writes CFR's Scott Snyder.

An incident involving a sunken South Korean naval vessel has highlighted the ongoing tensions with North Korea and ongoing potential for naval confrontations between the two sides, says CFR's Scott Snyder.

An interactive, multimedia guide to the dispute between North and South Korea.

In their first White House meeting on Tuesday, Presidents Obama and Park will likely seek to reassert the long-standing security and economic relationship between the United States and South Korea, says CFR's Scott Snyder.

Rather than seeking regime overthrow in North Korea and Iran, Washington should pursue an updated version of Soviet-era containment policy, says expert Robert Litwak.

Despite Pyongyang's aggressive public posturing in recent days, the greatest threat from North Korea will likely be a surprise guerilla-style provocation, says CFR Korea expert Scott Snyder.

Reviving Japan's economy from its two-decade-long slump is key to stabilizing the country's political environment, says expert Gerald Curtis.

Sheila Smith argues that while recent tensions between Japan and South Korea over territorial issues are deeply worrisome for the U.S. government and for regional stability, the reality is that a stronger bilateral relationship can only come about if it is the Japanese and Korean people that lead the effort on reconciliation.