Anthony Kuhn
Anthony Kuhn is NPR's correspondent based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on the Korean Peninsula, Japan, and the great diversity of Asia's countries and cultures. Before moving to Seoul in 2018, he traveled to the region to cover major stories including the North Korean nuclear crisis and the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster.
Kuhn previously served two five-year stints in Beijing, China, for NPR, during which he covered major stories such as the Beijing Olympics, geopolitical jousting in the South China Sea, and the lives of Tibetans, Uighurs, and other minorities in China's borderlands.
He took a particular interest in China's rich traditional culture and its impact on the current day. He has recorded the sonic calling cards of itinerant merchants in Beijing's back alleys, and the descendants of court musicians of the Tang Dynasty. He has profiled petitioners and rights lawyers struggling for justice, and educational reformers striving to change the way Chinese think.
From 2010-2013, Kuhn was NPR's Southeast Asia correspondent, based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Among other stories, he explored Borneo and Sumatra, and witnessed the fight to preserve the biodiversity of the world's oldest forests. He also followed Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, as she rose from political prisoner to head of state.
Kuhn served as NPR's correspondent in London from 2004-2005, covering stories including the London subway bombings and the marriage of the Prince of Wales to the Duchess of Cornwall.
Besides his major postings, Kuhn's journalistic horizons have been expanded by various short-term assignments. These produced stories including wartime black humor in Iraq, musical diplomacy by the New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang, North Korea, a kerfuffle over the plumbing in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Pakistani artists' struggle with religious extremism in Lahore, and the Syrian civil war's spillover into neighboring Lebanon.
Prior to joining NPR, Kuhn wrote for the Far Eastern Economic Review and freelanced for various news outlets, including the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek. He majored in French literature as an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis, and later did graduate work at the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American studies in Nanjing.
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The new coronavirus has spread to South Korea. NPR's Anthony Kuhn discusses the situation in that country.
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Pyongyang says it has mobilized to fight for its "national survival." Experts say North Korea's track record of fighting epidemics does not bode well for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. -
Kim Jong Un did not follow through on warnings about a harder line nuclear stance. Analysts say North Korea may be waiting to gauge President Trump's political prospects in 2020. -
The North Korean leader made his remarks to a session of the ruling Workers Party Central Committee. He accused the U.S. of failing to reciprocate the North's diplomatic gestures. -
South Korea was once the largest source of children for international adoptions. Now some adoptees are building ties with birth family members. Critics say South Korean adoption laws need improvement. -
The U.S. reportedly is demanding that South Korea pay $5 billion for the coming year. The issue is putting stress not seen in years on the decades-old alliance between the U.S. and South Korea. -
Typhoon Hagibus made landfall on Saturday with strong rain and powerful winds hitting the central and northern parts of Japan. Dozens of fatalities have been reported so far.
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North Korea said on Sunday that it had no desire to engage in new negotiations with the United States, rejecting Washington's suggestion that both countries meet again in Stockholm in two weeks.
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North Korea fired what is believed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile. It comes just days before U.S. and North Korean officials are supposed to resume nuclear talks.
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The ballistic missile traveled about 280 miles, landing in the Sea of Japan. If capable of submarine launch it would represent a significant advance in North Korea's missile program.
