South Korea's president calls for easing sanctions on North | East Asia Tonight Sep 22, 2026

South Korea says the US should consider lifting sanctions if the North agrees to freeze its nuclear weapons programme. This comes as Pyongyang touts a new hypersonic weapons. Also on East Asia Tonight: China tightens export controls on two chemicals used to make drugs, ahead of a summit between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump.

00:00 Headlines
01:43 South Korea rethinks approach to North's nuclear programme
03:07 Pyongyang unveils new weapons that would give enemies "incurable headache"
05:06 China tightens controls on precursor chemicals
10:49 Japan PM Sanae Takaichi, Trump to meet on sidelines of UN General Assembly
11:55 At least four dead as Typhoon Dujuan batters eastern Japan
14:12 South Korea set to invest in Texas power plant despite viability concerns
17:28 EU Chamber of Commerce on China's industrial overcapacity
18:35 Alibaba unveils what it calls China's most powerful AI chip
24:41 Taiwan a thorny issue that could surface at Trump-Xi summit
38:10 Can Trump and Xi agree on rules for the artificial intelligence race?
45:49 MMA fighter Tiffany Teo wins Singapore's first gold at Asian Games 2026