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IF you’re planning your 2027 holiday already, then you can get ahead of the curve with these 10 destinations.

A new report released by Expedia has revealed the trending hotspots for next year, which have seen a boom in searches.

Along with the soon-to-be-popular destinations, it also looked at other trends, such as set-jetting (destinations popular after being featured in films or TV shows) as well as ‘trip snacking’ which are shorter, sometimes only 24-hour, trips.

Called the Unpack ’27, Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin explained: “In 2027, travellers are being more intentional in choosing their next adventure, seeking experiences that are more personal and purposeful to them.

“We’re making it easier to discover, plan, and book the right trip, so travellers can spend less time managing the details and more time enjoying the moments that matter.”

Here are the 10 destinations set to be big next year.

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Winter sun resorts & ‘cyberpunk’ cities – 10 destinations set to be HUGE in 2027

South Lake Tahoe, US

The destination that has seen the biggest jump in searches is South Lake Tahoe, up 195%.

This is one for the outdoor enthusiasts, thanks to its beautiful mountain ranges and huge lake.

It is a year-round resort, meaning it is great for hiking in the summer skiing in the winter.

Brits will need to fly to the main Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Nevada, which requires a layover at another US airport.

Hyogo, Japan

Japan is on everyone’s lips right now, but ditch Tokyo and Kyoto for Hyogo.

The prefecture in the Kansai region has seen searches increase by 95%.

It’s main attraction is Himeji Castle, as well as its hot springs too and world-famous Kobe beef.

To get there, Brits can fly to Tokyo or Osaka, then hop on a domestic flight or high speed train.

Punta del Este, Uruguay

Nicknamed the St Tropez or Monaco of South America, searches to Uruguay‘s Punta del Este are up 65%.

This is where the rich and the famous often visit, with luxury beach resorts lining the beach visited by celebs such as Shakira and Naomi Campbell.

While it is mainly known for its resort like, with yacht clubs, casinos and nightclubs, make sure to visit the unusual La Mano, a huge human hand sculpture from the 1980s.

Flights here from the UK will require a stopover, most likely in Madrid or Brazil.

Sedona, US

The desert city of Sedona in Arizona is also booming in popularity.

With searches up 55%, the destination is most known for its huge red rock formations, which have hundreds of walking and hiking trails.

It’s unique landscape means it was also used to film a number of movies (mainly Westerns between 1940 and 1960), leading to it’s nickname of Arizona’s Little Hollywood.

Brits wanting to visit should fly to Phoenix Airport, then rent a car to drive there.

Busan, South Korea

KPop Demon Hunters, KBeauty and new Virgin Atlantic flights from the UK – it’s safe to say Korea is having a moment.

But outside of Seoul, the city of Busan has seen searches up by 50 per cent.

The second-largest city in the country, it is known for its huge sandy beach (best seen from the Busan X the Sky observation deck on floor 100) and the huge Lotte World Adventure theme park.

To get there, fly to Seoul from the UK then take the high speed train to Busan.

Holbox, Mexico

The tiny, car-free island of Holbox has been a popular destination with backpackers wanting to get off the beaten track.

But the Mexican island has since seen a jump in searches, up 45%.

Beautiful soft sand beaches, clean blue waters and colorful streets of graffiti and cheap tacos – what more could you want?

Fly to Cancun Airport, then take a bus and a ferry to get to the island.

Perugia, Italy

The only mainland European destination to make the list, Perugia has seen searches increase by 35%.

Found on the hilltop, the Umbria capital is one for the foodies, being famous for its chocolate (and annual chocolate festival).

There is also Jazz festivals, historic fortresses and beautiful architecture to explore as well.

It is super easy to get to as well – Ryanair have direct flights from London Stansted from £20.

The Tweed, Australia

Most people won’t have heard of The Tweed in Australia,

But searches for the New South Wales region have gone up by 35%, according to Expedia.

It is known for its river trails and national parks, sharing a border with Queensland.

This makes it easier to get to, with Brits needing to fly to Sydney of Melbourne followed by an internal flight.

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada

The Ontario town, Niagara-on-the-Lake, has seen searches 35% up.

It is often said to be one of the region’s prettiest towns, and is where Niagara River meets Lake Ontario.

Expect Victorian architecture – it was built by Brits as a military defence – and unique ice wines.

Brits need to fly to Toronto Pearson Airport, followed by a drive to get there.

Chichester, UK

Bizarrely, the English city of Chichester made the list as well.

With searches up 30, the city is known for its 1,000 year old cathedral as well as its even older 2,000 year old Roman history.

It is also the only city in West Sussex, although remains one of the UK’s smallest with just 29,000 locals.

Here are 10 other destinations set to be big next year.

Latest missile launch appears to be a show of force since South Korea’s hypersonic missile test-fire, Seoul says.

North Korea has fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military says.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said one of the missiles flew more than 900km (559 miles) from the Pyongyang area on Monday. The joint chiefs did not specify how many missiles were detected.

Japan’s coastguard said on Monday that North Korea had fired two unidentified projectiles, believed to be ballistic missiles, which appeared to have already fallen.

South Korea’s presidential office said that Pyongyang’s repeated missile launches violate United Nations Security Council resolutions, urging an immediate stop.

Monday’s missile launch adds to heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, as both countries have been conducting weapons tests.

Escalating tensions

JCS spokesperson Jang Do-young said the latest missile launch appears to be a show of force since South Korea’s hypersonic missile test-fire.

On Thursday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung oversaw the country’s first test-firing of a hypersonic missile, a rare public showcasing of a missile test by a South Korean president.

Lee’s office said the hypersonic weapon, once fully developed, would enhance South Korea’s ability to strike key targets by surprise in the “Korean Peninsula theatre of operations”.

On October 3, North Korea also tested a hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to evade missile defences in South Korea and Japan.

Last week, Seoul demanded an apology after a landmine blast wounded three soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea. A joint South Korean-UN investigation concluded that two landmines were planted by North Korean forces about a year ago. Pyongyang dismissed the claim and accused South Korea of provocation.

Prior to the border mine blast, Seoul said it was conducting “preliminary coordination efforts” to facilitate dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington.

Lee pledged to reopen dialogue with North Korea in his first speech after taking office in 2025.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues to flaunt his nuclear weapons programme, while rejecting US and South Korean offers to resume stalled diplomacy.

Talks between Kim and US President Donald Trump abruptly ended in 2019. Kim Jong Un’s government continues to demand that Washington abandon its “hostile” policy towards Pyongyang and drop demands for North Korea’s denuclearisation as a condition for talks.

Ukrainian reports of South Korean fuel exports to Russia come amid strained tensions between Seoul and Kyiv.

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said the government will take legal action over illegal fuel shipments to Russia if allegations from an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are confirmed.

The Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it had not confirmed whether South Korean fuel, including diesel, had been exported to Russia.

It added that exports of some products, such as diesel and jet fuel for commercial purposes, were not included in a South Korean exports control list to Russia.

On Wednesday, the South Korean presidential office dismissed a statement by Vladyslav Vlasiuk, an adviser to the Ukrainian president on sanctions policy, that 176,000 tonnes of fuel were shipped from South Korea to Russia via sanctioned tankers in July and August.

Ukraine’s top sanctions official said the alleged findings run counter to South Korea’s sanctions policy towards Russia.

“Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, our government has consistently implemented sanctions and export controls against Russia in close cooperation with the international community,” South Korean presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said on Wednesday, according to the Yonhap news agency.

“We ask that Ukraine also refrain from distorting the relevant policies of the Republic of Korea without sufficient verification of the facts and making public remarks that can damage international trust,” she added.

Relations between South Korea and Ukraine have been strained for the past couple of weeks after Seoul accused Zelenskyy of having “unilaterally disclosed” to the United Nations General Assembly that Kyiv had transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.

Seoul Korea demanded an official apology from Kyiv, claiming the Ukrainian president had breached a non-disclosure agreement. Kyiv said no such agreement was in place.

Pyongyang and Moscow, meanwhile, have deep ties, with the two countries having signed a mutual defence treaty in 2024. According to Ukrainian and South Korean estimates, about 14,000 to 15,000 North Korean soldiers were sent to support Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine.

North Korea and South Korea remain technically at war because the 1950–1953 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

South Korea signals cuts to military exemptions for gold medallists after backlash over athletes’ Asian Games comments.

South Korea’s sports minister says the government will review the military service exemption for gold-medal-winning athletes after public backlash to some controversial comments from winners at the Asian Games.

Three players from the men’s football team came under fire for comments following South Korea’s 1-0 win over Japan in the Asian Games final last weekend in Japan.

All three apologised, but a broader debate had already reignited over whether athletes should receive special treatment for sporting achievements, particularly as common citizens, as even members of BTS – the globally famous K-pop group – had to complete their mandatory service.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the furore surrounding the comments at the Asian Games.

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young on Wednesday said the alternative military service exemption system for artists and athletes “will inevitably have to be scaled back”.

“It is true that the system has contributed to helping outstanding artists and athletes maintain and develop their abilities,” Choi told the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.

“However, the values attached to fairness and public perceptions of military service have changed. I agree that the system should be comprehensively reviewed once again.”

What does military service look like in South Korea?

Most South Korean men must complete 18 to 21 months of military service by the age of 28.

Since 1973, however, Olympic medallists and Asian Games gold medallists have been able to replace the full term with a supplementary service, which consists of three weeks of basic training.

Three of the footballers, including Yang Min-hyuk, who assisted the winning goal against Japan, made comments that were viewed as insensitive.

“The medal and winning the championship weren’t important. I played the game with only one thing in mind – the reward of a military service exemption,” Yang, who joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2025 and is currently on loan at Belgian club Westerlo, said.

Newcastle United midfielder Park Seung-soo posted a photo on social media showing him wearing a cap associated with soldiers who have completed their service. In a post-match interview, captain Lee Gi-hyuk held up his gold medal and said, “I’m not going to the military.”

What has been said elsewhere in South Korea about the controversy?

A number of politicians, including Ahn Cheol-soo of the People Power Party, said it was time to change the system.

“Some players’ remarks after the match were outrageous,” Ahn posted on social media. “Even the captain bragged about not having to serve in the military. Are all the young people who enlist every year fools?”

Former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min said the flippant comments had provoked resentment and asked: “Is it really fair that BTS has to serve in the military while Asian Games gold medallists are exempt?”

In a Korea Herald editorial on Tuesday, the newspaper declared that the practice was outdated.

“South Korea now stands shoulder to shoulder with the world’s leading nations,” the newspaper said. “The days when finishing first in Asia could meaningfully enhance the country’s national prestige are long gone. It is time to reconsider.”

That was the message from Defence Ministry spokesperson Chung Binna during a press briefing in Seoul.

“Ultimately, we have plans to cut back or scrap the supplementary service, including one designed for artists and athletes,” Chung said.

What other athletes gained military-service exemptions?

The footballers were among many winners from the Asian Games who qualified for the military exemption.

Golfer Tom Kim won the men’s singles on Saturday after flying across the Pacific when the Presidents Cup competition ended so he could compete in Japan. Asked about the military exemption, he took the gold-medal approach.

“I’m more proud that I’m able to bring a medal for my country,” he said.

Sixteen South Korean baseball players are also exempt after defeating Japan 3-1 in the Asian Games final. So are three South Koreans who won gold in esports, an event at the Asian Games.

Seoul has urged the North to remove any other mines planted on the southern side of the military demarcation line.

South Korea is weighing measures to force an apology from North Korea over a recent landmine blast that wounded three soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two countries, a Defence Ministry spokesperson has said.

A joint South Korean-United Nations investigation concluded on Monday that two landmines that exploded last month in the DMZ were planted by North Korean forces about a year ago, prompting Seoul to demand an official apology.

“We are not ruling out any options or prejudging anything when it comes to additional measures,” Defence Ministry spokeswoman Chung Bin-na told reporters on Tuesday when asked if steps were being planned to force an apology from Pyongyang.

Chung did not offer specifics about what actions might be employed.

Seoul has also called on nuclear-armed North Korea to remove any other mines planted on the southern side of the military demarcation line (MDL) that runs through the DMZ, the heavily fortified frontier that has divided the Korean Peninsula since the 1953 Armistice Agreement.

Pyongyang has denied responsibility for the September 21 blast, with Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea’s leader, slamming the call for an apology as “despicable”.

Chung said Seoul is calling on ⁠Pyongyang to come ⁠to the table to ⁠discuss a misalignment of the MDL. Differing views of the border line are one factor contributing to tension in the area, she said.

The comments come a day after South Korea’s military carried out a mine-clearing operation south of the MDL. It pledged to continue with clearing operations in the area if Pyongyang fails to remove the remaining explosives. The United States-led UN Command (UNC) confirmed the mine placement violated the 1953 agreement.

Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul told the Yonhap news agency on Tuesday that the military’s “decisive” response was “unprecedented in history”.

“All responsibility lies with North Korea,” Kang told reporters, adding that armed forces would “respond decisively” to any actions threatening national security.

The escalation comes as Pyongyang rejected diplomatic overtures from Seoul. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young proposed on October 2 that both sides jointly resurvey the MDL, noting that only about 200 of 1,292 original boundary markers remain intact and that Seoul and the UNC differ on roughly 60 percent of border coordinates.

Kim Yo Jong rejected the proposal as a “wild dream”, declaring Pyongyang would define its sovereign boundary “by the use of force, not by means of negotiation”.

A ballistic missile is fired from the North Korean port city of Wonsan, South Korean military says.

South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired at least one ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Saturday morning that its northern neighbour fired a ballistic missile from the port city of Wonsan on the eastern shore of the Korean Peninsula.

The South Korean military raised an alert for further launches.

Japan issued an emergency alert on Saturday, saying: “North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile.”

The launch came a day after Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, ridiculed South Korean demands for the North to apologise over landmine blasts that South Korea and the US-led United Nations Command said were caused by North Korean mines planted south of the Military Demarcation Line.

The blasts seriously injured three South Korean soldiers on a reconnaissance mission inside the 4km-wide (2.5-mile) border zone that stretches across the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea has also called on the North to halt recent efforts to fortify its border, including the installation of mines and anti-tank barriers.

Kim Yo Jong dismissed Seoul’s demands as “utterly pathetic”, saying the North intends to permanently cut ties with the South.

Saturday’s launch was the latest in a series of North Korean military displays in recent weeks, including tests of a purported hypersonic missile system, live-fire exercises and the commissioning of a new warship.

South Korea’s ⁠President accused Ukraine of ⁠undermining him and called on Kyiv to apologise.

South Korea’s ⁠President ⁠Lee Jae Myung has expressed anger at Ukraine over comments by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a speech at the UN which appeared to reveal a secret deal by which Kyiv would transfer North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul.

In a social media post on Friday, Lee accused Ukraine of undermining him and ⁠warned that Zelenskyy’s ⁠remarks about an imminent military clash between North and South Korea ‌amounted to invoking the risk of war on ‌the ‌Korean Peninsula.

The diplomatic row pits two US-aligned states with powerful militaries against each other, potentially complicating US efforts to shore up a united global front to contain Russia, China and North Korea.

The South Korean president also expressed ⁠regret over Ukraine’s response and called on Kyiv to acknowledge the agreement and apologise.

“This is a matter concerning the honor of the Republic of Korea’s people and nation, we cannot overlook it,” Lee said.

Lee also referred to an interview with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha published by RBC-Ukraine and other Ukrainian outlets on Thursday which sought to reduce bilateral tensions.

Sybiha had said he would “not like to call it an incident”, describing it instead as a “diplomatic misunderstanding”.

“South Korea is an important country for us. And I very much hope for momentum, continued cooperation, and concrete results that we are indeed achieving with them,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during the UN General Assembly that Kyiv had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea after they were caught fighting for Russia in the Kursk region.

South Korea demanded an official apology and explanation from Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of disclosing the transfer of the two North Korean POWs to Seoul.

South Korea’s senior presidential secretary Seong Ghi-hong said in a statement that Ukraine had repeatedly discussed the prisoners’ transfer with Seoul through various channels and had requested secrecy. However, Kyiv has said no secrecy agreement existed.

Exports jump 83.5 percent to top $120bn for the first time amid ferocious semiconductor demand.

South Korea’s exports have surged to a monthly record amid explosive demand for chips used to power artificial intelligence.

Exports jumped 83.5 percent year-on-year to $120.9bn in September, eclipsing the previous monthly record of $102.25bn set in June, preliminary customs figures showed on Thursday.

Chip shipments accounted for nearly half of exports, soaring more than 260 percent to $60.3bn, according to data from the Korea Customs Service.

Total exports from January through September hit $814.5bn, exceeding those for all of 2025, when exports reached a record $709.7bn.

During the first nine months of the year, the country recorded a trade surplus of $49.85bn.

“This is a valuable achievement that once again demonstrates the strength of our industries and companies, and is thanks to the sweat and efforts of our entrepreneurs who have competed fiercely in the global market,” said Kim Jeong-kwan, South Korea’s minister for trade and industry, in a statement.

“While we expect to achieve $1 trillion in annual exports, the strengthening of global protectionism and tensions in the Middle East remain major variables affecting our exports,” Kim said.

South Korea’s economy has been running red-hot this year amid a global shortage of memory chips used in AI.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy is home to one of the world’s largest semiconductor industries, led by top memory chip makers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.

SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics together control roughly 80 percent of the global market for high-bandwidth memory and 60 percent of the market for dynamic random-access memory, according to Counterpoint Research.

South Korea’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP) growth hit a five-decade high in the April-June quarter, skyrocketing 26.4 percent year-on-year.

South Korea’s Ministry of Finance and Economy has forecast real GDP to grow 3 percent in 2026, which would be the strongest performance since 2017, excluding the outlier years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AI boom has also propelled the country’s stock market into the ranks of the best-performing bourses this year, with the benchmark Kospi rising nearly 60 percent.

South Korea calls for a formal apology from North Korea over the DMZ explosion that injured three soldiers.

South Korea’s military has demanded an apology from North Korea over landmine explosions earlier this month in the border zone between the two countries that wounded three soldiers.

Three South Korean soldiers were injured in two explosions on September 21 near the military demarcation line in the western section of the Demilitarized Zone, a heavily fortified border buffer zone between the Koreas that is commonly known as the DMZ.

Kang Hyunwoo, the South Korean joint chiefs of staff’s director of operations, said the military “strongly urges” North Korea to apologise for the blasts and take “responsible measures” to prevent a recurrence.

“This is a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement and undermines the spirit of existing inter-Korean agreements; it must be stopped immediately,” he said on Wednesday, adding “we strongly urge an apology and responsible measures”.

Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul said South Korea would consider unspecified “corresponding measures” if a complete investigation confirms the North was responsible.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said the South Korean assessment is a “conspiratorial farce” and accused Seoul of making groundless claims to create a pretext for provocation against Pyongyang.

She also criticised the South for broadcasting warnings and firing warning shots at North Korean troops conducting front-line fortification work, adding “our soldiers have never crossed the border”.

“If the [South Korean] military gangsters fire at our soldiers carrying on the permanent project for the southern border, not warning shots, our border units will take immediate and merciless retaliatory action,” she said.

The United Nations Command said on Wednesday it had “identified an active Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea’s) anti-personnel mine on the ROK side of the Military Demarcation Line”, in a joint investigation with Seoul’s military.

“Based on the findings of the investigation, UNC determined that an Armistice Agreement violation occurred,” it added.

The UN Command is a US-led multinational military force charged with overseeing the armistice agreement that halted fighting in the Korean War and administers the southern side of the DMZ.

US president’s comments came after he was asked why North Korea can have nuclear weapons when Iran cannot.

United States President Donald Trump has described North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as “a friend” and played down concerns about Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal, saying, “as long as I’m around, he’s going to be fine”.

Trump made the remarks in Washington, DC, on Tuesday after a reporter asked him why North Korea could have nuclear weapons but Iran could not.

“That’s interesting. You know why? Because you had a different president, and they could have stopped him,” he said, referring to previous US administrations.

“He happens to be a friend of mine, Kim Jong Un, he’s a friend of mine. He likes Trump, doesn’t like a lot of other people. I’m about the only person in the entire world that he likes, and I like him,” he said.

He said North Korea’s nuclear capacity was “pretty large” but “not like us”.

“You know what, as long as I’m around, he’s going to be fine,” he added. “You know why? Because he respects me and he likes me.”

South Korea’s Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said last week that its northern neighbour possessed between 80 and 120 nuclear warheads. The figure is significantly higher than Trump’s recent assertion that Pyongyang has 57 nuclear weapons.

Trump is seeking to re-engage with Kim and secure a win on the international stage as the US and Israel’s war on Iran enters its eighth month.

The US president launched the war along with Israel on February 28, saying Iran could not have a nuclear weapon. Iran has denied seeking a weapon, noting it had signed an agreement with world powers in 2015 that curbed its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. But Trump abandoned the agreement during his first term in 2018.

The US-Israel war on Iran has disrupted global energy supplies, raised fuel costs and hurt Trump’s popularity ahead of the November midterm elections.

Trump held summits with North Korea’s Kim in 2018 and 2019, but diplomacy broke down over US demands that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons. Since then, Kim has expanded his arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles and strengthened his diplomatic footprint by aligning with Russia over its war in Ukraine and tightening relations with China.

Trump had earlier said he planned to hold in-person talks with Kim before the end of the year.

But North Korea has not formally committed to such a meeting.

South Korea has accused North Korea of planting mines that caused an explosion in the Demilitarized Zone last week, injuring two South Korean personnel and violating the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War.

South Korean Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that the mines were North Korean and appeared to have been planted as part of Pyongyang’s efforts to strengthen its border defenses near the Military Demarcation Line that divides the DMZ.

Kang said the incident warranted a response from Seoul, although he declined to specify what measures the South Korean military might take.

Seoul Blames North Korea for the DMZ Explosion

“The responsibility lies with North Korea, so we will take corresponding measures,” Kang said, adding that the military had several response options and would implement them in stages.

He said a key question was whether North Korea had planted the mines knowing that South Korean troops could enter the area and potentially be injured.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said an investigation conducted jointly with the United Nations Command had also uncovered another North Korean resin anti personnel mine close to the site of the September 21 explosion.

The newly discovered mine was different from those believed to have caused last week’s blast.

Another Mine Found South of the Military Line

JCS Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-won said the mines did not appear to have drifted into the area where they were discovered.

The United Nations Command assessed that the additional mines were clearly located south of the Military Demarcation Line, according to South Korean officials.

The findings have heightened concerns about the dangers created by North Korea’s ongoing efforts to fortify its side of one of the world’s most heavily militarized borders.

The DMZ has remained a highly sensitive area since the 1953 armistice, with even limited incidents carrying the potential to trigger a broader military confrontation.

A New Mine Incident Revives Memories of 2015

The latest blast has echoes of a 2015 confrontation, when North Korean mines seriously injured South Korean soldiers inside the DMZ.

South Korea responded by restarting loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at North Korea across the border. Pyongyang condemned the broadcasts, and tensions escalated into a military standoff before the two sides reached a high level agreement.

The current incident is unfolding under different political circumstances, however, as Seoul is simultaneously attempting to reopen dialogue with Pyongyang.

South Korea’s Dialogue Push Faces a Fresh Challenge

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has sought to encourage North Korea to return to dialogue after years of worsening relations.

Pyongyang has instead moved in the opposite direction, declaring South Korea an enemy state and abandoning its previous policy goal of peaceful reunification.

That shift has made military incidents along the border increasingly sensitive.

For Seoul, the challenge is to respond to the alleged mine deployment while avoiding measures that could further damage its efforts to restore communication with Pyongyang.

North Korea Remains Silent as Seoul Warns of a Response

North Korean state media has not publicly commented on the explosion or South Korea’s accusations.

North Korea’s mission to the United Nations and its embassies in Beijing and Singapore also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

With the South Korean military warning that it will take corresponding measures, the incident could become another source of confrontation between the two Koreas.

The immediate priority is preventing further injuries and dealing with the mines around the Military Demarcation Line. But the larger concern is whether the latest explosion will trigger another cycle of military responses at a time when relations between Seoul and Pyongyang are already deeply strained.

The blast therefore carries significance beyond the two injured personnel. It has placed South Korea’s attempt to pursue dialogue with North Korea alongside the more immediate question of how Seoul responds to what it considers a violation of the armistice.

With information from Reuters.

South Korea’s presidential office criticises Ukraine for denying POW nondisclosure agreement.

The South Korean president’s office has expressed “strong regret” over Ukraine’s disregard for a nondisclosure agreement with Seoul in the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to Seoul, South Korean media reported.

Last week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that his country transferred two North Korean POWs to South Korea.

President Lee Jae Myung’s office “expresses strong regret over Ukraine’s unilateral disclosure [of the transfer] and its subsequent false announcement that there had not been a non-disclosure agreement”, the Yonhap news agency quoted Seong Ghi-hong, South Korea’s senior presidential secretary for public relations, as saying in a statement on Sunday.

The office said the nondisclosure agreement aimed to safeguard the soldiers from dangers they could face if their transfer were to be disclosed, in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles.

According to Yonhap, a South Korean media outlet, the Ukrainian presidential office said it had disclosed the transfer of the POWs without extensive details on the process, claiming that it would have been strange to keep the entire transfer a secret. Ukrainian media outlets reported a Ukrainian presidential source as denying the existence of a confidentiality agreement with Seoul, Yonhap said.

The South Korean presidential office said the Ukrainian presidential office’s “false” denial of the confidentiality agreement “seriously hampers” bilateral trust and causes serious disruptions to bilateral friendship.

Seong Ghi-hong said the government was considering additional measures over the issue, if necessary, Yonhap added.

North Korean POWS

Ukrainian forces captured the two North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025.

Mounting evidence, including from intelligence ⁠reports and testimonies of defectors, has indicated that North Korean soldiers resorted to self-detonation or other forms of suicide rather than be captured.

In his UN address, Zelenskyy said, “These guys are not easy to capture alive.” He added, “One of them, when he realised he was going to be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself. And he was shocked that fate did not let him die.”

South Korean media reported that the two captured soldiers had expressed their desire to defect to South Korea.

The issue of North Korean prisoners of war was a key topic during the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkiye, where Lee met Zelenskyy in July.

Senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung stated afterwards that both leaders agreed to resolve the status of North Korean POWs in accordance with international law. This built on a prior agreement reached during the South Korea-Ukraine foreign ministers’ meeting in March, where both nations pledged to cooperate on the POW issue.

According to South Korean intelligence, North Korea is estimated to have deployed approximately 14,000-15,000 soldiers to support Russia’s efforts in its war with Ukraine since 2024, primarily in the Kursk border region. South Korean, Ukrainian and Western officials said they suffered heavy casualties, with more than 6,000 North Korean soldiers killed in the fighting.

The transfer comes as South Korea has backed efforts to revive dialogue with North Korea, while United States President Donald Trump has renewed his willingness to engage with Pyongyang.

Towering teenager Zhang Zhanshuo became the first swimmer in history to win seven golds at a single Asian Games, while on the track, Thai sprinter Puripol Boonson powered to victory in the 100m.

China’s Zhang, 19, scorched to the men’s 400m freestyle title in the pool in Tokyo on Friday in a Games-record three minutes and 41.28 seconds.

He sat on the lane divider after the race and slowly counted off on his fingers all seven medals he had won.

Zhang also won individual golds in the 200m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle events, as well as three relays.

He said, after wrapping up a scintillating campaign, that it had been the “perfect week”.

“I think the most important thing is to stay grounded and focused, because the Asian Games are not my ultimate goal,” said Zhang, who stands 198cm (six feet, six inches).

With the Los Angeles Olympics less than two years away, China won 30 of the 42 golds in the pool this week.

Their 13-year-old phenomenon Yu Zidi was the undoubted superstar, taking home three individual golds and all in Games-record times.

Not to be outdone, Japan’s 17-year-old Shin Ohashi shattered the men’s 200m breaststroke world record on Thursday.

Swimming, equestrian and diving are taking place in Tokyo, but the city of Nagoya and the wider Aichi prefecture are the main Games host.

The men’s and women’s 100m sprints, the blue riband events in track and field, took place in front of rows of empty seats in Nagoya.

China’s Chen Yujie streaked to a comfortable victory in the women’s final in a Games-record 11.06 seconds.

The men’s was won by 20-year-old Puripol, who burst out of the pack in the final quarter of the race to win in 9.90 seconds, breaking his Games record from earlier in the evening.

It was Thailand’s first men’s 100m gold medal since Suchart Jairsuraparp on home soil at the 1978 Bangkok Games.

‘Today was a miracle for me’

On the last evening of gymnastics, Carlos Yulo won the men’s vault for his second gold of the Games.

The double Olympic champion won floor gold on Thursday to complete his collection of major titles.

“I can’t believe it,” the Filipino said.

“In this whole Asian Games, I felt really stressed, but at the same time, I enjoyed what I did today. I really did my part.

“Today was really a miracle for me.”

There’s little time to celebrate, however, with the world championships next month.

South Korea edged China 85-80 in the semifinals of the women’s basketball, and will face hosts Japan for gold.

China had their giant centre Zhang Ziyu, 19, but it was not enough.

Zhang Ziyu stands 223cm (seven feet, four inches) and scored 22 points.

“She was tough to guard,” said South Korea’s Kang Lee-seul.

“We couldn’t defend her, but we focused on fast breaks and shooting more three-pointers.”

North Korea’s women were again in record-setting form on the weightlifting dais.

Oh Kwang Ok set three world records on her way to women’s 57kg bodyweight class gold.

Oh lifted 104kg in the snatch and 134kg in the clean and jerk for a 238kg total – all world records to add to the two golds North Korea’s women won in the 49kg and 53kg classes this week.

North Korea has won four gold medals and two silvers in the six weightlifting events contested so far.

There is no better way to explore a city than by foot, but not all places are as suitable for an adventure as others, as I found out during a recent visit to the world’s most walkable city

There is no better way to explore a city than on foot. Once touched down in a city, bag in the hotel and a fresh pair of socks on, the first thing I do is go for a walk.

It is impossible to get a feel for a place from the back of a taxi or from the elevated vantage point of a coach. You’ve got to start pounding the pavement, ideally without a destination in mind, and see where you end up.

On a recent trip to Rome, I set out from my central station hotel and marveled at the carnage of the Trevi Fountain queues, crossed the Ponte Sant’Angelo, and witnessed a coordinated group of ball-under-cup scammers sweatily fail to take anyone’s money. Last spring, I headed out into Benidorm, finding myself an impossibly cheap roast, a seafront pint of Guinness, and a ‘Good boys go to heaven, bad boys go to Benidorm’ t-shirt.

And so, in April, I applied the same approach to Seoul, a city recently named the most walkable in the world.

Do you have a story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

OPINION

Each year, Time Out conducts an annual city survey, this time around quizzing 24,000 people on how easy or not it is to discover given cities on foot. The ranking is based on the highest percentage of locals who rated their city’s walkability ‘good’ or ‘amazing’, and the South Korean capital tops the list.

“A city doesn’t have to be small to be walkable. In fact, Seoul is one of the largest cities on the list by surface area and population, but its impressive 93 percent approval rating from locals has secured the South Korean capital joint-first position. Why? Well, the city has a reputation as an exceedingly safe place to stroll by day and night, and is home to neighbourhoods such as Myeongdong, Insadong, and Hongdae, which are all primed for exploring on foot,” writes Time Out.

“Then there are the innovative pedestrian walkways, like Seoullo 7017, an 1074m-long elevated ‘sky garden’ which has seen an old inner city highway revamped into a stroll-worthy green space, home to 24,000 different plants. In downtown Seoul, the Cheonggyecheon Stream is flanked by a walkway that not only links many of the city’s central metro stations, but also landmarks such as Gwanjang Market, Jongmyo Shrine and Gyeongbokgung Palace.”

I could not disagree more.

Seoul is a fantastic city. It’s alive with a kind of youthful, optimistic energy that feels far removed from most places I’ve visited; it’s fearlessly trendy, and it’s centered on an urban mountain blanketed with cherry blossoms come the spring.

But walkable it is not. Seoul is a car city.

The almost unbelievably cheap cost of an Uber (we’re talking around £5 for a half-hour ride) means that hopping in a cab is far more common than in the UK, while the wide, four and six-lane roads that dominate much of the city encourage motoring. And produce a lot of fumes.

According to NASA, Seoul is one of the world’s cities with the worst air pollution, beating Los Angeles, Tokyo, Paris, and London. You can certainly feel it. On one crisp morning, I walked up Namsan, the 170-meter-tall hill in Seoul’s center. The view from the top would be spectacular, were it not for the heavy, shimmering cloud that hung over everything.

Walking back down, I started to get the vague feeling I’d done something wrong. I hadn’t accidentally offended a waiter or lost my hotel pass; it was the signs. Seoul is a city of signs. From the expected ‘no smoking’, to the less typical ‘no archery’, to the possibly unique ‘no hiking without a flashlight’, everywhere you look, some kind of rule is being transmitted to you. It doesn’t leave you with a feeling of freedom and exploration, nor do the CCTV cameras placed on tall metal poles in the city’s woodland.

It’s a place that’s big on rules and completely opposed to bins. Having finished a snack, I walked for two hours without finding a trash can. South Koreans are expected to take their rubbish home with them – a system that says a lot about the population’s diligent character, but one I find inherently anti-social.

As I do the lack of pavements that had me regularly sliding down alleyway walls to give way to cars, and the complete, frustrating prohibition of jaywalking. Couple all of this with the fact that the city lacks an obvious centre and is exhaustingly massive, and its status as one of the world’s least walkable cities is clear.

Given my love of treading the tarmac, it says a lot about how fantastic the rest of Seoul is that I left in love with the place. From the fish-filled waters of Cheonggyecheon River, the rusty octopus of Yongma Land, and the impossibly cheap but high-grade cosmetics, it’s a fascinating place that feels like it’s at the centre of the world. Just prepare to order a cab.

South Korean officers injured in DMZ explosion, possibly caused by a landmine, according to local media reports.

Three South Korean military officers have been wounded in an explosion in the western sector of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates North and South Korea, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

The cause of Monday’s explosion was not immediately clear, the Ministry of Defence said.

Two of the officers were evacuated from the site by helicopter, while the third was transported by land before being airlifted, according to the ministry. The officers are being treated at a military hospital near the capital Seoul, it said.

Mine explosions and other blasts are a recurring hazard in and around the DMZ, where legacy ⁠devices and suspected stray mines have periodically wounded military personnel on both sides.

The DMZ, which is 248km (154 miles) long and 4km (2.5 miles) wide, is one of the world’s most heavily armed borders. An estimated 2 million mines are peppered inside and near the border, which is also guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides. The zone is a legacy of the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, which ended with an armistice but not a peace treaty.

There have been growing concerns in South Korea about increased activity by North Korean soldiers near the military demarcation line as the North strengthens its border defences during prolonged tensions.

The NATO Response Force (NRF) and EU Battlegroups have demonstrated that placing multinational forces on standby does not automatically make them immediately operational. German-Dutch military integration, in contrast, has generated a different outcome since cooperation was internalized within permanent command structures, units, training, and capability planning before a crisis occurred.

Such a comparison is becoming increasingly relevant to Northeast Asia. A Taiwan contingency could absorb American military assets at the very moment when North Korea embarks upon a serious provocation towards South Korea. Continued US commitments in Europe and the Middle East could further complicate the allocation of finite resources.

Why Standby Forces Encountered Problems

The NRF was established after the 2002 Prague Summit as a rapidly deployable multinational joint force of roughly 25,000 troops. Yet the NRF was heavily dependent on the member countries assigning their respective forces to particular rotations, while these governments had the final say over whether the forces could ultimately be employed. During the Afghanistan and Iraq wars—when operational demand was high—each government had strong disincentives in introducing scarce high-readiness units and specialized enablers to NRF rotational deployment.

This created a gap between designated readiness and actual availability. Strategic transportation, logistics, specialized support units, and communication capacity could still be subject to competing national demands. Eventually, in 2024, NATO replaced the NRF with the NATO Force Model, which emphasized a substantially larger pool of high-readiness forces that is closely aligned with specific defense plans.

Meanwhile, the EU Battlegroup was faced with an even clearer problem. Although the multinational battlegroups had been maintained on rotational standby since 2007, they had never been deployed. While acknowledging that the battlegroups enhanced interoperability and military transformation, the European Parliament attributed the shortcoming largely to insufficient political will, difficulties in decision-making, implementation problems, and the financing arrangements.

What Germany and the Netherlands Did Differently

German-Dutch cooperation developed according to a different institutional logic. Although the 1st German-Netherlands Corps was created in Münster in 1995, the integration later expanded deep into both militaries’ force structures. The Dutch 11th Airmobile Brigade was incorporated into the German Division Schnelle Kräfte (DSK) in 2014, while the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade was integrated into Germany’s 1st Panzer Division in 2016, and the Dutch 13th Light Armoured Brigade joined Germany’s 10th Panzer Division in 2023.

The relationship was extended below the brigade level. Germany’s Panzerbataillon 414 is operated under the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade, and Dutch personnel operate Germany’s Leopard 2A6MA2 tanks while serving within the battalion. Moreover, German officers serve in Dutch command headquarters and vice versa, turning multinational command into a routine organizational reality instead of a stopgap measure that is only activated during major exercises.

Needless to say, such an arrangement does not eliminate national sovereignty. Both Germany and the Netherlands preserve the political prerogative over whether and where their forces are deployed. Meanwhile, the benefits of integration would become observable once a crisis necessitates the deployment. Staff are already well-versed in each other’s procedures, and units have repeatedly conducted joint exercises, while command and logistics relations do not need to be newly constructed during mobilization.

The distinctions were visibly observable during training. For example, approximately 7,000 German and Dutch personnel participated in the 2026 Fighter Lion—the largest military exercise conducted by the Netherlands in two decades—ten years after the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade was integrated into Germany’s 1st Panzer Division. These types of exercises strengthen existing command relations rather than creating temporary interoperability for a single event.

What Japan and South Korea Can Apply

It is quite obvious that Japan and South Korea cannot replicate the German-Dutch model. Neither country has a formal mutual defense pact nor a NATO-style integrated command structure. Therefore, the directly applicable lessons are more limited. Nonetheless, selected operational relationships can and should be institutionalized before multiple simultaneous contingencies make such coordination necessary.

The practical first step could be a standing bilateral adjustment mechanism that links Japan’s Joint Operations Command (JJOC) with relevant South Korean joint headquarters. Instead of exercising command authority, the mechanism could maintain procedures for intelligence exchange, deconfliction in the air and at sea, movement of US reinforcements, logistics coordination, and the use of Japanese facilities that support a Korean contingency. This would be especially crucial when Japan has to assist US operations related to Taiwan while installations across Japan—including Yokota, Yokosuka, Sasebo, Iwakuni, and other United Nations Command (UNC)-Rear facilities—play a pivotal role in US reinforcement to the Korean Peninsula in accordance with Operational Plan (OPLAN) 5055.

Under this mechanism, small-scale functional cells could concentrate on specific missions. Missile warning would be the most obvious starting point since the United States, Japan, and South Korea have conducted North Korean missile-warning data-sharing since December 2023. Additional cells could treat maritime domain awareness (MDA), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), cyber defense, transportation, medical evacuation, and logistics.

The exchange of officers should accompany the aforementioned measures. Japanese officers could participate in South Korean command posts, while South Korean officers could join Japanese operational staff who deal with naval operations, air defense, logistics, or reinforcement coordination. The goal is to get familiar with each country’s procedures, communications, command relations, and other miscellaneous constraints before wartime pressure markedly shortens the timeframe for decision-making.

Exercise Scarcity Rather Than Ideal Conditions

The most notable changes should be related to exercise design. Trilateral exercises should not be premised on the assumption that the full inventory of United States support capabilities will always be available. A more pessimistic scenario would begin with a Taiwan scenario that is already consuming a substantial amount of US assets—including its ISR capacity, strategic transportation, and precision-guided munitions—when North Korea embarks upon a serious horizontal or vertical military escalation on the Korean Peninsula.

In this particular situation, elaborated by the Atlantic Council report, South Korean military planners should determine which missions could be conducted independently and which can be addressed bilaterally. South Korea may assume greater responsibility for ISR, missile defense, logistics, and conventional firepower on the Korean Peninsula—yet this would be affected by the tempo of wartime operational control (OPCON) transition—while Japan could take on additional maritime surveillance, ASW, sea lines of communication (SLOC) protection, base defense, and logistics. The primary aim is not to divide the Taiwan and Korean Peninsula theaters between Seoul and Tokyo but to identify how both countries could most effectively conduct missions that complement US military operations across the two regions.

Logistics should be placed at the center of these exercises. A dual contingency could impose on the Japanese government the need to support both US operations on Taiwan and USFJ reinforcement to the Korean Peninsula, which inevitably involves Japanese ports and airfields. It could cause competition for fuel, maintenance, transportation, ammunition depots, runways, and port capacity. Thus, Tokyo and Seoul should develop procedures concerning reciprocal servicing, immediate repair, medical support, transportation, and selected supplies before the bottleneck transmogrifies into wartime problems.

Functional Integration Without a Bilateral Alliance

The German-Dutch case illustrates that political authority is not necessarily the same thing as operational preparedness. A government can maintain full authority over whether its forces enter conflicts and can also prepare in advance to cooperate effectively if that decision is made. These distinctions are highly relevant to Japan and South Korea since they enable a considerable level of operational preparedness without a formal defense pact. For instance, South Korea could discuss target allocations for North Korean TELs with its Japanese counterparts in order to effectively use the finite weapons available to Japan’s enemy base strike capability and South Korea’s Kill Chain and Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR).

Naturally, the primary objective should be functional integration in fields where both governments already have overlapping interests. A large set of measures—spanning from ISR coordination to cyber defense—can be institutionalized without creating either an integrated force or an Asian version of NATO.

Both the NRF and EU Battlegroups revealed the limits of formations that remained dependent on political and operational arrangements being assembled only when crises occur. German-Dutch cooperation worked better since many of those arrangements already existed.

Given the historical baggage that Japan and South Korea carry, it would undoubtedly be a Herculean task for them to take novel steps. Nonetheless, the emerging regional security environment is rapidly narrowing down the available options.

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South Korea will continue efforts to facilitate talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Friday that United States President Donald Trump wants dialogue with Pyongyang and confirmed Seoul will not be deploying troops to intervene militarily in the Iran war.

“Trump clearly ⁠wants dialogue ⁠with North ⁠Korea,” Lee said on Friday.

He added that while such talks are uncertain, they are not impossible.

South Korea was continuing “preliminary coordination efforts” to facilitate dialogue between North Korea and the US.

“The resumption of North Korea-US dialogue would be far easier than resuming inter-Korean dialogue,” he said, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Trump, seeking to revive the bond he claims to have forged with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his first term, said he plans to meet Kim later this year.

The US president said it was important to “get along” with Kim, adding that Pyongyang now had 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons.

Seoul has assessed that Pyongyang has about 80-120 nuclear warheads.

North Korea, which has secured critical backing from Russia in recent years, did not clearly respond to Trump.

Inter-Korean relations reached a high in 2018 but deteriorated after talks between Kim and Trump collapsed in February 2019.

On Thursday, a court in Seoul ordered North Korea to pay roughly $32.5m for blowing up the Inter-Korean Liaison Office building in 2020. The office was intended to improve relations on the peninsula but was destroyed amid rising tensions between the neighbours.

South Korea is working to strengthen relations with other regional partners. The first-ever presidential summit between Seoul and five Central Asian states was held on Wednesday, aiming to establish deeper economic engagement with the Russian-allied countries.

South Korea will not dispatch troops

Despite growing pressure from the US, Lee reiterated three times that South Korea will not deploy troops to the Strait of Hormuz.

“Let it be clear. There will be no dispatch of troops that will lead to involvement in a conflict. There will be no engagement or involvement in war,” Lee said.

The South Korean government found itself at odds with large parts of Korean society as protests broke out in recent weeks opposing a potential deployment of South Korean military assets to the Strait of Hormuz.

Lee added that South Korea will “carry out the minimum necessary activities” to protect its own merchant ships and oil shipping routes.

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games get under way this weekend under the shadow of a housing crisis that has organisers scrambling to placate athletes and officials from participating nations.

The tournament has been mired in complaints over housing options for athletes travelling to Japan, after the host nation decided not to build a dedicated Games village for the 17,000 competitors and officials.

To cut costs this year, organisers are relying on a cruise ship, temporary wooden cabins and hotels, but this temporary accommodation has met with criticism in the days leading up to the continental competition.

On Monday, South Korean officials slammed beds in shipping container-style huts as the “worst-ever”, as the South Korean basketball chief said the beds were too short to stretch out in.

Here’s everything we know:

Why are the Asian Games facing an accommodation crisis?

The official housing committee said the issue arose because they expected 15,000 athletes and officials, but numbers increased as new sports were added.

This year’s Games will feature several newcomers, including mixed martial arts, padel and surfing, as well as virtual taekwondo and teqball, which ‌‌combines aspects of football and table tennis.

Ahead of the Games’ opening, chief organiser Hideaki Omura said efforts are being made to ensure athletes are comfortable.

“If there are different opinions, then we will respond to them appropriately,” Omura, who also serves as governor of Aichi prefecture, told the AFP news agency.

“At this point, while we are responding to individual opinions, we have been improving everything as issues arise, and we will continue to respond that way.”

He added that a committee of former athletes, including Olympians, gave a favourable assessment of the plans for the huts built this year.

“We explained everything to them and had them take a look around, and they said it looked functional and good,” he said.

Where will the Asian Games athletes stay?

Alternative housing options range from a cruise liner and wooden containers to hotel rooms.

On Tuesday, the Italian cruise ship, Costa Serena, which will host 4,000 athletes and officials, arrived in Nagoya.

The shipping container-style huts in the dock area of Japan’s biggest port will host 2,000 other athletes and officials.

On Thursday, Japan’s deputy Chef de Mission Hisashi Mizutori told a news conference that athletes have been going through entry procedures since the cruise ship village opened a day earlier.

“There have been cases where coaches, team officials and athletes have been assigned to the same room. There are also situations where room assignments were made purely based on the numbers, such as assigning five twin rooms for a group of five men and five women,” Mizutori said.

“While the numbers match on paper, practically it creates challenging situations such as men and women being assigned together, coaches being assigned with athletes, or trainers who need to accommodate a lot of medical equipment being assigned together.”

He added that the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) had also anticipated accommodation “challenges” and secured hotels in the city as a backup.

“We are currently working to coordinate and negotiate adjustments wherever possible. For cases where that proves too difficult, we are considering using the backup accommodations that Team Japan prepared in advance as alternatives.”

Why are participating nations and athletes complaining about the accommodation?

Jung Jae-yong, vice president of the Korea Basketball Association (KBA), slammed the cabins hosting the men’s basketball team.

“Athletes who are over two metres tall cannot even stretch their legs out on the beds. It’s unreasonable.”

Jung also accused the organisers of failing to respond to South Korea’s concerns about the housing options.

“The organisers have still not said anything,” he said, adding: “We are very concerned and discussing extensively with the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee what to do about this.”

Player Byeon Jun-hyeong, from the basketball team, posted a video on social media showing a leaking sink and a soaked floor in his hut.

“Please help us,” he posted.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino also said that while all his athletes had been given a room, “some officials, like coaches, were moved to different hotels and Airbnb”.

Why will cricketers get the best accommodation at the Asian Games?

Head of Japan’s cricket association, Naoki Alex Miyaji, said in early September that cricket would get better accommodation than other sports.

According to Miyaji, the cricket tournament is being run by the Asian Games organising committee in collaboration with the Asian Cricket Council.

He said that the two bodies had been discussing accommodation options “for a long time”.

“The participating teams in cricket are being offered hotel accommodation,” Miyaji said.

“Many other sports are being accommodated in much more limited facilities, such as a cruise ship or container hotels.”

What other issues have hit the Asian Games?

While the opening ceremony has yet to take place, several events such as basketball, football, cricket, hockey and modern pentathlon have already begun.

On Thursday, Tropical Storm Dujuan was located off Japan’s Pacific coast as of 03:00 GMT and heading northwest towards central Japan, where Nagoya is located.

Last week, torrential rains hit Nagoya and the surrounding areas, forcing schools to close and suspending train services. Several hundred athletes were also forced to leave their accommodation.

Kosei Inoue, Japan’s chef de mission for the Games and a senior executive board member of the JOC, said at a news conference on Thursday that some competitions have already experienced “delays or postponements, and there is also a possibility that a typhoon could approach on September 21”.

“Under these circumstances, we are holding thorough meetings within the JOC to ensure that we are fully prepared and capable of responding appropriately to these situations.”