The extraordinary rise of China’s electric vehicle market is one of the most remarkable business stories of our times.

In just over a decade, the country has come to account for over half of global EV sales, and is now home to some of the world’s biggest EV makers. One of them, BYD, recently overtook Tesla as the world ‘s largest EV producer.

How has this happened? What’s been the response in other countries? And where next for electric vehicles, as the way we buy, run and use our cars undergoes a period of fundamental change?

Joining us to discuss these questions we have Bill Russo, founder and chief executive of auto sector consultancy Automobility - and Tu Le, founder and managing director of Sino Auto Insights.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has appeared in a slew of new propaganda videos, promoting technological advances in the regime’s nuclear program and issuing warnings to South Korea and its allies. For the first time since the Korean War was paused seven decades ago, the dictator has talked about South Korea as an enemy, rather than part of a peninsula that had to be reunified under the regime, marking a historic shift.

As Pyongyang reinforces its military cooperation with Moscow, stepping up support for the war in Ukraine, Kim Jong Un has embraced its enhanced international status as a weapons provider, while also preparing for the outcome of the U.S. election.

Meanwhile, reports from inside the country indicate furtherly stepped up social control, with human rights violations and harsh punishments helping Mr. Kim to tighten its grip on power.

In this episode, Asia Matters host Paolo Bosonin taps two veteran experts for intelligence and analysis: General Chun In-bum, former commander of South Korea’s special forces, and Jenny Town from the 38 North program at the Stimson Center.

Asia is the most exciting and consequential region in the world today. Its countries - all with diverse political systems and complex, fascinating histories - are home to 4.3 billion people, who together generate about two thirds of global growth.

But it's also where some of the planet's most high-stakes disputes play out on a daily basis: China's menacing of Taiwan; the North Korean nuclear threat; and the ongoing civil war in Myanmar.

In short, Asia Matters.

Asia Matters is the podcast where we bring together experts from across the region and beyond to discuss the major issues and trends affecting Asian countries and their people — from China's growing influence, to the global race in technologies like chips and AI, to K-pop’s global dominance.

Asia Matters - going behind the headlines on the stories affecting the world’s most important region.