New Zealand's leadership challenge and the mystery of Kim Jong Un's heir episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 17, 2026 · 29 MIN

New Zealand's leadership challenge and the mystery of Kim Jong Un's heir

from Global Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald · host Australian Broadcasting Corporation

China fired a nuclear-capable missile into the South Pacific. Then its neighbours couldn't agree to condemn it. The missile came down in waters close to Tuvalu's exclusive economic zone a month before foreign ministers met at the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji. Australia's Penny Wong and New Zealand's Winston Peters pushed for a joint statement. Nauru and Kiribati refused to sign even the weakest version. Both have taken Chinese money and built closer ties with Beijing, and it showed. China is pressing south in other ways too: a security deal with the Cook Islands, coast guard vessels probing deeper into the region, and a clear interest in the minerals under the seabed.Journalist Anna Fifield, who reported across Asia and the Middle East for the Washington Post and the Financial Times, asks whether Australia's much-praised Pacific reset is as solid as Canberra claims. She also takes on New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon surviving a second leadership challenge before the 7 November election, Vietnamese President To Lam's charm offensive in Australia and New Zealand, and Kim Jongn's apparent grooming of his teenage daughter to inherit North Korea. Hosts Geraldine Doogue and Hamish McDonald steer a tour of a neighbourhood that suddenly matters far more.Guest: Anna Fifield, Independent journalist and foreign affairs commentator. Author of the Between Giants Substack.Recommendations: Anna – All Her Lives by Ingrid HorrocksGeraldine – World War II With Tom HanksHamish - Unsettled by Kate GrenvilleGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 17, 2026

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